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106-747: The Labor Party promised to end the Cashless Debit Card and make the Basics Card voluntary if it won the 2022 election. In the lead up to the election, Labor claimed that the Coalition government planned to expand the card's use to aged pensioners. As of June 2022, briefings had begun to wind down the Cashless Welfare Card, although the Albanese government has promised to consult with the trial communities, and CDC users in

212-409: A Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting with fellow world leaders United States President Joe Biden , Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida . At the meeting, Albanese and Wong confirmed that the new government intended to make additional action on climate change a key part of Australia's foreign policy moving forward. In May 2024, RNZ reported that

318-609: A reshuffle of his Ministry on 28 July 2024. Phil Gaetjens , the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Scott Morrison , took leave the day before the Albanese government was sworn in. This had been expected given Albanese had indicated he would not want Gaetjens to continue in the role. On 6 June 2022, former University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis replaced Gaetjens. In June 2024,

424-687: A 36-hour visit to Sydney, where he also met several Australian business and political leaders. On 6 September 2023, Albanese attended the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta to promote trade relations with the region. On 8 September, Albanese met with Philippines President Bongbong Marcos in Manila , marking the first state visit to the Philippines by an Australian Prime Minister in two decades. The two governments agreed to conduct joint naval patrols in

530-647: A High-Level Dialogue in Beijing, the first in three years, with former trade minister Craig Emerson leading the Australian delegation, while China was represented by former foreign minister Li Zhaoxing . Later that month Albanese met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit held in Jakarta. On 11 October, Australian journalist Cheng Lei , a former CGTN news anchor who

636-686: A New Zealand citizen from 1 July will automatically be eligible for Australian citizenship. The announcement was welcomed by New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Oz Kiwi chairperson Joanne Cox for improving New Zealanders ' access to Australian citizenship, health and social security services. On 26 July 2023, Albanese met with Hipkins as part of the annual Australia-New Zealand leaders' meeting. In May 2024, following criticism from opposition politicians that Ministerial Directive 99 had allowed several non-citizens convicted of serious crimes to remain in Australia, Albanese and Giles confirmed that

742-839: A bilateral deal to sell Australian-made armoured vehicles to Germany. In July 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Marles announced a further $ 250 million in military assistance, the largest single military package from Australia to Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Albanese visited India between 8 and 11 March, where he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Australia-India Annual Leaders' Summit in New Delhi . The state visit focused on bilateral trade and investment, renewable energy, technology, defence and security cooperation, and educational and cultural ties. Australia and India had previously signed

848-652: A brief pause was put on adding new participants to the Cashless Debit Card due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, a bill was put before the Senate to make the cards permanent. The trial was extended until 2022. As of February 2022, there were 16,685 CDC participants across the five sites of the trial. Eventually, the Senate opposed making the trials permanent. When the trial began, Ceduna elder Sue Haseldine stated that community consultation had been limited to service providers, rather than including people who would be put on

954-484: A confrontation between a Chinese Air Force jet and Australian military helicopter near North Korea in May 2024. On 1 July 2022, Albanese travelled to Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , making him the first Australian Prime Minister to make a diplomatic visit to Ukraine. Albanese pledged a further $ 100 million in aid to assist with the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War . In addition, Albanese and

1060-623: A former South Australian Liberal leader who had left the Liberal party, and at the time was an independent and part of the state Labor cabinet , declared his support for the NXT candidate Rebekha Sharkie in Mayo for the upcoming federal election . He said "I think Rebekha's a good candidate for Mayo, I live in Mayo so I want a candidate that's going to stick up for SA and the local district and I think she's

1166-651: A joint statement expressing concerns over the planned Israeli ground offensive. In early April 2024, Wong said that the federal government was considering recognising Palestinian statehood as a means of facilitating a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine during a speech at the Australian National University . Her comments attracted criticism from Palestinian leader Fahad Ali, Liberal leader Peter Dutton , Liberal foreign affairs spokesperson Simon Birmingham and Executive Council of Australian Jewry President Daniel Aghon. In May 2024,

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1272-514: A long history of advocacy for Jewish communities and combating antisemitism. Aftab Malik: Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. Appointed in October 2024, Mr. Malik is a prominent Muslim leader and advocate for interfaith dialogue. Penny Wong was sworn in as Minister for Foreign Affairs on 23 May 2022 as part of the interim Albanese ministry. The new Prime Minister and Minister flew to Tokyo almost immediately after being sworn in to attend

1378-659: A meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. It was the highest-level contact between Australia and China in almost three years following a deterioration in Australia-China relations under the previous Morrison government. The two ministers discussed an incident involving the Chinese interception of a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing P-8 Poseidon over

