Australian Prime Minister Albanese postpones COP31 departure to oversee budget update meetings

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will remain in Australia on Monday to chair the cabinet’s expenditure review committee ahead of the December budget update, before departing for the COP31 climate conference in Turkey on Tuesday. The postponement follows a recent interest-rate rise, which the government says underscores the need to identify fiscal savings.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told a news conference that the conflict in the Middle East is a primary driver of the recent inflation increase, while Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock emphasized that monetary policy cannot influence global oil prices and is aimed at addressing domestic capacity pressures.

Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood, speaking to Nine Media, said the commission’s report on business dynamism highlights the importance of including workplace relations in the broader productivity discussion, despite the commission’s terms of reference limiting its focus on tax, workplace relations and mergers.

The government, which has highlighted its record on gender representation in senior roles, faces the challenge of finding sufficient savings without exacerbating the ongoing cost-of-living concerns for voters.