POLITICS & POLICY

The Australian government has doubled the number of urban search and rescue specialists being deployed to New Zealand to help with the Christchurch earthquake disaster.

Australia's latest Bureau of Statistics report on wages showed workers in private companies have had pay increases in the last two quarters.

As the continuing violence in Libya surmounts and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi would not step down, Europe has begun to evacuate citizens still stranded in the country.

An Australian is one of the confirmed 75 persons who perished in the devastating earthquake that rocked Christchurch, New Zealand yesterday.

The federal government is getting ready to evacuate some 80 Australians from Libya as the heightened violence could not be quelled by any peaceful means.

Is the US economy really on the rise? Are American consumers becoming more gung-hoed and spending on lattes and other luxuries given up during the downturn?

Vix Technology, which manages the technology for metcard and numerous international transport ticketing systems, has offered the Victorian government a replacement for myki that will not cost taxpayers or government an extra cent.

This is the TRANSCRIPT OF JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE of Hon. Kevin Rudd MP, The Australian Minister For Foreign Affairs and The Austrian Foreign Minister held in SYDNEY last 19 FEBRUARY 2011.

Trade unions and the federal government have opposing stands over suggested reforms to Australia's apprenticeship system.

Celebrity coupl David and Victoria Beckham are among the first few stars invited in the upcoming Royal Wedding at Abbey Westminster and will be attending the lunchtime buffet to be hosted by the Queen.

Australian businesses and households are urged to prepare for escalating electricity and gas prices beginning next year as the country struggles for environmental concerns.

The former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson has remained left out of the list of the prominent guests in the much awaited Royal Wedding in April. The spokesman reiterated that the former Duchess will not attend the ceremony at Westminster Abbey since she will be going to another country

US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton has taken personal interest on the case of CBS News Reader, Lara Logan and has called on Egypt to go after attackers.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has an opportunity to help stop the price of basic foods surging further out of the reach of the world’s poor who are also still reeling from the Global Financial Crisis, Oxfam Australia said ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting that starts in Paris today.

Australians excluded from mainstream banks and services will be assisted to access fair and appropriate financial products, including loans, under a $6.27 million Australian government pilot launched overnight.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has revealed three MPs as new members and promised a "serious shake up" of her government.

The Australian Parliament is implored to veer away from its "populist approach on economic and other business policies especially on taxation that have been discouraging to both local businesses and foreign investors alike.

Australian consumers must brace for higher commodity prices as the extensive damage of the torrential rains and storms would impact on the domestic food supply in the coming months.

Pursuant to its aim of delivering wireless services to parts of Australia yet to be reached by fibre-optics network, the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) inked a million-dollar deal with satellite television provider Austar.

Acting Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and the Minister Assisting the Attorney-General on Queensland Floods Recovery, Joe Ludwig, have announced further measures to assist communities and businesses devastated by Cyclone Yasi.

Australia and New Zealand have reached a historic agreement yesterday with the signing of a new protocol that will strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

The federal government's plan to ban exit fees, although designed to help consumers, will have the opposite effect as it stifles bank competition, according to the mortgage and finance industry in Australia.

Vodafone has been cleared by the Privacy Commissioner of accusations that the company had permitted the data leakage of its four million subscribers but it was ruled that the telco failed to institute appropriate safeguards that would shield its clients’ information from the public eye.

The ripples spawned by the $10 billion profit achieved by BHP Billiton for only a half-year operation reached and thrilled the South Australian government, host of the resource giant’s Olympics dam expansion plan in the outback part of the state.

The United States has expressed concern about recent violence in Bahrain, where thousands of protesters are calling for democratic change similar to the process taking place in Egypt.

Two people were killed and several wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces in central Tehran, officials said.

The successive record profits posted by giant mining firms BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd should further sway the government to pursue its proposed mineral resources rent tax despite the numerous recalibrations that it has undergone.

The first national strategy to provide a long term road map for improving the lives of Australians with disability, their families and carers has been endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

The federal government is happy to see that major Australian banks are starting to actually compete with each other by bringing on to the table service offerings that intend to lure more customers and in the process deliver considerable benefits to their banking clients.