1484-407: A phone interview. It is unclear to date how many people were successfully exited from the trial either before or after the changes introduced on 12 September 2019. There has been mention of "about 700 people have come off the card", but this appears to be "because they found work or they were suspended from welfare payments for breaching the rules", rather than due to exiting the trial. Participants in

1590-515: A result where Kingston ended up as the only South Australian seat to record an increase to a major party primary vote. Kingston also recorded the highest major party primary vote of just 49 percent. In NXT's presence, no party won a majority of the primary vote in any of the eleven seats. NXT's lower house primary vote was highest in Mayo (34.9%) and lowest in Adelaide (12.9%). While Mayo has always polled strongest for minor parties, Adelaide's result

1696-542: A similar Defence budget to the Coalition but with a Defence Posture Review into resources and strategy, education, electric vehicles, farming, health, housing, infrastructure, a review of the NDIS , as well as measures to help older Australians. The election was held on 21 May 2022. As of 10:00PM AEST on election night, the Labor Party (led by Anthony Albanese ) was projected to form a government by ABC News, although it

1802-432: A three-year term; while Rebekha Sharkie won the lower house seat of Mayo . Xenophon resigned from the Senate in 2017 and was replaced by Rex Patrick . Kakoschke-Moore resigned from the Senate in 2017 and was replaced by Tim Storer , although Storer had resigned from the party at that stage, so sat as an independent. Skye Kakoschke-Moore was announced as the lead Senate candidate for the 2019 election. Rebekha Sharkie

1908-679: A year. It supports introducing labelling laws to provide customers with information on ingredients and their country of origin. In October 2020, Centre Alliance supported the government's university reform bill. The government stated that: “(the) reforms will create 30,000 (university) places next year, while cheaper fees in certain fields will deliver more graduates in areas of expected job growth”. The student cost of humanities, law and commerce degrees increased, while teaching, nursing, English, languages, maths, agriculture, science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT and engineering degrees decreased. The selection process for NXT candidates at

2014-715: Is in contrast to 2007 where the Xenophon Senate ticket polled better in Adelaide than in most other seats. NXT candidates in Barker and Grey both placed second to the Liberal incumbents and placed second in Port Adelaide to the Labor incumbent. NXT's South Australian lower house vote was 21.3 percent. NXT did not poll as highly in other states. The overall nationwide NXT primary vote was 3.3 percent (456,369 votes) in

2120-556: The Sydney Morning Herald argued that NXT's debut national election had been undermined by the rise of Turnbull . However, polling conducted after the change of Prime Minister indicated NXT support had only fallen by 0.2% in votes for the lower house, while support rose by 4% in the Senate. Multiple seat-level opinion polls in the South Australian rural Liberal seats of Mayo , Grey and Barker during

2226-543: The 2016 election campaign found NXT leading the Liberals on the two-candidate vote in all three seats. ABC psephologist Antony Green indicated NXT had a "strong chance of winning lower house seats and three or four Senate seats". Centre Alliance has attracted strong criticism from the Liberal Party. In 2015, soon after becoming Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull intimated that NXT would struggle to overcome

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2332-454: The 2016 federal election was called "exhaustive", with senate candidate for South Australia and campaign manager Stirling Griff being largely responsible. In a later article, however, Richardson called it "a two-man team" of selectors (Griff and Xenophon). According to Griff, NXT aimed to field candidates that had "real life experience" as opposed to "celebrities [...] academics [...] [or] political groupies". These comments were reflected in

2438-511: The 2022 federal election . This is the first Labor government to be in office at the federal level since the second Rudd government was defeated by the Coalition at the 2013 election . Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles is serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia . The 2022 federal election was called by Morrison on 10 April 2022, when he visited the Governor-General advising the latter to prorogue Parliament and dissolve

2544-706: The Australian 2016 federal election for the upper house with two candidates in each of the six states, a candidate in all eleven lower house seats in South Australia, and additionally a candidate in seven lower house seats in three other states – Calare , Lindsay , Macarthur and Warringah in New South Wales, Groom and Moreton in Queensland, and Higgins in Victoria. As the election

2650-673: The Australian Intelligence Community , action on climate change , support for military veterans, affordable tax cuts, Australian-made manufacturing (including defence-industry spending), and legalising euthanasia . Nick Xenophon ran for election as an independent candidate in Australia under a " No Pokies " ticket that ran in South Australian state elections from 1997 to 2006. He was elected in 1997 and 2006. The 2013 Australian federal election saw independent "Nick Xenophon Group", with Xenophon as

2756-563: The Australian Labor Party , which was the opposition party to the governing Liberal Party of Australia . A February poll for the next South Australian Election indicated a similar amount of support (20.5%), but with NXT third behind Labor. ABC election analyst Antony Green believes that NXT could attract some 10-12% of the vote in the eastern states. Griff believes that a double dissolution election could see as many as six NXT senators elected. A 15 January 2016 article in

