What we learned; Wednesday 1 March
And with that, it is time for us to put the blog to bed. Thank you so much for spending your day with us.
Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
December quarter GDP expanded by a slower-than-expected 0.5%, while January’s consumer prices rose 7.4% year-on-year – pointing to a slowdown in recent price rises.
While the treasurer Jim Chalmers hailed the GDP figures as stronger than all of the G7, he warned the year ahead is “even more unpredictable” than 2022.
Anthony Albanese ruled out changes to capital gains concessions on family homes as the Coalition continued its attacks on Labor’s planned changes to how superannuation is taxed.
The federal government said Peter Dutton’s comments on what submarines Australia would favour ahead of an impending Aukus announcement were “incredibly irresponsible”.
The opposition leader backed Liberal moderate Bridget Archer to stay with the party following reports she may face a preselection push.
And ABC staff have voted to take protected industrial action for the first time in 17 years over what they say is a poor pay offer from ABC management.
Updated
Queensland public hospital waiting times blow out
From AAP:
The number of Queensland patients waiting longer than clinically recommended to see a specialist in public hospitals has surged more than 80% to 104,000 in a year, according to the state’s auditor general.
The Queensland Audit Office also revealed ambulances lost 134,155 hours waiting to transfer patients into hospitals in 2021/22, a rise of more than 20% over the previous year.
Auditor general Brendan Worrall’s report revealed outpatient services and ambulances are being hampered because the health system had reduced capacity to meet growing demand.
Worrall said the rising demand is due to Queensland having the fastest population growth in the nation, an ageing population, an increase in complex emergency presentations and mental health conditions and the impacts of Covid-19.
The health minister, Yvette D’Ath, indicated the suspension of elective surgeries by national cabinet in 2020 and Covid-19’s impact contributed to delays in specialist wait times.
“We are investing significantly to lift up that recovery,” she said on Wednesday.
Updated
Eunice Wright was nine years old when she and her siblings were snatched from their home by police and thrown in a cell for the night.
With her mother in hospital with tuberculosis and father away at work, the wider family rallied to have the children returned, but instead they became members of the stolen generation.
Australia will co-sponsor Vanuatu’s historic bid for the international court of justice to rule on the climate crisis, including the legal consequences for causing significant environmental harm.
The Pacific island country will soon put a resolution to the UN general assembly seeking an opinion on the international legal obligations that countries have to act on the climate crisis.
Parliamentary inquiry told children being exposed to gambling via video game loot boxes
Video games such as Fortnite are exposing children to gambling and increasing their risk of addiction via “manipulative” in-game purchases known as loot boxes, AAP has reported.
That’s what a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling was told on Wednesday, with one researcher suggesting the games were taking “the absence of opportunities for real winnings to another level”.
Loot boxes, which feature in many video games, are a sealed mystery box players can either win or buy, and contain in-game items like costumes or weapons.
Consumer Policy Research Centre’s Chandni Gupta said research showed a link between purchasing loot boxes and developing a gambling addiction, even in children.
“There is little to no transparency on what is offered, how real money is converted to digital currency and also the randomness and design of loot boxes,” she told the inquiry.
“People are being manipulated to use real money which is converted into arbitrary digital currency for random digital content.”
The centre’s Erin Turner said they represented an “unequal transaction”.
“A business has quite significantly superior knowledge about an individual’s behaviour, their gaming behaviour, and a lot of data about how they’re engaging with the game that can be used to manipulate them,” she told the inquiry.
“I also don’t know how my behaviour ... can be used against me to try to encourage purchases and push me over the edge.”
Updated
Controversial ParentsNext welfare scheme should be abolished, inquiry finds
The controversial ParentsNext welfare program would be abolished and replaced by a new service that dials down mutual obligations and offers cash incentives for parents, under the recommendations of a parliamentary committee.
A select committee inquiring into the billion-dollar employment services system has called for sweeping changes to the Coalition’s $484m ParentsNext scheme, which has faced criticism from welfare advocates and women’s groups over several years.
Updated
Olympian Ian Thorpe says his time in the pool was marred by homophobia
The swimming icon and five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe didn’t come out as gay until after his stellar sporting career and says his time in the pool was marred by homophobia, AAP reports.
Speaking at the Sydney WorldPride Human Rights Conference about homophobia in sport, he blamed the media for sensationalist speculation about his sexuality.
“I was directly asked by a journalist at 16 if I was gay,” he said.
“That headline was ready to print on the basis of my answer and this was leading into the Olympics – so at the time I only thought of being gay as a negative.”
Reporters would not ask a minor such a question today, but Thorpe pointed to various football codes for entrenching casual and blatant homophobia, singling out Manly Sea Eagles rugby league players for not playing in a Pride Round last year.
“The NRL has basically copped out and is looking at introducing a respect round,” he said on Wednesday.
Thorpe questioned why athletes weren’t “willing to actually wear a few colours on their shirt that means so much to so many people”.
He appealed to athletes to show empathy and “understand what it’s like for a young gay person to grow up and to face disadvantage and discrimination”.
Updated
Charles Darwin University announces new Indian office
Charles Darwin University (CDU) has announced the opening of a new office in India during a trip to the nation with the education minister, Jason Clare.
A delegation of vice-chancellors are travelling with Clare on his visit this week in a sign of the higher education sector’s efforts to ramp up development prospects in the rapidly developing tertiary sector.
The minister will officially open the office – to employ six staff in the business district of Gurgaon – on Thursday afternoon alongside senior government officials.
CDU’s vice-chancellor, Scott Bowman, said the move aimed to attract students from South Asia to campuses in the Northern Territory and Sydney:
Establishing an in-country presence in India is critical to Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory in achieving our international student growth ambitions.
It is a natural progression for Charles Darwin University towards helping attract students from one of the fastest-growing regions of the world, where quality higher education is valued. We are uniquely placed in our ability to offer exceptional graduate employment outcomes.
At a Universities Australia gala dinner last week, Clare announced he would sign a sweeping mutual recognition agreement for qualifications between the two nations as Australia aims to capitalise on India’s ambitious goals in the education sector.
It comes amid a drop in enrolments amongst Chinese students that has battered the university sector since the onset of the pandemic.
Updated
Indigenous advocacy groups raise concerns on NSW policing
Advocacy groups are raising concerns about how NSW police conduct policing duties and have responded to a new report by the state’s watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Committee.
The report examined policing across the state and looked at how that has impacted Indigenous communities with advocates arguing that “consorting laws” are being misused, with First Nations people being disproportionately targeted under the policies.
