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Latest CBA Wage and Labour Insights reinforce expectations of a wait-and-see approach from the RBA amid a tight but stable labour market.

Tuesday, 10 March 2026 – The latest CommBank Wage Insights series shows wages growth remained stable in early 2026, despite ongoing tight conditions in the labour market.

CommBank’s internal salary transaction data recorded wages rising by 0.7 per cent over the three months to February 2026, slightly softer than the pace seen in November and December. Annual wages growth was steady at 3.1 per cent, where it has broadly hovered since mid-2025.

CommBank Head of Australian Economics Belinda Allen said the data suggests wages have yet to respond to the tightening in labour market conditions through late 2025 and early 2026.

“The CommBank Wage Insights series slowed in February with the quarterly rate easing to 0.7 per cent. The annual rate was steady at 3.1 per cent,” Allen said.

“Our data is not yet showing any response to the tightening in labour market conditions through late 2025 and into early 2026. But there are often lags from when the labour market tightens to wages growth picking up. With concerns over inflation given the rise in energy prices, stable wages growth will give the RBA some comfort over coming months.”

March 9 2026 – Global stagflation appears almost inevitable and why investors need to ensure now that their portfolios are built for resilience, warns the CEO of one of the world's largest independent financial advisory organizations.

The stark warning from Nigel Green of deVere Group comes as oil has surged above $120 a barrel in highly volatile trading, after a historic spike of almost 29%—the largest intraday jump since April 2020—as escalating conflict in the Middle East disrupts supply and sends shockwaves through global markets.

The dramatic surge follows attacks on regional energy infrastructure and growing geopolitical tensions that have severely curtailed tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic corridor that normally carries around one fifth of the world's oil exports.

Nigel Green says: “The world is facing the very real possibility of a global stagflation threat.

“Stagflation is the toxic combination of rising inflation and slowing economic growth. Prices climb sharply while economies weaken, leaving policymakers with very few effective tools.”

He continues: “Oil is the ignition point. Energy prices surge this quickly, inflation accelerates almost everywhere. Businesses face higher costs, households face higher bills, and growth is squeezed at precisely the same time.”

Energy markets have been thrown into turmoil as military escalation across the Gulf region disrupts production and shipping routes.

Several major exporters have already curbed output amid security concerns and operational constraints.

At the same time, threats against commercial vessels and attacks on energy facilities have dramatically reduced shipping traffic through one of the most important oil transit corridors in the global economy.

The deVere chief executive: “About 20% of global oil supply normally moves through that narrow stretch of water. Disruption there immediately tightens global supply and sends prices sharply higher.

“Financial markets have already begun reacting to the shock. Asian equities fell sharply as traders reassessed growth prospects and the inflation outlook in the wake of the oil spike.

Governments are scrambling to contain the fallout.

“Finance ministers from the Group of Seven are preparing discussions around a potential coordinated release of strategic petroleum reserves alongside the International Energy Agency, an emergency mechanism intended to stabilise supply during major disruptions.”

Emergency stockpile releases may calm markets temporarily, but they cannot erase the fundamental problem. Global energy supply has just been hit by a geopolitical shock, and those shocks historically take time to unwind.

Nigel green continues: “The scale and speed of this move matters enormously. A near-30% surge in oil in a single trading session is going to ultimately feed into transport costs, electricity generation, food production and industrial supply chains. Inflation pressure builds rapidly across the system.”

The consequences for policymakers are profound.

 “Central banks now face a brutal dilemma. Inflation accelerates because of energy prices, yet economic growth slows because those same price increases act like a tax on consumers and businesses.”

“In a stagflationary environment, interest rates cannot easily solve the problem. Tightening policy can deepen the slowdown, while easing risks fuelling even more inflation. It creates a very uncomfortable economic trap.”

The vulnerability of the global economy stems in part from its ongoing dependence on energy flows from the Gulf. Roughly one fifth of global oil supply and large volumes of liquefied natural gas typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz each day.

Nigel Green says: “Energy security has suddenly become the defining macroeconomic issue again.

“The global economy remains heavily exposed to disruptions in this region, and events there can reprice inflation expectations almost overnight.”

He concludes: “Investors need to respond decisively now. Stagflation changes the investment environment dramatically.

