News, speeches and media

The Australian Government will provide $1 million to support the people of Afghanistan following the deadly earthquake which struck Herat Province.

We are pleased to confirm that Australian citizen Ms Cheng Lei has arrived safely home in Australia and has been reunited with her family, after more than three years of detention in China.

The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong, and the Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell, the Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Enrique A. Manalo, and the Secretary of Trade and Industry, the Hon Alfredo E. Pascual, held the sixth Philippines–Australia Ministerial Meeting (PAMM) in Adelaide on 10 October 2023.

The Hon Tim Watts MP, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs will travel to Sri Lanka, an important partner for Australia in the Indian Ocean region. We have a strong interest in an Indian Ocean region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, where countries of the region can cooperate, trade and thrive.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell will welcome Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Secretary of Trade Alfredo Pascual for the sixth Philippines–Australia Ministerial Meeting (PAMM) on 9 October in Adelaide.

Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell, and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, His Excellency Mr Nishimura Yasutoshi, co-chaired the fifth Japan-Australia Ministerial Economic Dialogue on 8 October in Melbourne.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong announces the appointments of Professor Sango Mahanty, Ms Audra Morrice and Ms Hayley Winchcombe to the Australia-ASEAN Council.

The Australian Government will provide AUD $31.25 million to support critical upgrades to Nuku’alofa Port in the Kingdom of Tonga.

The Australian Government is extending punitive tariffs on goods imported from Russia and Belarus for a further two years, until October 2025.

On September 22, 2023, Ministers and representatives of the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) met with Pacific Ministers to listen, discuss, consult, and collectively shape a shared vision and agenda for the PBP.