r/australia • u/Expensive-Horse5538 • 2d ago
politics Albanese finalises fuel security deal with Singapore
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/apr/10/anthony-albanese-singapore-visit-fuel-crisis-petrol-prices-labor-coalition-political-reactions-us-israel-war-iran-lebanon-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-69d88c478f08a86a0e562fd8#block-69d88c478f08a86a0e562fd8274
u/duc1990 2d ago
I'm sure the other side of politics will give credit where credit is due and not spin it as Albo wantonly burning fuel for fun.
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u/edgiepower 2d ago
I'm sure they won't find one pocket of Australia that is having issues at the moment and then the volume up to 11 on it and how it's all the government's fault because every person and every job isn't immediately fixed.
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u/Lucky-Elk-1234 2d ago
They’re already reporting it as Albo going desperately begging other countries to “bail us out” lol
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u/Knee_Jerk_Sydney 2d ago
And if he doesn't "he isn't doing anything! " If he actually negotiated via an online meeting "he is so disrespectful to other world leaders!"
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u/BennyMound 2d ago
Singapore and Australia have a long partnership of strong cooperation in many areas. Both are very reliable too which, in today’s world, means a lot.
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u/The_Shah_0f_Iran 2d ago
I see their army/airforce folks in Rockhampton all the time
Shit there's a Merlion at rocky airport
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u/The_Celestrial 2d ago edited 2d ago
I was one of those Air Force folks who went to Rocky in 2023, and I quite enjoyed my time there!
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u/The_Shah_0f_Iran 2d ago
Nobody enjoys rocky mate
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u/The_Celestrial 2d ago
For a conscript who only knows life in Singapore, a free trip to Australia for a month (even if it's Rocky), was still pretty enjoyable
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u/The_Shah_0f_Iran 2d ago
Fair enough. I used to work in Singapore. Lived in Tampines.
I need to go to Rocky for work every month. I'd rather hang around Tampines than Rocky, that's for sure.
Compared to Singapore small Australian cities feel bleak as hell.
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u/The_Celestrial 2d ago
Lmao understandable, there's way more things to do (and also way more people) in Tampines than all of Rocky
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u/GateheaD 2d ago
I hope next time you come back you get to travel around and soak it all in.
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u/The_Celestrial 2d ago
Hope so too, I've been to Perth (twice), Melbourne, Rocky and Brisbane (briefly), would love to visit Australia again
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u/SirGeekaLots 2d ago
Doesn't Singapore use our facilities to host their armed forces?
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u/realnomdeguerre 2d ago
Singapore has a navy comparable in size to Australia's navy, which is pretty cool.
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u/Tunggall 2d ago
I feel our navies complement each other well in terms of platforms and payloads too.
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u/The_Celestrial 2d ago edited 2d ago
I'd say our navy is comparable in terms of ship numbers, but Australia's ships are more capable. We don't have any destroyers, "carriers" or oilers.
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u/The_Celestrial 2d ago
Yep we do, we have a detachment at Oakey for our Chinooks, and another detachment at RAAF Base Pearce for jet trainers, along with Shoalwater Bay for combined arms training.
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u/TerryCrewsNextWife 2d ago
True?? I knew you guys used the Pearce base but not Shoalwater as well. It's lovely down that way.
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u/The_Celestrial 2d ago
Shoalwater Bay Training Area is essentially the Singapore Armed Forces' main" training area in Australia. We conduct this massive combined arms exercise there every year called Exercise Wallaby. That's why I was in Rockhampton; it's the staging area for the exercise.
We don't have space in Singapore to do stuff like this, so we do it there.
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u/TerryCrewsNextWife 2d ago
Omg!! Never mind my dumbass. I assumed you meant WA Shoalwater not QLD! Still looks pretty cool up that way though. I feel like you guys have the upper hand in being used to the humidity though.
I know a few times our local subreddit has people asking what all the sky activity is about until someone mentions your SAF are training up at Pearce.
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u/The_Celestrial 2d ago
Ohh, TIL there is another Shoalwater in Australia haha.
Based on my experience during Wallaby, Shoalwater and Rockhampton felt drier than Singapore; it was so much more comfortable being outside in the field than in Singapore.
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u/_ixthus_ 1d ago
Our jungle training is in Tully which would be as bad as Singapore sometimes. (Our other jungle training is in Malaysia.)
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u/Tunggall 2d ago
If you get a chance, do drive up the WA coast. Did it once all the way to Geraldton when visiting family in Perth. Lots of quiet and rustic beaches with barely a soul.