“Portfolios must be built to withstand persistent inflation pressure while growth weakens. Energy exposure, commodities and carefully selected equities linked to real assets become increasingly important.

“Failing to review could be a costly mistake.”

Migrant women in Australia are finding more independence, equality and a healthier and wealthier life with more opportunity than in their home countries, according to a new survey.

An overwhelming majority of women migrants find life in Australia ‘better’ than in their home countries and believe they have more rights than at home.

Most say they have more opportunities here than at home and are more financially independent.

And overwhelmingly they say they have more control over their daily lives here in Australia and believe men and women should have equal access to opportunity.

But a large majority (62 per cent) said that violence against women was an issue in their communities. More than half (57 per cent) said violence against women was more prevalent in their home countries while 31 per cent said it was more prevalent in Australia.

The survey of 150 new women migrants and refugees from non-English speaking countries, commissioned by refugee and migrant settlement agency AMES Australia, also found that migrant women in Australia have more access to a range of services and activities including education, work, women’s health, childcare, driving a car and political and religious activity.

Timed to coincide with International Women’s Day 2026, the survey asked, ‘As a woman is life in Australia better for you than in your home country?’ Seventy per cent of respondents said ‘yes’ and nine per cent said ‘no’ while 21 per cent said there was no difference.

Ninety per cent of women said they had more rights in Australia than in their home country while 7 per cent said they did not.

Seventy-one per cent of the survey respondents said there were more opportunities for women in Australia than at home while 19 per cent disagreed.

Asked about particular services or activities that could be accessed in Australia, more than sixty per cent said both education and women’s health services were easier to access in Australia.

Sixty-seven per cent said work was more accessible in Australia, while 54 per cent cited driving a car as being easier in Australia and 56 per cent said childcare was more accessible.

Meanwhile 28 per cent said religious activities were more accessible in their home countries and 28 per cent said work was easier to come by.

An overwhelming 80 per cent of respondents said Australian women were more independent than women in their home countries.

Sixty-six per cent said they were more financially independent in Australia while 20 per cent said they were less financially independent and 17 per cent said there was no difference.

Seventy-two per cent of women said they had more control over their daily lives and five per cent said they had less control while 20 per cent said there was no difference.

Seventy-one per cent of respondents they believed women should have the same opportunities as men.

AMES Australia CEO Melinda Collinson said the survey showed that women migrants and refugees new to Australia were optimistic about their new country and were striving to become part of the wider society.

“What the survey tells us is that migrant and refugee women who come to this country appreciate the level of equality we have and the opportunities that are available to women here,” Ms Collinson said.

“It shows that most migrants value our services and institutions want to make the most of what this country offers them,” she said.

“But is also tells us that violence against women is an issue in all communities and we still have work to do to eliminate it,” Ms Collinson said.

Nepali migrant Reshma Manandhar said Australia offered opportunity and financial independence for women.

“In Australia women have opportunities for education, employment and personal development that are not available in m any countries,” Ms Manandhar said.

“Women can have serious careers in Australia. While there are barriers and impediments for women, it’s possible to achieve your dreams here,” she said.    

Bangladeshi migrant and student Rupananda Roy, who recently completed a PhD at the University of Adelaide, said attaining higher education would have been much more difficult in her own country.

In doing so, she made history by becoming the first woman from one of Bangladesh’s 50 ethnic minority communities to earn a doctorate.

“My family and my husband and his family have been very supportive. Without this support, it can be quite difficult for women from my culture to pursue higher education,” Ms Roy said.

Brazilian-Australian Thelma Nascimento said educating people in diverse communities was important for future generations.

Ms Nascimento, a community advocate in the prevention of violence against women, said: “Violence against women is an issue in every community including my own”.

“We need to educate people from a young age that everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect,” said Thelma, who runs an anti-family violence not-for-profit group called ‘Break Boundaries’.          

Beirut, March 8, 2026 – Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams across Lebanon have rapidly adapted their activities to respond to the growing humanitarian needs resulting from the escalation of violence and the mass displacement of people due to Israel's relentless bombing. However, addressing such immense needs will require a comprehensive response.

