Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

Melissa Clarke:

The federal government has handed down its first comprehensive update to the nation’s finances since the federal election earlier this year. The mid‑year budget update indicates the budget’s bottom line has been improved slightly by more than $8 billion over the next 4 years when compared to earlier forecasts. Jim Chalmers is the Treasurer and joins us now. Jim Chalmers, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.

Jim Chalmers:

Thanks very much, Mel.

Clarke:

Before we drill into the budget update, I do want to ask you some questions about the response to the terrorist attacks. You acknowledged yesterday that that has been the focus of the government and of the country right now, and you and other cabinet ministers have said more needs to be done. When it comes to what you as Treasurer can do, is there any need to reassess resourcing for the federal police and ASIO in light of this attack?

Chalmers:

Well, first of all, as you suggest in your question, Mel, we understand that this week’s not about the mid‑year budget update. The country and the government is singularly focused on the aftermath of this horrifying act of evil antisemitism, and so that’s where our focus has been throughout the week.

In terms of support for our agencies, we have been increasing funding for our anti‑terrorism efforts over the life of this government. From memory, an extra half a billion dollars or so for counterterrorism, another couple of hundred million dollars for countering violent extremism and dealing with foreign interference. So, we have made it clear that even with these extra resources that we have contributed to the effort, we are obviously acting with some urgency now in considering what other steps might be necessary, and as Treasurer, I’m obviously part of those discussions.

Clarke:

When it comes to the broader government response to this, we’ve heard suggestions from former Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, that a Royal Commission is warranted to assess what has happened and what should be done now. Do you think a Royal Commission would be helpful?

Chalmers:

I thought my colleague, Tony Burke, made a good point about this when he was talking with your colleague, Sarah Ferguson, last night on the 7.30 program. I mean we want our agencies 100 per cent focused on the investigations, and we don’t want them delayed or deterred by a Royal Commission.

Everyone’s focus – including the agencies involved here – needs to be on the investigation, needs to be on getting to the bottom of what happened here, primarily because that will help inform us as we take additional necessary steps.

Clarke:

Would a Royal Commission delay or deter action in the meantime? We’ve seen other Royal Commissions in recent years, perhaps the one into aged care is an example, of where reform efforts were begun whilst a commission was underway. Are they necessarily mutually exclusive?

Chalmers:

Well, the point I’m trying to convey to your listeners, and I think the point that Tony was making last night is, we want our agencies 100 per cent focused on the investigation. That’s the best use of their time, and that’s our focus as well.

Clarke:

Let’s turn to the budget. This update shows that the budget deficits will be better off by $8 billion over the next 4 years. But the outlook’s much the same, deficits sitting at around $36–37 billion at the end of the 4 years, and we’re still in deficit in 10 years’ time. The challenge is still there for you to turn around the budget, isn’t it?

Chalmers:

There are still pressures on the budget, we’ve been upfront about that. Some of those pressures are intensifying rather than easing. But we’ve come a long way in the budget. We’ve made a heap of progress. Two budget surpluses, a much smaller deficit last year. And what we saw in the mid‑year budget update yesterday is actually an improvement in the budget every year of the forward estimates, a stronger bottom line every year, less debt every year, and the government making a positive contribution to that with its savings and making sure that our policies are improving the budget rather than detracting from the budget.

And that combination of factors is actually the first time that that’s happened in a mid‑year budget update in about the 30 years that governments have been handing them down.

So, by that combination of measures – better bottom line every year, less debt every year, government making net positive policy decisions – by those 3 issues being simultaneously present in yesterday’s mid‑year budget update it actually makes it the most responsible mid‑year budget update in the 30 years that governments have been handing them down.

Clarke:

I guess the question is, is it enough to deal with the challenge of the structural deficit that we face? Given, yes, you’ve got net positive policy decisions here, but the increases we’re seeing in revenue may not stick around in the years to come given that they are in some part due to inflation, boosting incomes and company tax, the booming share market, things we can’t rely on being there, but a lot of the pressures that you’re talking about are permanent ones that have been built into the structural budget. So, are the efforts that you’ve made so far, are they going to be enough to deal with the longer‑term structural deficit?

Chalmers:

Oh, there’s always more work to do, and we’ve now handed down 7 Budgets or budget updates, and in every single one of those there have been savings. In every single one of those we have taken responsible decisions to deal with these pressures on the budget.

