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On the occasion of her visit to France on 9 June 2026, Senator the Honourable Penny Wong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, and Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, held a bilateral discussion on key areas of cooperation, including responses to international crises and challenges.

In the context of international tensions and geopolitical shifts, the Ministers reaffirmed the dynamism of the France–Australian partnership, which is based on shared values and a mutual commitment to an international system underpinned by agreed rules and norms. As neighbours in the Pacific, France and Australia are working together for a peaceful, stable, prosperous Indo-Pacific region, which remains open and inclusive, where the sovereignty of all states is fully respected.

The Ministers confirmed their common intention to elevate the bilateral relationship through the adoption of an upgraded Australia-France Roadmap, which will provide a framework for further strategic engagement.

Under the upgraded Roadmap, the results achieved under the 2023 Australia-France Roadmap across the three pillars of Defence and Security, Resilience and Climate Action, and Education and Culture, will be built upon and guide further work. The flagship 2023 Roadmap project, the Franco–Australian Indo-Pacific Centre for Energy Transition, will continue as well as our dialogue on critical minerals. We have agreed to expand cooperation in fields such as national security and policing. We will also seek to increase our collaboration to counter cyber crime and drug trafficking, while reinforcing global rules and norms. Sport will continue to be a key feature of the upgraded Roadmap ahead of the 2030 French Alps Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Maugean skate remains at risk of extinction and recovery isn’t yet assured, according to an IMAS report released today. The skate’s precarious future continues to be underpinned by political bastardry, the Greens say. 

Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans and Senator for Lutruwita/Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson:

“The Albanese government has used its power to undermine the survival of the Maugean skate for its mates in the salmon industry and for its own political interest – it cannot be trusted to protect the skate. 

“The federal government’s own scientific advice clearly states the key threat to the Maugean skate’s survival is poor water quality in Macquarie Harbour, and that the primary cause of this is Atlantic salmon farming. It recommended stopping or destocking salmon as an immediate measure.

“The plight of this prehistoric species could be immediately improved by reducing salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, but nobody in the Albanese government has the political will to make this a reality.

“Rather than take the action needed to protect Tasmania’s waterways and threatened species, the federal government has ignored scientific advice and let the salmon industry off the hook. 

“These foreign-owned salmon farming companies pollute Tasmania’s waterways, make hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, and pay no licence fees or royalties for the privilege of using our public waterways. To make matters worse, the industry has recently been awarded taxpayer funds to try and repair the damage it’s caused to the environment. 

“It’s state capture fuelled by political bastardry.”

Submissions are now open for the Senate inquiry that will look into artificial intelligence data centres in Australia. 

The inquiry, to be chaired by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, comes amid growing community concerns amidst rapid expansion of energy-hungry AI infrastructure and is an opportunity for communities to have their voices heard on how data centres will impact them.

The inquiry will examine the environmental, economic and social impacts of AI data centres, including their energy and water consumption, effects on local communities and Australia’s regulatory system. 

Sarah Hanson-Young, Chair of the Artificial intelligence and data centres inquiry and Greens spokesperson for communications, environment and water: 

“AI is the new extractive industry and Australia’s regulations are lagging behind.

“Like the gas industry, these massive data miners want to extract Australia’s resources for free, paying very little for the data, water and energy all used to make their huge corporate profits. 

“Australia is sleepwalking into an AI catastrophe. If we don’t put the handbrakes on this rapid data centre development our communities, energy, and water resources will be at risk. 

“Right now we’re seeing a push across Australia to build huge data mining centres with little community consultation and very little given back to the community – all just to line the pockets of the big tech companies.

“Not only are they extracting our intelligence, our knowledge, and our culture, these big AI data centres are going to be extracting huge amounts of water and energy too. 

“The Albanese Government has been courting global AI companies, but where is the transparency? Australians deserve to know what deals are being struck in their name, and who truly benefits from the expansion of this industry. 

“There’s a reason why these big tech companies are honing in on Australia right now – they think Australia is easy pickings. Our regulations are weak and don’t protect our communities or our resources.

“Big tech moves fast, never asks questions and bamboozles governments and Australian communities are paying the price. 

