JULY NEWS UPDATES
Media release 2 July, 2007 - The Hon Warren Truss, MP Minister for Trade
Trade and economic ties with the United States growing strongly
Australia’s trade and economic relationship with the United States continued to strengthen in 2006 with overall two-way trade rising by 12 percent to $47.5 billion. Two-way investment exceeds $600 billion, the Australian Government Minister for Trade, Warren Truss, said today.
Mr Truss was speaking in Sydney after hosting the second ministerial-level Joint Committee meeting with his US counterpart, Ambassador Susan Schwab, the United States Trade Representative.
The Joint Committee meets annually to review the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement and explore ways to further boost the bilateral trade and investment relationship.
“The nine percent growth in Australian exports of goods and services to the US in 2006 is good news considering our exports have suffered from the effects of the strong Australian dollar,” Mr Truss said.
More than 80 percent of tariffs on Australian goods entering the US market were bound at zero from day one of the AUSFTA. Remaining tariffs will continue to fall as duty free quotas increase, including on key agricultural exports such as beef, dairy and lamb.
“At the same time, the 13.6 percent growth in US exports to Australia in 2006 reflects our strong demand for the capital goods and equipment needed to help sustain our robust economic growth.
“Ambassador Schwab and I welcomed the commercial opportunities now being created by the FTA. These include the growing number of Australian companies successfully doing business in the enormous US Government procurement market.”
The AUSFTA opened the US federal procurement market to Australian companies, and at present 31 US states have signed on (including the 10 largest procurement states). Austrade has assisted Australian companies win more than $110 million worth of procurement business in these markets.
“During the meeting, I underlined the importance of pressing on with priority work in the FTA. This work includes improving access for our agricultural exports and for Australian professionals who wish to enter the US market and further integration of our financial services markets. Service exports now make up a third of our exports to the United States.”
Mr Truss said the meeting with Ambassador Schwab also provided an opportunity for the two ministers to review the state of world trade talks since the breakdown of the G4 Potsdam meeting on 22 June.
“I raised Australia’s very real concerns about the direction of the debate in US Congress on farm subsidies in the 2007 Farm Bill. Substantial cuts in US farm subsidies will be important in the context of an overall outcome to the Doha Round.
“We agreed that the APEC meeting of trade ministers in Cairns later this week will be a crucial opportunity to send a strong signal of the Asia-Pacific region’s determination to achieve an ambitious package on agriculture, industrials and services in the Doha Round,” Mr Truss said.
Apec Energy Ministers Launch The Darwin Declaration
After two days of meetings, the eighth APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting in Darwin has concluded with the release of the 'Darwin Declaration', recognising the need to deploy cleaner, more efficient and sustainable energy technologies.
"This is a landmark achievement for the APEC member economies. Energy Ministers from across the 21 economies have agreed to a number of ways forward to achieve energy security and sustainable development," Australian Industry Minister and Chair of the meeting, Ian Macfarlane, said.
"The decisions and deliberations we have had, particularly in relation to clean development and climate, will be an integral part of broader considerations undertaken by APEC Leaders when they meet in Sydney in September 2007," Mr Macfarlane said.
"The future prosperity of the APEC region relies on securing energy supplies, and on clean and efficient energy production and use."
Key outcomes featured an agreement to improve energy efficiency through a range of measures, including the establishment of an Energy Investment & Trade Study and Roundtable, and a voluntary APEC Energy Peer Review Mechanism to improve the operations of energy markets.
"The voluntary Peer Review will focus on assisting APEC economies to increase their energy efficiency and reduce their dependence on oil," Mr Macfarlane said.
"This will support the twin objectives of energy security and environmental sustainability and highlights the fact that while energy is paramount to APEC, environmental sustainability is also a key concern of member economies."
The Declaration looks at emergency preparedness to ensure our APEC economies manage the consequences of short-term supply disruptions, improving oil data sharing and cooperation with other international energy organizations.
It also looked at developing best practice towards energy efficient transportation, intensifying efforts to develop and deploy techniques for the cost-effective use of non-food feedstock's and encouraged international collaboration on alternative fuels.
A copy of the Darwin Declaration can be found at www.industry.gov.au/apec2007mediacentre/
Australian Economy Experiencing Robust Growth
The Australian economy is growing at its fastest rate in more than three years as an unprecedented burst in business investment starts to reap rewards.
In the year to end March 2007, GDP in Australia increased by 3.8 per cent despite a 22 per cent plunge in farm production because of the drought.