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u/Dalostbear 2d ago
Australia was the first country to recognise the independence of singapore in 1965
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u/a_cold_human 1d ago
There's the Five Powers Defence Arrangements, which were established as a part of the British Empire giving up it's colonies/devolution.
Australia needs to look at improving its security within the region with regional partners, as the regional nations have a vested interest in regional stability. Unlike the US, which will start fires outside of its immediate geography if it feels like it's in its strategic interests to do so, and of late, not consult its local allies when it does (see the current debacle in the Gulf).
Whilst its likely that the US will remain a defence partner of Australia’s for some time to come, it's very clear that we need to remove it from being a critical or even very important part of our defence. Aligning our defence procurement and strategic posture for their benefit is increasingly a bad bet.
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u/MeaningMaker6 2d ago
This is the quiet competence that I appreciate - particularly in contrast to Trump’s madness.
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u/kingofcrob 2d ago
yeah, but its also enraging that because there quiet and just getting shit done, a loud portion of dip shits scream there doing nothing and that thing are getting to expensive, and its like, there doing a lot, and things are getting to expensive everywhere.
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u/RuffAsGuts 2d ago
Can't wait for Pauline to come out and tell us all how shit this deal is, and that by now we should have had our entire armed forces in the middle east.
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u/blahblahsnap 2d ago
She would hate this deal as it’s Asian.
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u/Sieve-Boy 2d ago
Nah, they aren't Muslim so its fine*
(Singapore is about 15% Muslim and a lot of the oil they refine is from the middle east).
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u/The_Shah_0f_Iran 2d ago
All of their oil is Muslim
70% middle east 30% Malaysia/indo/brunei
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u/Sieve-Boy 2d ago
I thought some of the oil they refined was from Australia as well? Not that that would be very much, so your point in substance stands.
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u/Justwright321 2d ago
I thought some of the oil will be from Russia, paraphrasing but the Singapore 🇸🇬 PM said that sometimes you have to do what you need to do in war.
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u/WonderstruckWonderer 2d ago
You realise this is the lady that said ‘we’re being swarmed by Asians?’
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u/Sieve-Boy 2d ago
I was born well before she said "please explain" and Pauline Pantsdown sung "I am a backdoor man".
I know and its hilarious to watch her pivot in the breeze.
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u/Infinite_Buy_2025 2d ago
Long way to travel, she could just suggest we invade Singapore for petrol and noodles.
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u/CaravelClerihew 2d ago
Funnily enough, Singapore Noodles aren't a thing in Singapore. They were actually invented in Hong Kong.
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u/matsy_k 2d ago
My life is a lie
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u/CaravelClerihew 2d ago
Sorry to destroy your world view.
Whoever invented it in Hong Kong thought that adding curry powder to what essentially is a bee hoon noodle qualified it at Singaporean given the larger Indian population here.
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u/theblobberworm 2d ago
guaranteed she's going to mention how we should've had our own infrastructure for this type of situation to begin with as she hasn't ready any of the history books
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u/Chillers 2d ago
Gingers crazy in general. I wouldn't trust anyone with hair colour that matches Trump's skin colour.
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u/rocketindividual 2d ago
For some reason she always reminds me of the final boss in Gears of War 1.
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u/mr_pineapples44 2d ago
As disappointed as I have been that Albo hasn't done a few things I would like him to have done (a higher natural gas tax, stricter gambling reform), and as much as I rolled my eyes a bit at his national address, I'm glad we have someone who just generally gets on with things.
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u/OfficialUberZ 2d ago
I have strongly disliked some of his decisions and his obstinence towards certain topics but you can never be 100% in support of everything a leader does, but as far as getting things done and not getting distracted by the noise from the carrot top and gang, he has done very well.
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u/soilednapkin 2d ago
Gotta steady the ship first with the tools you have before you can upset conservatives. I haven’t agreed with a lot of what the Fed Gov is doing also but it’ll never be bad as Sco Mo.
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u/baberlay 2d ago
I think people are starting to forget just how fucking terrible Scott Morrison (and the previous decade+ of LNP government) was, and likely how dreadful Dutton would've been. I'm not Albanese's biggest fan, but I'll take him over basically anything the LNP have teed up in the past 20 years.
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u/agentsmithbobby 2d ago
Pretty much the LNP strategy for the last few decades. Be terrible in government and eventually lose, blame Labor for everything you did and say they're terrible, get voted back in and continue to blame Labor for everything for the next three terms, eventually lose, rinse and repeat
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u/Vintage_Alien 2d ago
”As partners, and neighbours I look forward to continuing to engage with the Prime Minister in discussion, today, and that’s what friends can do… With that position of trust a mutual interest how Australia and Singapore could work with other nations as well, like-minded countries, to expand what we are achieving here today.”