“Our teams are responding, but needs are immense. Tens of thousands are in urgent need of protection, water, basic relief items, and access to healthcare now. A swift mobilisation of emergency and flexible funding must happen immediately to scale up responding to needs at a nationwide level,” says Jeremy Ristord, MSF’s Head of Programmes in Lebanon.

According to Lebanese authorities, more than 217 people have been killed since Monday 2 March and close to 800 have been injured as a result of Israel's relentless bombing. Thousands of families have been displaced as sweeping evacuation orders covering large parts of southern Lebanon, southern Beirut and areas of the Bekaa Valley, forcing people to flee with nowhere safe to go and raising serious concerns about potential violations of international humanitarian law.

“This escalation comes after 15 months of a ceasefire that never brought an end to Israeli attacks. Now families are being pushed into impossible choices: flee once again or remain at home under threat. In this environment of relentless bombing of densely populated areas, we call for the protection of civilians, healthcare workers and medical facilities,” adds Ristord.

Since 2 March, MSF teams have been assessing needs and responding in several collective shelters, towns and cities across Lebanon where tens of thousands of displaced people have gathered. Many people have already been displaced multiple times during previous escalations. Shelters are overcrowded, with some people sleeping in their cars or on the streets. Others have remained in their homes despite evacuation orders or returned due to a lack of space in shelters or lack of means to rent accommodation.

Across Lebanon, MSF has deployed several mobile clinics to reach displaced people. A newly established mobile clinic in Saida, Lebanon's third city in the south, provided more than 70 consultations in one day together with psychological first aid.  On 6 March, another mobile clinic was deployed in Barja, in the Chouf area of Mount Lebanon—where an estimated 10,000 people are sheltering—and, in just a few hours, delivered 72 general consultations, 11 sexual and reproductive health consultations, and 13 mental health support sessions. MSF deployed a third mobile clinic in Bebnine in Akkar in northern Lebanon, treating more than 50 displaced people from the south on its first day of activities. On 7 March MSF launched additional mobile clinics in Beirut and the Bekaa region to support internally displaced people, alongside preparing mental health helplines to provide psychological support to people who are on the road or unable to reach services.

In Beirut, Bekaa and Chouf, we have already distributed 350,000L of water and over 7tonnes of essential relief items like blankets and hygiene kits to thousands of displaced people, including children and elderly. While in Nabatiyeh and South governorates, MSF has had to suspend on-ground activities due to evacuation orders issued by Israel and the lack of security guarantees for staff, MSF teams continue to look into avenues of providing support in the area, as well as running our clinics in Bourj Hammoud in Beirut and in Arsal in the governorate of Baalbek-Hermel to ensure continuity of care for patients and continues to support primary healthcare centres in Tripoli.

The scale of the crisis demands urgent and comprehensive action. At a time when the 2026 Lebanon Response Plan is only 14% funded and contingency stocks remain critically low, MSF calls for the immediate mobilisation of emergency and flexible funding to rapidly scale up assistance for displaced people and the communities hosting them.

MSF remains in contact with Lebanese authorities and other actors and is ready to increase its support as needs grow.

MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation.  MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. Every year more than 120 Australians and New Zealanders go on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières  working as: doctors, midwives, psychologists, laboratory technicians, human resource/finance coordinators, pharmacists, mental health specialists and logisticians. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au  

Geneva, Switzerland, Friday 6 March 2026 – As of 1 January 2026, women hold 27.5% of national parliamentary seats worldwide, up modestly from 27.2% in 2025, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) report Women in parliament 2025. This 0.3 percentage point increase matches 2024's rate, marking the slowest growth since 2017 for the second consecutive year.

The report is based on IPU data from the 49 countries that held parliamentary renewals for 62 chambers in 2025.

Women's leadership in parliament drops sharply
The proportion of women Speakers of Parliament has dipped to 19.9% (54 Speakers) compared with 23.7% a year ago.
Of the 75 new Speakers appointed or elected in 2025, only 12 were women (16%).
Regional leaders and biggest increases

The Americas remained the region with the highest representation of women in parliament, with women making up 36.1% of members elected to the 20 chambers in 13 countries that held renewals in 2025.

Overall, women accounted for 35.6% of all parliamentarians in the Americas as of 1 January 2026, across all chambers and countries.