The national accounts data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 6 June 2007 show that GDP increased by 1.6 per cent in the March quarter 2007. This is the strongest quarterly growth since the December quarter 2003.
Growth was broadly based, with strong contributions from household consumption and business investment, and a strengthening in export growth.
Business investment grew strongly in the quarter. Private business investment increased by 7.6 per cent, although quarterly growth was affected by the reclassification of Telstra from the public to the private sector. Adjusting for the effect of Telstra, private business investment increased by 4.8 per cent in the quarter. Engineering construction is continuing to grow strongly.
Business profitability, as measured by corporate gross operating surplus, rose by 4.4 per cent in the quarter to be 13.9 per cent higher than a year ago. Profitability is strong in a number of industries including manufacturing and retail trade. At 28.1 per cent, the profit share of the economy is at a record level.
The terms of trade are currently at their highest level since the 1950s. The increase in the terms of trade has supported strong growth in measures of national income, with real gross domestic income growing by 1.9 per cent in the quarter to be 5.4 per cent higher than a year ago.
Exports rose by 1.4 per cent in the March quarter to be 4.7 per cent higher than a year ago. A fall in rural commodity exports of 7.9 per cent in the quarter was more than offset by increases in other exports. Resource exports – led by coal, coke and briquettes – were up by 2.4 per cent in the quarter to be 7.5 per cent higher than a year ago, while exports of elaborately transformed manufactures increased by 4.4 percent in the quarter to be 6.7 per cent higher than a year ago. Imports increased by 2.2 per cent in the quarter reflecting strong growth in business investment and household consumption.
The National Accounts show that inflationary pressures remain modest. The household consumption chain price index grew by 2.2 per cent over the past year, and is consistent with growth of 2.4 per cent in the consumer price index over the same period.
The Australian economy is in the midst of its longest economic expansion since Federation. Since 1996 real wages have increased by 20.8 per cent, while unemployment is now at it's lowest in 32 years.
Strong investment growth is expanding the economy’s capacity and will sustain growth in the period ahead. The orderly adjustment to the strong terms of trade demonstrates the increased flexibility and resilience of the Australian economy.
[Top]
JUNE NEWS UPDATES
OECD Predicts Economic Growth to Recover Strongly
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) latest Economic Outlook (No. 81, released 25 May 2007) presents a positive outlook for the Australian economy, with economic growth expected to recover strongly in 2007 and 2008, after being negatively impacted by a severe drought in 2006. Importantly, it notes that the Government’s 2007-08 Budget measures are likely to enhance the economy’s supply potential in the longer term.
The OECD forecasts Australia’s real GDP to grow by 3.3 per cent in both 2007 and 2008, well above the OECD average growth of 2.7 per cent in 2007 and 2008. The OECD notes that strong profits, boosted by the improved terms of trade and record capacity utilisation, have stimulated investment projects in Australia. Over the forecast period, the OECD expects a likely rebound in agricultural production and increasing exports growth.
The OECD notes that Australia’s unemployment rate at 4.4 per cent is at its lowest level in 32 years. The OECD expects Australia’s strong labour market performance to continue, with the unemployment rate forecast to remain low and well under the OECD average. Despite the strong labour market, the OECD states that wage increases have remained moderate. The OECD notes inflation slowed to 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2007 and that underlying inflation has eased. Importantly, the OECD predicts inflation to remain within the Government’s target inflation band over the forecast horizon.
The OECD appreciates Australia's policy of maintaining a prudent fiscal stance to avoid fuelling demand, with the economy close to full capacity.
In terms of economic activity across the OECD more broadly, the Economic Outlook forecasts growth to continue to expand strongly in 2007 and 2008, underpinned by strong job creation and falling unemployment, ongoing buoyancy in emerging market economies and favourable financial conditions. The positive outlook is supported by solid growth in the Euro area and Japan. Although economic activity in the US is projected to moderate in 2007 due to the weak housing market, growth is expected to gradually regain momentum during 2008.
$600 Million Grainol Ethanol Project Awarded Major Project Status
Australia's biofuels industry recently received a significant boost with Major Project Facilitation (MPF) status granted to Grainol Limited’s bioethanol project in Western Australia.
Australian Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Ian Macfarlane, said the $600 million project would create 250 jobs in the construction phase and 40 ongoing jobs during operation.
"Grainol will produce almost 400 megalitres of bioethanol a year from two new plants at Kwinana and Bunbury," Mr Macfarlane said.