2862-580: The Australian National Audit Office found that the trial results and outcomes were inadequately monitored, and therefore it was difficult to evaluate whether the trial had been successful in reducing social harms and delivering a cheaper welfare quarantining system. Despite this, trials were extended on multiple occasions. The trials began in March 2016. The Greens senator for Western Australia, Rachel Siewert attempted to halt

2968-521: The Governor-General of Australia. The government is composed of members of the Australian Labor Party . The party initially governed with 77 seats on the floor of the House of Representatives , enough for a two-seat majority. Albanese succeeded the Scott Morrison -led Liberal / National Coalition government (2018–2022), which became unable to continue in government following their defeat in

3074-551: The South China Sea and political developments in the Pacific Islands. Earlier, Marles reiterated his government's commitment to pursuing a "productive relationship" with China while advancing its own national interests and regional security within a rules-based system. In response to Chinese concerns that AUKUS was a "mini- NATO ", Marles stated that AUKUS was not an alliance similar to NATO but rather focused on

3180-460: The South China Sea . During 4–6 March 2024, Australia hosted a 'special summit' between Australia and the member nations of ASEAN to mark 50 years of diplomatic dialogue relations. Several diplomatic and economic initiatives were reached at the summit, including a $ 2 billion 'Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility', a $ 140 million infrastructure development partnership, and expanded business visa programs. On 12 January 2023, Albanese became

3286-687: The "sharing and development of capabilities" between Australia, the United Kingdom, and United States. In November 2022 Albanese held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping , bringing an end to the longest diplomatic freeze in 50 years between Australia and China. In December 2022 Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong visited China, the first Australian minister to visit the country since 2019, where she met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi . In early 2023 China ended its unofficial ban on imports of Australian coal, with all restrictions reportedly being lifted by 14 March. On 11 April

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3392-621: The 2016 federal election, with Xenophon citing the government's ambiguity on the Collins class submarine replacement project as motivation. NXT fielded two senate candidates in every state, with four in South Australia. It fielded candidates in all eleven of the South Australian House of Representatives seats, along with Calare , Lindsay , Macarthur and Warringah in New South Wales, Groom and Moreton in Queensland and Higgins in Victoria. In June 2014, polling in

3498-540: The Albanese Government had slightly increased Australia's foreign aid budget by four percent, bringing its total 2024-2025 aid to A$ 4.961 billion budget. In August 2023, the Government had released its new international development strategy, which promised new country, gender, disability and humanitarian aid strategies. On 12 June 2022 Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles held

3604-607: The Albanese government defended Israel's right to defend itself and retaliate against Hamas' attack. Wong also called for the release of hostages taken by Hamas. Despite its support for Israel, the Albanese government declined to supply weapons to Israel since the start of the conflict. In mid February 2024, Wong expressed concerns about Israel's planned Rafah offensive , describing it as "unjustifiable." Albanese along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon subsequently issued

3710-485: The Albanese government reversed the previous Morrison government 's decision to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel 's capital. Foreign Minister Penny Wong reaffirmed that Jerusalem's status should be decided through peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. In addition, Albanese has condemned the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement despite support for a boycott of Israel from elements within

3816-522: The Albanese government voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution that determined that Palestine met the requirements for United Nations membership. Wong subsequently confirmed that the vote did not mean that Australia would recognise Palestinian statehood but was rather about extending "modest additional rights to participate in United Nations forums." She reiterated that Australia would only recognise Palestine "when we think

3922-840: The Albanese government, flashpoints have included Australia's continuation of the AUKUS submarine deal, a sonar attack on Royal Australian Navy divers from HMAS Toowoomba by the Chinese destroyer Ningbo near Japan in November 2023, Australia's agreement to brief New Zealand about AUKUS Pillar 2 developments in February 2024, the targeting of 20 Australian lawmakers involved in the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) by Chinese spies ( APT31 ) in April 2024, and

4028-611: The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which came into force on 29 December 2022. During the visit, Albanese and Modi attended the fourth Australia-India cricket test at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad , where the two leaders also rode a chariot in a lap of honour. Modi reciprocated with a two-day state visit to Sydney on 22 May 2023 where he met Australian political and business leaders including Albanese. In October 2022,

4134-575: The Australian Electoral Commission in February 2018. The application was open for public objection until 7 March 2018 before a decision would be made, but on 9 April 2018 the Electoral Commission announced that the application had been withdrawn. Party supporters were advised on 10 April that a new application had been lodged to change the name to Centre Alliance . The application to change the name and logo

