Australia walked away for the second time in three months from talks with the European Union toward a free trade deal. "We've not been able to make progress," Australia's Trade Minister Don Farrell said yesterday from Osaka. Australia was pushing for greater access to the European market for its beef, mutton and sugar, while Brussels wants an end to the use of certain geographic locators on products such as Prosecco and feta. Stay with trade, Farrell underscored to his Japanese counterpart the strength of bilateral ties between the nations and reassured Tokyo that Canberra would listen to its concerns on any applications to join a regional trade agreement. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to China later this week for the first visit by an Australian leader since 2016. Australia's iron ore powerhouse is preparing to reinvent itself. The Pilbara region has propelled the nation's economy for decades, but now it needs to contend with the end of China's infrastructure boom — and a greener future. Producers are experimenting with everything from microbes to straw, in a series of trials aimed at making their materials suitable for greener steelmaking. Iron ore stockpiles at Rio Tinto's Parker Point at Dampier, Western Australia. Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg Australia ordered the evacuation of towns in Queensland after about 80 fires destroyed more than 35 homes in one area and intensified on Saturday due to strong winds. Blazes around the rural town of Tara, which was ordered to evacuate, have burned more than 30,000 hectares. |
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