<p>Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday he wants greater federal powers during natural disasters, as authorities warned <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australian-megablaze-brought-under-control-273841">bushfires ravaging the country</a> for months were sweeping through a national park near the capital.</p>

<p>Morrison said he wanted to set up a "legal framework that would allow the Commonwealth to declare a national state of emergency" before the next summer bushfire season, adding the chain of command between states and the federal government remained unclear.</p>

<p>Although he gave no details, the plan showed the conservative leader moving to head off criticism he was too slow to act when the seriousness of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australian-pm-proposes-high-powered-inquiry-into-bushfires-response-273680">country's worst bushfire season</a> in a generation became apparent late last year.</p>

<p>Attacked by political opponents and media commentators for holidaying in Hawaii while the fires raged, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/australia-bushfires-scott-morrison-announces-new-recovery-agency-272334">Morrison </a>initially said the country's eight state and territory governments had the main oversight during natural disasters.</p>

<p>He later mobilised about 3,000 Australian Defence Force reservists to help regional communities <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australian-bushfires-2000-homes-destroyed-military-buries-4000-animals-to-prevent-diseases-272607">affected by the fires</a>. "It has long been the case that state and territory governments have primary responsibility for protecting the life and property within their borders," Morrison said.</p>

<p><b>Also Read</b>:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australian-prime-ministers-approval-rating-singed-by-bushfires-273895">Australian Prime Minister's approval rating singed by bushfires</a></p>

<p>"The scale of the bushfires this season, not least their simultaneous reach across many borders, has demonstrated to me the limits of these arrangements," Morrison said in a speech in the capital, Canberra.</p>

<p><img alt="Scott Morrison" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="718272a9-03b3-49cb-b634-6b779f2924fa" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%284%29_24.jpg" /><br />
<em>[ Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (Courtesy: Reuters) ]</em></p>

<p>Just to the south of the city, authorities warned people to stay away from some regional areas due to a 10,000 hectare (25,000 acre) forest fire, although no suburbs of Canberra itself were under threat.</p>

<p>Over the summer, Canberra has regularly been shrouded in bushfire smoke that has put its air quality among the lowest-ranked in the world and prompted government agencies to ask employees to stay home.</p>

<p>A week ago, the city's airport was closed briefly when bushfire burned near its edges. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned Canberra will be at the centre of a heatwave that will put the city's temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for several days.</p>

<p>Since September, bushfires in Australia have killed 33 people and an estimated 1 billion native animals, while 2,500 homes and a wilderness area the size of Greece have been destroyed, prompting critics to accuse Morrison of not doing enough to cut the country's carbon emissions.</p>

<p>Morrison said Australia should adapt to changing weather patterns that would make bushfires more frequent, but "when it comes to practical safety of people living in bushfire zones, hazard reduction is even more important than emissions reduction".<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday he wants greater federal powers during natural disasters, as authorities warned bushfires ravaging the country for months were sweeping through a national park near the capital.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday he wants greater federal powers during natural disasters, as authorities warned bushfires ravaging the country for months were sweeping through a national park near the capital. Morrison said he wanted to set up a "legal framework that would allow the Commonwealth to declare a national state of emergency" before the next summer bushfire season, adding the chain of command between states and the federal government remained unclear. Although he gave no details, the plan showed the conservative leader moving to head off criticism he was too slow to act when the seriousness of the country's worst bushfire season in a generation became apparent late last year. Attacked by political opponents and media commentators for holidaying in Hawaii while the fires raged, Morrison initially said the country's eight state and territory governments had the main oversight during natural disasters. He later mobilised about 3,000 Australian Defence Force reservists to help regional communities affected by the fires. "It has long been the case that state and territory governments have primary responsibility for protecting the life and property within their borders," Morrison said. Also Read: Australian Prime Minister's approval rating singed by bushfires "The scale of the bushfires this season, not least their simultaneous reach across many borders, has demonstrated to me the limits of these arrangements," Morrison said in a speech in the capital, Canberra. [ Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (Courtesy: Reuters) ] Just to the south of the city, authorities warned people to stay away from some regional areas due to a 10,000 hectare (25,000 acre) forest fire, although no suburbs of Canberra itself were under threat. Over the summer, Canberra has regularly been shrouded in bushfire smoke that has put its air quality among the lowest-ranked in the world and prompted government agencies to ask employees to stay home. A week ago, the city's airport was closed briefly when bushfire burned near its edges. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned Canberra will be at the centre of a heatwave that will put the city's temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for several days. Since September, bushfires in Australia have killed 33 people and an estimated 1 billion native animals, while 2,500 homes and a wilderness area the size of Greece have been destroyed, prompting critics to accuse Morrison of not doing enough to cut the country's carbon emissions. Morrison said Australia should adapt to changing weather patterns that would make bushfires more frequent, but "when it comes to practical safety of people living in bushfire zones, hazard reduction is even more important than emissions reduction".

