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AUSTRALIA REPORT -  May / June 2008 

Australia-United States Ministerial Trade Talks

Australia’s Trade Minister, Simon Crean, met with his counterpart, United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Susan Schwab, in Newark, New Jersey for bilateral trade talks on Monday 2 June.

Reflecting the breadth and sophistication of Australia's trade and economic relations with the US, Minister Crean and Ambassador Schwab decided that future bilateral talks will be held under the framework of the Australia-US Ministerial Trade Talks (AUSMINTT).

AUSMINTT will provide an opportunity for Australia and the US to engage on a broad range of trade policy issues central to both countries’ trade and economic interests. This includes building on the Australia-US FTA (AUSFTA), working together in pursuit of regional trade interests, including APEC, and working to achieve a successful outcome to the Doha Development Round.

For more information on the trade discussions visit: www.trademinister.gov.au/releases/2008/sc_044.html

Australian Government releases 2008-2009 Commonwealth Budget

On 13 May the Australian Government unveiled the Commonwealth Budget for the upcoming financial year. Treasurer Wayne Swan said the budget was designed to bolster the current success of the Australian economy against the backdrop of global financial troubles, while at the same time addressing the needs of working families and the growing problem of high inflation.

As part of the Budget, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon also announced an $85 million package for assistance and cooperation with Australia’s allies, friends and partners. Mr Fitzgibbon noted in particular that Australia would continue to invest in its military alliance with the United States.

“The Australia-United States Ministerial consultations held in Canberra in February 2008 confirmed the commitment of both countries to the Alliance and to working towards common security challenges,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“In 2008-09, Australia will progress practical initiatives designed to enhance defence cooperation in the areas of defence trade, joint training, interoperability, communications and intelligence collaboration. The Australia-US Alliance is a cornerstone of our security and benefits both nations,” he added.

Mr Fitzgibbon also noted that Australia would focus on combating regional terrorism, including in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

For further details, please visit www.minister.defence.gov.au/Fitzgibbontpl.cfm?CurrentId=7710 and www.budget.gov.au/2008-09/content/speech/html/speech-01.htm

Sydney in final preparations for World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is the largest youth event in the world and will be held in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 July 2008. Organised by the Catholic Church, WYD brings together young people from around the globe to celebrate and learn about their faith on a more regular basis. WYD08 will be the largest event Australia has ever hosted and is expected to attract over 125,000 international visitors - more than the 2000 Olympics. WYD08 will also mark the first visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Australia. For more information on World Youth Day, please visit www.wyd2008.org/index.php/en/about_wyd08

Australia 2020 Summit: Update

On 31 May, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched the Final Report of the Australia 2020 Summit, a document which captures the debates, deliberations and ideas of those who took part in the summit.

The 2020 Summit was held on April 19 and 20 in Parliament House in Canberra. An initiative of Prime Minister Rudd, the summit brought together more than 1,000 of Australia’s brightest minds, from scientists to artists to business people.

Releasing the report, Mr Rudd thanked all of the participants and contributors, and stressed that that the task of Government is to now consider all of the summit recommendations and to deliver on the commitment to respond to these by the end of the year.

“This document tells a story of a modern approach to nation-building, in which Government does not have all the answers, but where we as a nation aspire to be the best place in the world to live, work and do business,” Mr Rudd said.

Mr Rudd added that the release of the report did not signal the end of discussions and debate, and he urged every Australian to continue to contribute their ideas and be part of the conversation by making a submission online.

The Final Report can be viewed at, and downloaded from, the Australia 2020 website www.australia2020.gov.au

Revised services text important step for Doha

Australia’s Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, said the 27 May release of WTO negotiating text on services – the third pillar of the Doha Round market access negotiations – was another important step in bringing the Round to a successful conclusion.

The new text on services will help guide the services negotiations, and Australia supports the efforts that have been made to capture the common ground of WTO members.

"However, pressure will need to be maintained to ensure suitably ambitious language on services market access is retained," Mr Crean warned.

Australia is now actively pursuing an early ministerial signalling conference, to be held at the same time as negotiators finalise modalities on agriculture and industrial products. Mr Crean has written to 26 other Ministers encouraging them to make a strong contribution.

"A services conference will provide a critical opportunity for Ministers to foreshadow the sorts of market access improvements that can be won through the Doha Round," Mr Crean said.