“Submissions to this inquiry are open now, and the committee wants to hear from everyone whose land, water or local wildlife is on the line. 

“We cannot allow Australia to be an unregulated playground for energy-hungry data centres without proper scrutiny, and that’s what this inquiry will provide.”
 

For more information about the inquiry, see the home page here.

The Victorian Greens say new research showing barely half of Victoria’s rental properties meet minimum standards proves that renters need stronger protections, including rent caps, so they can ask for repairs without fearing financial retaliation.

New research from La Trobe University found only 54 per cent of audited rental properties met Victoria’s minimum rental standards, with mould, dampness and bathroom conditions among the most common areas of non-compliance.

Almost seven in ten people who rent privately worry about asking for repairs in case they face a rent increase, according to research by the ACOSS/UNSW Sydney-led Poverty and Inequality Partnership, National Shelter and the National Association of Renter Organisations (NARO).

The Greens say the findings reflect what renters have been telling them for years: too many people are living with mould, leaks, broken fixtures and unsafe conditions, but are reluctant to push for repairs because they fear their rent will simply be increased at the next opportunity.

Victorian Greens housing spokesperson Gabrielle de Vietri said renters should not have to stay silent about unsafe or unhealthy living conditions just to keep a roof over their heads.

Victorian Greens Housing Spokesperson Gabrielle de Vietri:

“These findings confirm what renters have been telling us for years – renters are often too scared to ask for repairs because the landlord can simply jack up the rent.”

“No one should have to choose between living with mould, leaks and broken fixtures or risking a rent increase they can’t afford.”

“In the past five years rents have gone up 2.5 times faster than wages. Renters are spending too much of what they earn just paying their rent.

“You can have all the minimum standards you like but property investors have tenants on a tight lead because they have all the power. The risk of an unlimited rent is just too much for most renters – they’d rather stay silent than go back out and compete for another home.

“Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government can talk about renters’ rights all it likes, but it means nothing when renters are too scared to exercise them. The Greens have been saying this for years, we need to cap rents.”

The Victorian Greens say Labor’s so-called “affordable housing” system is broken and that if the Allan Labor Government is serious about making housing affordable it should cap rents and build more public housing.

It comes as the Allan Labor Government announced changes to its Affordable Housing Rental Scheme, including lowering rent thresholds and extending lease lengths only in government operated homes.

However, this only affects one affordable housing program and the Greens say it does nothing to force developers to adopt genuinely affordable definition of “affordable” or address the broader problem that much of Victoria’s so-called “affordable housing” is still not genuinely affordable.

Across Victoria, developers and housing providers are delivering affordable housing through a range of different schemes, using different definitions of affordability and different methods of setting rent. In many cases, rents are not linked to what people actually earn, but instead to varying definitions of “market rent”.

The Greens say that without a clear statewide definition for both government and private developments , affordable housing has become a catch-all label that can be applied to housing that remains unaffordable for many Victorian renters.

In 2024, the parliamentary inquiry into rental and housing affordability recommended the Victorian Government legislate a clear and consistent definition of affordable housing to be adopted across all government departments, policies and agreements with the private sector.
Nearly two years later, Labor has failed to implement the recommendation.

The Greens say the lack of a clear definition has created loopholes that allow private developers and housing providers to access government grants, taxpayer subsidies and public land while continuing to charge rents that many Victorians cannot afford.

The party says that if Labor genuinely wants to make housing affordable, it must stop outsourcing affordability to the private market, cap rents and invest in a major expansion of public housing, where rents are linked to income and people have genuine housing security.

Victorian Greens Housing spokesperson Gabrielle de Vietri:

“Victoria’s affordable housing system is broken. Labor can’t tell Victorians exactly what affordable housing even means because there is no consistent definition.”

“So-called affordable housing has become a catch-all label that sounds good in a press release, but when developers put these homes on the market they don’t pass the pub test of what most people would actually consider affordable.”

“The only genuinely affordable homes are public homes, where all rents are linked to income rather than whatever version of market rent a developer decides to use.”

“If Labor was serious about making housing affordable, they would cap rents, build public housing and stop relying on profit-driven developers to deliver affordability.”