4240-417: The Australian Electoral Commission investigate questionable loans given to Xenophon by businessman Ian Melrose. In the presence of NXT candidates in all eleven South Australian seats, both major parties recorded a suppressed primary vote, resulting in a reduction of the major party primary vote in all but one South Australian seat. Though Labor picked up a two-party swing in all eleven, NXT's presence produced

4346-550: The Australian delegation visited Kyiv and Bucha on 4 July 2022, which had seen fighting with Russian forces. In early December 2022, Albanese hosted Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Sydney; which marked the first state visit by a Finnish head of government to Australia. During the visit, the two leaders discussed several issues including the Australia- European Union trade agreement, human rights,

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4452-463: The Cashless Welfare Card being trialled in his area withdrawing support due to feeling "used" to drum up support and the failure to provide adequate support services as was promised. Commentary stating that the Cashless Welfare Card is a success also neglects to mention an actual increase in crime when year to year averages are considered. There is also very little mention of negative outcomes such as an increase in suicides which has been directly linked to

4558-540: The Cashless Welfare Card, ranging from the perception of it being a breach of a person's right to financial autonomy, to instances where the CDC has failed at an EFTPOS terminal, yet other cards have worked. In September 2019 the media reported a 10% reduction in youth unemployment within the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay areas since the Cashless Welfare Card was introduced which is double the national reduction level of 5% but this

4664-555: The Greens announced that they would not support further trials in the Goldfields or Bundaberg . This was a major shift for Labor, which had supported all previous income management processes. The third trial location had not been decided as of December 2017. The legislation to decide on the third trial site would also make it possible for the government to roll the card out more widely without parliamentary approval. This legislation

4770-540: The Healthy Welfare Card be mandatory for unemployed people, carers, people with disabilities and single parents. According to Langton, the review recommended that the card only be used in areas where most households were receiving welfare, with the goal of ending intergenerational poverty. The Forrest Review did not review the impact of the BasicsCard or other income management schemes when recommending

4876-429: The Healthy Welfare Card. While Forrest initially envisaged a fully cashless card, Tudge altered it to be mostly cashless. Marcia Langton has since withdrawn her support for the scheme citing it as "brutal" and abuse of the poor. Senate inquiries were conducted into the card in 2015, 2017, and 2018. two in 2019 and one in 2020. An independent review of the implementation and performance of the Cashless Welfare Card trial

4982-591: The House of Representatives. Centre Alliance claims to support Australian industry, often citing economic nationalism on matters before the Parliament: "When it comes to Australian made, successive governments have abandoned Australian industries and jobs by failing to stand up for Australian farming and manufacturing." It states that better outcomes can be achieved by requiring Australian governments to buy Australian goods and services, which may amount to A$ 60 billion

5088-415: The House of Representatives. The Governor-General accepted Morrison's recommendations, as is the custom in Australia's Westminster system of government. The Parliament was then prorogued and the House of Representatives dissolved the next morning. The Labor election campaign focused on aged care in Australia , the introduction of a National Anti-Corruption Commission , childcare subsidies, climate change,

5194-797: The Labor Party including New South Wales Legislative Council member Walt Secord and the NSW Young Labor Left. In August 2023, Wong confirmed that Australia would revert to its pre-2014 policy of designating the West Bank , East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip as " Occupied Palestinian Territories " and the Israeli settlements there as "illegal". Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War on 7 October 2023,

5300-400: The Labor government to back Legislative Council voting reforms. Xenophon indicated the resignation had averted Darley's imminent expulsion from the party due to "breaches to party rules". Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST therefore contested the 2018 election without state parliamentary representation. The party submitted an application to change its name, abbreviation and logo to SA-BEST (Federal) to

5406-529: The Northern Territory will transition onto the BasicsCard income management scheme. In 2013, Andrew Forrest was chosen by Tony Abbott, to lead a review into Indigenous employment and training programs, which was to report to the Australian government. Alan Tudge was to work with Forrest on the review, and Marcia Langton was also on the review committee. The review was delivered on 1 August 2014, with 27 recommendations. Forrest recommended that

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5512-480: The Pacific Islands, climate change, and working with Pacific neighbours. On 7 February 2023, Albanese hosted his New Zealand counterpart Chris Hipkins , who had succeeded Ardern in late January 2023. Besides reaffirming Australian-New Zealand bilateral relations , they also discussed the controversial Section 501 deportation policy. Albanese reiterated that his government would revise the deportation policy to take into account individuals' connections to Australia and

5618-647: The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and climate change mitigation. In early May 2023, Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley attended the coronation of Charles III in London. A cannon salute was also held in Australia to mark the occasion. In early July 2023, Albanese visited Germany ahead of the NATO summit in Lithuania . Prior to a scheduled meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz , Albanese confirmed

