Oceania

Australian states' individual responses to COVID-19 have shown they "have a lot more power than we probably realized," one expert told Nikkei Asia.
Coronavirus

One nation or 8? COVID fuels Australian power shift toward states

Temporary internal border closures seen affecting country's identity after pandemic

30 October 2021
Melbourne architect Jan van Schaik points at Lost Tablet Alta, a sculpture made from used Lego bricks. "Maybe someone could make one, but find someone who would make 81 of them," says van Schaik. (Photo by Steve Cook)
Arts

Melbourne architect turns old Lego into new art

Small monuments of meaning selling for $3,200 each

28 October 2021
AUKUS will supply Australia with nuclear submarine technology from the U.S. and U.K. -- an arrangement that does not sit well with some ASEAN governments.
International relations

AUKUS roils ASEAN waters ahead of East Asia Summit

Washington, Canberra, Beijing to join virtual meeting Wednesday evening

27 October 2021
The inquiry report cited the potential risk to Victoria's economy from removing Crown as the operator of the Crown Melbourne, Australia's largest casino.
Travel & Leisure

Australia's Crown Resorts to keep control of flagship casino

State to install overseer due to 'illegal, dishonest and unethical' conduct

26 October 2021
ASEAN was not built to manage major-power competition, and it is unreasonable to expect it to do so.
Opinion

Can ASEAN coexist with the Quad?

Washington needs to start paying more attention to Indonesia

26 October 2021
With China building its influence in the region, Telstra said the Australian government approached it to help it buy the business.
Business deals

Telstra to buy Digicel Pacific for $1.6bn to block China influence

Australian government will front $1.33bn to back the deal

25 October 2021
Indonesian President Joko Widodo talks with locals during a visit to inspect a door-to-door mass vaccination program against COVID-19 in North Kalimantan province on October 19. Many Asia Pacific countries including Indonesia have struggled to reach minimal vaccination targets.
Opinion

Asia Pacific must fix its broken vaccine system

Prevailing zero-sum mentality and parochialism need to be overcome

25 October 2021
An Oil Search facility in Papua New Guinea: Santos expects to unlock $115 million in annual synergies from the companies' merger. (Photo courtesy of Oil Search)
Energy

Decarbonization fuels M&A push in Australia's energy sector

Leading players streamline oil and gas assets with eye on green transition

24 October 2021
China reported 28 new domestically transmitted cases for Thursday and while the numbers are tiny compared to elsewhere in the world, national guidelines of zero tolerance mean outbreaks are quickly contained.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Oct. 17 to Oct. 23, Parts of China toughen curbs

Qantas to step up international flights; India's Modi says economy boosted by 1bn vaccinations

23 October 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden hosts a summit with fellow Quad leaders -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and then-Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga -- at the White House last month.
Opinion

How to make the Quad truly quadrilateral

Japan, India and Australia must learn to share technology with each other

22 October 2021
AusNet Services owns and operates the electricity transmission network and gas and power distribution assets in Victoria, Australia's second-most-populous state. (Source photos by Getty Images and screenshot from AusNet Services' website) 
Business Spotlight

Australia's foreign ownership rules face first test in $7bn battle for AusNet

Electricity network has attracted Canadian interest -- and there's a China twist

22 October 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, center, U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, announce the AUKUS pact in Canberra on Sept. 16.
Comment

AUKUS pact delivers blow to nuclear nonproliferation regime

Submarine deal provides Iran excuse to pursue illicit weapons program

21 October 2021
An iron ore mine in Western Australia: Coronavirus restrictions kept miners from traveling into the state to work at BHP Group and Rio Tinto sites. (Photo by Jennifer Walpole)
Commodities

Australia iron ore output dips as COVID restrictions crimp labor

BHP and Rio Tinto struggle with lack of workers in mines and transport

20 October 2021
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian announces her resignation in Sydney on Oct. 1. She is now the subject of an inquiry into alleged corruption, though she denies any wrongdoing.
Politics

Australia corruption in focus as Gladys Berejiklian inquiry opens

Former NSW premier denies wrongdoing while country slips in global 'clean' ranks

18 October 2021
Australia-China relations have rapidly worsened since last year, but analysts say Canberra and its economy are weathering the storm. 
International relations

'Lucky' Australia seen weathering impact of China tensions for now

Analysts say commodities trends and security alliances work in Canberra's favor

17 October 2021
As countries like Thailand increasingly rely on vaccine cocktails to inoculate their populations, the U.S. CDC says it will open its borders to international travelers who have received mixed jabs.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Oct. 10 to Oct. 16, U.S. OKs overseas arrivals who mixed their vaccines

South Korea to ease gathering curbs; Toyota to cut global output 15% in November

16 October 2021
Rio Tinto's iron ore shipments were 83.4 million tonnes in July-September, up 2% from the same period last year, but a labor shortage is holding back production.
Commodities

Rio Tinto downgrades Australian iron ore shipment forecast

COVID-19 movement restrictions hamper development of mine projects

15 October 2021
Stream article image
Indo-Pacific

U.S. carrier hosts 12 senior Indian officers at Malabar 'Quad' drill

Japan and Australia join for anti-submarine warfare drills in Bay of Bengal

15 October 2021
Rio Tinto's new method uses agricultural byproducts like wheat straw instead of coking coal, reducing net carbon emissions tied to steelmaking.
Climate Change

Rio Tinto tests biomass as coal alternative for lower steel emissions

Mining company 'encouraged' by results of trials with agricultural byproducts

15 October 2021
Joe Biden delivers remarks about a national security initiative joined virtually by Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson on Sept. 15: AUKUS is not the brainchild of a Cold War mentality.
Opinion

AUKUS and the dawn of realpolitik minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific

New pact signals a decisive shift of focus in action and priorities

13 October 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron, second from left, and then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, third from left, pose aboard the HMAS Waller in Sydney in May 2018. 
Aerospace & Defense Industries

Australia's AUKUS submarine deal strikes blow to arms contractors

Small firms in scuttled contracts for French-made vessels face stormy future

11 October 2021
Attack submarine USS Tucson is underway during an exercise: the type of design Canberra will choose will likely mirror the U.S. Los Angeles-class boats.
Opinion

Australia's nuclear submarine deal is a serious worry for China

Decision to partner with U.S. and U.K. will have major knock-on effects

9 October 2021
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks next to Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen during their meeting in Taipei on Thursday.
International relations

Ex-Australia PM Abbott in Taiwan calls for end of island's isolation

French senators also visit Taipei as China turns up military heat on island

7 October 2021
U.S. Navy's Virginia-class nuclear submarine, one of the candidates for Canberra to choose: the dynamic in which security competition dominates great power competition is difficult to stop.
Opinion

Militarizing U.S.-China competition is fraught with danger

Security imperatives usually overwhelm all else, including economic interdependence

6 October 2021
Then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, fourth left, French President France Emmanuel Macron, second left, stand on the submarine HMAS Waller in Sydney in May 2018. 
Tea Leaves

Reflections on the French connection down under

Submarine debacle takes Australia-France relations into troubled waters, despite cultural and historical ties

6 October 2021