Month: November 2025

Source: ACT Police

Last update: Thursday, 20 November 2025 8:17am

Original publication: Thursday, 20 November 2025 8:16am

Source: Australia Government Statements 2

As Australia marks 80 years of diplomatic relations with Chile, I was delighted to meet the Chilean Vice Minister for Trade, Claudia Sanhueza, together with Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality, Michelle O’Byrne.

United by the Pacific Ocean, our relationship with Chile is close and multifaceted. It is underpinned by growing two-way trade and investment, our complementary strengths as mining economies, Australia’s vibrant Chilean diaspora and our shared values and beliefs.

Today Vice Minister Sanhueza and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation on gender equality.

This demonstrates our shared commitment to international leadership to advance gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and the rights of all women and girls.

Together we’re working for a fairer, inclusive future where women and girls can thrive. 

Australia and Chile are both committed to an open, stable, and rules-based international system. We work closely together to uphold human rights, respond to climate change, protect our oceans, and support free and fair international trade.

Source: Australia Government Statements 2

Trudy McIntosh, Host: Joining me live now is the Assistant Foreign Minister and Trade Minister, Matt Thistlethwaite. Matt, you’re there in Melbourne for these trade talks we’re seeing at the moment. I want to get to that in a second, but your right of reply on this part time Minister tag that the Opposition’s keen to use for Chris Bowen for the next 12 months or so. Mount the case here. Why is it the best use of his time to be looking after COP on one hand, when we need him to lock in the renewables rollout, make sure that’s happening properly and get down power prices at home?

Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: G’day, Trudy. Chris Bowen, being the President of Negotiations for COP over the next 12 months will be good for Australia. It will mean that we will be able to deepen our engagement on renewable energy and climate change action, particularly with our neighbours in the Pacific who are facing an existential threat from climate change. But it will also mean we’ll have broader negotiations with particularly our region, the Asia Pacific and beyond. And that will mean that there will be opportunities for investment in renewable energy projects in Australia and for Australian companies abroad. So, it’s a good thing that Chris is taking on this role and it’ll be good for Australian businesses.

McIntosh: I want to get your assessment on how the Pacific neighbours view this decision. I know they wanted Australia and their own countries to be able to jointly host it. How will you explain to them the decision to walk away? On the one hand, you’ve also got Labor sources briefing the media that there’s essentially a bit of a sigh of relief internally that we’re not going to have to host the summit. How do you explain that to the Pacific countries?

Assistant Minister: Well, we’re disappointed and no doubt Pacific nations are disappointed as well. We hoped to be able to host COP in conjunction with our Pacific neighbours to demonstrate to the rest of the world the urgency of stronger action on climate change and boosting renewables for our region. And we wanted to do that in partnership with them. However, something is better than nothing and we’ve been able to negotiate something in Chris Bowen taking on this important role. He’s talking about a pre-COP in the Pacific so we can bring some of those northern hemisphere leaders to our region to see the urgency of climate change getting some attention for the Green Climate Fund, for the Pacific Resilience Fund, which is all about investing in infrastructure upgrades in greater resilience and capability within our region, the Pacific, to bolster those communities and protect them from the effects of climate change into the future.

McIntosh: Matt, you’re there at these talks alongside the Trade Minister, Don Farrell today. The CPTPP, it’s a mouthful of an acronym. Aren’t they always? What’s the latest update there on whether this trade bloc, a big one, could be expanded?

Assistant Minister: Yeah, we’ve had a pretty good outcome to the meeting today, Trudy, where we’ve agreed to deepen and broaden the CPTPP. Deepen it in terms of looking at other areas where we can expand the agreement to cover things like e-commerce, financial transactions, custom duties and of course broadening it. It’s a free trade agreement. It’s countries that come together, 12 nations that are devoted to free and fair trade within our region. The pleasing thing is that there’s other nations that want to join it. And today we’ve progressed Costa Rica becoming a member and we’re looking hopefully to concluding that by the end of the year. But we’ve also identified some other candidate nations for next year to look at joining as well. Firstly, Uruguay and then moving on to looking to the Philippines and Indonesia, two important partners within our region and the United Arab Emirates as well. So, deepening the CPTPP and broadening its appeal will mean greater free trade throughout the world.

McIntosh: You look on it, you know these efforts to expand the free trade, I note the use of the word free trade when our biggest ally, the United States, anything but at the moment with this sort of erratic on again, off again tariffs from Donald Trump, how do we square that?