The region is also home to four of the seven countries that have now reached parity, or more women than men, in their lower or single chamber – Bolivia joins Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico in the Americas– alongside Rwanda, Andorra and the United Arab Emirates elsewhere.

Kyrgyzstan recorded the greatest progress in women's representation in countries that held parliamentary renewals in 2025, with a 12.9 percentage point increase in women in its Parliament. It was followed by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (+12.3 percentage points) and the upper chamber in Saint Lucia (+9.1 percentage points).

Quotas remain decisive

Well-designed and implemented quotas continued to play a critical role in boosting women's representation in parliaments, as demonstrated notably in Kyrgyzstan and Ecuador.

In 2025, chambers with some form of legislated or voluntary quota elected or appointed an average of 30.9% women, compared with 23.3% in chambers without quotas.

Record highs in some countries

Despite the overall slowdown, several countries set new records.

In Australia, 69 women were elected among 150 MPs in 2025, giving women their highest-ever share of seats at 46%.

Czechia also saw a historic result. Sixty‑seven women were elected to the 200-member lower chamber, up from 50 women in 2021, lifting their share from 25% to one third of MPs.

Women's representation in Ecuador's National Assembly reached 45% after the 2025 election, an all-time high.

The year 2025 was a landmark for Japan's political history: for the first time, the country has a woman Prime Minister and, after elections in July, women's overall representation in the upper chamber stands at a record 29.4%.

 Laggards and biggest drops

By contrast, women's parliamentary representation remained lowest in the Middle East and North Africa, where women hold just 16.2% of seats on average.

Three countries, Oman, Tuvalu and Yemen, have no women MPs in their lower or single chambers.

 Violence against women politicians

In early 2025, the IPU released findings from its study of the prevalence of sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliaments in the Asia-Pacific region. It followed previous similar studies focusing on the African and European regions.

The Asia-Pacific study showed high levels of violence, with 76% of women parliamentarians reporting psychological violence.

And more recently, the 2026 IPU report When the public turns hostile: Political violence against parliamentarians found that women MPs are more affected by intimidation by the public – both online and off – than men, with 76% of women surveyed experiencing violence versus 68% of men.

This growing phenomenon may discourage some women from running for office, an additional obstacle to progress in women's political representation.

Some countries have taken steps to address the violence: the Philippines Electoral Commission intervened when male candidates made disparaging remarks about their female peers, and the Colombian Parliament passed a law to prevent and punish violence against women in politics.

The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It was founded in 1889 as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 183 national Member Parliaments and 15 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes peace, democracy and sustainable development. It helps parliaments become stronger, younger, greener and more gender-balanced. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world.

GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform, has announced that MEED, its Middle East-focused business intelligence platform, has launched a dedicated content hub providing real-time updates and expert analysis on the evolving US–Israel–Iran conflict.

The new page aggregates verified reporting, analysis, and commentary from MEED's editorial team and trusted sources, offering readers a single destination to follow developments and understand their implications for the region's economies, projects, and business activity.

As geopolitical tensions continue to escalate, the volume of information circulating across digital platforms has grown rapidly, making it increasingly difficult to separate credible reporting from speculation. MEED's hub has been created to address this challenge by bringing together reliable coverage and contextual analysis backed by decades of regional expertise.

Agnieszka Sienicka, Head of Marketing and E-commerce at GlobalData Plc & MEED, says: “In times of geopolitical uncertainty, access to credible, verified reporting becomes essential. Through this MEED hub, we aim to bring together rigorous analysis, regional insight, and trusted sources to help readers understand not only the developments themselves but also their potential impact on economies, projects, and businesses across the Middle East.”

MEED has reported on the Middle East's political, economic, and project landscape for nearly seven decades and continues to provide decision-makers with timely intelligence and analysis on key regional developments.

The dedicated hub will be updated regularly as the situation evolves, ensuring readers have access to the latest verified information and expert perspectives in one place.

To receive updates and expert insights directly in their inbox, readers can subscribe to the MEED Spotlight newsletter or bookmark the dedicated page.

