News live: Australia and UK to sign 50-year Aukus treaty; Wong ‘deeply concerned’ by Thailand-Cambodia tensions | Australia news
UK and Australia to ink new 50-year Aukus treaty
The UK will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia in a move meant to deepen the Aukus pact, despite concerns over US involvement in the deal, British news agency PA reports.
The treaty will be inked as the foreign minister, Penny Wong, and defence minister, Richard Marles, host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney beginning today for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings. Healey said in a statement:
This historic treaty confirms our Aukus commitment for the next half century.
While the Aukus nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America’s future participation. Marles and Wong released a joint statement saying Australia and the UK would ink the treaty to make the world a safer place:
We take the world as it is – but together, we are working to shape it for the better.
Marles shared a photo welcoming Healey before the Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier this morning:
Welcome to Australia @JohnHealey_MP 🇦🇺🇬🇧
Excited to host the UK Secretary of State for Defence for the next few days as we discuss our countries’ close defence relationship. pic.twitter.com/sAaeg8Kw9Y
— Richard Marles (@RichardMarlesMP) July 24, 2025
Key events
No Australians affected by Thailand-Cambodia dispute so far
Another update for anyone travelling in or considering travel to Cambodia or Thailand.
Dfat is urging Australians in the region to subscribe to Smartraveller for updates amid increased tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border, pointing to shelling of civilian areas. The department has also advised travellers to monitor local media reports and to follow the advice of local authorities, warning the situation could change quickly.
The Australian government is not aware of any Australians impacted in the region by the tensions so far, but said anyone needing emergency consular assistance should contact the government’s 24-hour consular emergency centre.
UK and Australia to ink new 50-year Aukus treaty
The UK will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia in a move meant to deepen the Aukus pact, despite concerns over US involvement in the deal, British news agency PA reports.
The treaty will be inked as the foreign minister, Penny Wong, and defence minister, Richard Marles, host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney beginning today for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings. Healey said in a statement:
This historic treaty confirms our Aukus commitment for the next half century.
While the Aukus nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America’s future participation. Marles and Wong released a joint statement saying Australia and the UK would ink the treaty to make the world a safer place:
We take the world as it is – but together, we are working to shape it for the better.
Marles shared a photo welcoming Healey before the Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier this morning:
Welcome to Australia @JohnHealey_MP 🇦🇺🇬🇧
Excited to host the UK Secretary of State for Defence for the next few days as we discuss our countries’ close defence relationship. pic.twitter.com/sAaeg8Kw9Y
— Richard Marles (@RichardMarlesMP) July 24, 2025
Patrick Commins
Raise jobseeker to 90% of age pension and pay for it by curbing super tax concessions, Vinnies says
A welfare reform package that includes raising jobseeker to 90% of the age pension would lift 590,000 Australians out of poverty, with the $11bn price tag paid for by curbing super tax concessions in a way that still leaves the vast majority of savers better off.
A new Australian National University paper for the St Vincent de Paul Society, titled A Fairer Tax and Welfare System for Australia, examines a range of options that “are targeted to benefit persons who have the greatest financial need and would be paid for by those most able to accommodate a modest additional contribution”.
In addition to the rise in the main unemployment benefit, the “major” reform package also includes increases to commonwealth rent assistance and payments to families and single parents.
With an estimated one in 10 Australians, or nearly 3 million people, living in households experiencing poverty, the charitable organisation’s report highlights the urgent need to make the country more equitable as well as more efficient.
Read more here:
Josh Butler
US trade representative hails end of Australian beef import restrictions
The United States trade representative has praised the end of Australian restrictions on American beef, calling them “unjustified barriers”. The federal government announced yesterday it would allow imports into Australia of meat processed in the US but grown in Mexico and Canada.
“For decades, Australia imposed unjustified barriers on U.S. beef, effectively barring U.S. market access,” the US trade rep, Jamieson Greer, wrote on X this morning. Greer added:
Thanks to @POTUS’ leadership, Australia is opening its market to U.S. fresh and frozen beef, scoring a major win for U.S. ranchers.
In a separate post, the USTR called it “a major milestone for the U.S.-Australia trade relationship” and “a historic win for U.S. ranchers”.
Today, Ambassador Jamieson Greer and @SecRollins issued statements following the Australian Government’s decision to open its market to U.S. fresh and frozen beef.
