Politics

A woman with a burning pram sits outside Parliament House in Canberra, during an Extinction Rebellion climate protest on Aug. 10.
Climate Change

Australia balks at net zero as climate turns up heat on Morrison

Critics say pressure to act will only build as issue hurts Canberra's global image

13 August 2021
Scott Morrison's problem is the lack of a Plan B.
Opinion

Australia's COVID-19 about-face is a warning for everyone

Scott Morrison should channel the Hawke-Keating era to get creative about reform

2 August 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media at Papeete's harbor on July 27.
International relations

Macron declares 'debt' to French Polynesia over nuclear testing

President stops short of apology on Pacific 'Tour de France' with eye on China

28 July 2021
Fiame Naomi Mata'afa took office in the country's first transition of power in 23 years.
Politics

Samoa's first female PM to review costly China-backed projects

Fiame takes office after months of constitutional crisis

28 July 2021
Who will be the next Olympic legend? (Nikkei montage/Reuters/USA Today)
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Star athletes to watch at Tokyo Olympics

The lowdown on the players to keep an eye on at this year's Games

24 July 2021
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cited health risks to citizens in shutting down the travel bubble with Australia.
Transportation

New Zealand suspends travel bubble with Australia over delta wave

Eight-week pause in effect after three Aussie states impose lockdowns

24 July 2021
The Southbank forecourt is a potential venue for archery at the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. 
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Brisbane selected as host of 2032 Summer Olympics

City made sole bid for the event and will host Australia's third Games

21 July 2021
Samoa's capital, Apia: Telecom Digicel Pacific holds a majority market share in the Pacific island nation.
Telecommunication

Australian alliance eyes bid for Pacific telecom to block China

Jamaica-based Digicel's unit reportedly sought by China Mobile

20 July 2021
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan tells Nikkei Asia about how Canberra is navigating its tariff and other disputes with China on July 17. (Photo by Yasunori Okamura)
Interview

Australia wants China talks but will be 'patient': trade minister

'Team approach' with industry mitigates Beijing tensions as Quad ties deepen

18 July 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's poll numbers are slipping as the country grapples with slow vaccinations and renewed lockdowns.
Coronavirus

Australia COVID vaccine woes weaken Morrison's political immunity

With Sydney in lockdown, CEOs seethe and polls shift ahead of 2022 election

16 July 2021
Farmworkers prune Merlot vines on a farm near Griffith, Australia: they talk of piece rates that can sometimes yield as little as 3.00 Australian dollars an hour.
Opinion

Australia's shameful attempt to squeeze Southeast Asian workers dry

New ASEAN visa scheme will exacerbate exploitative conditions on farms

16 July 2021
Australian Army soldiers aboard a light armored vehicle disembark from a landing craft during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Pacific Fleet)
Indo-Pacific

11 nations participate in massive US-Australian military drills

China sends intelligence-gathering ship to nearby waters as Talisman Saber begins

16 July 2021
Protesters rally against Myanmar's coup outside Australia's Parliament House in February. While Western allies have imposed fresh sanctions on top junta officials, Canberra has held off. 
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar rights advocates blast Australian inertia on sanctions

'It's crazy,' top lawyer says as Canberra resists calls to punish Min Aung Hlaing

2 July 2021
Xi Jinping's comments to the Politburo were not a signal for his cadres to back down.
Opinion

Australia gives a lesson in how to defang China's wolves

International public opinion is moving decisively against Beijing

1 July 2021
The University of Sydney campus: Human Rights Watch warns the Chinese government is encroaching on academic freedom in Australia.
International relations

China's long arm squeezes Australia academic freedom: rights group

Human Rights Watch says students face harassment, fear being reported to Beijing

30 June 2021
A Chinese submarine off Qingdao: An Australian research body has called off a project with the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, amid security concerns.
International relations

China-Australia ties plumb new depths over subs, trade and coral

Cancellation of joint Antarctic research raises concerns about slippery slope

26 June 2021
Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison, pictured during the Australia-New Zealand Leaders Meeting in Queenstown on May 31: Prime Ministers of both countries gave a joint statement focusing on their unity of vision with a wider array of friends.
Opinion

Five Eyes must protect unrivaled intelligence-sharing network

Claims that the grouping is an Anglo-Saxon clique are fundamentally wrong

21 June 2021
Bottles of Australian wine are seen at a store in Beijing: Australia's diplomatic relations with China, its largest trading partner, have worsened since Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. 
Trade

Australia takes wine dispute with China to WTO

Canberra opposes Beijing's imposition of anti-dumping duties

19 June 2021
New South Wales, home to the University of Sydney, would bring in up to 250 international students every two weeks under a recently announced pilot program. (Photo by Fumi Matsumoto)
Education

Foreign student crisis spurs Australian states to reopen doors

Schools in study-abroad hub lose jobs and vital tuition revenue amid lockdown

18 June 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meeting one on one in Cornwall, England on June 13. (Photo courtesy of the Japanese Prime Minister's Office)
Indo-Pacific

Middle powers Japan and Australia lift relationship to new heights

Quasi-allies seek to augment US relationship, but also hedge against abandonment

16 June 2021
The parody of da Vinci's "The Last Supper" mocks members of the Group of Seven along with partners Australia and India.
International relations

'Last G-7': China revels in parody mocking US and allies

Viral cartoon shows bald eagle with money printer as host in satirical Last Supper

16 June 2021
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, and Akira Amari attend a meeting Tuesday of the Japan-Australia Diet Members League. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)
Politics

Abe and allies shape Indo-Pacific policy from shadow of parliament

Japan's 'three As,' including Deputy PM Aso and tax chief Amari, wield clout

12 June 2021
From right: Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Marise Payne meet virtually on Wednesday.
International relations

Taiwan features in Japan-Australia 2+2 statement

Partners tout defense cooperation, express concern over East and South China seas

10 June 2021
Escalators connect floors in Grand Central Terminal as part of the East Side Access, a train tunnel that will connect rail yards in Queens with Grand Central in New York. 
Belt and Road

Biden pushes Belt and Road rival 'Blue Dot' with Japan and Australia

Michelin star-like certification to cheer transparent and sustainable infrastructure

9 June 2021
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reviews the Brexit trade deal with the EU that he signed at number 10 Downing Street in London, on Dec. 30.
Trade

UK knocks on TPP door harder after EU exports fall 16%

Britain also nearing trade deals with India and Australia

4 June 2021