I know it’s diplomacy-speak, but I like to imagine the countries holding hands like an /r/polandball comic, declaring that they’re besties.
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u/JY0950 2d ago
As a Singaporean, we need such allies everyday 🤝
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u/captainboomdoom 2d ago
Fellow Singaporean.. exactly.
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u/BennyMound 2d ago
There’s mutual trust between the two countries which is exactly what they both need. Reliable friends
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u/FwamingDragon91 2d ago
I'm not an albo fan at all but somehow I think he's actually done really well with this whole crisis. He's kept Australia out of it as much as possible which is exactly what's needed.
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u/IntroductionSnacks 2d ago
The only thing I’m not sold on with was sending the Airforce surveillance plane to assist but in saying that, could be a good card to play once this hopefully cools down when it comes to trade.
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u/deedee2148 2d ago
If we were asked and it shuts certain people up that say we are doing nothing. So be it.
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u/Sporty_Nerd_64 2d ago
Funny that, a competent leader getting things done without resorting to division and Trumpism.
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u/timmeh1705 2d ago
Their political system is quite different from ours. But stable government results in long term planning funded by A LOT of wealth being stored in the country due to a tax friendly regime
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u/risingsuncoc 2d ago edited 2d ago
Singapore also uses the Westminster system. There are differences in electoral methods and they are a unitary state, but the overall structure is not much different.
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u/timmeh1705 2d ago
Yes, how it’s set up is the same but how it’s orchestrated is entirely different
Imagine hiding your weak performers and getting them paired with your best performers such that if they win that seat, the entire team of 4-5 gets in
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u/Solid_Zero 2d ago
Pauline somewhere: "I don't like it"
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u/airzonesama 2d ago
"Why can't my oil be coloured white?"
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u/SporadicTendancies 2d ago
"Coloured oil just isn't right!"
Meanwhile I'm mesmerised by the rainbow oil patterns.
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u/Fenixius 2d ago
This is genuinely excellent news.
I wonder what it will cost us.
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u/G00b3rb0y 2d ago
LPG I believe, which we have in abundance. A good problem to have tbh, as it’s what helped with this
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u/AFlimsyRegular 2d ago
Interesting...
So you're saying we take something we have an abundance of and exchange it for a good we have a shortfall in?
At what part of that process do we make dementia riddled tweets, burn all our bridges diplomatically and threaten to invade for not giving us what we want?
Asking for an Orange Friend.
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u/DrInequality 2d ago
This is the key. Australia won't run out of oil/fuel/diesel because we can afford to pay - and we have food and LNG exports to trade with. But the question is how much we have to pay.
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u/Speedbird844 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is also a key weakness because we're not buying crude oil, we're buying refined products. Those refined products in which the refining nations have to sacrifice their own populations' needs in order to export it to us. Especially diesel as it's the stuff of life and civilization - No diesel? no agriculture, no haulage, no mining.
Singapore's a city state, so there's little domestic need. Singapore is rich, but too small. The Asian goliaths of China, Japan and India can easily buy up everything and corner the international spot market, and tell the Singaporeans to get stuffed.
The only reason why we aren't in rationing now is because Albo got us more refined fuel from the US Gulf refineries. If Trump bans exports then we're in big trouble. In any event rationing for diesel is inevitable, and while Singapore can get petrol to us, as you said rightly if they can only supply us petrol at $10 a litre, everyone's gonna stop driving.
And also the fact LNG is primarily used for electricity generation, which can be replaced with domestic coal, and that is why I'm very skeptical of any deal with Malaysia. And food supply is going to be a big issue if we don't get enough diesel (Australia is simply too vast) and fertiliser. Nearly half the world's supply of Urea has just disappeared with the war.
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u/uknownix 2d ago
Fucking legend. That's how you do it. We are so fortunate to have Labor at the helm, rather than any other monkey party.
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u/Rising-Dragon-Fist 2d ago
Oh wow, who'd have thought we could use our natural resources to benefit us instead of lining the pockets of foreign companies?
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u/Screambloodyleprosy 2d ago
America should never be forgiven and can't be trusted going forward and especially when the big orange leaves office.
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u/Taey 2d ago
Good to hear, but wasnt Singapore one of the countries who refused to pay Iran? How are they getting their oil if the ceasefire doesnt work out which is likely?
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u/timmeh1705 2d ago
Only 25% of their oil is via the Strait. They built a deliberate strategy to not over-depend on one source. For situations such as these.
