Month: October 2024

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will welcome His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Australia in October 2024.

This year marks 100 years since the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.

His All-Holiness will spend two weeks in Australia, meeting with Greek Australian and diaspora communities, Orthodox parishioners, political and interfaith leaders, and community groups.

Prime Minister Albanese will host His All-Holiness as a Guest of Government on 5 and 13 October.

They will attend events together in Sydney and Melbourne that celebrate the milestone.

Australia is home to a significant Greek Orthodox community, with a population of over 400,000 people across the nation.

This will be His All-Holiness’ second visit to Australia as Ecumenical Patriarch— it has been 28 years since his last visit in 1996.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was looking forward to welcoming His All-Holiness to Australia.

“Australian society is enriched by our diversity—it is one of our greatest attributes,” the Prime Minister said.

“The Greek Australian community is a vibrant part of Australia’s identity, involved in business, public service, politics, the arts and sport.”

“It is a joy to celebrate the centenary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and the contributions of the Greek community to our nation.”

The Albanese Government is taking action to fight shrinkflation in our supermarkets and retail sector by strengthening the Unit Pricing Code to make it easier for Australians to make accurate and timely price comparisons.

The Government will also introduce substantial penalties for supermarkets who do the wrong thing and breach the Unit Pricing Code.

The practice of ‘shrinkflation’ is becoming increasingly common, where the size of a product is reduced, but the price at the supermarket is the same or even increases, taking advantage of Australians doing their groceries.

Unit pricing helps consumers spot good value for money by being able to see the price of products by their volume, weight or per unit – so they aren’t tricked by unchanged packaging hiding less product.

These changes are about making sure shoppers are able to access the best deals at the supermarket, both in store and online – and that they’re not the victims of inflation by stealth in their everyday products.

The ACCC Interim Supermarket Inquiry Report, released by the Albanese Government last week, found that almost 90% of consumers always or often use unit pricing when deciding what products to buy.

Through the course of the Inquiry, stakeholders raised concerns about how supermarkets apply unit pricing in Australia – including the size and font of print on in-store labels and the inconsistent units of measure being used to price the same products.

To make sure unit pricing is helping Australian shoppers, the Government will be strengthening the Unit Pricing Code to ensure supermarkets are providing the information Australians need to find the best deal.

The Government will consult on improvements to the Code like:

• Improving readability and visibility of unit pricing in stores;
• Addressing inconsistent use of units of measure across supermarkets;
• Whether to expand the scope of retailers covered by the Code;
• More specific prominence and legibility requirements; and
• Improving the use of unit pricing in cross-retailer price comparisons.

To ensure shoppers are able to get the best value for money, we’ll fund the ACCC to deliver a consumer awareness campaign showing shoppers how they can find the best deals.

Today’s announcements come in addition to a series of actions undertaken by the Albanese Labor Government to get a better deal for Australians at the supermarket:

• Provided the ACCC with a $30 million boost to crack down on market conduct that pushes up cost-of-living pressures for Australians, like misleading and deceptive pricing practices and other unconscionable conduct by supermarkets and retailers.
• Commenced consultation on a new mandatory Food and Grocery Code, adopting all recommendations of Dr. Craig Emerson’s review.
• Banned unfair contract terms and increased penalties for breaches of competition and consumer law and delivering progress on the most significant merger reforms in Australia in almost 50 years.
• Commenced work with the states and territories to revitalise National Competition Policy, including on planning and zoning for supermarkets
• Supported CHOICE to release its second Albanese Government-funded price monitoring report, giving Australians accurate data on where to get the cheapest groceries.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Government is cracking down on supermarkets to help Australians get a fair deal at the checkout.

“Tackling ‘shrinkflation’ through stronger unit pricing and new penalties is part of our plan to get a better deal for Australians,” the Prime Minister said.

“We are also making changes to make sure the ACCC is a tough cop on the beat, while also encouraging more competition and making sure there are significant consequences for supermarkets who do the wrong thing.”

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said the Albanese Government knows Australians are doing it tough and won’t accept businesses taking advantage of consumers.

“Misleading practices around pricing are illegal and completely inappropriate. The bar needs to be raised significantly,” the Assistant Treasurer said.

“Australian consumers deserve fair prices, not dodgy discounts. That’s why we’ve empowered the ACCC to act in the interests of consumers and crackdown on dodgy practices immediately.”

Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh said the Governments wants a supermarket industry that is fair for families, and fair for farmers.

“Competition is the consumer’s friend. We’re working to hold supermarkets to account by providing consumers with the information they need to make the best decisions,” Assistant Minister Leigh said.

“The Albanese Government is committed to helping Australian families save time and money at the checkout.”

The Greens are calling on Labor and the Liberals to commit to banning the big tech giants from data harvesting and targeting advertising to young people, as part of any digital safety reforms.

Their call comes amidst the debate over legislating an age limit ban on social media use, despite overwhelming expert evidence that a ban will not make platforms safer and could actually have significant negative impacts for young people. 

The Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society is also holding further hearings this week, examining the merits of an age limit in law and hearing expert evidence on other policy reforms which would keep young people and the broader community safer online. 

Greens Spokesperson for Communications and Deputy Chair of the Joint Select Committee, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“Parents are rightfully very concerned about the impact of social media on their children. The Greens agree that reform is needed to rein in the dangerous business models of the tech giants that are causing harm to young people and our communities. 