The so-called consorting amendments were introduced in 2019 and made it a criminal offence for anyone to continue associating with at least two people who have been convicted of an indictable offence and were targeting serious organised crime such as bikie gangs.
The report released on Tuesday found that the NSW police issued 16,480 warnings to 2,671 people and that most were in response to less serious offences or warnings rather than serious crime.
The report found that nearly half of all those subjected to consorting laws identified as Aboriginal, with 42% of the 4,257 people warned or named in a formal warning being Indigenous.
A further 46% of all people who received a police warning from general duties officers were Aboriginal and in some parts of the state Indigenous people were vastly over-represented with over 75% of people in Western NSW identifying as Indigenous.
In total, 48 young people under the age of 18 were issued with a warning, and of those 12 were Aboriginal children or teenagers.
Nadine Miles, Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT’s principal legal officer, is quoted in the statement as saying the laws are “unfairly” targeting First Nations peoples:
When parliament passed these laws, they handed police another tool to unfairly target Aboriginal communities. Far from targeting serious and organised crime, consorting laws have been used to criminalise social interactions and relationships between Aboriginal people.
She is calling for the parliament to reform the laws while Gabrielle Bashir SC, the president of the NSW Bar Association, said the report revealed that serious organised crime and offenders weren’t the only ones being targeted under the regime:
They are shocking figures. Equating warnings for consorting with diversion from the criminal justice system reflects a fundamental misunderstanding, which must be immediately rectified.
Updated
Regional community divided on local hospital
A community on the NSW-Victorian border remains divided over new hospital plans, as the local health service pleads for unity, AAP reports.
In October the NSW and Victorian governments announced $558m to upgrade the Albury hospital, despite local lobbying for a brand new one to be built on a greenfield site.
At Albury Wodonga Health’s annual general meeting on Tuesday, the chair, Matt Burke, stressed the key priority was that the future hospital be constructed on a single site, consolidating acute and subacute services.
“Every doubt cast on the new hospital is another person who loses confidence to seek treatment in their time of need,” he said.
“How long are you willing to wait for a new hospital that may never come while we have the funds to build a new one right now?”
Albury-Wodonga Health (AWH) provides services to almost 300,000 people in the twin cities, and the region performs below the national average on multiple health outcomes, including mental health, heart disease and life expectancy.
Updated
Queensland failed to protect some of its threatened species
The Queensland government has failed to fully deliver on five of the seven recommendations from a five-year-old audit that demanded better protections for Queensland’s threatened species.
Black-breasted button-quail, Julia Creek dunnart and wallum froglet are just three of the more than 900 plants and animals in the sunshine state that are threatened by extinction but do not have recovery plans in place.
But despite being under “considerable and increasing pressure”, species are being failed by a lack of coordinated approach from Queensland’s environment department, the auditor general, Brendan Worrall, found in a report tabled recently in parliament.
Worrall said the Queensland government’s biodiversity conservation strategy, released last October, “did not include measures or targets”.
“The current lack of measures reduces its ability to monitor outcomes for biodiversity, and demonstrate whether the strategy is achieving the results expected from the resources provided,” the report found.
“The department does not yet have a comprehensive framework to prioritise animals and plants based on risk”.
Natalie Frost, a nature campaigner with the Queensland Conservation Council, said that in the absence of a comprehensive framework, threatened species were not being adequately monitored nor recovery measures implemented
“We are in a climate and biodiversity crisis and it is appalling that species are not getting the protection they need here in Queensland.”
DES doesn’t have a comprehensive framework to prioritise animals and plants based on risk, meaning more than 1000 threatened species in Queensland are not adequately monitored and recovery measures are not implemented.”
Updated
Dutton accused of ‘irresponsible’ Aukus comments
The federal government has accused the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, of “incredibly irresponsible” comments in the lead-up to the Aukus announcement.
As reported here on the blog earlier today, Dutton told reporters in Victoria that he still believed the US Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine was the best option for Australia.
When asked about rumours that the British SSN(R), which is still in development, may be the successful choice, Dutton said the advice to him when he was defence minister “was very clear, that Rolls-Royce didn’t have any production capability left, no headroom”. He said the Virginia class was “a proven design” and he believed they could start to operate this decade - even though US congressional figures have warned their production line is already stretched.
Dutton added:
I worry that if the government has taken a decision to go for a cheaper design that it will delay the delivery of those submarines.
The minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, has taken exception to these comments. Conroy told reporters:
Well, I think those comments from Peter Dutton are incredibly irresponsible. This was a man who received classified briefings up until the 21 May on this program. He is either being mischievous or he’s not privy to the latest information.
Conroy said Australia “would be in a much better position” if the former Coalition government “hadn’t chopped and changed so much” on the replacement for Australia’s existing fleet of Collins class diesel-electric submarines. He went through the history of the initial push for a deal with Japan, before it backtracked and began a process that led to the French bid being selected, before that was torn up in favour of Aukus:
When we came into government, there was a serious risk of having a capability gap and now we are confident that we have a pathway to resolve that capability gap. That will be detailed when we make the announcement.
But I just think it’s incredible for Peter Dutton to make these comments - they’re mischievous, they undermine confidence in the program and it’s like the arsonist burning down a house and they’re complaining about how long it takes for the fire brigade to get there. This man has caused this problem. He’s a man who’s driven 28 projects to be 97 years late. And I just find it completely unhelpful in the public debate for him to be injecting this stuff when he knows that there are security reasons that mean that we can’t detail information until we make the announcement.
Updated
NT communities evacuated due to flooding
Residents in four remote Northern Territory communities are currently being evacuated to Darwin because of flooding in the region.
The chief minister has signed an emergency declaration and authorities say they are working hard to relocate around 700 people, the ABC is reporting.
The Bureau of Meteorology is warning of major flooding in the upper Victoria River as a result of heavy rainfall.
I will bring you more as it comes.
Updated
Man dies in workplace accident
Queensland police are preparing a report for the coroner after a man has died in a workplace incident in Beaudesert, central Queensland.
Channel 7 news is reporting the man was crushed to death by a fibreglass pool at a factory.
Police told the Guardian that emergency services were called just after 10am in relation to a workplace incident.
The man was declared deceased at the scene and police are assisting Health and Safety Queensland with their investigations.
Updated
Asic takes legal action over alleged mistreatment of whistleblower
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) has announced it is taking legal action for the first time over the alleged mistreatment of a corporate whistleblower.
Asic announced Wednesday it was lodging a federal court case against coal producer TerraCom Limited and four executives over its handling of a whistleblower complaint about the alleged falsification of coal quality results.