5724-410: The Senate and 1.9 percent (250,333 votes) in the House. Though NXT's South Australian Senate primary vote was reduced to 21.7 percent (–3.1 from 2013), the reduced Senate quota allowed more candidates to be successful. In the end, three NXT senators and one lower house MP were elected. In the senate, Xenophon and Stirling Griff were elected to six-year terms, and Skye Kakoschke-Moore was elected for

5830-739: The United Kingdom . On 20 December 2022, the government announced that it had nominated former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as the next Ambassador of Australia to the United States . On 3 April 2024, the Prime Minister announced that King Charles III of Australia had approved Albanese's appointment of Sam Mostyn to succeed General David Hurley as Governor-General of Australia on 1 July 2024. Jillian Segal AO: Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism. Appointed in July 2024, Ms. Segal has

5936-423: The bulk of the votes had been counted and a Labor victory appeared inevitable, Morrison conceded the election, and then announced his intention to resign as the Liberal Party leader. The Coalition's loss was attributed to Morrison's unpopularity with voters and the popularity of centrist " teal independents " in certain inner-city electorates. Albanese, who also made history as the first Italian-Australian to secure

6042-403: The card to be voluntary. There are also numerous grassroots groups which oppose and criticise the Cashless Welfare Card, including (but not limited to) No Cashless Card Australia and Say No Seven , as well as at least fourteen related groups representing each of the regions the program is being trialled or being proposed. These online groups collate all the various perceived or actual failings of

6148-501: The card. Mimi Smart, a Yalata elder, argued that the consultations had indicated that the CDC would be targeted at "people that hang out in Ceduna drinking and causing trouble". The community panels that cardholders can apply to get more of their payments as cash are anonymous. As of February 2018, the trial in Ceduna has been extended for another year. 75% of people in the Ceduna trial are Indigenous. Trials in Kununurra and Wyndham began in April 2016. Around 1,200 people are part of

6254-437: The card. This would make it the first urban area to roll out the card, and the first trial area to not consist of mainly Indigenous people, as 18% of trial participants in Hinkler are Indigenous. The Queensland trial has been passed by the vote of Tim Storer , who has modified the trial there to ensure that an independent inquiry consults with trial participants. Following the rape of an Aboriginal toddler in February 2018, it

6360-411: The composition of NXT candidates for the election, with one third of them coming from a small business, grassroots background. Xenophon confirmed in December 2014 that by mid-2015 Nick Xenophon Team would announce candidates in the South Australian Liberal seats of Sturt , Hindmarsh and Mayo , along with seats in all states and territories, and preference against the government in the upper house, at

6466-470: The composition of his full Ministry on 31 May 2022. Given that frontbenchers Kristina Keneally and Terri Butler were not re-elected, Murray Watt and Clare O’Neil were chosen by the Labor caucus to replace them in the cabinet. With 19 female frontbenchers and 10 female cabinet ministers, it became the most gender-equal ministry in Australian history. The full ministry was sworn in by Governor-General David Hurley on 1 June 2022. Albanese announced

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6572-463: The countries announced that they reached an agreement over disputes over China's barley imports from Australia, with China agreeing to review its tariffs in exchange for Australia suspending a case against China in the World Trade Organization WTO. These developments were followed by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu 's visit to Australia in mid-April 2023 and Australia Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell 's visit to Beijing, which marked

6678-410: The creation of a new direct pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holders, commencing 1 July 2023. Under the policy, SCV holders who have resided in Australia for at least four years and met other residency requirements will be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship without having to apply for permanent residency. In addition, children born in Australia to

6784-518: The deficiencies of its leader, adding "Nick’s track record to date is that when he last ran with a running mate, he and Ann Bressington split up". Education Minister Simon Birmingham attacked NXT candidate for the seat of Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie , for seeking the support of a farming group who had previously supported One Nation founder Pauline Hanson . Xenophon rejected these claims as the group in question had not endorsed One Nation, but merely spoke "at an event". In 2016, Martin Hamilton-Smith ,

6890-595: The end of the card in 2024 found that since the card had been abolished, stigmatisation had decreased, and a minority of CDC stakeholders were concerned about increased "poor decision making" and financial coercion. Albanese government [REDACTED] The Albanese government is the federal executive government of Australia , led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party . The Albanese government commenced on 23 May 2022, when Albanese and an interim ministry of four other Labor MPs were sworn into their relevant ministerial portfolios by

6996-429: The first foreign leader to address the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea . That same day, he and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape signed a joint statement pledging that the two countries would reach a new security deal by late April 2023. Nick Xenophon Team Centre Alliance ( CA ), formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team ( NXT ), is a centrist Australian political party based in

