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Today's reading time is 7 minutes. - Miko Santos
Australia's climate politics erupted yesterday as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the nation's 2035 emissions reduction target of 62 to 70 percent, immediately drawing fire from both sides of the political spectrum. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley slammed the government's "trifecta of energy failures," demanding clear answers on costs that industry estimates could exceed $500 billion for consumers, while questioning the government's credibility given their struggle to meet current 2030 targets.
Meanwhile, crossbench senators and the Greens attacked from the other direction, with David Pocock calling it "not ambitious enough" and Larissa Waters labeling it an "utter failure" and "shameless capitulation to coal and gas corporations."
The climate announcement comes as the Albanese government faces mounting diplomatic embarrassment in the Pacific, with Papua New Guinea reportedly consulting China about Australia's stalled defense treaty after the PM prematurely declared the deal "signed, sealed and delivered." Shadow Finance Minister James Patterson highlighted the government's credibility problem, noting the PM "was also confident last week that this would be signed yesterday, and it wasn't." The opposition is framing this as part of a broader pattern of incompetence in managing crucial strategic relationships with Australia's nearest neighbors.
On the domestic front, Australia's job market sent mixed signals with unemployment holding steady at 4.2% despite losing 5,000 positions overall, as full-time work declined by 41,000 jobs while part-time employment grew by 36,000. The shift particularly impacted women, who lost 30,000 full-time positions, though both genders saw increases in part-time opportunities. Treasurer Jim Chalmers emphasized the government's broader jobs record of creating over 1.1 million positions since taking office.
Meanwhile, Australian consumers scored a significant privacy victory as Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind ruled Kmart's facial recognition system unlawful, finding the retailer violated the Privacy Act by scanning every customer entering 28 stores over two years without consent or notification. The decision follows a similar ruling against Bunnings last October, establishing clear precedent that retailers can't bypass privacy protections in the name of fraud prevention, with Kind emphasizing that biometric data deserves higher protection and that less intrusive alternatives were available to address refund fraud concerns.
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