Asic deputy chair Sarah Court said:
This is a significant case because it is the first time Asic has taken action for alleged breaches of the whistleblower provisions. Asic alleges that TerraCom and its senior company employees engaged in conduct that harmed a whistleblower who revealed the alleged falsification of coal quality certificates.
Whistleblowers perform a vital role in identifying and calling out corporate misconduct We take any indication that companies are engaging in conduct that harms or deters whistleblowers very seriously.
The case alleges that the company falsely told the ASX that the whistleblower’s allegations were wrong and that they had been independently investigated. By allowing the “false or misleading statements” to be published, the company is said to have “engaged in conduct that caused detriment to the whistleblower’s reputation, earning capacity, and psychological and emotional state”, Asic said.
Terracom told the ASX on Wednesday that it would “vigorously defend the proceedings”.
The proceedings relate to disclosures made by the company with respect to a former employee in early 2020. The company has lawyers engaged and will vigorously defend the proceedings.
Updated
Thank you for your attention today. You’re now in the excellent hands of Cait Kelly!
ABC staff to take protected industrial action for first time in 17 years
ABC staff have voted to take protected industrial action for the first time in 17 years over what they say is a poor pay offer from ABC management.
Hundreds of staff met today around the country and agreed to walk off the job for 40 minutes at 2pm on Tuesday to coincide with the Reserve Bank board meeting and BA official cash rate announcement, on 7 March.
Earlier they voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action, which will include different strategies up to and including a full 24-hour stoppage.
Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance media director Cassie Derrick said 90% of staff were in favour of taking industrial action because the offer from management was not good enough.
ABC managing director David Anderson has taken over the bargaining with unions but talks have stalled.
Derrick said:
This is not just about pay. It’s about ensuring a fair go at forging a career at the public broadcaster.
The union says the offer must also include back pay to the expiry date of the previous enterprise bargaining agreement.
Updated
Greek rail tragedy ‘felt intensely’ in Australia
You may have already read about this terrible news out of Greece today, where at least 29 people have been killed and 85 injured after two trains collided near the town of Tempe.
The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, says the tragedy is being “felt intensely in Australia” particularly because of the large community of Greek Australians.
With our large community of Greek Australians any tragedy in Greece is felt intensely in Australia. Our thoughts are with all of those affected by this collision & the people of Greece at this time. 🇦🇺🇬🇷 https://t.co/FwzjsCpFZZ
— Simon Birmingham (@Birmo) March 1, 2023
Updated
Large, fast fire threatens properties in western Queensland
About 20 people are being urged to prepare to evacuate their homes with a large bushfire already threatening some properties in Queensland’s Western Downs region.
Firefighters have urged people living at Weir River, southwest of Dalby, to prepare to leave as they battle the fast-moving blaze.
PREPARE TO LEAVE - Weir River and Cattle Creek (near Moonie) - Multiple Warnings - fire as at 12:59pm Wednesday, 1 March 2023.
— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) March 1, 2023
For all current warnings, updates and mapping go to https://t.co/vqyJTUPBhe. pic.twitter.com/HZC6TYNUO2
They say the fire is burning on Cecil Plains Road and Cecil Plains Moonie Road near the Kumbarilla state forest towards North Boondilla Boundary Rd, Colemans Road and O’Connor Road.
The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service said in an alert today:
Conditions could get worse quickly.
Firefighters are working to control the fire, however you should not expect a firefighter at your door. Firefighting aircraft may assist ground crews.
People living at the nearby Waar Waar Homestead, and anyone in Waar Waar state forest and surrounding areas are urged to stay informed of the situation.
- AAP
Updated
SBS Audio takes flight
SBS Radio has today become SBS Audio, reflecting the public broadcaster’s offering of programs in addition to podcasts and live streaming services.
David Hua, SBS Director of Audio and Language Content:
Every week we broadcast more than 262 hours of original audio content. The new SBS Audio digital experience across the app and website will further drive growth in a space where we are already seeing more than six million streams and podcast downloads every month.
More than 5.6m Australians use a language other than English at home have access to language services on SBS Radio 1, SBS Radio 2 and SBS Radio 3 channels.
SBS caters to 63 languages in total across radio, podcasting, online and social media, including new programming in Bislama, Malay, Oromo and Tetum.
Updated
Privatised cleaning of NSW schools has failed staff and students, UWU says
The privatisation of school cleaning in New South Wales schools is failing staff and students, according to a survey released by the United Workers Union (UWU).
The survey of more than 400 NSW school cleaners found half didn’t have enough time to complete necessary cleaning and a quarter said they hadn’t been properly paid by private contractors.
Almost 80% surveyed reported they worked split shifts, where their day could span 13 hours and the bulk of work completed before and after school.
The UWU said the privatised system was leading to the reduction of full time jobs and an unreasonable workload, citing examples of work schedules providing one cleaner 10 minutes to clean a school’s 36 toilets.
The union is calling on the state government to bring services back under its control when the five-year contract expires in December.
Milena, a school cleaner said contracting “wasn’t working”.
NSW opposition leader Chris Minns has promised Labor wouldn’t pursue further privatisations if elected.
If cleaners in the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia can be employed directly by the government, why shouldn’t we? ... we need better.
Linda Revill, UWU property services co-ordinator, said cleaners were being burdened with “unrealistic goals”:
It’s not good enough the state is spending $1.75bn on this five-year contract but cleaners have in some cases seen their numbers more than halve at their schools.
Schools aren’t being cleaned safely or properly and cleaners are barely scraping out a living on $22.76 an hour.
NSW school cleaners are a living example of a failed privatisation that needs to be reversed, to the benefit of children, parents, teachers, schools and the workers.
Updated
National security chiefs focus on TikTok risks
The Australian government is looking to the nation’s top security agencies to determine if any actions should be taken against popular social media app TikTok.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government and security agencies are aware of the White House’s actions, with a new directive giving all US federal agencies 30 days to wipe the app off government devices.
Questions have been raised about the Chinese-owned social media app’s surreptitious data collection methods.
Chalmers said the government hasn’t yet been advised to take the same action as its US counterparts, but it would act on the recommendations of security agencies.
He told ABC TV.
We’ll take the advice of our national security agencies. But the advice to us hasn’t yet changed.
Home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, last year ordered her department to investigate how TikTok harvests data following concerns China can access the personal information of Australians.
O’Neil has asked national security agencies to provide a range of options to tackle data collection by social media giants.
China has hit back at the US, saying it firmly opposed the action. Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said:
How unsure of itself can the world’s top superpower be to fear a young people’s favourite app like that?
