News, speeches and media

Joint communiqué between Senator the Hon Don Farrell, Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism, and His Excellency Dr Nguyen Chi Dung, Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment.

The Australian Government will provide an additional $8 million (VT 655 million) to support the Vanuatu Government with its ongoing response to Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin.

Commonwealth, State and Territory Trade and Investment Ministers met in Townsville, Queensland, on 12 April 2023 for the inaugural meeting of the Ministerial Council on Trade and Investment. 

The Australian Government was deeply concerned to learn of the harsh sentences handed down to human rights lawyers and activists, Mr Xu Zhiyong and Mr Ding Jiaxi, on 10 April 2023.

Australia is deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon.

These Guiding Principles are intended to prevent the misuse of surveillance technologies by governments and those acting on their behalf in three main areas of concern.

The expression of civil rights and free speech without fear is a cornerstone value that we share. Authoritarian governments are increasingly using cyber means to target these groups, both within their countries and across international borders, including in acts of transnational repression to censor political opposition and track dissidents.

The Declaration of Principles to Combat Transnational Repression calls upon democratic governments to acknowledge and commit to addressing the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of transnational repression, whereby states reach across borders to harm, intimidate, and silence journalists, activists, dissidents, and diaspora communities.

We therefore commit to enhancing beneficial ownership transparency, to make it more difficult for corrupt actors to conceal their identities, assets, and criminal activities through the misuse of opaque corporate structures and legal persons.