King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Mahmoud Abbas appoints Hussein Al-Sheikh as PLO vice president in key succession move    Saudi Arabia's entertainment sector attracts 76 million visitors in 2024    Third round of US-Iran nuclear talks concludes with cautious optimism    Multiple casualties reported after vehicle drives into crowd at Vancouver street festival    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Double delight for struggling Aussie PM as parliament passes 2 key bills
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 23 - 11 - 2016

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, whose leadership has been questioned after political setbacks, on Tuesday won a much-needed victory in parliament, with the passage of two controversial bills.
Australia's Senate, which the government does not control, passed a labor bill that it had previously blocked, triggering an election in July. The laws passed in a morning session, bring greater oversight of trade unions and employer bodies.
The parliament also passed a counter-terrorism bill in the evening. It extended police surveillance powers and cut to 14, from 16, the age at which terrorism suspects can be detained and face other restrictions.
Turnbull has seen his poll numbers hit their lowest since taking power in September 2015, and political commentators have questioned his future as prime minister, as confidence erodes in Australia's fourth leader in the last six years.
"The government called a double-dissolution election on this issue," said Haydon Manning, a political science professor at Flinders University in Adelaide, referring to the labor bill.
"To end the year without delivery on its set-piece reform would have been disastrous for the government."
Turnbull narrowly won the July 2 election after invoking rarely-used powers to dissolve both houses of parliament following the repeated blocking of the government's labor bill by the upper-house Senate.
But Turnbull has struggled to implement his agenda as his ruling conservative coalition is in the minority in the Senate, requiring him to win favor with many of the 11 independent senators to pass legislation.
Turnbull led negotiations on the labor bill with independent senators while in Peru this week attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, lawmakers said.
The government continues to trail the opposition Labor Party, a Newspoll on Tuesday showed.
Economic management, a traditional strong point for the conservative government, is now being called into question.
Deloitte Access Economic on Monday forecast the budget deficit to grow by A$24 billion ($17.69 billion) over the next four years — threatening Australia's AAA credit rating.
Turnbull now plans to turn his attention to another cornerstone piece of legislation aimed at creating a building industry watchdog. The bill was also twice rejected by the Senate in the lead-up to the July election.
That vote, in the final two weeks of the Senate's 2016 term, is expected to be tight, key independent Senator David Leyonhjelm said. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.