Assistant Minister: Well, that’s why the CPTPP is so important. It’s a group of likeminded nations that have come together to basically reject the approach that has been taken by the United States and say that in our view putting tariffs on products from Australia and other nations into the United States isn’t the way to go. No one wins from tariffs, particularly American consumers. Unfortunately, they’re going to face higher prices for a number of their products and they’re starting to face that now. So, we believe that the best approach is to try and work together to reduce those barriers to trade. Now the United States has some legitimate concerns about the World Trade Organization and its inability through its rules to deal with some of the issues that have developed in the United States around competition in their industrial sector. They’re legitimate concerns and Australia recognises those. But we don’t believe that placing tariffs on imports is the way to go about it. We prefer to work through the WTO on rule changes to update those rules so that they can cater for and deal with those disputes, rather than imposing tariff barriers.

McIntosh: We’re seeing the Prime Minister at the G20 over the next few days. He’s got a meeting locked in with the EU President or EU Commission President, I believe. Are we on the verge of a breakthrough with this long stalled free trade agreement with the EU? Are you willing to put a timeline? Could we see it actually done and dusted next year?

Assistant Minister: Yeah, we’re getting much closer, Trudy. And Maroš Šefčovič, the EU Trade Commissioner, was here yesterday. He had meetings with Don Farrell to further progress the agreement and hopefully get towards Australia. EU Free trade agreement. And the fact that he’s been in the region twice over the last month, I think is a pretty good indicator that we’re very close. And the Prime Minister will now follow that up at the G20 this weekend, meeting with Ursula von der Leyen. I’m not going to put a timeline on it, but we’re certainly getting very, very close. And I think that the Prime Minister will make further progress and hopefully not too far off concluding that agreement.

McIntosh: It’s been talked about for years. Let’s see if it can finally be pulled off. Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlethwaite, appreciate your time this afternoon. Thank you.

Assistant Minister: Thank you, Trudy.

Source: Australia Government Statements 2

Good morning and thank you Ashely Saltner for the Welcome to Country.

I begin by acknowledging the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather today. I pay my respects to their elders past and present, and I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.

I want to thank Claudia Brumme, and Townsville Enterprise for hosting the forum today. It’s wonderful to be here with so many leaders of the tourism industry, looking to the future of tourism in North Queensland, and in Australia.

I see a few familiar faces here today that I had the chance to catch up with at the Queensland Tourism Awards last Friday night in Brisbane – another great event that really highlights how incredible our great state is when it comes to the visitor economy.

In Townsville, and North Queensland as a whole, you know the importance of tourism. The tourism industry in Townsville makes up just over 5 per cent of the economy, bringing in over one billion dollars in Gross Regional Product in 2023-24.

In 2024 alone, the region welcomed 2.5 million domestic and international visitors. These numbers show just how important Townsville and North Queensland are as tourism drivers, not just for Queensland, but for the whole country.

As a former Special Envoy to the Great Barrier Reef, and in my personal capacity as someone who loves spending family time on Magnetic Island, the value of this region is clear to me.

Events like the Tourism Futures Forum provide crucial opportunities to hear from you, as the drivers of our visitor economy.

In my role as the newly established Assistant Minister for Tourism, I have had the privilege to attend several industry forums in the past few months, including just down the road in Mackay in September, meeting with tourism industry and community leaders in the Mackay and Whitsundays region.

And just last week, I was in Darwin speaking with a range of local tourism operators. At these events, I’ve picked up some recurring themes. In the tourism sector, you love your work, and the passion that you bring to this industry is always on display. It is an industry that is all about people.

Almost a year ago Townsville flooded. Homes, businesses and farms inundated with water. I don’t have to remind the people in this room about the impacts of those floods. I know from experience in my home of Cairns that recovery can be slow, but banding together as a community, and bringing together all levels of Government and industry is how you can ensure that you build back better.

And what better example of that than the Up for Unexpected Campaign launched in September. Bringing together Council, TEQ, TEL and both the State and Federal Government.

This campaign is the region’s largest ever tourism campaign, aimed at bringing visitors from across the country, and letting them know that Townsville – and North Queensland – is open for business.

Of course, there’s also the Building Resilient Tourism Infrastructure Fund which opened in June of this year to eligible impacted tourism businesses in North Queensland

We know that the best way to recover after businesses are impacted by a natural disaster is to open their doors sooner, and this fund goes a long way in ensuring businesses are more resilient.