We don’t pretend that that work is ever finished, obviously it’s not. It’s an ongoing task for all of us to make the budget more sustainable, but because of our efforts, you know, over the 3.5 years we’ve been in office, $114 billion worth of savings, the budget is more than $200 billion stronger than what we inherited, debt is around $175 billion lower this year than it was forecast to be when we came to office.

So, we have made a lot of progress in the budget. I think a lot of the commentary, either accidentally or deliberately, ignores that progress that has been made. The budget is much stronger than since we came to office, but we don’t pretend for a moment that there’s not more work to do.

Clarke:

You’re listening to Radio National Breakfast, and my guest is the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. The forecasts show that inflation isn’t going to be back in the target range until the end of next year, as the Reserve Bank is also forecasting. We also see a dip in real wages, they’re declining for a little while. Do households need to be prepared to be cautious and careful with their spending over the next couple of years?

Chalmers:

Look, I’m not going to give free advice to families making decisions about their own finances. But we need to remember that the real wages story in this country in the last couple of years has been a very positive one. In fact we’ve seen now for 2 years continuous annual real wages growth. When we came to office real wages were falling sharply, we’ve been able to turn that around, that’s a good thing.

The inflation forecast has changed for the next little while, that just reflects the data that we’ve been getting in the last couple of months. As the Reserve Bank said, it remains to be seen how much of that tick‑up in inflation is permanent and how much of it is temporary.

But as you rightly point out in your question, even with pressures on inflation, even with that recent data, the Treasury expects in the forecasts we released yesterday that both their measure of underlying inflation and the headline inflation rate, they expect both of those things to be back in the band by next financial year.

We want to inflation to be lower. It is higher than we’d like, even though it’s much lower than what we inherited when we came to office, and it’s obviously a key focus of ours. The 3 big challenges that we confront as we head into 2026 are obviously persistent inflation, this long‑standing productivity challenge that we’ve had in our economy and also all of this global economic volatility. All 3 things are related, and all 3 things will be the major determinants on our thinking as we head into the Budget next year.

Clarke:

And just briefly, about before we let you go, Treasurer, there is an additional $233 million in the Budget for the CSIRO. The agency’s still going ahead with up to 350 job cuts though, a lot of that will happen with capital works instead. Is the research and development sector still under‑funded in this Budget? Because the science sector certainly feels it as a proportion of GDP, their share of federal government support is still diminishing.

Chalmers:

I think whether it’s that sector or any other sector in our economy, they would always like more resources, they would always like more funding. But in yesterday’s mid‑year update we provided an extra $233 million for the CSIRO on top of the billion dollars a year that they get from the government and on top of the extra $45 million we provided in the last Budget.

How they manage that is a matter for the CSIRO and their board. They’ve made it clear that they’re rethinking some of their resourcing and some of the ways that they manage their budget.

But from a government point of view, we’ve been very substantial and very enthusiastic supporters and funders of the CSIRO because we see it as a crucial role in the way that we set ourselves up to succeed in the future economy.

Clarke:

Jim Chalmers, thank you very much for joining me on Radio National Breakfast.

Chalmers:

Thanks very much, Mel.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The NT Police Force is calling for information in relation to an assault with the intent to steal incident that occurred in Katherine on Monday 8 December 2025.

At around 10pm, a 36-year-old male was allegedly chased by a group of youths armed with edged weapons near an address on Callistemon Drive. The offenders allegedly attempted to steal the victim’s car keys and money, assaulting him in the processes. The victim fought back and was able to escape from the group.

The victim suffered a small laceration to the face and was treated at the scene by St John Ambulance.

The offenders remain outstanding, and police are urging anyone with information or who was in the vicinity of Callistemon Drive between 9pm and 10pm on Monday 8 December 2025 to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number NTP2500121584.

Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.

Source: Tasmania Police

Police investigate suspicious house fire in Invermay overnight

Thursday, 18 December 2025 – 11:07 am.

Police are investigating a suspicious house fire at a residence in New St Invermay overnight.Crews from Tasmania Fire Service were called to the scene about 8.15pm, where they found that a fire had been lit on the exterior of the unit and had tracked inside.Fire was controlled quickly, minimizing damage to the unit,The unit was unoccupied at the time of the fire.TFS investigators deemed the fire to be deliberately lit and the matter has been handed to Tasmania Police for investigation.Anyone with information, or dash cam or CCTV of anyone acting suspiciously in the area just prior to the fire, should contact Launceston Criminal Investigation Branch on 131444.You can also report to Crime Stoppers on 1800333000 or crimestopperstas.com.au, You can remain anonymous.