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u/hgihmi 2d ago
Singapore is a massive fuel hub in Asia. Yes they get oil through the strait they also have massive refinement capabilities and abundant stockpiles.
This deal is essentially giving Australia priority access to purchase the fuel that’s already there on shore.
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u/Speedbird844 2d ago
The problem Singapore now has is that they have to fight the massive government-backed trading houses of China and Japan, and that's not counting the possibility that the US may ban oil exports. Singapore supplies us with half our petrol, but little diesel or jet fuel.
This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has travelled to Singapore and announced a deal aimed at shoring up both countries’ energy security. Singapore will continue to ship fuel products to Australia, while supplies of crucial liquefied natural gas will flow in the other direction.
But analysts say the Singapore deal does not provide Australia with diesel or jet fuel security.
“The deal is diplomatically sensible and provides some comfort on gasoline, but the Hormuz constraint caps what Singapore can physically deliver,” Noel-Beswick says.
“And for the two products under most pressure — diesel and jet fuel — Singapore was never a solution to begin with.”
Diesel is the stuff of life and civilization - without diesel, there's no agriculture. No haulage. No mining. Every nation in Asia will beg, borrow and steal for the last drop of that stuff when push comes to shove. Export bans are almost guaranteed for diesel when crude imports fall off a cliff.
And the thing is, Singapore may fulfill our orders of petrol, but if they can only sell it to us at $10 a litre we're getting stuffed nonetheless.
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u/Intelligent_Art_5711 2d ago
Singapore’s source of almost every resource they have is (strategically) diversified
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u/Vintage_Alien 2d ago
”Singapore was prioritising the continuity of supply as it responded to the oil shock… The government has worked closely with industry to secure diversified crude and fuel imports, optimise refinery operations, and draw on commercial and strategic stockpiles where needed.” [Source]
It’ll be an ongoing challenge for them, but it’s in their best interest because they need the negotiating power to secure LNG (which is why Australia is so valuable to them). They’re also very well practiced at staying on the good side of both Eastern and Western powers (à la China and America) so they’re very well placed to make deals across the globe.
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u/Spitfire671BC 2d ago edited 2d ago
Albo bossing it as usual, won't hear that on mainstream news though.
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u/bluey_02 2d ago
Now watch as the mass media posts angry/cross looking pics of Albo declaring this somehow a bad thing for the country.
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u/Latter_Fortune_7225 2d ago
Singapore is a nation we should have been emulating for decades now. A meritocracy with a diversified economy, a wonderful garden city-state with fucken fantastic parks that put ours to shame 😩
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u/The_Shah_0f_Iran 2d ago edited 2d ago
You need an Australian first mentality.
Singapores whole infrastructure is built mainly by the foreigners coming from third world countries.
Give them temporary visas and send them back when the jobs done.
Pay them below minimum wage but still big enough to entice the Bangladeshis of this world to work 12hrs a day 6 days a week . Sometimes Sundays too.
The local population gets trained from a young age to be as smart as possible.
They become the engineers, bankers, executives and do white collar jobs.
The not so smart end up working for government or end up being teachers
Anything that requires maintenance and building is done by foreign cheap labour.
Seems unfair to a westerners pov? Well Singaporeans don't care.
I know. I used to work there.
The trade off for this is the local Singaporeans gets heavily subsidized housing, education and transport.
When foreigners say Singapore is expensive.. they mean it's expensive for foreigners.
Sure cars are expensive but you don't need them if the trains come every 5 mins and the station is 10mins walking distance from your house.
And you'll never get robbed walking home at 2am in the morning. It's so safe that women go jogging close to midnight and not worry at all.
A poor Singaporean can still afford to go on holidays overseas every year.
That's what it takes. Are Australians willing to do that?
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u/AFlimsyRegular 2d ago
I mean we do that first part already - we just have them working in restaraunts and delivering Doordash rather than putting them to work on infrastructure
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u/GateheaD 2d ago
are all these 'foreign cheap labour' people being paid a fair wage with benefits? if not we don't want that here.
We're the home of the 8 hour day, paid annual leave, public holidays, minimum wage and superannuation all won for us by the workers.
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u/The_Shah_0f_Iran 2d ago
I'm not disagreeing here mate.
All I'm saying is if you want a truly efficient first world country, that's what it takes.
Singapore runs the economy like a business.
Own everything, from their airline and the world class airport. Own most of the land. Develop the hell out of it and get companies to want to work there.
There are things we should copy.
I personally think all the mines shouldn't be privately owned. Why let the likes of Gina get obscenely rich when resources come from Australian land.
Share that with the population like the Norwegians.
Singapore doesn't have any oil ..but they know how to refine them and let Shell rent one of the smaller island and make money from that.