The one big thing that draws visitors to Townsville, to Queensland, and to Australia is the incredible Great Barrier Reef.

Which is why I was so proud to stand next to the Prime Minister a few months back during the election campaign and announce that our government would again back the tourism industry through a 10 million dollars Reef Educational Experience Fund.

• $6 million of this fund is dedicated to a Kids for the Reef rebate program, which will help schools across the country send their students on excursions to the Reef.
• $1 million will be spent to help Reef tourism operators with the costs of upgrades, checks and clearances needed for the school trips.
• And $3 million is for a marketing campaign to support and drive sustainable international visitation to the Reef.

This builds on the $180 million that our Government has invested in Reef HQ. A project that will deliver more than 720 million dollars in economic benefit for Townsville over 30 years and bring with it more than 1300 jobs.

The community fought hard for this project – to bring the Reef to the community and the tourists who come to visit – now it is time to back it in and get behind it.

And, of course, there is the $1.2 billion that the Australian Government is delivering to ensure that the Reef is protected, alongside the 77,000 jobs that rely on it.

At the same time, the Albanese Government is working tirelessly to position Australia as a world-class destination. The second phase of our global Come and say G’day campaign is going well, showcasing Australia to international markets. Ruby the Roo has been doing a great job, but Robert Irwin – hasn’t he been a smash hit!

The campaign has been launching in key tourism markets around the world, encouraging international travellers to book a holiday to Australia. I had the honour of launching the Japanese campaign in September.

Our relationship with Japan is a special and important one – and it was an excellent opportunity to strengthen this tie and participate in the launch of the next exciting chapter of this campaign to entice Japanese travellers to visit us.

This second chapter of the campaign will bring the total investment in Come and Say G’day to 255 million dollars since 2022.

While there are a lot of opportunities for the tourism industry, there are still challenges and more to do – including addressing workforce and skills shortages.

We know this is an industry where people are at the cornerstone – it’s people who make this industry thrive. The success of every hotel, restaurant, and visitor experience depends on the passion and professionalism of those who work in it.

We also know there are pressures being faced by the industry about having the right people, at the right time, to fill a skilled workforce, and we take this seriously.

As a government:

• We have introduced 14 new occupations, including Travel Consultant, to the Townsville North Queensland Designated Area Migration Agreement to support workforce availability in Townsville. Thank you to Townsville Enterprise for the work you do on behalf of the community with our government on the DAMA.
• We are offering Fee-Free TAFE places which include tourism and hospitality courses.
• We have invested in the establishment of Service and Creative Skills Australia, a Jobs and Skills Council that is charged with reviewing and improving the training outcomes for tourism and hospitality qualifications.
• We’ve launched the new ‘eeger’ online platform, a free employment and skills free platform to connect jobseekers and employers connect more easily than ever before.
• The Australian Tourism Industry Council launched the Quality Tourism eLearning Hub in September, which was developed thanks to an $8 million Australian Government investment.

And I know there are many in the industry, including people in this room, who are doing their fair share to attract, to skill up, to retain their workers to ensure they are meeting the needs of our visitors.

I’d like to acknowledge that – and thank you for doing what you do to ensure visitors leave our region with wonderful memories.

Through these initiatives, we are supporting more Australians will develop the skills to succeed in the tourism industry.

Because what a brilliant career you can have in this sector. Gone are the days of tourism being a “fill-in” job – something you as a backpacker, or while you’re at uni. It has become a professional, skilful career. Once you have the skills and training that you need to work in tourism, you can work almost anywhere in Australia.

Industry leaders have made clear the critical role workforce availability plays in North Queensland’s economic growth, and we are listening.

To wrap up, thank you once again for the invitation to be here today. I look forward to hearing your insights on the future of tourism and the outcomes from today’s sessions – but also to continuing this dialogue moving forward.

By working together, we will ensure our tourism industry remains strong, that it is as resilient as can be, and that our visitors leave this region having had an incredible experience. And in this important ‘green and gold’ decade, working together is more important than ever as we prepare the country for the Brisbane Olympics in 2032 and all the opportunities that come with it.

Thank you.

Source: South Australia Police

Officers from SAPOL’s Offender Management Section today, Friday 21 November, arrested a 26-year-old man and charged him with four counts of breaching his reporting obligations and an active parole board warrant.

He was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on 19 January in relation to the fresh charges and remanded in custody on the warrant.

