- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
Australia PM unveils plan to overhaul economy, invest in green energy
Mining superpower Australia will on Thursday announce a US-style scheme to pour public money into manufacturing and clean energy industries, joining the global race to build a cleaner and more resilient economy.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will unveil the "Future Made in Australia Act" to help compete with global partners who are providing massive subsidies to new industries, according to an advance copy of his speech.
The act, to be passed this year, would mark a departure from Australia's decades-old free market policies on trade and investment.
"We need to be willing to break with old orthodoxies and pull new levers to advance the national interest," the centre-left Labor Party prime minister will say.
Though no figures are given, the taxpayer-funded incentive scheme aims to compete with other nations' efforts, such as US President Joe Biden's massive investments through the US Inflation Reduction Act.
Other trading partners, including China, the European Union, Canada and Japan have also invested in their industrial base and manufacturing capabilities.
"Australia can't afford to sit on the sidelines. Being in the race does not guarantee our success – but sitting it out guarantees failure," Albanese will say, according to the advance copy of his speech.
Albanese will describe the climatic and economic changes underway as "every bit as significant as the industrial revolution or the information revolution – and more rapid and wide-ranging than both".
"We have to think differently about what government can -- and must -- do to work alongside the private sector to grow the economy, boost productivity, improve competition and secure our future prosperity."
Albanese will deliver the speech in the northeast state of Queensland, a key electoral battleground and the heartland of the country's gas and coal industries.
- 'Sharper elbows' -
Australia could not match the United States' investment dollar for dollar, he will say, but the country would be able to compete for international investment.
A world-leading exporter of minerals such as iron ore and coal, resource-rich Australia will not just play to its "traditional strengths", he said, but also offer new products and services to new markets.
"We need this change in thinking and approach because the global economic circumstances are changing in ways far more profound than the consequences of the pandemic or conflict alone," Albanese will say.
"We need sharper elbows when it comes to marking out our national interest."
The act would boost investment in Australia's renewable energy resources, including battery production, like green hydrogen, green metals, create more jobs and ensure a competitive economy, he will say.
Tim Buckley, director of independent public interest think tank Climate Energy Finance, said the act would lay the foundations to make Australia a zero-emissions trade and investment leader and global clean energy "superpower".
About 27 percent of the Australian economic output came from exports to international partners and this new act would have flow-on effects and help them decarbonise as well, Buckley told AFP.
"State intervention is the new competition. We can't afford to 'sit it out'. The Future Made In Australia Act puts Australia into the global race. It is the investment signal and de-risking private capital needs," he said.
But he said greater details were needed to ensure that local, state and federal governments worked together on ensuring the act was rolled out smoothly.
F.Schneider--AMWN