7102-404: The first visits by senior Chinese and Australian visits since 2017 and 2019 respectively. Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian announced on 18 May that China would allow imports of Australian timber, which was suspended in 2020. This was followed by the lifting of China's 80% tariff on Australian barley in early August 2023. In September 2023 the Australian and Chinese governments held

7208-431: The full ministry was determined. According to Australia's ABC News , the governor-general David Hurley would not have sworn in Albanese without assurances that Labor could provide stable government, as well as legal advice that this was the proper course of action. Albanese confirmed that he secured confidence and supply from the crossbench in the event that he was not able to form majority government. Albanese announced

7314-466: The government announced that Matt Kean , a former Liberal Treasurer of New South Wales , would be appointed to lead the Climate Change Authority . On 17 October 2022, Jayne Jagot was sworn in as a Justice of the High Court of Australia , replacing the retiring Justice Patrick Keane . On Jagot's appointment, the High Court of Australia had a majority of female Justices for the first time in its history. On 6 November 2023, Justice Stephen Gageler

7420-740: The immigration directive would be revised. On 7 June 2024, Giles issued "Directive 110", which clarified that non-citizens convicted of serious crimes could be deported despite living their whole lives in Australia. In response, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed concern that people with little or no connection with New Zealand were being deported back to the country." On 6 June 2022, Albanese along with Foreign Minister Wong, Trade Minister Don Farrell and Industry Minister Ed Husic visited Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta to reaffirm relations with Indonesia and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). On 3 July 2023, Albanese hosted Indonesian President Widodo during

7526-409: The implementation of the Cashless Welfare Card trial, which was raised in the 2017 inquiry. A Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights report from 2017 has found that the CDC negatively impacts rights to social security, privacy, family, equality and non-discrimination, furthermore finding that there has been no compelling rationale for the scale of the CDC. A 2018 review of the trial programme by

7632-645: The lead candidate, win 24.9 percent of the statewide upper house vote in South Australia. This was an unprecedented result for a non-major party with Nick Xenophon Group outpolling the Australian Labor Party to come in second behind the Liberal Party of Australia , which won office. Although Xenophon was re-elected, his running mate Stirling Griff narrowly missed out to Bob Day of the Family First Party . In 2014, Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) emerged from Nick Xenophon Group. Its management committee

7738-515: The length of time they had lived in the country. Immigration Minister Andrew Giles also issued Ministerial Directive 99 requiring Australian immigration officials to consider a non-citizen's community ties and length of time spent in Australia when cancelling a visa. This policy change was welcomed by Hipkins and the New Zealand Government. On 22 April 2023, Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil , and Giles announced

7844-472: The management committee of the Nick Xenophon Team party on 17 August 2017 to avoid expulsion from the party. He said: "There are many things I could say as to why I have resigned. However, it is not my place to speak publicly about internal party matters". Though it was stated that there had been months of conflict between Darley and the party, it came to a head a week prior when Darley voted with

7950-460: The national employment record. Legislation to end the Cashless Debit Card was passed by the House of Representatives, and was considered by the Senate in September 2022. As many card users linked theirs to "buy now, pay later" services, it may be difficult to transition away from the cards. Following legislation passing in the Senate, certain users of the Cashless Debit Card were allowed to leave

8056-461: The party withdrew its application and changed its name to Centre Alliance. In 2018, Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff stated that SA-BEST is "a separate entity, a separate association, a separate party" from Centre Alliance. The party's ideological focus is a combination of socially liberal and populist policies, drawing from the positions of Xenophon. Its present members have variously declared support for same-sex marriage , reform of

8162-502: The people in the East Kimberleys trial are Indigenous. The then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that the Goldfields, including Kalgoorlie, would be a trial site for the cashless card in September 2017. This trial site would include 3,800 participants. In a statement to the senate inquiry on the suitability of Kalgoorlie, the government commented on the site's potential to test the card's scalability to wider use within

8268-573: The point where Indue, the company that administers the card, refuses to give service to people who call it the "white card". A number of groups have expressed their opposition to the Cashless Welfare Card trials, including the St Vincent De Paul Society (Vinnies) and the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) . The ACOSS has particularly expressed its opposition to the extension of the trials, and has called for

8374-482: The population. Participants in Kalgoorlie report that they cannot make bank loan repayments as they are not allowed to be paid for using the quarantined money. The trial in Kalgoorlie has been expanded. 48% of the people in the trial in the Goldfields are Indigenous. The Division of Hinkler has been announced as the next region to roll out the card in 2018, with approximately 6,700 people expected to be placed on

8480-511: The position of Prime Minister, was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Australia on 23 May 2022. Although it was not certain on election night that Labor would win a majority, no other party could realistically form a government. Accordingly, two days after the election, Albanese, deputy leader Richard Marles , shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers , and senators Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher were sworn in as an interim five-person ministry. The five ministers divided all portfolios between them until