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

From 2026 parents and carers will need to enrol their children for local three and four-year-old kinder programs through the City of Greater Bendigo.

City of Greater Bendigo Community and Environmental Health Manager Sue Harrison said the City will undertake responsibility for the Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme (CRES) for local kindergarten programs from January to ensure families have a streamlined and equitable process for enrolling their children in early learning.

“The service is currently provided by Loddon Mallee Preschool Association under a contract with the City.  This contract is ending and the City has decided to bring enrolments back in-house,” Ms Harrison said.

“By bringing the Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme back in-house, the City will be able to better support local families and providers and use data to plan for future needs.

“The transition will also strengthen the City’s role in supporting early years development and other programs run by the City.

“Central enrolment helps families navigate the process with confidence and ensures children have the best start in life.

“The City acknowledges and thanks LMPA for their significant contribution in delivering this important service to families across Greater Bendigo for many years.

In Victoria all three and four year old children get funded kinder, saving families significant costs.

From 2026, the City will manage enrolments for 25 stand-alone kindergartens across Greater Bendigo and approximately 30 long day care kindergarten programs.  There will be a total of 1,756 kindergarten places in stand-alone kindergartens and 256 kindergarten sessions will be delivered across Greater Bendigo.

The City will accept online enrolments from late January via its website.

For more information email or phone:

[email protected]

5434 6352

Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

The ACCC has decided to oppose Yamaha Motor Australia Pty Ltd’s proposed acquisition of Telwater Pty Ltd. This decision follows an in-depth investigation that found the proposed acquisition is likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in the wholesale supply of outboard motors in Australia.

The ACCC is concerned that the lessening of competition resulting from the proposed acquisition is likely to leave consumers with lower quality and higher prices, as well as fewer choices of outboard motor brands. 

Telwater is the market leader, with a market share of approximately 60 per cent to 70 per cent in the manufacture and supply of aluminium trailer boats in Australia through its Quintrex, Stacer and Yellowfin brands. Yamaha is the leading supplier of outboard motors.

“This acquisition is likely to significantly disadvantage rival outboard motor suppliers in competing effectively with Yamaha,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.

“Our investigation found that a combined Yamaha/Telwater would likely have both the ability and incentive to leverage Telwater’s significant market position in aluminium trailer boats into the outboard motors market. This may arise by the combined Yamaha/Telwater requiring or incentivising dealers that stock Telwater aluminium trailer boats to also sell Yamaha outboard motors by adopting a bundling or tying strategy.”

“We are concerned that bundling or tying the supply of Telwater boats to Yamaha outboard motors would lead many dealers who currently sell Telwater aluminium trailer boats and non-Yamaha outboard motors to switch some or all of their outboard motor purchases to Yamaha,” Dr Williams said.

“As a result, competing outboard motor suppliers would likely face a material loss of wholesale sales and higher costs of distributing their products to end customers. Competing outboard motor suppliers that lose access to the Telwater dealer network would then likely face significant difficulty and increased costs in re-establishing or expanding their presence in Australia.”

“This would have the likely effect of substantially lessening competition,” Dr Williams said.  

The ACCC’s assessment principally focussed on the impact of the proposed acquisition on a national market for the wholesale supply of outboard motors in Australia. Competition concerns may also arise in specific local markets.

Further information can be found on the ACCC’s public register: Yamaha Motor Australia Pty Ltd – Telwater Pty Ltd | ACCC.

Notes to editors

‘Outboard motors’ are standalone systems that are installed to the outside hull of the boat, as opposed to inboard motors which are installed inside the boat’s hull and used for larger boats.

Trailer boats are small marine vessels that can be fitted to a trailer for easy transportation and generally range between two to nine metres in length. Trailer boats can be made from various materials, with the most common being aluminium or fibreglass.

Aluminium boats are primarily used for recreational boating in Australia. Aluminium boats are generally lighter, more durable and generally less expensive than fibreglass boats.

Aluminium boats and outboard motors are complementary products, often purchased by consumers together. The complementary nature of these products is highly relevant to the ACCC’s competition assessment, which tests whether the merged firm would have the ability and incentive to link the two products and the competitive effects of a linking strategy. Bundling and tying are two key ways products can be linked.

Bundling involves selling two (or more) products at a single price. This could involve the merged entity offering significant targeted discounts on Telwater boat/Yamaha motor packages to dealers, potentially combined with higher ‘standalone’ prices for Telwater boats. This practice would incentivise dealers to limit their sales of rival outboard motors.