“This project will see Australia expand its bioethanol production using leading European technology and skills.
"The two plants will help diversify the local economy and help Western Australian grain growers find new customers.
"As well as contributing to the growth of the Australian biofuels industry, the project will create valuable job opportunities in regional areas," the Minister said.
MPF Status will see Invest Australia assist Grainol Limited through Commonwealth and State Government approvals and help the company identify government programs which could be of assistance.
Between July 2002 and March 2007, Invest Australia played a verified role in attracting or facilitating 357 projects valued at $55 billion, potentially creating 27,000 jobs and generating more than $12.5 billion in export earnings.
Cell Research Stems to Australia's Sunny Coast for ISSCS Conference, 17-20 June 2007
For the first time, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is holding its annual meeting and conference outside of North America, nominating Cairns in far north Queensland as host.
Co-hosted by the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASSC), and supported by event sponsor, Invest Australia, the ISSCR conference boasts an impressive list of internationally renowned speakers from across Europe and the United States, as well as China, South Korea, Japan and Israel.
Australia will be represented by Australian-based key note speaker, Professor David de Krester, whose research into reproductive biology, infertility and endocrinology has been internationally recognised. Also, Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories' Professor Richard Boyd will be discussing the barriers of immune rejection to successful stem cell therapies and his approach to overcome this problem.
Other Australians including the ASCC, Australian Phenomics Facility, Bioline Australia, Mesoblast, Stem Cell Sciences, the National Health and Medical Research Council, QLD Clinical Trials Network and Monash. University are among the 60 conference exhibitors.
Attracting around 1600 delegates – remarkably more than three-quarters of those attending are from abroad – the event's popularity is of no surprise.
As a recognised global leader in cutting-edge stem cell research with a significant number of stem-cell based products in clinical development, Australia's capacity for international partnerships, its clear and transparent legislative framework and incentives for global biotech firms to undertake research in Australia presents a compelling case for conducting stem cell research.
Australia’s amended legislation, allowing stem cell research and therapeutic cloning at the national level, will enable Australia to cement its place at the forefront of stem cell research and will be a key player in the advancement of stem cell applications.
[Top]
MAY NEWS UPDATES
BIO 2007 Boston - Bio Networking and Partnering Opportunities
This year, the world's premier biotech event: BIO2007, the annual exhibition organised by the US Biotechnology Industry Organisation will open in Boston on 6 May 2007. The Australian pavilion will be the scene of the Australia and New Zealand Networking and Partnering wine tasting between 2:30 and 4:00 pm on Tuesday 8 May. This is a great opportunity to meet with potential partners: download an invitation at the Australian BIO 2007 website.
BIO is the largest biotechnology conference in the world, with international participation from industry, government and academia. This year, more than 400 of the expected 20,000 participants will be delegates from Australia. A list of Australian exhibitors is available on the above website.
BIO offers an unparalleled opportunity for global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to meet Australian biotechnology representatives. The Australian biotechnology sector is keen to partner internationally, and many successful partnerships have stemmed from previous BIO conferences. In 2006, 226 of the 345 alliances that were announced by Australian biotechnology companies were with international partners, mostly from North America and Europe. Online business matching services for Australian biotechnology firms and North American and European companies are available at the Austrade BIO 2007 website.
Invest Australia CEO Barry Jones will chair a BIO seminar highlighting Australia's biotechnology prowess on Monday 7 May. The seminar, titled "The Australian Advantage", will be held from 2.00 to 3.30 pm in room 254AB. Speakers will be Prof Susan Pond, Chairman of AusBiotech, Dr Ian Poiner, CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and Zita Cunningham from CSL Limited.
Another seminar, highlighting science and innovation in Australian agribiotech, will be held on 8 May at 9.15 am in room 253C. If you would like to learn more about opportunities for biotechnology investment in Australia, visit Invest Australia at the Australian pavilion (booth # 1515).
To learn more about the Australian presence at BIO2007, visit the Australian BIO 2007 website. For details of BIO sessions and presentations, you can explore www.BIO2007.org.
2007 Release of Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage
Australian Resources Minister, Ian Macfarlane, announced on 16 April the release of 34 new offshore petroleum exploration areas in Commonwealth waters.
"The Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release program is a key part of the Government's strategy to encourage investment in petroleum exploration and provide for Australia's long term energy security," Mr Macfarlane said.
The 2007 release areas are located across six basins off the Northern Territory, Western Australia, the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands and Victoria coastlines.