This decision marks a major milestone for the U.S.-Australia trade relationship and secures a historic win for U.S.… pic.twitter.com/o2FKgbY0Qm
— United States Trade Representative (@USTradeRep) July 24, 2025
Wong urges de-escalation after fighting along Thai-Cambodian border, warns travellers
Josh Butler
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says the federal government is alarmed by the conflict along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, urging de-escalation from both sides. The federal government is also urging caution for Australians travelling to both countries. She said on X this morning:
Australia is deeply concerned by escalating tensions across the Thai-Cambodian border, including reports of injuries and loss of life. We urge both sides to de-escalate and resolve border issues peacefully.
We have upgraded our travel advice for Australians to reconsider their need to travel to border areas of Cambodia and Thailand.
The Smartraveller website, regarding Thailand, says the Australian authorities “continue to advise exercise a high degree of caution overall. We now advise reconsider your need to travel to the border areas of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani provinces near the Cambodia border due to armed conflict in the area.”
Armed conflict between Thai and Cambodian forces along the Thai-Cambodian border has increased. This includes reports of military strikes, violence and landmines in the border areas of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani provinces. There are reports of casualties.
Follow the advice of local authorities, monitor local media for updates and pay close attention to your personal security. Border crossing points along the Thai-Cambodian border continue to be closed at short notice.
For Cambodia, it is a similar story, but authorities “continue to advise exercise normal safety precautions overall. We now advise reconsider your need to travel to the border areas of the northern and north-western provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey due to armed conflict in the area”.
Spender says Labor has opened door to tax reform, and you’ve got to keep the ‘momentum’
Spender was asked about the need for a separate, mini-roundtable before Chalmers’ own. She said the government’s push to open the door on tax changes had spread throughout Canberra, including to the opposition, and she felt the need to keep the “momentum” up. She told RN Breakfast:
The government has more broadly opened the door finally to tax reform. You’re starting to hear, you know, the opposition starting to engage a little bit in this area. And I think that you’ve got to keep the momentum up.
This is something that, when I look back at history, you look at the Hawke-Keating reforms, you look at the Howard-Costello reforms, and I think most Australians would say those reforms were difficult, but they set the country up for the long term.
Allegra Spender to hold tax reform roundtable today
Independent MP Allegra Spender will hold what’s being referred to as a tax reform roundtable today. She told RN Breakfast this morning reforming the tax system would help Australia “solve some of its biggest problems” like sluggish productivity and the cost of living crisis affecting young people, as well as fund the climate transition.
The goal for this roundtable is to both contribute to the treasurer’s economic roundtable, contribute to a broader push for broader tax reform, and also bring the community on board …
I think we do have an opportunity in this term of parliament and into the next election to potentially make the sort of significant reforms that can set up our community for the next decades to come.
Spender said she still has issues with treasurer Jim Chalmers’ plan to tax superannuation balances above $3m. While it will probably pass in parliament, she says she will still appeal to Chalmers to make changes to better address her concerns surrounding unrealized gains.
Dfat providing consular assistance to family of man who died in Thailand
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) is providing assistance to the family of a man found dead in a Thai hotel room earlier this week, one day before he was due to fly home to Australia.
The 21-year-old was found by housekeeping staff on the holiday island of Phuket on Wednesday, lying on his bed with his phone on his chest. There were no signs of assault or theft in the room, but police said he was still on a phone call with someone.
There were no drugs or alcohol at the scene aside from over-the-counter painkillers as the man had been in a motorcycle accident and injured his elbow the day before his death. A Dfat spokesperson said:
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Thailand. Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.
Read more here:
Luca Ittimani
Calls come as government prepares for economic roundtable
Calls for tax changes have mounted ahead of the Albanese government’s economic reform roundtable, now less than a month away. The government’s Productivity Commission is also considering options for corporate tax reform as part of a broader inquiry to report later this year.
The proposed levy would raise between $2.14bn and $12.84bn annually, depending on the size of the levy and discounts, the AAS estimated. That revenue could then be invested via a new branch of the government’s Future Fund, the returns of which could be invested in research.
The academy has suggested two options for the levy – 0.25% of company revenue, or 0.5%. It hasn’t prescribed a spending threshold at which firms should be allowed to start claiming the discount, instead indicating firms that already spend enough on R&D to claim an existing tax offset should be eligible.
Scientists call for research-boosting tax hike
Luca Ittimani
Businesses making more than $100m in annual revenue should face a tax hike unless they put aside money for research and development, the Australian Academy of Science has said.
The academy has proposed a new levy on business revenue that would be halved or removed if they spend enough on R&D, in a bid to boost research.
Firms with significant R&D expenditure, such as tech giant Atlassian and medical company CSL, would avoid part or all of the levy, according to the Academy’s analysis of ATO data. Firms that spend next to nothing on research, potentially including miner Fortescue and retailer Wesfarmers, could be whacked with the full levy.