Tying involves making the purchase of one product (the tying product) conditional on the purchase of another product (the tied product). This could involve the merged entity requiring dealers that purchase Telwater aluminium trailer boats to also become a Yamaha outboard motor dealer and contractually restricting the dealer from selling competing outboard motor brands.

More information on how the ACCC considers conglomerate effects can be found in section four of the ACCC’s Merger Assessment Guidelines.

Background

Yamaha is proposing to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Telwater from Bombardier Recreation Products Inc (BRP), alongside a property in Coomera, Queensland used to manufacture, fit and warehouse aluminium trailer boats.

The ACCC previously outlined its preliminary concerns with the proposed acquisition in its Statement of Issues in October 2025.

Trailer boats are generally used for leisure activities, such as fishing and cruising. Recreational trailer boats typically use an outboard motor.

Yamaha Motor Company Ltd (YMC) manufactures outboard motors in Asia, primarily in Japan, which are then imported into Australia by its wholly owned subsidiary, Yamaha Motor Australia Pty Ltd (Yamaha). Yamaha supplies the outboard motors to dealers (retailers) Australia wide. Dealers then supply the outboard motors to end-customers.

Yamaha does not manufacture boats in Australia. YMC subsidiaries manufacture trailer boats overseas for various international markets. Yamaha and a related business have supplied a small number of these trailer boats to dealers in Australia, primarily via a third party Australian distributor. Yamaha also owns the trademarks for a small number of aluminium trailer boat and trailer brands, which were previously licensed to a third party manufacturer and are not currently in use. Yamaha does not supply trailers for boats in Australia.

Telwater manufactures aluminium trailer boats and trailers in Australia and supplies them to dealers, who then sell to end customers. Telwater currently supplies three lines of trailer boats: Quintrex, Stacer and Yellowfin branded boats.

Telwater supplies custom-fitted trailers that are sold together with its boats (branded under Telwater), or loose trailers (under the brand name ‘Move’) that can be used for any trailer boat. Telwater also supplies a limited number of outboard motors to dealers as part of a package with a Telwater boat and also potentially a trailer. Telwater is a non-exclusive distributor of Mercury outboard motors, with Mercury also supplying its outboard motors to dealers itself and via other wholesalers. Telwater also supplies a very small number of Rotax outboard motors (which are manufactured and distributed by BRP), as part of a package with some of its boats.

Source: Australia Government Statements 2

Bridget Brennan, Host: Well, as more details come out about the men behind Sunday’s terror attack, there are calls for urgent change. And Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite joins us now from Sydney. Good morning, Minister. Thanks very much for joining us on News Breakfast.

Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: Good morning, Bridget.

Brennan: Understandably, there is so much anguish in the community right now and there’s starting to be some anger as well directed towards your government. Is it true that you didn’t do enough to prevent this attack?

Assistant Minister: Look, we certainly appreciate that Australians, and particularly members of the Jewish community are angry. They’re mourning, they’re grieving. And I’m certainly there to support the Jewish community in my electorate. I’ve had several meetings with Jewish leaders. I’ve been attending events with them and vigils. We have strengthened our laws to try and combat antisemitism in Australia. But we do know that there is more work to do and over the coming days and weeks, there will be a package of measures that we will look to introduce that will strengthen our laws that will fight antisemitism and ensure that we protect not only the Jewish community, but all Australians into the future.

Brennan: So, let’s get some more information on that package of measures, because I think what the community is really after is specific responses, concrete responses and more information about what the government is planning. Can you outline any of the measures you plan to take?

Assistant Minister: Well, we’ve already strengthened hate speech laws in Australia, particularly those that lead to violence. We’ve criminalised the use of Nazi symbols, criminalised doxing. We’ve taken measures to upgrade security at Jewish institutions throughout the country. We’ve implemented some of the key points in the Jillian Segal report, but there’s more to do with that and that will be the foundation of the further work. The Prime Minister has already announced that work’s begun on gun law reform that will be an important part of it. And of course, we’ll have a look at our migration settings to make sure that they’re appropriate and that they can weed out and stop people who have antisemitic or racist views that may incite violence into Australia and ensure that people like that can’t migrate to our country.

Brennan: Just turning back to the Segal report, obviously when it came out, there was emphatic support for the report from some Jewish organisations, from other sectors and some other organisations. There was some reticence as to some of the recommendations. Do you anticipate that you will adopt that full report recommendations in full, or are you going to have to go, you know, line by line recommendation, recommendation? It has been six months, so it’s been a while since there’s been a proper response?

