NEWS WRAP

President Biden drums up support on healthcare as Republicans eye budget cuts

• Plan to cancel student debt faces Supreme Court scepticism | President Joe Biden wants to cancel hundreds of billions in student debt for about 40 million borrowers, but his administration needs to convince a conservative dominated Supreme Court. READ MORE HERE  
   
• Australian and United States defence industries key in aiding Europe | The conflict in Ukraine provides an opportunity for not only the United States, but also Australia, to rapidly ramp up domestic production of artillery shells to restock European allies who have donated ammunition to Ukraine. READ MORE HERE
   
• Justice Department sues companies over pollution | In an area known as cancer alley in Louisiana, the Justice Department will sue Japanese company Denka, along with US chemicals company DuPont, over a plant that produces cancer-causing chloroprene. READ MORE HERE
   
• Calls for track detectors to be reviewed after Ohio train crash | Freight operators are being urged to conduct safety reviews of track detectors after a serious train crash which has led to an environmental disaster in Ohio and the evacuation of more than 5,000 people. READ MORE HERE

EVENT

Webinar event: Pride and the alliance

The United States and Australia both followed circuitous routes to marriage equality. When US Ambassador to Australia John Berry (ret'd) first arrived in Australia in 2013, he was the first openly-gay US ambassador to a G20 country. However, not only was same-sex marriage not legal in Australia, it was not yet legal in all of the United States.

In Australia, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce AC was one of the most influential voices in the marriage equality campaign. How have these influential leaders seen LGBTQ+ rights advance in their lifetimes? How did the journey to marriage equality compare between the United States and Australia? What work still needs to be done, and what role can the close US-Australia relationship play?

As Sydney welcomes WorldPride 2023, the United States Studies Centre is honoured to welcome Qantas CEO Alan Joyce AC and former US Ambassador to Australia John Berry in conversation with the ABC’s political commentator Annabel Crabb.

WHEN
SYDNEY | Webinar event, Thursday, 2 March, 3:00pm-4:00pm AEDT

COST
Free, but registration is essential

EXPLAINER

Eight expectations for the AUKUS announcement 

By Dr Peter K. Lee, Alice Nason and Sophie Mayo of the USSC Foreign Policy and Defence Program

This week, the USSC published a detailed explainer on everything you need to know ahead of March’s AUKUS submarine decision.

It comes as Australia is fast approaching a watershed moment for its national security. In March, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden will announce the "optimal pathway" by which Australia will acquire at least eight nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarines (SSN) under the AUKUS partnership.

Prime Minister Albanese has described it as “the single biggest leap in our defence capability in our history.”

The explainer was a joint effort by Dr Peter K. Lee, Sophie Mayo and Alice Nason, from the USSC's Foreign Policy and Defence team.

You can read more on the USSC website. 

BY THE NUMBERS

United States ramps up artillery production, as Australia considers further aid to Ukraine

Artillery production in the United States will reach levels not seen since the Korean War (1950-1953), in order to support Ukraine and replenish dwindling ammunition reserves.

It comes as countries across the world, including Australia, are assessing military capabilities and what reserves they can provide to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

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