Australian PM seeks greater federal powers to protect the nation from threatening bushfires

<p>Australia will abolish a temporary work visa popular with foreigners and replace it with a visa requiring better English-language and work skills, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday.</p>

<p>Turnbull rejected suggestions the visa policy change was in response to far-right wing political parties, such as One Nation, demanding more nationalistic policies.</p>

<p>But in a Facebook announcement Turnbull said: &quot;Our reforms will have a simple focus: Australian jobs and Australian values.&quot;</p>

<p>Turnbull said the visa change would attract better skilled workers and see Australians employed over cheap foreign workers brought in under the old 457 visa programme.</p>

<p>&quot;We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains- Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs,&quot; he said. &quot;We&#39;ll no longer allow 457 visas to be passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians.&quot;</p>

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<h5>The 457 visa has been mired in controversy with allegations the programme was being misused by employers to import workers on the cheap, not to fill genuine skill shortage</h5>
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<p>The 457 visa was designed to fill Australia&#39;s skills shortage and allow holders to bring members of their family to Australia on a 457 secondary visa.</p>

<p>But the 457 visa has been mired in controversy with allegations the programme was being misused by employers to import workers on the cheap, not to fill genuine skill shortage.</p>

<p>&quot;We are bringing the 457 visa class to an end. It&#39;s lost its credibility,&quot; Turnbull said at a press conference in Canberra.</p>

<p>Anyone now in Australia on a 457 visa will not be affected by the new arrangements.</p>

<p>The 457 visa, now used by about 95,000 foreign workers, will be replaced by a new temporary visa and the list of occupations that qualify for a visa will be reduced from more than 200.</p>

<p>The new visa will be limited to a two-year period and a second four-year visa will require a higher standard of English language.</p>

<p>From 1901 to around 1973, Australia restricted non-white immigration under a White Australia policy which required an English language test.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


'We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains - Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs,' PM Malcolm Turnbull said

Australia will abolish a temporary work visa popular with foreigners and replace it with a visa requiring better English-language and work skills, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday. Turnbull rejected suggestions the visa policy change was in response to far-right wing political parties, such as One Nation, demanding more nationalistic policies. But in a Facebook announcement Turnbull said: "Our reforms will have a simple focus: Australian jobs and Australian values." Turnbull said the visa change would attract better skilled workers and see Australians employed over cheap foreign workers brought in under the old 457 visa programme. "We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains- Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs," he said. "We'll no longer allow 457 visas to be passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians." The 457 visa has been mired in controversy with allegations the programme was being misused by employers to import workers on the cheap, not to fill genuine skill shortage × The 457 visa was designed to fill Australia's skills shortage and allow holders to bring members of their family to Australia on a 457 secondary visa. But the 457 visa has been mired in controversy with allegations the programme was being misused by employers to import workers on the cheap, not to fill genuine skill shortage. "We are bringing the 457 visa class to an end. It's lost its credibility," Turnbull said at a press conference in Canberra. Anyone now in Australia on a 457 visa will not be affected by the new arrangements. The 457 visa, now used by about 95,000 foreign workers, will be replaced by a new temporary visa and the list of occupations that qualify for a visa will be reduced from more than 200. The new visa will be limited to a two-year period and a second four-year visa will require a higher standard of English language. From 1901 to around 1973, Australia restricted non-white immigration under a White Australia policy which required an English language test. (Reuters)

Australia ends work visa programme, replacement requires better English skills

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Australian PM seeks greater federal powers to protect the nation from threatening bushfires

Australia ends work visa programme, replacement requires better English skills