Notes

Quotes are provided by Agnieszka Sienicka, Head of Marketing and E-commerce at GlobalData Plc & MEED

About GlobalData

GlobalData Plc (LSE:DATA) operates an intelligence platform that empowers leaders to act decisively in a world of complexity and change. By uniting proprietary data, human expertise, and purpose-built AI into a single, connected platform, we help organizations see what's coming, move faster, and lead with confidence. Our solutions are used by over 5,000 organizations across the world's largest industries, delivering tailored intelligence that supports strategic planning, innovation, risk management, and sustainable growth.

MEED, a GlobalData company, provides news, data, analysis, and intelligence on the Middle East's economic, political, and project landscape.

Most comprehensive study to date linking global air connectivity and multinational investment, covering 7.5 million firms and 400,000 flight routes over 30 years
Beyond evaluating number of direct connections, the researchers' new methodology – measuring pairwise connectivity, and degree, betweenness and eigenvector centrality – identifies the deeper network factors that shape global investment
Knowledge-intensive sectors such as finance, technology and professional services are especially sensitive to the quality of a city’s global air links

Singapore, 23 January 2026: A new study by the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology’s (SMART) Mens, Manus & Machina (M3S)interdisciplinary research group, alongside collaborators from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and National University of Singapore (NUS), has identified a strong statistical association between global air connectivity and patterns of where multinational corporations (MNCs) invest and set up subsidiaries. This is the most comprehensive global study merging 7.5 million firm records with 30 years of international flight data across more than 800 cities in 142 countries.

Illustrative snapshot of global air network as of 2019 and top hubs by eigenvector centrality. Nodes represent airport cities and links denote direct flight routes, while node size and colour highlight the most central cities as measured by eigenvector centrality. The right panel ranks the top 20 cities. 2019 data is shown here as it represents normal operating conditions, and key findings remain consistent over three decades. (Photo: SMART M3S)

The study’s significance lies in its unprecedented scale and its new methodology, which goes beyond evaluating the number of direct routes. Previous studies typically examined a small set of large global cities, specific regions or domestic flights, and often covered only short time periods. Additionally, the effect of air connectivity on a city’s attractiveness is often only assessed using local connectivity measures, such as total passenger flows or the number of direct flights to other cities. However, this overlooks the topological configuration of the global air transportation network and the influence of indirectly connected airport cities.

“Rigorous and data-driven research around connectivity is essential to understanding the forces that shape our cities and economies and to uncover the hidden infrastructure that enables global businesses. As cities become more interconnected and strive to evolve into global hubs, insights from large-scale, interdisciplinary research such as this will be critical to guiding sustainable growth,” said Fabio Duarte, Principal Investigator at M3S, associate director of MIT’s Senseable City Lab and co-corresponding author of the paper.

A new lens on a city’s economic competitiveness
The study, titled “Air Connectivity Boosts Urban Attractiveness for Global Firms” and recently published in Nature Cities, adopted a broader methodological approach. Analysing an unprecedented dataset allowed them to observe how improvements in air travel networks influence the expansion of MNCs into new cities.

The research combines firm-level records from the Orbis database with international flight data from the International Civil Aviation Organisation over three decades, from 1993 to 2023.

The study first evaluated pairwise connectivity – the number of direct and indirect flights between the cities in which parent companies and their subsidiaries are located. Then, to evaluate global connectivity, the researchers analysed patterns in the air travel network using network-based centrality measures – including degree (number of direct flight connections), closeness (how easily a city can reach others with minimal layovers), betweenness (how often a city acts as a transfer point between other cities) and eigenvector (a city’s flight routes and the connectedness of its linked destinations) centrality. The study found that pairwise connectivity, alongside degree, betweenness and eigenvector centrality, play a significant role in shaping where multinational corporations establish subsidiaries.
 
Key findings
Fewer layovers meant more subsidiaries: The study provided strong empirical evidence that air traffic connectivity is a critical coordination infrastructure for multinational corporations, showing a clear correlation between flight convenience and foreign investment. Even one layover is associated with an average of 20% fewer subsidiaries being established, and this rises to 34% with two or more layovers.

Quality of flight connections matters most: A city’s eigenvector centrality – capturing not only a city’s own flight routes but also its indirect connections through its destinations, reflecting its embeddedness in the global air network – was found to be the strongest predictor of how many foreign subsidiaries it attracted. Cities with flight connections to influential global flight hubs consistently outperform those with more flight connections but to less-connected destinations – a 10% increase in eigenvector centrality is associated with nearly a 1% increase in the number of foreign subsidiaries.