Australia’s research spend is proportionally low and declining, at just 1.66% equivalent of its gross domestic product, well below the OECD average of 2.7% of GDP spent on R&D, OECD stats show.
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take over for Martin Farrer. Let’s get into the news.
Patrick Commins
Commission says reforms across a range of areas required to sustainably lift growth
Danielle Wood, the Productivity Commission’s chair, said productivity over the past decade grew at less than a quarter of its 60-year average. She said:
Australia should be a place where children born today can expect to live better and more prosperous lives than the generations who have come before them. Productivity growth is essential to fulfilling that promise.
If we could boost growth from its current level to its historic average, adult Australian full-time workers would be at least $14,000 a year better off by 2035.
No single policy change will guarantee our prosperity – we need to make smart reforms across a range of areas to drive sustainable productivity growth.
In response to the PC’s scene-setting paper, Jim Chalmers said there was “no quick fix” to the productivity challenge.
The best way to strengthen our economy and make it more productive is to work through the issues in a methodical and considered way in collaboration with business, unions and the broader community.
Productivity Commission identifies five key areas to boost economy
Patrick Commins
The Productivity Commission has issued a call to arms ahead of next month’s economic reform roundtable, saying that finding a way to lift national productivity is “essential to fulfilling” the promise that each generation will be better off than the last.
The PC is preparing to release five interim reports from separate inquiries that will present practical reforms to tackle key aspects of the national productivity challenge.
The first on 31 July will look at how to create a “more dynamic and resilient economy”, and include options for tax changes to drive more investment.
That will be followed by reports on the clean energy transition, the digital economy, skills and training, and the care economy.
Top public schools add hundreds of thousands of dollars to house prices, research suggests
Families are paying up to $1.3m more to live in top public school catchments in major cities, Australian Associated Press reports.
Analysis from property platform Cotality shows buyers are willing to pay significantly more to access high-performing schools, even though comparable homes just outside the catchment often deliver better capital gains.
The research compared nine school catchment clusters across Sydney and Melbourne.
“In some of the most in-demand school zones, families are paying hundreds of thousands and in one case more than a million dollars, more for a house compared to similar houses outside the boundary,” Cotality’s head of research, Eliza Owen, said.
The largest price gap was in Sydney’s North Shore, where homes in the combined catchments of Killara high, Willoughby Girls and Lindfield learning village held a median value almost $1.3m more than homes nearby but outside the catchment.
Despite this, houses in the catchment recorded lower long-term growth of 126.0% over the past 15 years, compared to 150.3% in neighbouring markets.
In Melbourne, the premium for homes in the catchments of Princes Hill and University high school reached $357,000, though capital growth was weaker than in surrounding suburbs.
Owen emphasised the premiums in some school catchment zones could also reflect other factors such as proximity to train stations, or the high incomes of those living within the area.
Aukmin meeting to occur today
Penny Wong and Richard Marles will today welcome their British counterparts – the foreign secretary, David Lammy, and defence minister, John Healey – for the latest round of talks between ministers from the two countries.
Known as Australia-United Kingdom ministerial consultations (Aukmin), the talks will take place in Sydney and will focus on diplomatic and defence cooperation to address challenges such as policy in the Indo-Pacific.
On Sunday, Marles and Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to see this cooperation firsthand, with the deployment of a United Kingdom carrier strike group to Australia as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
Marles, the defence minister and deputy prime minister, said:
The United Kingdom is a critical partner for Australia. We continue to work closely together, including through the Aukus partnership, to address shared strategic challenges in an increasingly complex and uncertain world.
We are seeing a very real example of how this works, with the first visit by a United Kingdom carrier strike group to Australia since 1997.
I look forward to discussions in the coming days to advance our enduring relationship.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before Nick Visser takes up the reins.
The Productivity Commission has identified five key areas where action can be taken to improve productivity as it prepares for Jim Chalmers’ much-vaunted summit next month. In the coming days, the PC will release reports on creating a “more dynamic and resilient economy”, and include options for tax changes to drive more investment. The other areas will be the clean energy transition, the digital economy, skills and training, and the care economy. More coming up.
Penny Wong and Richard Marles will be in Sydney this morning to welcome their British counterparts – the foreign secretary, David Lammy, and defence minister, John Healey – for the latest round of talks between ministers from the two countries. The so-called Aukmin talks will focus on defence and diplomatic cooperation. More coming up.
Plus, new data puts some numbers on the postcode premium – how much a sought-after school adds to house prices nearby. But there’s also a surprise: it may be a good investment in the kids, but not so much in the property. More on that soon too.