The US has been over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress foreign companies.
The US government should respect the principles of market economy and fair competition ... and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for foreign companies.
- AAP
Updated
Family of released archaeologist ‘overjoyed’
The family of a Toowoomba-based archaeologist taken hostage in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea say they are overjoyed by his safe return and are now focused on helping him heal.
Prof Bryce Barker and his research team were captured by a criminal gang of about 20 “runners” moving guns and drugs across PNG while researching the history of human migration to Australia. The New Zealand-born professor was released on Sunday.
The family said in a statement today:
We are overjoyed to have Bryce back home with us. The kindness and care of so many in our community have been sources of strength for us. We kindly ask for privacy as we begin the healing process with Bryce. Thank you again to everyone who played a role in his safe return home.
Updated
GDP growth stalled if population growth was taken out
Australia boasted going about three decades without a recession. One reason for this was that population growth helped fan demand in the economy.
Well, that story looks like continuing. While the economy did expand 0.5%, as noted earlier in the December quarter, it was flat on a per capita basis.
Real GDP growth for Q4 disappoints expectations coming in much weaker than expected. Notable that population growth has accelerated meaning that per capita growth is flat. The slow down is clearly in train. pic.twitter.com/tnvDr2MBs9
— Alex Joiner (@IFM_Economist) March 1, 2023
New migrant numbers are now rebounding, along with overseas students, so there should be ongoing demand from those two groups. They could help Australia avoid a recession although it will be interesting to see if per-capita numbers reveal a retreat.
Meanwhile, there’s also a spread of growth outcomes across the economy, with several states going backwards (including the one that’s holding state elections on 25 March, NSW).
Not sure if we’ll have politicians heralding a “Canberra-led recovery” but for now at least, the ACT is leading the way.
On a state final demand basis NSW, QLD, SA and the NT are all going backwards. pic.twitter.com/4aqeoClL4d
— Alex Joiner (@IFM_Economist) March 1, 2023
Updated
LGBTIQ+ health plan will ‘save lives’
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia says the federal government’s $26m pledge for health strategies “will save lives”, saying wellbeing outcomes for the queer community have worsened even as other indicators have improved.
LHA CEO Nicky Bath said:
A 10-year plan developed with input from an LGBTIQ+ Health Advisory group will give government a blueprint for change. It is a foundation for improved policies, interventions and approaches to achieve equitable health and wellbeing outcomes.
As reported earlier, assistant health minister Ged Kearney and health minister Mark Butler will announce the new funding and a 10-year wellbeing plan today. There’s also $26 million for research specifically into LGBTIQ+ health outcomes.
Bath said:
This action plan will save lives. It is a crucial advance in addressing the serious inequities LGBTIQ+ people experience in health outcomes.
Although LGBTIQ+ people have been identified as a priority population in many national strategies, for many years the disparities in health and wellbeing outcomes have persisted or worsened.
She said LHA looked forward to working with the government on the plan.
Speaking to a human rights conference connected to World Pride, Kearney today said “there is still so much work to be done, especially in improving health outcomes for LGBTIQA+ people”.
I know, and we as a government know, these issues are complicated and there is much more to do.
The government is opening consultation on the action plan today.
Updated
Codes acknowledge link between head injuries and neurodegenerative disease
Three of the major Australian football codes, NRL, Rugby Australia and Football Australia, have acknowledged the link between head trauma and serious neurodegenerative disease at a senate inquiry hearing today.
Representatives from those contact sports organisations gave evidence today as part of the third day of public hearings for the senate inquiry into concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sports.
Their appearances came in the wake of moving evidence from Hayley Shaw, the daughter of late NRL player and coach, Steve Folkes, who was the first Australian to be diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) posthumously in 2019.
A large and growing body of scientific evidence shows links between contact sports and CTE.
Shaw said her family had never been contacted by representatives of the NRL since they found out about her father’s pathology, despite its links to his playing career and the diagnosis being widely reported.
We also heard from Boxing Australia this morning, and this afternoon we’ll hear from the Rugby Union Players Association and representatives from some government agencies responsible for research funding and health.
Elsewhere, Collingwood coach and former player Nathan Buckley has come to the defence of the Australian Football League after news broke earlier this week that a Melbourne law firm was preparing a class action against the AFL, seeking compensation on behalf of players who had suffered concussion.
Buckley told the Herald Sun he didn’t think the AFL should be held responsible for concussions players sustain:
I’m interested by this strict liability and where it sits – I think a lot of people try to slate it across to the league itself.
But I suggest that anyone who has ever played the game has played the game knowing the risks associated and assuming the risks associated to their health both immediate and potentially down the track.’
You do get well paid for it but you’ve been playing it since you were a kid so when does the AFL become responsible for your choice to play the game?
When you’ve been doing it for possibly 10 years plus before you even enter that competition, I don’t know exactly how that is going to be determined.
The AFL has yet to give evidence to the inquiry.
Updated
Taylor is asked why he refused to support energy discounts for pensioners:
We voted against the government’s price caps which won’t work and we have seen the result on the supply side of the gas industry and I’m confident we will see a lot more than that.
But we want higher incomes for pensioners and that’s why we went to the budget in reply and laid out a pathway for pensioners to be able to do a few extra hours of work and not lose their pensions.
This would solve two problems. It would get more workers available for businesses, that’s a great thing, we need, it’s the number one thing we hear from small businesses around Australia is that Australians need workers.
Updated
Labor 'haven't been upfront' about super tax changes: Angus Taylor
Taylor has been asked about how the super policy would be modest in comparison to the tax cuts the Liberal government legislated for higher earners:
Let’s be clear. They haven’t been upfront with the Australian people about how many Australians are going to be affected. The important point here is the Treasury included a very tricky provision in what has been laid out, which is to not index the threshold.
This is tricky behaviour we are starting to see from Labor and what it means is that for someone who expects to go to the pension phase in turn, 20, 30, 40 years, that threshold in real terms will be way below what Labor has laid out.
If inflation continues to rise, that threshold in real terms will fall dramatically and the number of Australians affected will rise dramatically.
Updated
Taylor:
They are putting legislation through in this term, so this idea that they are taking this to the Australian people is deeply misleading. They are legislating it now without taking it to the Australian people. That was my point this morning.
Taylor:
The government has promised that they are going to try to fight some kind of way to relieve some of these pressures, but the reality is we have seen no relief on these pressures at all.
In fact, interest rates can either go up, the expectation is they will continue to go up. With an extra $114 billion of spending from the government in the last budget, stimulant in the economy and putting extra pressures on inflation, and interest rates.