The release also includes six Designated Frontier Areas which are eligible for the frontier exploration tax incentive of 150 per cent uplift for exploration expenditure.
"Increasingly, global petroleum explorers are viewing Australia as a 'big gas' opportunity with low sovereign risk, and Australia has attracted a number of new global explorers over the past two years," Mr Macfarlane said.
"Government initiatives, such as $135 million in increased funding to Geoscience Australia for pre-competitive data acquisition; tax incentives to encourage exploration in frontier areas; and an improved speculative seismic data acquisition policy; have played their part in boosting Australia's attractiveness to explorers.
"The take-up rate of acreage released each year has risen from just short of 50 per cent in 2002-03 to 90 per cent for the 2005 release. Borrowings of pre-competitive data from Geoscience Australia, used by explorers to define the best drill locations, have tripled between 2004 and 2006."
Bids for 17 of the new areas close on 18 October 2007, with the remaining 17 areas closing on 17 April 2008. All bids are assessed under the work program bidding system and will be awarded for an initial term of six years.
Further information on the 2007 acreage release is available at www.industry.gov.au/petexp. Copies of the CD-ROM release package can be requested from the Department by emailing petroleum.exploration@industry.gov.au.
[Top]
APRIL NEWS UPDATES
Australian Citizenship Act 2007 Receives Royal Assent
The Southern Cross Group (SCG) today welcomed the news that the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 received Royal Assent on 15 March 2007. The Act was passed by Parliament in Canberra on 1 March, and the provisions impacting those in the Australian diaspora are expected to come into force on 1 July this year.
SCG Australian Coordinator John MacGregor said, “Thousands of people in the Australian expatriate community around the globe have been waiting for this legislation for a very long time. We are very pleased that at long last the changes that the SCG has lobbied so hard for over such a long period are finally law, and that people will be able to apply for Australian citizenship under the new provisions from 1 July 2007. This legislation represents a more inclusive approach to Australian citizenship towards the Australian diaspora than anytime previously in Australia’s history.”
Resumption of Citizenship Automatically Forfeited before 4 April 2002
A key aspect of the new Citizenship Act is the introduction of a simplified resumption provision for those who voluntarily acquired another citizenship before 4 April 2002 (the date of repeal of Section 17 of the current 1948 Act), thereby automatically forfeiting their Australian citizenship.
A pdf version of this media release is available at: http://www.southern-cross-group.org/
Voting in Australia while you live Overseas
A federal election in Australia is expected towards the end of this year. Everything you need to know about voting and enrolment while you live abroad is explained in the Southern Cross Group's info sheet "What you need to know about voting in Australia while you live overseas", accessible at: http://www.southern-cross-group.org/
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) enrolment forms and procedures will change on Monday 16 April 2007. From that date, new proof of identity requirements will be in place. Overseas applicants for enrolment will have to provide their Australian passport number or Australian driver's licence number on the enrolment form. Most expats should have current passports and have no problem with this change. But if you don't have a passport or licence, other proof of identity will be required plus the form will need to be witnessed by an "authorised person". If you can't manage that, then two people already enrolled, who've known you for a month or more, will have to confirm your identity.
If you want to enrol from outside Australia using the current form (which requires a declaration by a witness who is eligible to enrol for Australian federal elections) then it must reach the AEC by midnight Australian time on Sunday 15 April 2007: http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/what/enrolment/forms/ER016OSw_0207.pdf
You can fax it, or scan and e-mail your signed form to info@aec.gov.au. If you can't be sure that your completed overseas enrolment form will get there by Sunday 15 April, then wait until 16 April and download the new form on or after that date from www.aec.gov.au.
If you are already on the electoral roll, and you just want to change your status to that of an Eligible Overseas Elector, then use this form: http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/what/enrolment/forms/ER022Ew_0307_f.pdf
To check whether you are currently enrolled, use the AEC Online Enrolment Verification Facility: https://oevf.aec.gov.au/
Join in the new blog discussion about Aussie expat voting on the GetUp! website and share your views and experiences: http://www.getup.org.au/blog_details.asp?blog_post_id=132
GetUp! is campaigning in Australia to alert people to the fact that the electoral rolls will close virtually immediately the next federal election is called due to new legislation enacted last year. Since most people only think about getting their enrolment in order once an election is called, this change may well operate to disenfranchise you or people you know. So get your enrolment organised with the AEC now. A federal election is expected towards the end of this year. It will be too late once the election is called. To check out the GetUp! campaign: http://www.getup.org.au
When signing the GetUp! online petition overseas Australians should give their Australian home state or territory.