Detective Chief Inspector Naomi Oberscheidt, Officer in Charge Offender Management Section states, “Our officers are dedicated to holding offenders accountable for any actions that threaten the safety and well-being of children in the community.”

Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.accce.gov.au/report

If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on Triple Zero (000).

300348

Source: Australia Government Statements 2

This week, Australia welcomed Ministers from three continents – the Americas, Asia and Europe – to Melbourne to advance our shared commitment to open, rules-based trade.

Today, I chaired the Ninth Commission Meeting of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The meeting of 12 trading nations progressed improvements to the high-standard trade agreement that is already supporting growth across our economies.

We marked the conclusion of the first General Review of the Agreement, endorsing negotiations that will upgrade the CPTPP in key areas such as electronic commerce, trade in services, customs administration and trade and women’s economic empowerment.

We also launched inaugural Trade and Investment Dialogues with ASEAN and the European Union, reinforcing the CPTPP’s role in the global economic architecture and deepening engagement with major trading partners.

I was pleased to announce that we have made substantial progress on Costa Rica’s accession process.

In addition, we have identified four aspirants who are in line with the Auckland Principles – they are Uruguay, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and Indonesia.

We have decided to commence an accession process with Uruguay and will commence with the others in 2026, if appropriate. This reflects the strong interest in joining this high-standard agreement and our ambition to grow the CPTPP membership.

I thank CPTPP Parties for their collaboration and look forward to working with Viet Nam as Chair in 2026 to progress negotiations to further strengthen and expand the Agreement.

The CPTPP is one of the world’s most ambitious trade agreements, which connects 12 economies, 590 million people and nearly 15 per cent of global GDP. Australia is the 2025 Chair of the CPTPP.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell

“Australia is committed to open, rules-based trade. The CPTPP remains a cornerstone of Australia’s trade policy and a model for inclusive, sustainable, and rules-based trade.”

“In an uncertain global trading environment, the CPTPP provides stability, predictability, and high-standard trade rules that benefit businesses and communities across our region and beyond.”

“I thank my counterparts from across the twelve CPTPP economies for their constructive and forward-looking discussions over the past two days – Australia’s international partners are critical to our prosperity and enabling our businesses to diversify and grow.”

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Financial Services and Assistant Treasurer, The Hon Dr Daniel Mulino MP

“Trade is key to our prosperity. It fuels productivity, drives our economy and creates well-paid jobs.

“The Australian Government is committed to helping our exporters, start-ups, and service providers tap into regional supply chains, drive competitiveness, and build resilience in a rapidly changing global economy.”

Our inaugural dialogues with the EU and ASEAN were a productive step toward deepening economic collaboration and unlocking new trade and investment opportunities.”

Quotes attributable to the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP

“The CPTPP economies collectively play a major role in global trade.”

“As the 2025 CPTPP Chair, Australia affirms its role as a reliable partner and an advocate for free, stable, rules-based trade in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”

“Our discussions today progressed trade and investment integration between our economies, while ensuring our agreement delivers for business in response to ongoing global challenges.”

Media Notes:

For further information visit the CPTPP web page on the DFAT website or view the joint statements below:

• Joint Ministerial Statement on the occasion of the Ninth Commission Meeting of the CPTPP, 21 November 2025, Melbourne
• CPTPP-ASEAN Trade and Investment Dialogue Joint Ministerial Statement, 20 November 2025, Melbourne
• CPTPP-EU Trade and Investment Dialogue Joint Ministerial Statement, 20 November 2025, Melbourne

The media conference can be viewed on DFAT’s YouTube channel

Imagery is available via the: DFAT Multimedia Library

Source: South Australia Police

Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said the discovery of the vehicle is a significant step in the investigation.

“The recovery of this vehicle is a significant breakthrough in our investigation into Chris’s murder.  Detectives will now focus on how the Triton got to this location and the people who assisted in moving it.  The vehicle will now be subjected to extensive forensic examination,” said Detective Superintendent Fielke.

The investigation remains active, and detectives continue to pursue several lines of inquiry.

Police are still seeking information from the public about who may have been using the Mitsubishi Triton around the time of Mr Robertson’s death.

“We urge anyone who saw this vehicle in the Cherry Gardens area or has any knowledge of its movements between Sunday 28 September and today to contact us immediately.”