Despite Australians paying sharply more tax in the last quarter … the government wants to tax Australians more. Make no mistake about it. Labor’s 2019 big taxing agenda is back. It is back.
Taylor says the government has broken an election promise not to touch super – despite the fact this legislation comes into effect after the next election.
Updated
Taylor is talking about the accounts data out today:
What we see in the data is the slowing economy and raging inflation in particular we have seen enormous pressures now on Australian households.
They are pulling back on the savings rates in order to be able to make ends meet. We are seeing three pressures in particular that I want to highlight that’s come out of the data.
First we know well, inflationary pressures, inflation running at almost 8%, but second-guessing very strong growth in the mortgage payments that Australians are having to pay as we see interest rates are rising, and these are put great pressures on many Australian households with a mortgage.
The third clear pressure that comes through the data is on taxation. We have seen an increase in tax payments from Australian households of over 7% in the last quarter.
Updated
We are going to go now to shadow treasurer Angus Taylor – who is speaking in Canberra.
King also flagged future legislative changes to Infrastructure Australia in her speech:
It was set up to be a rigorous, expert, independent body to provide advice to the commonwealth government about priority infrastructure investments. But over recent years, it has tried to do too many things and ended up being sidelined by a government that, frankly, wasn’t interested in its advice.
Guided by the advice of Nicole Lockwood and Mike Mrdak, our changes will put in place a stronger, more focused Infrastructure Australia.
I will soon be introducing legislation and then appointing three commissioners to lead the organisation into the future.
She says the revitalised Infrastructure Australia will:
produce a more refined, smaller, targeted Infrastructure Priority list;
develop a national planning and assessment framework to support national consistency in infrastructure assessment, including the way benefit-cost ratios are calculated;
be more active in the post-completion stage of infrastructure projects to learn and inform future projects;
work to build capacity with local government and regional bodies to undertake more rigorous assessment of projects;
work more closely with the infrastructure bodies set up by states and territories;
participate as an integral part of the budget process in advising me and the expenditure review committee on requests from states and territories for investment.
Updated
Man accused of Cordingley murder lands in Melbourne
The man suspected of murdering Queensland woman Toyah Cordingley more than four years ago has landed in Australia after being extradited from India.
Rajwinder Singh touched down in Melbourne with a Queensland police escort on a Qantas flight from Delhi about 12.40pm today.
The 38-year-old will be taken to a magistrates’ court, where Queensland police will apply to extradite him north to be questioned over the alleged murder of Cordingley.
The Australian citizen, who denies killing Cordingley, had previously worked as a nurse and lived in Innisfail with his wife and three children.
In January he waived his right to extradition, saying outside a Delhi court:
I did not kill the woman.”
He added that he wanted to “reveal all the details” to an Australian court.
- AAP
King tasked Dr Kerry Schott to provide a review into the entire Inland Rail project. The government is yet to release the review, but in her speech King says “ it makes for gripping reading.”
Now, Inland Rail is way over budget and way behind schedule. To get it back on track, Minister [Katy] Gallagher and I, together tasked Dr Kerry Schott to provide us with a review into the entire project. She had a big project on her hands.
Katy and I are working with cabinet colleagues to finalise a response to Dr Schott’s review and will release a response together and we’ll have more to say on that in the future.
I can tell you when you see the report, it makes for gripping reading, to those who want to learn the lessons about how not to do nation-building.
Dr Schott found significant concerns about the governance and the delivery of the project. It is, frankly, a damning indictment on the National party and a salutary lesson as to why they should never have their hands on portfolios with large discretionary funds again.
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Inland rail is 'prime example' of previous government's failure on infrastructure, King says
The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, is addressing the National Press Club in Canberra. After speaking about the challenges climate change poses for infrastructure, King calls out the opposition’s infrastructure decisions:
The simple fact is that the past decade, where the Liberal and National party treated the infrastructure investment pipeline as their own election fund, has been one of significant lost opportunity. They chose to spend money on commuter carparks, urban congestion projects and Roads of Strategic Importance that miraculously seemed largely only to be needed in Liberal and National party seats.
That’s why I am so determined that commonwealth investment is targeted, that we invest in projects that deliver productivity growth, connect communities, future proof our routes and deliver social and economic returns. Ensuring we get the benefit underpins the decision that I, as a minister, and we, as a government, have made so far.
A prime example of the previous government’s failures and the serious impact of this is inland rail. I want to remind people the reason that inland rail was invested in in the first place: to increase our nation’s productivity, to take freight off already congested roads and to move them efficiently and safely and to get goods to market more quickly.
The previous government, I think, lost sight of this. They didn’t see it as a project that had those goals and under my predecessor [Barnaby Joyce], frankly, I think the project became something of a strange vanity project for him.
The inland rail is a project which was the subject of a major Guardian investigation last year by our rural editor Gabrielle Chan, Andy Ball, Mike Bowers and myself.
Our interactive feature enables you to travel along the route from Melbourne and Brisbane to see what the people affected by the project – which has blown out over $14bn – have to say:
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Queensland police hail better recording of domestic violence
The Queensland police service responded to more than 138,000 cases of domestic and family violence in the last financial year – an increase of 15% on the previous reporting period.
But QPS domestic, family violence and vulnerable persons command inspector Melissa Dwyer says she is “really buoyed” by the figures, which she attributed, largely, to better reporting of violence against partners and family members. She said:
The way in which Queensland police service is recording the prevalence of domestic and family violence has been improved. So we have a better and truer appreciation of what is happening in Queensland homes.
Dwyer said the scourge of domestic and family violence was “inextricably linked” to youth crime, now dominating headlines and government policy in Queensland:
When we look at those statistics 138,871 DFV occurrences, it is really sobering to remember that there is a victim-survivor in every single one of those circumstances. And a perpetrator. And, invariably, there are children.
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WA’s ‘Free the Nippers’ campaign takes aim at Woodside sponsorship
Parents whose children take part in Nippers in Western Australia have launched a campaign demanding Surf Lifesaving Australia WA drop its sponsorship arrangement with gas company Woodside.
More than 400 people have signed a letter for the “Free the Nippers” campaign calling for Woodside’s logo to be removed from the Nippers uniform.
Parents have been speaking out about the deal, which began in 2019 and gave Woodside naming rights to the Nippers program for 10 years.
Sustain Surf chair and Nippers parent James Anderson said using junior surf lifesaving members to advertise a fossil fuel company was unethical:
We wouldn’t let a cigarette company stick its logo on our kids, and we shouldn’t let Woodside get away with using Nippers to advertise its fossil fuel business.
