Oceania

Qantas Airways last updated its dress regulations about 10 years ago. Seen here are uniforms that were unveiled in 2016.
Transportation

Qantas goes gender-neutral with dress code to aid hiring spree

Aussie carrier lets women jettison heels; Air New Zealand plans new uniforms

22 June 2023
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has suffered a major setback after his centerpiece policy to deal with one of the world's most unaffordable housing markets was put on the back burner. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Property

Australia's housing affordability crisis shakes Albanese government

With election on horizon, many in country struggling to buy homes or pay rent

21 June 2023
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. says one of the biggest threats to his country is rising sea levels caused by climate change (Photo by Kohei Fujimura) 
Interview

Palau leader calls on U.S. for help over Chinese ships in its waters

Pacific island nation's president says he won't cut Taiwan ties despite tensions

15 June 2023
CP Foods expects to ship 500 to 600 tons of cooked duck meat to Australia this year, adding 300 million to 400 million baht to its annual revenue. (Photo by Francesca Regalado) 
Food & Beverage

Australia opens cooked duck market to Thailand's CP Foods

Agribusiness giant flags 30% cost increase, potential drought impact

14 June 2023
NATO headquarters in Brussels. The alliance is deepening partnerships with the AP4 nations of the Indo-Pacific.
Indo-Pacific

NATO to upgrade ties with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea

Together with Japan, four nations will have tailored partnership programs

13 June 2023
Trilateral coast guard exercises between Japan, the Philippines and the U.S. in June: Countries with shared interests should coordinate for efficient capacity building.
Opinion

Southeast Asia's partners must coordinate maritime security support

Programs are boosting regional capacity, but overlap distracts from missions

13 June 2023
Australia is aiming to lure tech sector skills with a proposed immigration policy review. © AAP
Politics

Australia to overhaul immigration policy, joining race for talent

As migrant nation tries to lure highly skilled professionals, SMEs grow worried

12 June 2023
Andrew Yates, CEO of KPMG Australia, testifies in Canberra on June 7 at a Senate hearing related to the PwC tax scandal. (AAP)
Opinion

Australia is finally waking up to the 'Big Con'

Hearings on PwC's leakage of tax plans have uncovered shocking web of conflicts

11 June 2023
Indonesian Heavy equipment and mining company United Tractors says a minority stake purchase in Australia's Nickel Industries, a major global producer of nickel pig iron, is part of its diversification. (Screenshot from United Tractors and Nickel Industries websites)
Commodities

Indonesia's United Tractors to buy $633m stake in Australian miner

Top conglomerate Astra International seeks entry into EV battery materials

9 June 2023
Royal Australian Navy replenishment vessel HMAS Starwart and submarine tender USS Frank Cable are moored at HMAS Stirling Navy Base in Perth. The Australian base is expected to become a key maintenance hub under the AUKUS pact.
Indo-Pacific

Quad needs more muscle to live up to potential: think tank

Share ports and shipyards for refueling, rearming and repairs, USSC says

7 June 2023
True reform requires governments taking full responsibility for monetary and fiscal policy as well as bank regulation. Central banks should assume an instrumental role.  
Opinion

Australia's central bank review missed its mark

Real RBA reform is needed, beginning with a rethink of its independence

5 June 2023
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, shakes hands with Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on June 4. (Photo by Yuji Nitta)
International relations

Australia and Vietnam solidify ties with Albanese visit

Leaders look forward to upgrading bilateral relationship 'as soon as possible'

5 June 2023
Fijian Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua speaks to Nikkei Asia in Singapore on June 4. (Photo by Rurika Imahashi)
International relations

Fiji minister says terminating police pact with China 'possible'

New government still reviewing deal, wants to talk to Beijing about future ties

4 June 2023
The defense chiefs from Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the U.S. met on the sidelines of the conference. (Photo by Ryo Nakamura)
Indo-Pacific

Philippines to step up ties with U.S.-Japan-Australia coalition

New defense arrangement includes cooperation in South China Sea

3 June 2023
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gives the keynote address for the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Indo-Pacific

No U.S.-China talks risks 'devastating' outcomes: Australian PM

Albanese calls for dialogue between the two powers in Shangri-La keynote address

2 June 2023
New Zealand Defense Minister Andrew Little tells Nikkei his country has an interest in eventually cooperating with the U.S., U.K. and Australia in technologies that might lead to breaking encryptions. (Photo by Rurika Imahashi)
Indo-Pacific

New Zealand interested in AUKUS cooperation in non-nuclear tech

Defense chief says country eyeing cybersecurity, AI, quantum computing

2 June 2023
State-owned Bank of China has applied for a commercial operating license in Papua New Guinea, pledging to play a role in revitalizing the economy.
Indo-Pacific

Bank of China chairman visits PNG amid Sino-U.S. rivalry

Trip follows island nation's defense pact with Washington

2 June 2023
Poker machines glimmer at a pub in Sydney. With the exceptions of Las Vegas in the U.S. and China's special administrative territory of Macao, no other place offers Australia's array of gambling options.
Life

Australia's gambling addiction extends far beyond high rollers

Poker machines pull in piles of cash for pubs and clubs

1 June 2023
A New Zealand soldier guards a convoy of trucks in the Solomon Islands in April 2006.
29 May 2023
People load shopping into a car in New Zealand. The nation's central bank has remained singularly focused on curbing inflation, lifting rates by 525 basis points since October 2021.
Economy

New Zealand central bank ups rates to 14-yr high, signals hikes done

RBNZ raises interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.5%

24 May 2023
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, is greeted by Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape, left, late on May 21.
International relations

Modi extends 'Global South' outreach to Pacific islands after G-7

Indian PM 'forcefully' made developing world's case at rich nations' summit

22 May 2023
Australia's foreign policy moved from a "pragmatic" position of not choosing sides to effectively going all-in with the American view that China is a threat.
Opinion

Australia's defense review can't take the place of security strategy

Potential impact of ambitious arms programs undefined

22 May 2023
Leaders from the second summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation pose for a "family photo" in Jaipur, India, in August 2015. (Photo by NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Your Week in Asia

India-Pacific summit, Russian PM to China, Future of Asia event

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

21 May 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a Quad meeting on the sidelines of the G-7 summit on May 20.
G-7 in Japan

Quad agrees to bolster submarine cables in 47-minute summit

4 leaders squeeze in meeting between G-7 sessions and dinner on Saturday

21 May 2023
Australia's flagship carrier will increase flights to Japan to 28 a week starting Nov. 26.
Transportation

Qantas to double Japan flights in bet on global travel rebound

Australian carrier's Japanese service set to surpass pre-pandemic levels

20 May 2023