Murray Watt

New measures have been implemented to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease to Australia after cases were detected in livestock in Bali.

Routine testing has detected viral fragments of foot and mouth disease and African swine fever in Melbourne, but the federal government says the country remains free of the two diseases.

Australia will not slam shut its border to arrivals from Indonesia amid an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt says.

Australia's agriculture minister has criticised the opposition calling for borders with Indonesia to close, saying it is causing industry insecurity.

Homes have been inundated and residents evacuated as a record-breaking flood hits a remote town in WA's Kimberley region.

The Australian Defence Force will acquire new naval strike missiles and long-range rocket systems in a bid to boost national security.

The federal government has committed to assist the flood-affected communities in the Kimberley region, having pledged recovery measures including money, counselling and aircrafts.

Australia and China's trade ministers are preparing for a virtual meeting as Canberra continues to pressure Beijing into dropping trade sanctions.

With the coalition set to oppose a major Labor election promise on housing, the Greens want a number of improvements to the proposed $10 billion fund.

A new $20 million round of funding is now open for farmers to help develop ways to measure carbon in their soil, in a plan to help reduce emissions.

Farmers WA says the federal government should review its promise to ban live sheep exports by sea, branding it a "dumb" commitment that will affect 3,000 people.

The federal government has temporarily suspended its appeal to the World Trade Organization over China’s tariffs on Australian barley after China agreed to undertake a review.

Australia is hopeful more trade sanctions will be lifted from key exports following a surprise announcement from Beijing, as trade relations begin to improve.

Trade Minister Don Farrell says there's been some movement on the main impediments to Australia's free trade deal with the European Union.

The Senate has voted to establish the Indigenous Voice referendum, setting in motion the timeline for the public poll later this year.

The agriculture minister has confirmed the Chinese customs agency will reinstate barley producers CBH and Emerald Grain to the approved list of exporters.

An Australian team will fly to Indonesia to work with authorities, as a key deadline over concerns around lumpy skin disease in live cattle exports draws closer.

China will lift tariffs on Australian hay imports in the latest sign relationships between Canberra and Beijing are on the mend.

Murray Watt says negotiations are continuing to lift tariffs imposed by China on Australian products, as the prime minister prepares to visit Beijing.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt is not holding out for further tariffs imposed by China to be dropped on Australian products immediately following the prime minister's visit to Beijing.

Agricultural exports to the Middle East are being thwarted by a lack of space on planes leaving Western Australia and remain well below pre-COVID levels.

The nation’s peak farmers’ lobby group has rebuffed calls from its WA counterpart to sack Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt over his handling of a stranded livestock vessel.

It remains unclear what will happen to sheep and cattle on the MV Bahijah off Perth after authorities rejected a bid to send the livestock to Israel.

The state government has put forward its case to deliver the federal government’s live sheep export transition package once it is announced.

The federal government will invest $519.1 million to help farmers prepare for drought, particularly in regional Western Australia and Tasmania.

Mark Beyer and Mark Pownall discuss the federal budget’s mining support, Santos and Quintis job cuts, live sheep exports, property development approvals, NWQ Capital Management, and Clough's journey under Peter Bennett.

A controversial federal government Bill that would ban live sheep exports in Australia from 2028 has passed the lower house and is headed for Senate scrutiny.

WA farmers have vowed to campaign heavily against Labor candidates during next year’s federal election following the government’s decision to ban live sheep exports from 2028.

Industry voices have praised the Fair Work Amendment Bill 2024, which passed through parliament overnight, but said an industry-specific watchdog needed to be established.

Premier Roger Cook has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to apologise for rubbing salt into the wounds of the agricultural sector, after a joke about live export angered stakeholders.

Australia’s unemployment rate has remained steady at 4.1 per cent for September, strengthening expectations the RBA will leave the cash rate unchanged this year.

Eleven MCGs – or 18 Optus Stadiums – worth of jobs have been created by the Albanese government, according to Murray Watt, as new statistics reveal a record high participation rate.

A proposal by the peak retail lobby group to allow employers to buy out retail workers' penalty rates and overtime via a 25 per cent pay rise has been rubbished by the Federal Government.