Knowledge-intensive sectors rely on connectivity: The impact of air connectivity is especially pronounced in industries that depend on frequent face-to-face interaction, including finance, consulting, technology and other knowledge-based services. For these sectors, direct flights and strong global connections are especially important for attracting investment, while the effect is much weaker for others such as manufacturing and retail.

Singapore among highly connected cities
Singapore hosts roughly 6,000 large- and medium-sized foreign-owned subsidiaries with a minimum annual revenue of US$5million – the highest number for any city. In the connectivity metrics studied, Singapore scores highly on eigenvector centrality – alongside other cities such as London, Paris, Hong Kong, Dubai and Tokyo – reflecting its strategic links to other well-connected airports. These patterns suggest that global connectivity is a contributing factor – among other unobserved factors – that may shape where multinational firms choose to locate.

Global distribution of MNC’s subsidiaries in 2023. Each dot represents an airport city, with colour shading indicating the number of subsidiaries of foreign MNCs in 2023 (red represents the highest number). The right panel ranks the top 20 cities by subsidiary count.

“By looking beyond simple counts of routes and examining how cities are embedded in the wider air network, our study reveals the deeper structural factors that shape multinational expansion. It demonstrates that firms respond not only to a city’s direct access, but also to the strategic advantages conferred by its position within global connectivity,” shared Wen-Chi Liao, Associate Professor of Real Estate and Assistant Dean at the NUS Business School, Visiting Associate Professor at the MIT Center for Real Estate (CRE) and one of the authors of the paper.

Navigating the path to global competitiveness
The practical implications of these findings are significant for policymakers, urban planners and business leaders. Notably, the patterns and findings identified in the study have remained strong throughout the 30-year period, even amidst massive changes in how businesses operate and connect – shaped by shifts such as the internet, rapid digital advances, teleconferencing and digital collaboration tools, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This enduring relationship underscores the importance of maintaining and strengthening strategic air connections to increase a city’s attractiveness to multinational firms and foreign investment.

For Singapore, the research suggests that its continued focus on innovation and strategic planning in aviation has proven to be essential, particularly as global competition intensifies.

“This study highlights important implications for urban planning and economic policy, as air connectivity isn’t just about adding more routes for travel – it’s about sustaining economic vibrancy and being attractive to MNCs. The results are clear – being connected to influential hubs is critical in better overcoming coordination barriers and accelerating business expansion,” saidAmbra Amico, Postdoctoral Researcher at M3S and co-corresponding author of the paper.

As global competition and trade frictions intensify, cities that prioritise not just the quantity but the quality of their air network connections will be best positioned to attract foreign investment and drive sustainable economic growth.

“With trade and geopolitical frictions, it’s more and more important to have face-to-face interactions to build trust for global trade and business. You still need to reach an actual place and see your business partners, so cities with good air connectivity really influences how global business copes with global uncertainties,”, said Siqi Zheng, Principal Investigator at M3S, Professor and Faculty Director of MIT Center for Real Estate, and one of the authors of the paper.

The research conducted at SMART was supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.

Migrant women in Australia are finding more independence, equality and a healthier and wealthier life with more opportunity than in their home countries, according to a new survey.

An overwhelming majority of women migrants find life in Australia ‘better’ than in their home countries and believe they have more rights than at home.

Most say they have more opportunities here than at home and are more financially independent.

And overwhelmingly they say they have more control over their daily lives here in Australia and believe men and women should have equal access to opportunity.

But a large majority (62 per cent) said that violence against women was an issue in their communities. More than half (57 per cent) said violence against women was more prevalent in their home countries while 31 per cent said it was more prevalent in Australia.

The survey of 150 new women migrants and refugees from non-English speaking countries, commissioned by refugee and migrant settlement agency AMES Australia, also found that migrant women in Australia have more access to a range of services and activities including education, work, women’s health, childcare, driving a car and political and religious activity.

Timed to coincide with International Women’s Day 2026, the survey asked, ‘As a woman is life in Australia better for you than in your home country?’ Seventy per cent of respondents said ‘yes’ and nine per cent said ‘no’ while 21 per cent said there was no difference.

Ninety per cent of women said they had more rights in Australia than in their home country while 7 per cent said they did not.