He said surf life savers and surf clubs were on the climate frontline:
The majority of Australian surf clubs are built on unstable locations put at risk by rising sea levels as our beaches are being eroded. Woodside’s expanding gas extraction will fuel long-term damage to our iconic surf life saving movement, not to mention our members’ health.
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The treasurer’s press conference has wrapped up but, don’t worry, there will be plenty more news out of Canberra. The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, has just stepped up to address the National Press Club. We’ll bring you what she has to say but first a few updates from my colleagues outside the capital.
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Chalmers quizzed on refusal to index super cap
Phil Coorey, the political editor of the AFR, asked Jim Chalmers about his refusal to index the cap:
We had modelling down by one of the industry groups. And they say someone today who is 45 years old and plans to retire at 65, in 20 years’ time ...
Chalmers:
I’m fine because I’m 45 tomorrow, not today.
(Chalmers has the same birthday as Anthony Albanese, who is 60 tomorrow.)
Coorey:
Someone who gets only 10% contribution not 15% will have an effective cap in retirement of $1.6m which is less than the tax transfer cap today of $1.7m.
Someone who is 25 years old today will have - in today’s dollars, will have a tax transfer cap of less than $1m.
So younger workers, today, people younger than me, are going to be the worse off than me when they get to retirement. Is that fair?
Chalmers:
I think one of the reasons for that is because there’s a gender gap in super as well. We have said, I think, publicly, probably countless times now, that we think there is work to do when it comes to adequacy, particularly for Australian women …
My goal here, my objective here, I’ve been really clear about, is to try and make superannuation more sustainable. Superannuation in Australia is world class. Absolutely world class.
But it’s got its imperfections. The gender gap is a big imperfection. The affordability of tax concession for people with $100m in super is a big imperfection.
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Super changes will raise $3.2bn over five years, treasurer says
Circling back to the treasurer’s press conference, our very own Paul Karp asks:
The Coalition’s criticised you for not indexing the $3m threshold for the super changes. Just going back to the question of modelling, is there anything you can give us today, like a 10-year figure, how much the change is going to raise, or any assurance about what proportion of people are going to be affected in the future?
Jim Chalmers:
Well, in terms of the costings, it will raise $900m in the forwards, $3.2bn over five years. I have included that extra year I want you to understand it’s about $2bn or just over when it’s properly up and running. When we want to, and when we’re ready to provide any further numbers we’ll do that.
On the $3m threshold, I think this is an important design feature. Obviously we’re consulting on the design features. But one of the reasons why I think it is important that the threshold is at $3m is because we want to make superannuation more sustainable over time. And, I think, if you strip away all of the politics and all of the argy-bargy of this building away from it.
I don’t think any objective observer could look at our superannuation system and think anything other than we need to make these tax concessions for people with millions of dollars in super more sustainable, fairer, when have $1tn in debt and the budget intensifying.
Karp:
For the rest of the medium term, will it raise more than $2bn?
Chalmers:
It will raise in the fist year $2.3bn. As more people down the track save more than $3m in retirement, then they’ll become subject to still generous tax concessions but slightly less so.
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US Virginia-class submarines a proven design, Dutton says
Returning to some defence news out of the earlier press conference given by the opposition leader, Peter Dutton:
He told reporters in Avalon (with periodic interruptions from noisy aircraft taking part in the air show) that he still believed US Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines would be the best choice for Australia.
Even though these submarines have much larger numbers of crew required, Dutton insisted that Australia could find the crew required, “and we could joint-crew it” with the US.
And that’s going to be the reality on any platform.
The Australian, UK and US governments are expected to announce the details of their plans this month. Dutton was asked about rumours that the British SSN(R), which is still in development, may be the choice, and whether he thought that would be a mistake. He was also asked about whether Australia should be prepared to pay to boost the already overstretched US production line.
For months Dutton has made no secret of his preference for Virginia-class submarines. He said he had “the greatest of respect for the Brits, who, frankly, facilitated us coming into discussions with the Americans”. (The Morrison government entered into talks with the UK before they jointly approached the US, according to the official history of Aukus.)
But Dutton said the Americans “bent over backwards to do whatever they could in the context of the Aukus negotiations, so it’s clear to me that if there is a will from the Albanese government that many options are available to them”.
Dutton, the former defence minister, said the advice to him at the time “was very clear, that Rolls-Royce didn’t have any production capability left, no headroom”. He added:
The beauty in my mind with the American model, of the Virginia class, was that it was a proven design, it gave us interoperability with the Americans and there will be more American subs in the Indo-Pacific than there will be British submarines, who will concentrate, quite rightly – particularly given the Russian threat – to continental Europe ...
I worry that if the government has taken a decision to go for a cheaper design that it will delay the delivery of those submarines. And with the Virginia class, I thought that we could bring them on this decade and I’ve made that point on a number of occasions. I absolutely still believe it’s a better case.
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Exports and spending shored up otherwise weak GDP growth
Australia’s 0.5% increase in GDP for the December quarter was shy of economists forecasts, as noted above, but also the slowest pace since the September 2021 quarter (marred by lockdowns in half the economy, if you can recall).
Growth has also slowed for three quarters in a row. Without consumption rising 0.4% and exports rising 1.1%, the number might have looked a bit worse as both private and government investment shrank.
Among the deluge of data, one number to jump out was a drop in the household saving ratio, which sank from a revised 7.1% in the September quarter to 4.5% in the final three months of 2022. That tally is now at its lowest level since the September quarter of 2017, or back in those pre-pandemic days when we weren’t stashing money in the sock draw.
Anyway, the slumping savings rate suggests households are funding part of their spending from savings and that trend has its limits.
Not that households are necessarily in dire straits. Household income payable (which sounds a bit jargony) rose 8.9%, or the most since June 2002. The ABS said:
Income tax rose, aligned with continued growth in wages, employment and hours worked, plus higher returns on investment income.
the ABS said. Interest on deposits, for instance, rose 25.3%. The flipside of higher interest rates, though, is that those who have loans to repay are forking out a lot more. Interest payable on dwellings rose 23%, reflecting further interest rate rises over the quarter.
GDP is a slightly backward-looking set of figures since we are two-thirds into the current quarter. One thing we can assume with some confidence, though, is that those interest payable numbers are going higher, for at least a while longer even if the economy is losing some steam.
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Treasurer rules out changes to capital gains concessions on family homes
Taking questions, the treasurer is asked about the divide which came out as both he and the PM took the breakfast news programs speaking about yesterday’s announcement on changes to superannuation and the possibility of other changes to tax concessions.