Assistant Minister: Yeah, we’ve already adopted many of the recommendations, particularly the law reform recommendations, some of the educational recommendations and certainly the security measures. There are a number that we’re working through at the moment and some of them do require the cooperation and support of the states and territories. For instance, the changes to the education curriculum they require the support of the states and territories. So, we’re working to achieve that and ensure that early in the new year that we’re implementing some of those changes that are recommended. But aside from that, if there’s anything further that we need to do, we’re certainly working with Jewish community leaders at the moment to look at what further needs to be done to ensure that we bolster our antisemitic laws, laws that combat antisemitism in Australia and ensure that we’re protecting not only the Jewish community, the Australian community as well.

Brennan: Do you agree with former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s comments that the Prime Minister needs to take direct responsibility for this attack?

Assistant Minister: Look, Josh is a mate. We entered the Parliament at around the same time. We served on committees together. I’ve got a lot of respect for Josh, and as a leading member of the Jewish community, I understand, certainly understand his grief and his anger at the moment. And I want to work with Josh. My message to Josh is, mate, let’s try and work together. I want to reach out to members of the Coalition on the package of reforms that we’ll bring to the Parliament around all these measures to try and work together. I think that we owe that to the Jewish community to bring national unity and to work in the interests of them and all Australians so this never happens again.

Brennan: I’ll just return to the question, Minister. Do you think the Prime Minister needs to take direct, personal responsibility for the attack, as Mr. Frydenberg suggested?

Assistant Minister: Well, the Prime Minister certainly has been showing leadership and support for the Jewish community. He was the Prime Minister that led the motion in the Parliament in the wake of October 7th that strongly condemned the attacks by Hamas that supported Israel’s right to defend itself and said that we stood with the people, Jewish people of Australia. That’s never changed. The Prime Minister I’ve known for 30 years, he is a man that is deeply committed to combating antisemitism and to combating racism in Australia. And he’s led a government that have delivered the strongest laws that we’ve ever had to try and stop that. But of course, we know that there is more work to do and that is why we are working with the leadership of the Jewish community to understand what they want and to ensure that we put in place the laws that ensure that this never happens again in Australia.

Brennan: Alright, we’ll leave it there. Thank you very much, Matt Thistlethwaite, for your time this morning.

Assistant Minister: Thanks, Bridget.

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

The CFA community is mourning the loss of a dedicated and influential member, Roger Walker AFSM, a man whose name is imbedded in both the history of Kyneton Fire Brigade and the wider Coliban Group.

Submitted by	CFA Media

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

Due to major upgrade works being undertaken through the Victorian Government’s Regional Sports Infrastructure Program, the Bendigo Showgrounds in Holmes Road North Bendigo will be unavailable as a Bushfire Place of Last Resort (also known as a Neighbourhood Safer Place) should bushfire threaten this summer.

Other Bushfire Places of Last Resort in Greater Bendigo are located at:

• Axedale Primary School Oval, 81 High Street Axedale
• Lansell Square Shopping Centre car park, Calder Highway Kangaroo Flat
• Queen Elizabeth Oval, View Street Bendigo
• Canterbury Park car park and events area, Simpsons Road Eaglehawk
• Maiden Gully Primary School, basketball courts, Carolyn Way
• Lord’s Raceway, McIvor Highway Junortoun
• Strathfieldsaye Community Hub – Club Court (JG Edwards Oval east of cricket pitch to Uxbridge Street)
• Dower Park, Station Street Kangaroo Flat
• Redesdale Recreation Reserve oval, Corner Moylans Road and Kyneton-Heathcote Road
• Holy Rosary Primary School oval, 18 Pohlman Street Heathcote

City of Greater Bendigo Climate Change and Environment Manager Michelle Wyatt said people who would normally choose the Bendigo Showgrounds as a Place of Last Resort should instead consider using the Queen Elizabeth Oval in View Street Bendigo or the Canterbury Park Car Park off Simpsons Road Eaglehawk.

“These two sites are the closest to the Bendigo Showgrounds,” said Ms Wyatt.

“Bushfire Places of Last Resort are a place of last resort in a bushfire emergency and should only be used if all other plans have failed.

“They should not be considered as places to relocate to when leaving early and Emergency Services and other support agencies will not be in place to provide assistance.

“If you choose to shelter at a Bushfire Place of Last Resort you will need to take your own food and water, protective clothing, pet food, a mobile phone, radio, first aid and medications.”

Source: Australian Capital Territory – State Government

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