Seventy-one per cent of the survey respondents said there were more opportunities for women in Australia than at home while 19 per cent disagreed.

Asked about particular services or activities that could be accessed in Australia, more than sixty per cent said both education and women’s health services were easier to access in Australia.

Sixty-seven per cent said work was more accessible in Australia, while 54 per cent cited driving a car as being easier in Australia and 56 per cent said childcare was more accessible.

Meanwhile 28 per cent said religious activities were more accessible in their home countries and 28 per cent said work was easier to come by.

An overwhelming 80 per cent of respondents said Australian women were more independent than women in their home countries.

Sixty-six per cent said they were more financially independent in Australia while 20 per cent said they were less financially independent and 17 per cent said there was no difference.

Seventy-two per cent of women said they had more control over their daily lives and five per cent said they had less control while 20 per cent said there was no difference.

Seventy-one per cent of respondents they believed women should have the same opportunities as men.

AMES Australia CEO Melinda Collinson said the survey showed that women migrants and refugees new to Australia were optimistic about their new country and were striving to become part of the wider society.

“What the survey tells us is that migrant and refugee women who come to this country appreciate the level of equality we have and the opportunities that are available to women here,” Ms Collinson said.

“It shows that most migrants value our services and institutions want to make the most of what this country offers them,” she said.

“But is also tells us that violence against women is an issue in all communities and we still have work to do to eliminate it,” Ms Collinson said.

Nepali migrant Reshma Manandhar said Australia offered opportunity and financial independence for women.

“In Australia women have opportunities for education, employment and personal development that are not available in m any countries,” Ms Manandhar said.

“Women can have serious careers in Australia. While there are barriers and impediments for women, it’s possible to achieve your dreams here,” she said.    

Bangladeshi migrant and student Rupananda Roy, who recently completed a PhD at the University of Adelaide, said attaining higher education would have been much more difficult in her own country.

In doing so, she made history by becoming the first woman from one of Bangladesh’s 50 ethnic minority communities to earn a doctorate.

“My family and my husband and his family have been very supportive. Without this support, it can be quite difficult for women from my culture to pursue higher education,” Ms Roy said.

Brazilian-Australian Thelma Nascimento said educating people in diverse communities was important for future generations.

Ms Nascimento, a community advocate in the prevention of violence against women, said: “Violence against women is an issue in every community including my own”.

“We need to educate people from a young age that everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect,” said Thelma, who runs an anti-family violence not-for-profit group called ‘Break Boundaries’.            

March 5 2026 – Bitcoin is surging as global markets rebound and President Donald Trump reinforces his support for the digital assets sector in its intensifying confrontation with traditional Wall Street banks.

This is the bullish assessment from Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory giant deVere Group as the cryptocurrency jumped 8% to as much as $73,777, its highest level in a month, as investors rotated back into risk assets following easing fears about the potential impact of the war in Iran on global energy markets.

He says: “The Bitcoin rally reflects two powerful forces aligning at once: improving risk sentiment across global markets and renewed political backing for crypto from Washington.

“The original and most influential crypto is responding to a combination of macro relief and political support.

“Markets had been rattled by concerns the Iran conflict could deliver a prolonged shock to energy markets and global growth.

“As those fears eased, investors moved back into risk assets and crypto is often the fastest responder when sentiment turns.

The deVere CEO continues: “At the same time, President Trump has stepped in publicly, via his Truth Social platform, to defend the digital assets sector against pressure from traditional banks, which sends a clear signal to markets about the direction of US policy.”

Late on Tuesday, Donald Trump posted that banks were attempting to undermine the Genius Act and warned his administration would not allow it.

The legislation created a regulatory framework for the rapidly expanding stablecoin sector.

Since its passage, tensions have grown between crypto firms and traditional lenders over rules that allow platforms such as exchanges to pay interest on stablecoin balances held by users.

Nigel Green says the dispute highlights a deeper shift underway in global finance.

“Stablecoins are emerging as a new digital form of the US dollar, and that places crypto platforms into direct competition with traditional banks,” he explains.

“When banks push back against that development, it shows how significant the shift has become.”

Bitcoin had fallen sharply from its October peak near $125,000 before rebounding in recent sessions as broader market sentiment appears to improve.