While Jim Chalmers told Sunrise he wouldn’t rule out changes to the capital gains tax exemption on the family home, Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio the government would not impact the family home “full stop, exclamation mark”.
Given his “opportunity to do the same” by a reporter, Chalmers responds with a mea culpa:
I do do that, and I should have done that this morning too. What I’m trying to maintain a focus on what we are doing, not what we’re not doing.
I am concerned that having provided in the interests of transparency a sense of all of the tax breaks across the budget, and Treasury’s best assessment of how they’re growing, I don’t want to get into the practice of coming before you each day and working through hundreds of billions of dollars of tax concessions and playing the same rule-in, rule-out game.
I should have done that when it came to the family home this morning. And I’m happy to say that. I’m very prepared to say that and I’m happy to tell you why.
I want the country focused on this choice that we can make to make superannuation more affordable by making the tax concessions in super more sustainable and in the process, make the budget more responsible. That’s my objective. I want to focus on that.
The tax expenditure statement released yesterday is not a statement of intent. It’s not a policy statement. It’s a summary of facts. And I want people to see it that way. But we’ve no intention of going after capital gains tax on the family home.
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‘2023 will be a story of some substantial economic challenges’
Jim Chalmers ends his initial speech by looking forward:
Now, this was the story of 2022 in the national accounts figures before you this morning. Today the national accounts figures released this morning show the story of 2022.
The unfolding story of 2023 will be a story of some substantial economic challenges, we can’t pretend them away. Interest rates are biting. Higher inflation has been biting in our economy and we’re not immune from global conditions either.
I’m confident that we can get through this. I’m confident the worst of inflation is behind us rather than ahead of us. But we don’t pretend away the substantial challenges in our economy repute in today’s national accounts.
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‘Our economy grew faster than all of the G7’
Despite sustained and growing challenges in the economy, Jim Chalmers elaborates on how the Australians economy is performing “substantially better” than comparable countries. He says he’s still confident Australia has “precisely the right economic plan for these conditions”:
Our economy grew faster than all of the G7, at 2.7%, and more than double the OECD average of growth of 1.1%. And so, we are even with all of our challenges, outperforming the world when it comes to economic growth.
Now we’ve been upfront about the challenges facing our economy from high inflation and rising interest rates and the global economic slowdown. But we are confident and optimistic but the future of our economy, but do have precisely the right economic plan for these conditions.
Our economic plan is custom made for the conditions that we confront in our own economy and in the global economy. The best combination of cost-of-living relief, repairing our supply chains and showing restraint in the budget.
We’re focused on addressing inflation with that cost-of-living relief, with our efforts to fix broken supply chains and by trying to make the budget more responsible, we can make the economy more resilient at the same time.
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Chalmers lists positives in Australian economy
Jim Chalmers goes on to say the Australia has “a number of important things going for us in the economy more broadly”:
The unemployment rate is still near historic lows, still has a three in front of it – that’s important.
We have seen indications more broadly of the beginnings of decent wages growth in our economy, even though the hourly measure in these national accounts is a bit more modest.
We are really pleased to see our tourism and education exports are continuing to bounce back from the pandemic.
Returning international students and tourists supporting a 9.8% lift in service exports in the quarter. And that’s really important as a driver of growth in our economy.
And we’re getting really good price for our commodity exports as well.
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‘Inflation is likely to have peaked’
Zeroing in on inflation, which “remains the No 1 challenge for the economy”, Jim Chalmers says:
While inflation is higher than we’d like, we’re cautiously hopeful that it has peaked and this is also the review of the Reserve Bank. The national accounts measure of consumer prices rose by 1.5% in the December quarter and 6.9% over the year.
We also got the monthly inflation read for January today as well, there’s a lot of volatility in the monthly inflation read, we need to be cautious and careful about interpreting the monthly outcome.
What it shows is that inflation in January is around 7.4% compared to 8.4% in the monthly read for December of last year. So this is more evidence that inflation is likely to have peaked in our economy and the worst when it comes to inflation is behind us.
Obviously, inflation will be higher than we’d like for longer than we’d like, and this is an encouraging sign in this monthly inflation number is likely to peak at the end of last year.
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‘Inflation is still the defining challenge in our economy’
Jim Chalmers goes on to say the cost-of-living pressures and rising interest rates remain the “major story” out of these figures:
The major story of these national accounts being released today is really about the cost-of-living pressures and the impact of rising interest rates on Australian households in particular. Inflation is still the defining challenge in our economy and it’s still the primary focus of the Albanese’s economic plan.
There’s lots of evidence of the impact of rising interest rates on Australians around the country in these new numbers today. Consumption growth softened to 0.3% in the quarter, to be 5.4% higher over the year.
Households have continued to pull back on discretionary goods spending in favour of services as Australians look to get out and travel more around the country.
With the sustained pressure on family budgets, we are seeing households saving less out of their income, the saving ratio has been declined sharply to 4.5%. More of people’s income is being directed to servicing their mortgages, international payments are up 23% in the December quarter.
There’s some good indications in here that more homes are being built, as some of the supply constraints in the economy ease. And with a solid pipeline of work over the months ahead, there’s reasons to be relatively positive about the outlook for construction of homes.
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Jim Chalmers press conference
The treasurer is now speaking, saying the GDP figures that have just come in “tell the story of 2022” but that this coming year is “even more unpredictable”.
Jim Chalmers:
Today’s national accounts show that growth in the Australian economy is moderating as expected. This is the inevitable consequence of global challenges, high inflation, and rising interest rates.
These numbers tell the story of 2022 and we know that 2023 will be a different story. The global economy is even more unpredictable. In war in Ukraine is entrenched and interest rates are biting harder and harder on our people.
We knew that growth would begin to moderate around now and it is. We knew that 2023 would be a challenging year for the economy, and we still expect that to be the case. But despite all of these challenges, the Australian economy still grew by 0.5% in the December quarter of last year, and by 2.7% through 2022.
This is faster growth than all of the major advanced economies and it’s more than twice the growth of the OECD average. I think it’s an unfortunate sign of the times. That even in one of – one of the best economies in the world here in Australia, our people are still under extreme pressure. It’s a sign of the times that even in one of the world’s best economies, people are still struggling under the weight of a global downturn, high inflation and rising interest rates as well.
Updated
We’re expecting the treasurer Jim Chalmers to step up to speak in Canberra in just a moment – stay tuned.