Chris Robertson was last seen alive on Saturday 27 September while celebrating with friends. His body was located on Tuesday 30 September at a Lonsdale premises. A post-mortem examination revealed he died as a result of injuries sustained during a severe assault.

Anyone with information about the vehicle or the murder of Chris Robertson is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au – Information can be provided anonymously.

252513

Source: Tasmania Police

New $12.5m Bridgewater station a boost for Tasmania Police and community

Friday, 21 November 2025 – 4:17 pm.

A multi million-dollar project to deliver a new police station at Bridgewater is complete, with the station fully operational and the base for a new era of policing in southern Tasmania.
Tasmania Police Southern District Commander Jason Elmer said the $12.5m station expanded policing capability – providing increased capacity for officers, conference facilities, an incident management centre, a vulnerable witness interview room, and enhanced office and staff amenities.
“The vulnerable witness room is part of Tasmania Police’s commitment to creating trauma-informed spaces for victim-survivors. These rooms feature calming décor, soft furnishings, and comfort items to help put individuals at ease, along with advanced recording systems that reduce the need for repeat interviews, minimising the risk of re-traumatisation,” Commander Elmer said.
“The major incident room enhances the station’s capacity to co-ordinate emergency responses, such as during bushfires or floods, by providing a dedicated space for timely decision-making, information sharing, and the distribution of community warnings.”
The Bridgewater station operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The new station will accommodate around 44 constables; six sergeants, one divisional sergeant; one divisional inspector; one detective sergeant; and six detective constables.
Tasmania Police Inspector Bridgewater Division Luke Horne, pictured, said the new station, at more than double the size of the previous station, was built with current and future policing needs in mind.
“This new Bridgewater station is a significant boost for policing in southern Tasmania. It is fit-for-purpose and will enable Tasmania Police to further deliver on our core goal of providing public safety in the community now, and into the future,” Inspector Horne said.
“The Bridgewater Division is one of the largest Tasmania Police divisions, servicing the four municipalities of Brighton, Derwent Valley, Central Highlands and Southern Midlands.
“The Brighton and Derwent Valley regions have experienced significant population growth in the recent past, adding to the need for expanded resources and improved facilities. With our new, purpose-built station here in Bridgewater as home base, we are confident we can continue to meet anticipated growth in policing requirements in the Division.”
Prior to the recent completion of the new Bridgewater Police Station, officers from Bridgewater division worked out of Glenorchy Police Station for 12 months.
The new Bridgewater Police Station was designed by Tasmanian architectural firm Philp Lighton Architects, with construction company Fairbrother as the principal builder.

Source: Tasmania Police

Northern firearms amnesty this weekend

Friday, 21 November 2025 – 3:53 pm.

Police are encouraging people to surrender illegal or unwanted firearms or ammunition at a firearms amnesty in the North this weekend.Acting Sergeant Nathan Ford said that under Tasmania’s permanent firearms amnesty, police will be conducting a firearms amnesty drive at Newnham this weekend.“Any illicit firearm is a concern to Tasmania Police, and we all know that firearms in the wrong hands are dangerous,” Acting Sergeant Ford said.“We take every opportunity to remove illegal firearms from our community by holding amnesty drives, carrying out random firearms storage inspections, and investigating diligently when firearms incidents or thefts occur.“Through our firearm amnesties, we’re calling on people to surrender illegal or unwanted firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, or gel blasters that have the appearance of a firearm, without fear of being prosecuted for the possession.“We know there are people in our community that have illegal or unwanted firearms in their possession, and this weekend is an opportunity to surrender them to police, to ensure they don’t end up in the wrong hands.“If you have items to surrender – come along to the mobile amnesty drive, transport the items safely and legally in your vehicle, leave them in your vehicle and walk up and speak to officers who will safely retrieve the items.”
The firearms amnesty drive will be held on:Saturday 22 November, 2025Between 10am and 1pmNewnham Station
“If you have items to surrender, but you’re unable or unwilling to attend this amnesty drive in person, email firearms.amnesty@police.tas.gov.au or call 131 444 to make arrangements for police to collect items from you.”“We know that there are people who know about illegal firearms in our community. If you have any information, I urge you to contact police on 131 444 or report to Crime Stoppers Tasmania.”

Source: Australia Digital Transformation Agency

Today, the DTA is opening consultation with digital sellers and industry stakeholders on the proposed Digital Seller Underperformance Policy. This policy is designed to enable fair and transparent management of seller underperformance information and drive improved digital project outcomes across Government.