The latest rally illustrates how closely digital assets are now tied to both macroeconomic developments and political signals coming out of Washington.

“Crypto markets react rapidly to changes in global risk appetite, but they also respond to regulatory direction,” he says.

“When geopolitical concerns ease and the White House signals clear support for the sector, those forces combine to create powerful momentum for digital assets.”

Last week, before the latest relief rally, and looking beyond mid-2026, Nigel Green said that he sees the potential for Bitcoin to exceed its previous record high before the year concludes.

“Once momentum re-establishes, fresh all-time highs are achievable before year-end,” he stated. “The prior peak is not a permanent ceiling.”

Nigel Green emphasises that volatility remains intrinsic to digital assets but argues that cyclical corrections have historically preceded renewed expansion phases.

“The key issue is whether structural adoption has stalled,” he says. “Our assessment is that it has not. Institutional infrastructure is broader, deeper and more resilient than at any point in Bitcoin's history.”

He concludes: “For now, the Bitcoin bulls seem to be back in charge.”

deVere Group is one of the world's largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients.  It has a network of offices around the world, more than 80,000 clients, and $14bn under advisement.

Osnabrueck / Dubai, March 5, 2026. As the global automotive industry continues to undergo profound transformation – from electrification and digitalization to evolving supply chains and regionalized production strategies – Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is reinforcing its commitment to this dynamic sector. The company has appointed Rahul Bhasin as new Global Vice President of Hellmann Automotive Logistics. In his new role, he will report directly to Alexandra Olvera, who recently joined Hellmann as the new CCO. Rahul Bhasin will lead Hellmann's global automotive logistics activities as part of the company's long-term strategy to further strengthen its position as a reliable logistics partner for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to drive sustainable, customer-centric growth in all regions.

With more than 15 years of strategic international leadership experience across the automotive industry, Rahul Bhasin brings a wealth of expertise spanning Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe. Having worked with leading automotive brands and consulting firms he has been instrumental in shaping market entry and growth strategies, enhancing customer experience frameworks and driving large-scale business development initiatives across global markets.

This appointment highlights Hellmann's ongoing commitment to the automotive sector. By combining in-depth industry expertise with a customer-centric approach, Hellmann intends to strategically develop the future of automotive logistics through resilience, innovation and close collaboration with its customers.

“The automotive industry remains one of the most strategically important and innovation-driven sectors in our global portfolio. It is a key growth driver for Hellmann, and we are committed to expanding our global footprint to support our customers' long-term success in an evolving market environment,” says Madhav Kurup, COO Airfreight, Seafreight, and Contract Logistics, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

“With Rahul's international perspective, strategic mindset, and proven track record, we are confident that he will play a key role in expanding our automotive footprint and supporting our customers as the industry continues to evolve,” adds Alexandra Olvera, CCO, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

About Hellmann
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is a global logistics service provider with a comprehensive service portfolio that includes air- and seafreight, road and rail transport, and contract logistics. With annual sales of EUR 3.8 bn and around 12,000 employees in 61 countries, Hellmann moves over 20 mio shipments annually. Based on this broad product range and many years of experience, Hellmann offers innovative logistics solutions for the complex requirements of each individual customer and relies on visionary technical products to ensure maximum customer transparency while creating a more efficient supply chain.

www.hellmann.com

Thinking Ahead – Moving Forward

We operate exclusively in accordance with the German Freight Forwarders' Standard Terms and Conditions 2017 (Allgemeine Deutsche Spediteurbedingungen 2017 – ADSp 2017) and – if they do not apply for performing (supplementary) logistics services – with the General Terms and Conditions of Logistics-Services Providers (Logistik-AGB), as of March 2006. Note: In clause 23 the ADSp 2017 deviate from the statutory liability limitation in section 431 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) by limiting the liability for multimodal transportation with the involvement of sea carriage and an unknown damage place to 2 SDR/kg and, for the rest, the customary liability limitation of 8.33 SDR/kg additionally to Euro 1.25 million per damage case and EUR 2.5 million per damage event, but not less than 2 SDR/kg. You can find the ADSp 2017 here: www.hellmann.com/ffst and the Logistik-AGB 2006 here: www.hellmann.com/loggtc.
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