8586-411: The program before it ended on 6 March 2023. Cashless Debit Card users in the Northern Territory were to be transitioned back onto the BasicsCard, a Howard-era income management scheme, but a new "smart card" has been set up from 6 March 2023 for people who had compulsory income management in the Northern Territory or Cape York. This card has been criticised for its lack of a sunset clause . A review of

8692-416: The right person". He also stated that he was not considering a run with NXT in the future, rather believed that the NXT candidate was the best person for the job in his electorate. Sharkie's main opponent in Mayo, sitting Liberal member Jamie Briggs said, "I think what it reveals is you just can't trust these independents". Primary vote % ( SA 2016 ) The nascent Nick Xenophon Team ran candidates at

8798-540: The seat of Sturt held by Christopher Pyne –a major figure in the Liberal Party–indicated that an NXT candidate would have beaten him 38% to 31% in primary vote. This was before Tony Abbott was replaced by Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister following the September 2015 Liberal leadership ballot . A January 2016 opinion poll conducted in South Australia by Roy Morgan found that NXT was slightly ahead of

8904-432: The seat of Mayo with 34.19% of the primary vote, and a two-party preferred vote of 55.14%. The Centre Alliance ran only one candidate in the 2022 federal election , Rebekha Sharkie in the seat of Mayo . She was re-elected. Stirling Griff , while remaining with the party, ran as an independent "Group O" candidate for the Senate, in a ticket led by Nick Xenophon . Both were unsuccessful. Rex Patrick , elected to

9010-502: The state of South Australia . It currently has one elected representative, Rebekha Sharkie in the House of Representatives . Since its founding in July 2013, the party has twice changed names. At the time of the 2016 federal election , it was known as the Nick Xenophon Team. After Nick Xenophon founded SA-BEST , an affiliated state-based party, NXT sought to change its name to SA-BEST (Federal) . However, prior to Australian Electoral Commission approval, Xenophon left politics, and

9116-486: The time is right" and that a reformed Palestinian Authority , not Hamas, should "lead its people" in a future Palestinian state. On 10 June 2022, Albanese hosted New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on her first official visit to Australia since 2020. The two leaders discussed a range of issues including Australia's controversial Section 501 deportation policy (which had disproportionately affected New Zealanders living in Australia ), growing Chinese influence in

9222-465: The trial have waited for a year to find out if their application to withdraw from the CDC trial has been approved. As of June 2020, only a fifth of applications to withdraw from the trial have been approved. A report from the ANAO said that as of February 2022, 591 participants have exited the CDC trial. Those who oppose the card commonly call it the "white card", as it has been imposed by white people, to

9328-559: The trial in Kununurra and Wyndham . WA Police have released statistics saying that violence and intimidating behaviour has increased in the area since the card's introduction. Some people have changed their address with Centrelink so that they fall outside the cashless welfare card trial area in an attempt to avoid being placed onto the card. As of February 2018, the trial in the Kimberlies has been extended for another year. 82% of

9434-449: The trials. The card has faced criticism for targeting Indigenous people, and for its compulsory use by recipients of social security payments, even when they do not engage in behaviours like using illegal drugs. In August 2017, a delegation of community and Indigenous leaders showed Malcolm Turnbull video footage of their town, describing them as "war zones", asking for the card to be implemented in their towns. In December 2017, Labor and

9540-549: The trip he gave a speech at the China International Import Expo , and met with Premier Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping. In mid-June 2024 Albanese hosted Chinese Premier Li Qiang during his state visit to Australia. China agreed to extend visa-free access to Australians visiting China for up to 15 days. The two governments also agreed to provide reciprocal five-year multiple entry visas for tourism, business and visiting family members. In addition,

9646-408: The two governments agreed to hold talks on improving bilateral military relations to avoid incidents such as the 2023 sonar attack on divers from HMAS Toowoomba . Despite a largely productive visit, an incident occurred when Chinese officials attempted to obstruct Cheng Lei, who had since become a Sky News Australia journalist. Despite the improving of Australian-Chinese bilateral relations during

9752-441: Was a double dissolution the Senate electoral quota of 14.3 percent was reduced to 7.7 percent. During the campaign, Xenophon and the NXT were the subject of numerous attacks from both major political parties. This included an attack levelled at his failure to declare a directorship of Adelaide Tower Pty Ltd, which involved his father. Xenophon accused proponents of this attack of a "partisan and personal campaign". Labor requested