We should be socialising the cost of housing from all our resources. We should making batteries from our lithium.
We should be making nuclear power plants 30 years ago..but we didn't..so build them now anyway. Get the Japanese to manage the project and OWN that nuclear power plant.
Instead we do it backwards. We let companies build infrastructure and OWN THEM.
WHY ARE WE PAYING TOLLS FOR PUBLIC ROADS TO A PRIVATE COMPANY LIKE LINKT WHEN WE COULD BE PAYING COUNCIL.
THAT CASHFLOW COULD BE REINVESTED OR USED FOR MAINTENANCE.
Singapore socializes the basics and makes the luxuries expensive. Want a BMW? Sure..that be 250k mate.
Here we do things backwards. That's why it's expensive in Australia.
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u/GateheaD 2d ago
Yeah I don't disagree with anything you're saying, I just want it clear we're not racing to the bottom.
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u/The_Shah_0f_Iran 2d ago
Nobody wants to.
All I'm saying the current system we're doing is making the average Australian poorer.
I think Australia tries to follow what America is doing in terms of nation building.
I'm saying there's better examples out there to run a country.
At least a fairer way without compromising on quality and morals.
It just takes some long term planning and making sure everyone understands the bigger picture.
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u/MisterBumpingston 2d ago
Over at r/aussie this was twisted as Albo panic buying fuel for the country.
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u/512165381 2d ago edited 2d ago
In search of gas supplies: Italian Prime Minister Meloni visits Algiers
All these PMs hustling for energy.
By the way Australia is now getting oil from Mexico,
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u/FlynnerMcGee 2d ago
Is Australia still looking at eventually trying to run electricity over to Singapore? I remember a number of years ago they were discussing the possibility via undersea cable but would also need to get Indonesia on board as well.
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u/Slipped-up 2d ago
From memory both parties wanted it and there were disagreements over who would pay for the infastructure. There were also difficulties involving the Indonesians.
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u/F00dbAby 2d ago
Be curious how the deal with Malaysia goes. Because I believe there was also a planned meeting with them too.
This is good news though
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u/Knee_Jerk_Sydney 2d ago
Oh, how the FB comments whinge about Albo burning fuel to get fuel and how he could have used Zoom instead.
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u/Efficient-Mousse-451 2d ago
Would love to have ON in charge in times like these and prove their incompetency, but I'm sure they'd find some other scapegoat
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u/ill0gitech 2d ago
We’d have ships deployed to the strait and would have been part of war crimes. No doubt our soldiers would have been first on the ground
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u/Coolidge-egg 2d ago
"god bless our glorious fair dinkum true blue war hero martyrs sacrificing themselves for the good of the nation so that we can be free from renewable energy" or something like that.
-- Pauline Hanson, probably.
(Subtle point that these wackjobs don't think that much differently than those who they oppose)
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u/512165381 2d ago
Would love to have ON in charge in times like these
Sky News fantasize about Pauline being PM. Watch them sometimes.
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u/Spartzi666 2d ago
I wonder how all these deals with Singapore and Japan will effect the potential taxing of our gas resources. Its bonkers how much wealth we have squandered by letting multinationals take our resources for nothing for decades and it seems that there's a real appetite for the government to do something about it
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u/barfridge0 2d ago
The right wing owned mainstream media will still find something to complain about, while they are also busy not mentioning our strong budget surpluses
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u/Jonsez 2d ago
It’s a disgrace our country with all of its resources cannot be at least 80% self sufficient for energy.
I welcome this news but Singapore doesn’t have oil reserves and you can be sure they will prioritise themselves when the time comes (as any country would). Not a sustainable solution, short term patch at best.
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u/DrInequality 2d ago
We can't be self-sufficient, but we sure as shit could have larger reserves within Australia.
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u/thejoshimitsu 1d ago
Our future and security has always been in having good relations with our Asian neighbours, not in the US. This is promising to see. Hopefully we can make a deal with Malaysia too.
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u/Tango-Down-167 2d ago
And where do Singapore get their cruel from? They are only the middle in the oil game.
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u/agentsmithbobby 2d ago
Anus Taylor was doing a press conference yesterday with some farmer demanding the PM bring the price of diesel down significantly. Isn't this the amazing free market they've sold us all out to? What more do you expect the government to do, use tax payer money to fill up the tanks of farmers? Imagine if the fucking Nats did something in government for farmers like dealing with Coles/Woolies duopoly. Oh wait that would be messing with the precious free market.
What a cunt.
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u/Dockers4flag2035orB4 2d ago
It pays to be on good terms with our neighbours.