Boris Johnson is willing to provide Australia tariff-free access to UK food markets despite fears it could decimate the rural economy.
Farmers launched a furious backlash yesterday against the proposal to grant Australian produce privileged access, fearing it would mean British farmers with high welfare standards will struggle to compete.
The plan to give Australian food exporters the same terms as the European Union could potentially wipe out agriculture if the terms are replicated in other agreements, the PM has been warned.
The Cabinet is also divided, with International Trade Secretary Liz Truss facing stiff opposition to the plans from Environment Secretary George Eustice.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia would prefer a better relationship with China but that Beijingâs trade sanctions are like the traditional Chinese lion dance â mostly theatrical.
âThere can be a lot of diplomatic atmospherics but at the end of the day the relationship is still going on,â he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia is weathering the trade fight with China.
Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Chinaâs government has imposed coercive restrictions on Australian exports of beef, barley, wine, thermal coal, copper, cotton, seafood, sugar and timber, and warned students and tourists against travel to Australia because of the danger of violent racism.
In fact, mining contributed 10.4 percent to Australia’s economy from 2010 to 2020, which comes out to a gross domestic product of AU$202 billion. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, that makes the industry one of the nation’s largest economic contributors.
To get there, more than 350 mines operate across the continent, targeting 19 different mineral commodities. Australia’s most common operations are gold mines, which help it to rank second globally when it comes to gold production, according to the US Geological Survey.
This is good news for investors, as gold remains the most popular commodity of choice around the world, while companies with gold in their portfolios attract plenty of attention.
SYDNEY Australian wages growth picked up from record lows last quarter but was still nowhere close to the levels desired by the central bank, which has…
Mehmet Ulubasoglu
Source: Unsplash/Chris Gallagher.
The Australian government’s latest budget has committed $210 million for a new climate information service, $600 million for a new agency to promote natural disaster recovery and resilience, and $10 billion for a reinsurance fund to reduce insurance premiums in northern Australia.
That money split is symptomatic of a general focus on the impact of natural disasters thinking about their costs in terms of direct damage to the built environment.
Lost homes and infrastructure, of course, do need to be replaced, and insurance claims do provide a neat way to calculate a tangible cost to a fire or flood.