Australia

Australia has started implementing biometric facial, iris and fingerprint recognition in airports, allowing passengers to go through without showing a passport or even talking to anyone. The "Seamless Traveler" project is aimed at creating a "fast, seamless self-processing experience for up to 90 percent of travelers," so that border control can focus on high-risk passengers.

The Seamless Traveler system was budgeted to spend $94 million over five years to make the airport process more efficient. For about 10 years, automatic passport scanning stations have been used the 40 million travelers to the land down under.

Australia has identified more than 340 individuals with links to Swiss banking relationship managers alleged to have actively promoted and facilitated tax evasion schemes, a federal minister said on Friday.

The Serious Financial Crime Taskforce said the joint investigation had identified 346 nationals with links to Swiss banking relationship managers alleged to have promoted and facilitated tax evasion schemes.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has left interest rates on hold at an historic low of 1.5% as widely expected and flagged that some "slowing in the year-ended growth rate is likely" before picking up again.
The RBA has cut rates twice this year, in May to 1.75 per cent and in August to its current historic low. The last time the official cash rate increased was November 2010.
All 64 economists polled by Reuters expected the RBA to keep rates on hold at today’s meeting, the last of the year.

Ford Australia will close its production line in Broadmeadows on Friday, 91 years on, the final Ford Falcon will roll off the production line. On the same day, Ford’s rival Holden will close Cruze production in Adelaide, and Ford will shutter its engine plant in Geelong. In the course of the next year, Australia’s three car makers, Toyota too, will shut down completely.

In all, more than 5,000 production jobs, plus many more white collar and supplier positions, will be lost. Ford will reportedly continue operations in Australia, with product development, research and parts sales to carry on.

Australia confirms its flexible inflation target in the range 2-3%. In a joint statement, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Government reaffirmed the view that the flexible inflation target represents the right way to achieve price stability in the medium term, Treasurer Scott Morrison said in a statement. The stance comes in response to the debate on the correctness of this objective, in view of the sharp slowdown in inflation.