The Australian government is considering the possibility of raising the annual skilled migration intake to deal with labour shortages in many critical sectors. Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor said he was open to increasing labour supply across Australia as it had the second highest labour shortage among OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)…

Defence Minister Peter Dutton has ruled out a “third-class of submarine” following concerns that Australia could be short-handed and face a military capability gap before the arrival of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS agreement by 2040. Dutton, of the governing centre-right Coalition, made the comments during the Defence Debate with shadow defence spokesperson Brendan O’Connor…

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton has stood by his view that Beijing would prefer to see the centre-left Labor opposition win office at the May 21 election. Dutton, of the governing centre-right Coalition, made the comments during the Defence Debate with shadow defence spokesperson Brendan O’Connor at the National Press Club in Canberra. “There’s no…

The opposition Australian Labor Party’s promise to establish a dedicated military research agency—akin to DARPA in the United States—will simply spawn bureaucratic red tape and struggle to deliver actual results, according to defence industry expert Lincoln Parker. On April 28, shadow ministers from the centre-left Labor party pledged to establish a brand-new agency within the…