Have you discovered that you are disenfranchised? Any other comments or questions? Contact the SCG on info@southern-cross-group,org
http://www.southern-cross-group.org/
[Top]
MARCH NEWS UPDATES
Australia's Unemployment Rate at a 32 Year Low
Reflecting Australia's continuing strong economic performance, the country's unemployment rate fell to a 32 year low of 4.5 per cent in January 2007 and annual growth in employment remains on an upward trend.Australia has now seen unemployment below 5 per cent for nine months with 300 thousand new jobs created in the last year. In the last decade 2 million new jobs have been created.
International Data Comparison for February 2007
Invest Australia’s International Data Comparison Fact Sheet provides an easy-to-read comparison of Australia ’s performance and position across a range of key economic and investment related indicators with data effective to 14 February 2007 .
Australia First in the World for Corporate Governance
According to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) 2006, Australia's corporate boards were ranked first in the world for effectively supervising the management of companies.
Given the importance of high corporate governance standards in creating a secure and profitable environment for investors, it is not surprising that Australia's competitiveness as an investment destination is on the rise.
Australia is also ranked number one in the world in efficiently managing shareholder value and third best for the effective protection of shareholders' rights.
Australia's business friendly regulatory environment is undisputed. A recent OECD report cites Australia's approach to regulation as a best practice benchmark for other OECD countries. The report identified Australia as having the fewest restrictions on product markets of the 30 OECD countries. It is also considered to have the least public ownership of business and the least restrictive impact of business regulation on economic behaviour.
The World Bank (2006) has ranked Australia as the fastest place in the world to start a business with regulatory procedures taking just two days. The majority of overseas investment in Australia does not require approval. Where approval is required, almost all investment proposals are approved.
Transparency in Australia's financial sector is ranked second best in the Asia Pacific region and in terms of intellectual property, Australia's patent and copyright enforcement regime is also ranked second best in the region. Australia is also rated in the top seven countries in the world in terms of the absence of bribery and corruption.
Australia Rated Third Most Free Economy in the World
According to the recently released US Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal's 2007 Index of Economic Freedom, the Australian economy has been rated the third freest economy out of the 157 countries measured.
Australia achieved a total score of 82.7 per cent, behind Hong Kong (89.3 per cent) and Singapore (85.7 per cent). The US was ranked fourth (82.0 per cent), New Zealand fifth (81.6 per cent) and the United Kingdom sixth (81.6 per cent).
The report's lead author, Tim Kane, who is director of the Washington based Centre for International Trade and Economics said Australia's economy was in many regards an international role model scoring above 90 per cent in four of the ten measures used in the report to assess economic freedom. Dr Kane said that Australia's ranking has jumped six places since last year's survey because of an improved methodology and the inclusion for the first time of a measure of labour freedom.
The 2007 Index of Economic Freedom measures 157 countries across 10 specific factors of economic freedom. The factors studied are: business, trade, fiscal policy, government intervention, monetary policy, investment, financial freedom, property rights, corruption and labour.
Timor Sea Gas Projects Granted Major Project Status
Australian Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has granted Major Project Facilitation (MPF) status to speed development of two major Timor Sea gas projects.
The Timor Sea LNG Project and the Tassie Shoal Methanol Project involve development of gas accumulations in the region, including the Epenarra gas discovery in the exploration permit area awarded in 2004 to Methanol Australia Limited, now known as MEO Australia Limited. “These projects will further develop Australia's valuable petroleum resources and serve the rapidly expanding markets in the Asia Pacific region," Mr Macfarlane said. "Australia also has lower sovereign risk and is highly competitive compared with other LNG-producing countries.
"MEO Australia Limited proposes to use advanced engineering concepts including the world's first offshore LNG production and loading facility. The LNG and methanol production facilities could also act as a hub to encourage the development of stranded gas discoveries in adjoining fields." Mr Macfarlane said the LNG project and the adjoining methanol project would share common infrastructure on Tassie Shoal, a shallow area in the Bonaparte Basin, about 275 km north of Darwin. "The new offshore facilities are expected to produce about 3 million tonnes of LNG a year and about 5,000 tonnes of methanol a day," Mr Macfarlane said. "As well as providing a boost to Australia’s exports, the projects offer considerable scope for economic benefits to Darwin.