“Parliament should have the courage to tackle big tech where it hurts – their predatory business models that profit off young people’s internet use and vulnerabilities. This means a ban on big tech harvesting the data of young people and targeting them with advertising and dangerous algorithms. 

“The evidence to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media has been overwhelmingly that comprehensive reform to force platforms to create safer spaces is needed but that an age ban will not increase safety, and may cause other harms to young people.

“Tech platforms must be held responsible for creating the very spaces that drive division, abuse and conspiracy theories.

“The whole business model of social media platforms is collecting and selling users’ data and exploiting privacy to make massive profits  – it’s time to put a stop to it.

“If Labor and the Liberals are serious about tackling social media harms then they will back the Greens proposal to outlaw data harvesting and targeted advertisements to minors, and protect young people from algorithms that push harmful content.

“Just as the EU and the UK have done, some very sensible and simple protections can be legislated now that will not only make platforms safer for young people, but all of us. 

“If the Labor Government fails to heed the advice of experts and listen to the evidence the Joint Select Committee has heard, then it will be clear the Inquiry was never a genuine attempt to generate recommendations for best practice policy and regulation.”

The Greens welcome more funding for the ACCC and closer scrutiny of land banking, but warn that these measures alone won’t bring down food and grocery prices.

“Labor is scrambling to catch up, but without divestiture powers and stronger anti-price gouging laws, this is just fiddling at the margins,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“Coles and Woolworths continue to exploit their dominance, and only making price gouging illegal and breaking up the duopoly will deliver fairer prices for shoppers.”

“Labor remains the only party standing in the way of serious reform.”

“The Greens have long advocated for divestiture laws to prevent Coles and Woolworths from using their market power to gouge consumers.”

“Today’s announcement is a small step, but it’s far from enough.”

“Without giving the ACCC the ability to break up the duopoly and hold them accountable for price gouging, Australians will continue to suffer at the checkout.”

“The Greens have legislation ready to go, and we’re calling on Labor to finally back real competition.”

Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Anti-Racism, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has responded to the long-awaited Janke review into racism at the ABC, and urged the national broadcaster to adopt all 15 recommendations.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi: 

“I’m not surprised, but it doesn’t lessen the disappointment. People of colour working at the ABC have been suffering racism for far too long. They deserve so much better from our public broadcaster.

“The Janke review recommended the ABC ‘improve diverse representation in management and leadership’, which is what I have long been calling for. The Board must reflect the diversity in the community if it is to be considered a true national broadcaster.

“The time for platitudes and hollow apologies is over. Strong action must be taken starting from the top. Anti-racism training must be mandatory and progress on change monitored and publicly reported.

“People of colour deserve a respectful and safe workplace and to be treated as equals to white people working at the ABC.” 

Australia has imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on three Russian citizens for their involvement in the Evil Corp cybercrime group.

Evil Corp is one of the most prolific and longest running cybercrime groups in the world.

For more than a decade, Evil Corp has been responsible for significant cyber incidents, including ransomware attacks across Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, resulting in millions of dollars of losses and disruptions to critical health systems, national infrastructure and government sectors.

Maksim Viktorovich Yakubets, Igor Olegovich Turashev and Aleksandr Viktorovich Ryzhenkov hold senior roles in Evil Corp. The sanctions announced today make it a criminal offence to provide assets to these individuals, or to use or deal with their assets. The sanctions also ban them from entering Australia.

Today’s sanctions are part of a coordinated effort with the United Kingdom and the United States to deter and respond to malicious cyber activity. This is the third use of Australia’s autonomous cyber sanctions framework, and part of ongoing coordinated international law enforcement against cybercrime.

Australia continues to experience an increase in persistent and pervasive ransomware activity by cyber criminals across several sectors. These include critical infrastructure, governments, industry and the Australian community.

The intent of the cyber sanctions framework is to disrupt and frustrate the perpetrators of malicious cyber activity, such as ransomware, and keep Australians safe.

The Government will continue to assist Australians who find themselves victims of ransomware attacks.

The Australian Government’s longstanding policy is to discourage businesses and individuals from paying ransoms or extortion claims to cyber criminals.

If you are asked to pay a ransom you should notify the Australian Signals Directorate by either: calling the Australian Cyber Security Hotline on 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371); or making a report.

Australian businesses can help protect themselves from ransomware by backing up their files and work; and ensuring their staff know to never visit suspicious websites, open emails from unknown sources or click on suspicious links.

More information and tips can be found on the Australian Signals Directorate’s Ransomware page.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP:

“Malicious cyber actors continue to target governments, critical infrastructure and households around the world. These types of sanctions are an important tool in deterring cybercrime and helping to protect Australians.

“These sanctions are only possible because of the efforts of our domestic and international partner agencies who work tirelessly to disrupt cybercriminals and protect Australians from ransomware.

“We encourage all Australians individuals and businesses to be vigilant about their cyber security arrangements to help make Australia a harder target against malicious cyber activity.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong:

“The Albanese Government is the first Australian Government to use autonomous cyber sanctions powers to protect Australians and to deter cybercrime.

“We are using all elements of our national power to make Australia more secure and to keep Australians safe.

“Australia remains committed to promoting a rules-based cyberspace, grounded in international law and the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.”.

Minister for Cyber Security, the Hon Tony Burke MP:

“We have been very clear – under our government Australia is hardening its defences and ensuring there are consequences for people who target our citizens and businesses.

“These sanctions are another example of our commitment to working with our international partners to shut down the criminal organisations that have built a business model on ransomware.”