9858-411: Was a staffer for Liberal Senator David Johnston before joining the party. Federal MP Rebekha Sharkie is also a former member of the Liberal Party and formerly worked as a researcher and staffer for Liberal party figures from 2006. At the 2016 Federal Election Rebekha Sharkie won the lower house seat of Mayo, previously a safe Liberal seat. Sharkie's win delivered the party's first and only seat in

9964-651: Was advertised for objection by the Australian Electoral Commission on 7 May 2018. Xenophon himself ceased to be directly involved with the party. The name and logo change were registered by the electoral commission on 8 June 2018. In August 2020, Senator Rex Patrick left the party, and went on to form the Rex Patrick Team . Centre Alliance is generally perceived as a centrist party. Some prominent party members are former Liberal Party members or staffers. Senator Rex Patrick

10070-429: Was announced as the candidate for Mayo. Kelly Gladigau was announced as the candidate for Barker. Andrea Broadfoot was announced as the candidate for Grey. The SA Senate vote collapsed from 21.8% to 2.6%, and no Centre Alliance senator was elected. Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick kept their Senate seats, because they were not up for re-election. Rebekha Sharkie was the only Centre Alliance candidate elected, retaining

10176-456: Was appointed in 2007 to succeed Xenophon for "No Pokies", was re-elected. On 5 March 2017, Xenophon announced that he would launch a new party in South Australia in time for the March 2018 state election to enable them to focus on domestic South Australian issues as opposed to wider Australia. The party was registered on 4 July as Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST . The independent John Darley left

10282-400: Was composed of Xenophon, John Darley , Griff, and Connie Bonaros . In the 2014 South Australian state election , John Darley, who took Nick Xenophon's place in the state parliament in 2007, ran under the banner of Independent Nick Xenophon Team. Without Xenophon as a candidate, being in the national senate, John Darley won 12.9 percent of the statewide upper house vote. John Darley , who

10388-404: Was detained in September 2020, was released and returned to Australia. Between 4 and 7 November, Albanese visited Shanghai and Beijing, becoming the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years. The trip, described as an effort to improve Australian-Chinese bilateral relations, coincided with the 50th anniversary of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's first state visit to China. During

10494-544: Was not clear whether they would have a majority or a minority. Notable outcomes included the popularity of community independents in several inner-city seats, costing Treasurer and Deputy Liberal Leader Josh Frydenberg his seat; a particularly sizable swing from the Coalition to Labor in Western Australia; and notably strong support for the Australian Greens in some inner-city Brisbane seats. After

10600-476: Was not passed through the senate, following opposition by Nick Xenophon Team senators. A drug testing regime for young people receiving Centrelink payments may also use the cashless welfare card as a consequence of testing positive. 5,000 people are expected to be involved in the drug testing trial in Mandurah , Western Australia , Logan , Queensland , and Canterbury-Bankstown , New South Wales . In 2020,

10706-460: Was passed which allowed for an individual who had been placed on the Cashless Welfare Card to apply to exit the trial after 1 July 2019. On 12 August 2019, the assessment criteria were broadened to also consider personal circumstances, in addition to financial management. On 12 September, an application form and information sheet were made available. In addition to these, it was also stated that an assessment will be undertaken and that there will be

10812-468: Was performed by the Australian National Audit Office which resulted in a number of flaws in the trial being identified, and a series of recommendations made including that a cost-benefit analysis be conducted, and that the Department of Social Service should fully utilise all available data to measure performance, instead of the limited data set used in the evaluation commissioned by the department. It

10918-503: Was proposed to trial the cashless welfare card in Tennant Creek with the indigenous community. As part of the 2019-20 Federal Budget, the Government announced a further extension and expansion of the Cashless Welfare Card to 30 June 2021. This includes the transition of approximately 22,500 Income Management participants in the Northern Territory and Cape York to the Cashless Welfare Card from April 2020. On 5 April 2019, legislation

11024-414: Was shown later to be a Wide Bay regional figure misrepresented in media by LNP federal member Keith Pitt and not specific to Hinkler electorate. It was highlighted by MP Llew O'Brien , the representative for the neighbouring Wide Bay electorate that similar reductions in welfare dependency had been recorded in his electorate in the same period, though again, no data has been found to support this statement in

11130-479: Was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Australia , upon the retirement of Susan Kiefel . On the same day, Robert Beech-Jones was sworn in as a High Court justice, replacing Justice Gageler. Their appointments ended the brief female majority on the court. On 30 September 2022, the government announced that it had nominated former Defence Minister Stephen Smith as the next High Commissioner of Australia to

11236-480: Was widely reported that there were fundamental flaws in the Cashless Welfare Card evaluation and justification for continued operation, but the Minister for Social Services , Dan Tehan indicated that the trials would continue, stating that "The cashless debit card is making a real difference in the communities where it operates". This response is in stark contrast with one of the four community leaders who supported

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