Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has signed a new defence pact with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, describing the treaty as "very significant". Speaking to reporters after the signing, he said Australia wanted to assist Indonesia in developing defence training infrastructure in the south-east Asian nation.
"We want to see more integration, more positive engagement with regard to Australian assistance in infrastructure here," Mr Albanese said. He added that Australia had "significant expertise in a range of areas" and was determined to help Indonesia's growth, while also creating new jobs and opportunities at home.
In domestic political news, the Coalition remained divided as the Liberals and Nationals failed to reach an agreement on reconciliation. Nationals MP Darren Chester said he was holding out hope the parties could reunite, despite expectations the Liberals would reject the country party's peace deal. However, senior Liberal frontbencher Anne Ruston said the Liberal Party could succeed as a sole opposition party if talks collapsed.
Elsewhere, Australia's submarine agency insisted the Aukus agreement was progressing "at pace and on schedule", despite sceptics questioning the likelihood of the US selling Virginia-class submarines to Australia. Meanwhile, Australian shares plunged, erasing $64bn in market value amid growing investor unease.