For more details visit: www.trademinister.gov.au/releases/2008/sc_041.html

Australia announces $4.5 Million to assist global efforts on deforestation

The Australian Government announced it will invest $4.5 million in helping developing countries reduce deforestation as part of international efforts to tackle climate change. The intitaive, announced by Climate Change Minister, Senator Penny Wong, and Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, will be funded as part of the Government’s International Forest Carbon Initiative, and will include up to $3 million for the Indonesia-based Centre for International Forestry Research.

“Globally, there is a shortage of research on how to reduce deforestation and Australia’s support for the centre will help bridge this gap and support international efforts to take action,” Senator Wong said.

Mr Smith said a further $1.5 million will help relevant non-government organisations (NGOs) work with developing countries on large-scale pilot projects designed to reduce deforestation.

“The allocation of this funding recognises that while NGOs often have lots of practical experience, they often lack the resources to fully develop and implement on-the-ground solutions,” Mr Smith said.

The International Forest Carbon Initiative builds on Australia’s existing commitments to reducing deforestation and has a particular focus on countries in the region including Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

For more information visit www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2008/fa-s080526.html

Insights into platypus genome fill in evolutionary gaps

An international team of researchers announced in May that they had determined the complete gene sequence of the platypus, the elusive monotreme that is native to Australia.

The study was led by Dr Richard Wilson, director of the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and his colleague Dr Wesley Warren. After the Washington University team derived the basic sequence, Australian researchers including Jennifer Marshall Graves of the Australian National University continued to analyse the findings.

"It was quite a difficult thing," Dr Graves told the Washington Post.

"The genome was completely unknown, and we knew it was going to be fairly weird. You'd look at some of these repetitive sequences and think, 'What on Earth is that?' "

Researchers discovered that the platypus has genes for egg-laying, a sign of its reptilian roots, as well as genes for making milk and snake venom, which is stored in the legs. The platypus also has 10 sex chromosomes – five times as many as humans and most other organisms.

"The platypus gives us a perspective that is deep in time, that tells us what was going on 170 million years ago, when all these traits were being developed," said Ewan Birney of the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, England, in his interview with the Washington Post.

For the full Washington Post article, please visit www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/07/AR2008050702048.html 

Australian agriculture research to help meet food shortage in Afghanistan

Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, recently announced the funding of a groundbreaking agricultural research project that will help increase wheat and maize production in Afghanistan.

The Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research and AusAID are providing $1.5 million in funding over the next fours years in partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre and the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

The aim of the project is to move toward a viable agriculture sector in Afghanistan, one that is capable of meeting the food production demands of the country. This will include rebuilding agricultural research facilities and techniques and that have been severely interrupted by three decades of conflict.

For more information, please visit: www.ausaid.gov.au/media/release.cfm?BC=Media&ID=6434_3281_6432_9479_8088 

Tasmanian devil reclassified as endangered species

The Government of Tasmania announced on 21 May that the Tasmanian devil has been reclassified from vulnerable to endangered species.

Tasmanian Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Mr David Llewellyn, said the reclassification highlighted the severe nature of Devil Facial Tumour Disease, which has taken a significant toll on the Tasmanian Devil population.

“We are committed to finding an answer and saving the Tasmanian devil for Tasmanians and the world,” said Mr Llewellyn. “Encouraging progress is continuing to be made by wildlife and disease experts from a range of institutions working in partnership.”

Mr Llewellyn recognised the work of several wildlife and disease experts, and said he was encouraged by evidence that a group of Devils in western Tasmania had developed antibodies to DFTD.

“While it is still very early days, discoveries such as this provide hope that the disease may be managed in the longer term and that devils with genetic diversity will survive it,” he said.

For more information, please visit www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=23791 

Unique Indigenous Australian batiks on show at Embassy of Australia

A collection of silk batiks by Indigenous Australian artists from the Utopia region will be on display at the Embassy of Australia in Washington DC from 11 June until 29 August 2008. UTOPIA – A Picture Story showcases a unique body of work drawn from the Holmes à Court collection of art in Perth, Western Australia.

Utopia is a community located approximately 3 hours drive north-east of Alice Springs in Northern Australia. The community is best known for the works produced by its senior women artists, in particular Ada Bird Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre and Gloria Tamerre Petyarre - all of whose works are featured in this exhibition.

The batiks in this exhibition have never been shown in the United States before, and represent some of the earliest works produced by Australian indigenous artists.

 
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