"Each project will generate approximately 500 local jobs during the construction phase. Both are expected to create approximately 110 ongoing jobs when they are operational." Mr Macfarlane said MPF status meant the Australian Government's inward investment agency, Invest Australia, would work with MEO Australia Limited to progress the projects through the approvals process and identify relevant government programs that may assist the projects.
FTA with Gulf State Promises Substantial Benefits
The Australian Government will be seeking free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as soon as possible. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The GCC is an important and growing market for Australia, our ninth-largest overall, with exports worth $4.8 billion in 2005/06.
The GCC is the largest market for Australian exports of motor vehicles, and a valuable market for a range of agricultural goods, metals and services. The GCC, which is aiming to achieve a common internal market by 2007, is currently engaged in FTA negotiations with a number of its trading partners.
"Given the importance of the GCC market to the Australian motor vehicle industry, it is imperative to maintain and consolidate Australia's competitive position in that market to underpin future growth and employment in the Australian industry," the Australian Minister for Trade, Warren Truss said.
The Australian Government commissioned a study by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade into the merits and feasibility of an FTA with the GCC.
The study found that an FTA would maximise Australia's long-term commercial interest in the GCC, a region that was experiencing strong economic growth and was implementing economic reforms that promised greater market openness in the future.
Invest Australia works closely with local stakeholders and the business community in the GCC to help potential investors build up their business in Australia. The rapid growth in trade and Australia's investment links with the UAE and the wider Gulf region resulted in Invest Australia recently opening an office in Dubai.
GM Holden Announces a Lucrative Export Programme
GM Holden, a fully owned Australian subsidiary of General Motors, has announced a North American export programme for a left hand drive version of the Australian developed VE Commodore. The export vehicle will be rebadged for the United States as the Pontiac G8 and is expected to be in full production at Holden's manufacturing facilities in South Australia in late 2007.
The VE Commodore, designed and engineered in Australia, demonstrates the Australian automotive industry's world class capabilities. Holden invested over $1 billion in developing the VE Commodore which has been named Car of the Year 2006 by Wheels, one of Australia's top selling car magazines. Judged the top car in a field of 21 vehicles, the VE drew special praise for its body strength, aerodynamics, handling and electronic driver aids.
[Top]
JANUARY NEWS UPDATES
OECD Sees A Strengthening Australian Economy
The OECD’s latest Economic Outlook released 28 November 2006 presents a positive outlook for the Australian economy, with economic growth over the next two years expected to accelerate.
The OECD forecasts Australia’s real GDP to grow by 2.6 per cent in 2006, before picking up to 3.0 per cent in 2007 and 3.4 per cent in 2008. The forecasts incorporate some rebalancing of growth with increasing export volumes offsetting an expected easing in domestic demand. In line with strengthening exports and strong foreign demand, the OECD expects the current account deficit to narrow.
The OECD expects Australia’s strong labour market performance to continue, with the unemployment rate forecast to remain well below the OECD average. Reflecting the impact of high energy prices and fruit prices, the OECD predicts that inflation will peak in 2006, before easing in 2007 to average around 2.8 per cent, within the Reserve Bank’s inflation band.
In the OECD’s recent Economic Survey of the Australian Economy the OECD noted that Australia’s ‘recent macroeconomic performance continues to be impressive’ and that ‘living standards have steadily improved since the beginning of the 1990s and now surpass all G7 countries except the United States’.
Australia Leads the Way in Low Emissions Technology
The latest recipient in the Australian Government's $500 million Low Emissions Demonstration Fund (LEDF) is the Gorgon Gas Project operated by Chevron. The A$60 million grant will support the world's largest carbon geosequestration project on Barrow Island off the coast of Western Australia. The project will aim to capture carbon dioxide from the Gorgon gas field and inject it deep underground thereby lowering carbon dioxide emissions by up to three million tonnes each year.
As Australia is a resource rich country and net exporter of energy, carbon capture and storage technologies offer Australia its largest single opportunity to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Studies suggest that up to 25% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions could be stored in underground reservoirs.
The LEDF aims to support the commercial demonstration of technologies that have the potential to deliver large scale greenhouse gas emission reductions in the energy sector. It is designed to leverage $1 billion in additional private sector investment.
Use of low emissions technologies is a key element of the Australian Government’s climate change strategy, enabling Australia to reduce the cost of meeting future greenhouse gas emission constraints without harming the competitiveness of its energy and energy-dependent industries. The LEDF is designed to reduce the risk and costs of demonstrating these technologies and to ensure their long term commercial viability. Australia aims to share the results of low emission demonstration projects internationally.
[Top]
