JULIA GILLARD

Australia's government is reportedly considering a taxpayer levy to help pay for massive flood rebuilding, while preserving the budget's path back to surplus in 2012-13, as one major bank warned on Tuesday the damage bill could reach A$20 billion.

Extensive reconstruction after Australia's floods risks fuelling a wages blow-out, as flooded states and the booming resource sector bid for scarce workers, which will in turn push up inflation and add pressure for a tightening of interest rates.

Massive floods shut down the centre of Australia's third-largest city, sent thousands fleeing from their homes and sparked panic buying of food on Wednesday as rescuers searched for 43 people missing in floodwaters.

Thousands of residents of Australia's third-largest city evacuated homes on Wednesday as massive floods began to inundate the financial district, sparked panic buying of food and left authorities despairing for nearly 70 people missing.

The devastating floods in Queensland Australia has driven up the prices of certain commodities, including coal, wheat and sugar. With warnings that the flood may not recede for weeks, the longer-term impact on commodity prices becomes a great concern.

The Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, championed infrastructure investments across both the emerging markets and developed nations as a key part of maintaining a global economic recovery.

One of the most interesting – and perhaps under-reported -- aspects of the G20 summit in Seoul is the four female political leaders in attendance. According to press reports, no prior G20 summit has had this many women heads of state.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard came within grasp of a return to power on Thursday after one of four kingmaker MPs backed her Labor Party's bid to form a minority government following last month's dead-heat elections.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard forged an alliance with the Greens party on Wednesday to take her party closer to forming a government, but vowed not to allow the deal to change her plans for a tax on miners' profits.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday claimed her Labor Party was best placed to run a stable minority government after the election dead heat, warning of political gridlock if a consensus is not found.

Australia's opposition leader denied on Friday he was manoeuvring to force the country back to the ballot box after a weekend election delivered a hung parliament, with independents holding the balance of power.

Australians are betting that a minority government expected to be formed in the next few weeks will not last a full term and fresh elections will be called in 2011, an online bookmaker said on Friday.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard unveiled Monday in Brisbane Labor's $392 million health system modernisation plan that will see patients consulting doctors online.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Tuesday she plans to beef up mental health service with a $277 million fund dedicated to preventing suicides among 12,500 suicidal and depressed people.

The Australian Dollar once again retreated during Friday evening's trade as concerns about the global economic recovery emerged and equity markets headed down in Europe and the US.

Internecine civil wars are underway almost everywhere within the West, and most virulently in the United States of America. They are not yet kinetic wars, but wars of grinding prepositioning, the kind which lead to foregone conclusions without a shot being fired. They are wars of survival, nonetheless, because the basic architecture for national strength is being altered incrementally or dramatically. And, in many cases, consciously.

The Australian Dollar has opened up in the high 0.8300's this morning after struggling on Friday evening's trade to fall short of 0.8500, following the new Prime Minister Julia Gillard announcement of a compromise position on the RSPT (Resource Super Profits Tax) which became the MRRT (Mineral Resource Rent Tax).

Australia ended a damaging dispute with global miners on Friday by dumping its planned super profits tax for a lower resources rent tax backed by big miners, clearing a major hurdle to calling an early election.

Newly-installed Prime Minister Julia Gillard has brushed off statements that some school principals were intimidated out of speaking to a task force investigating her Building the Education Revolution program.

The international education industry expressed its worries on the slow demand of international students coming in to the country and is seeking a discussion with Senior Labor minister Simon Crean.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she was confident of resolving a dispute with miners over a controversial tax, amid speculation she could call an election within weeks to capitalize on a government surge in opinion polls.