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7.4% CPI for January second-highest tally on record
While the 7.4% CPI for January fell shy of expectations, the ABS notes that it is still the second-highest tally for any month since it began tracking monthly changes in September 2018.
The monthly series is also not as complete as the quarterly numbers. Still, as the year rolls on, we’ll start to compare prices with sharply higher levels of a year ago after Russia invaded Ukraine and sent energy and food prices skyward. Covid supply snags are also easing.
The Australian dollar had lost close to a quarter of a US cent in wake of the CPI and GDP numbers which is as clear a sign as any that expectations have budged on today’s numbers towards a reduced need for the RBA to hike its cash rate. Stocks also pared their losses for the day.
As for contributors to the January CPI numbers, recreation and culture, and housing led the way, with increases of about 10% from a year earlier. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 8.2%. Fruit and vegetables actually fell in prices, becoming 2.3% cheaper.
Also cheaper, apparently, were airfares and holiday accommodation, which were down 7.2% in January. That, though, compared with a 29.3% gain in December for this category, so some vacationers will still feel stung.
More on GDP soon.
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ABC strike a step closer
ABC journalists have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action which will include a full 24-hour stoppage in a protected action ballot, and will meet later today to discuss the vote.
Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance media director Cassie Derrick said 90% of staff were in favour of taking industrial action because the offer from management was not good enough.
ABC managing director David Anderson has taken over the bargaining with unions but talks have stalled.
Derrick said:
This is not just about pay. It’s about ensuring a fair go at forging a career at the public broadcaster.
The union says the offer must also include back pay to the expiry date of the previous enterprise bargaining agreement.
Peter Dutton backs Bridget Archer to stay in face of preselection challenge
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has responded to my colleague Katharine Murphy’s story that Liberal MP Bridget Archer could face a preselection push.
Despite Archer’s streak of independence on a number of policies, Dutton backed her in.
He told reporters in Avalon:
Well, I haven’t seen those reports. Bridget Archer is an important part of our team. She works hard and she represents her community. So I want us to continue to work. There is a divergence of views in a number of issues.
In the Labor party if you cross the floor, you have to resign from the party. In our party room, there’s a greater capability. I hope we can pre-select a candidate soon for the seat of Braddon and, as we know with Gavin Pearce, he’s been an incredible local member there. I think there’s opportunity for us in Tasmania and I hope that Bridget can continue to work with her colleagues in Canberra.
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Inflation and GDP growth numbers point to economy losing steam
Numbers just out from the ABS will reinforce the view that the Reserve Bank may not have to nudge interest rates up much higher.
Consumer price index numbers for January alone came in at 7.4%, well shy of the 8.1% expected by economists. Given that December’s CPI was 8.4%, pundits are likely to be saying inflation has peaked. (For the December quarter as a whole, CPI was 7.8%.)
The economy, meanwhile, expanded 0.5% for the December quarter, shy of the 0.8% economists had been expecting.
Those two relatively weak readings should see investors pare their bets about how much higher the RBA will have to go to take excessive demand out of the economy. Here’s how they viewed things before today’s numbers:
Ahead of CPI and GDP figures, investors were betting the RBA's cash rate would climb above 4.25% by September (vs 3.35% now.) Odds remain about 80% that the central bank will lift the rate 25bp next Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/UkQ5tavWaQ
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) March 1, 2023
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GDP grows 0.5% in December quarter
January’s consumer prices rose 7.4% year on year, new figures show. This points to a slowdown in recent price rises.
Meanwhile, Australia’s December quarter GDP expanded 0.5%, which is slower than expected.
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‘We will repeal’ super tax changes if elected, Dutton says
Dutton says that if elected back to government, the opposition would repeal the Albanese government’s proposed changes to superannuation:
We’re dead against it. And we will repeal it.
We’re not going to stand by and watch Australians attacked. There are 88,000 that they’re talking about now, but that figure of $3 million is not indexed, so in 10 or 15 years’ time, there will be tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Australians who will be affected by this.
The message that it sends … to a lot of other Australians who are next in line when the Labor party needs more and more money, those people know that they’re next on the hitlist and I think the uncertainty that they’re creating around superannuation is completely unacceptable.
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Dutton says Labor's tax expenditure statement a 'hitlist'
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is speaking in Avalon in Victoria saying he finds the government’s changes to superannuation “unbelievable” and calling the tax expenditure statement released yesterday “a hitlist”.
Dutton is saying that out of the $150bn in tax concessions the statement revealed, he thinks it’s an “absurdity” to think Labor won’t want to see more government savings from those tax breaks.
The treasurer has a different stance, it seems, on some of these issues than the prime minister. I don’t know what’s happened with the rushed decision that they’ve made in the last 24 hours, but it seems that there is an internal war going on within the Labor party at the moment when it comes to taxing Australians.
Now, the treasurer can describe it as a tweaking or a minor change or a minuscule change – all of that language, frankly, doesn’t mean anything to Australians who know that they have worked hard for their money. They have put their money into their tax – into their superannuation fund and for the government now to start changing the rules, it really unsettles a lot of Australians, particularly those who are heading towards retirement.
So when Labor says that there won’t be any changes before an election – how on earth could you believe them? How could you believe anything the prime minister says? How could you believe anything the treasurer says, and when they’ve put out this hitlist, most Australians are going to be affected on that hitlist one way or the other.
So if they think that out of $150bn that they’re going to be satisfied with $2bn, that is an absurdity. So I would be very worried, as you go down through that list, the impact that that would have on the economy.
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Tasmania RSL criticise AFL stadium location
RSL Tasmania president, John Hardy, has written to the state’s premier, Jeremy Rockliff, urging him to reconsider the proposed location of a future AFL stadium in Hobart.
The federal government is considering whether to partially fund the $715m stadium, which the state government wants to build at Macquarie Point near the CBD. The stadium is also very close to the Cenotaph.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has described the proposed stadium as critical to the success of a long-awaited Tasmanian AFL team. He has announced a $360m, 10-year funding commitment from the league to a Tasmanian team.
In a letter to Rockliff, Hardy said he supported the construction of stadium but wanted it to be in a new location:
We believe that the Tasmanians that erected this obelisk as an outpouring of unmeasurable grief after their loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice, would stand beside us shoulder to shoulder.
The AFL has always supported Veterans, it is a working persons game and I believe the AFL will understand our issue. The veterans of this island know that we must prosper and that far too often Tasmanian representation is neglected on a national stage.
But more than most, we also understand that some things are worth fighting for, and we must be forever vigilant.
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Prison officers at private jail walk off the job in NSW
Prison officers at Parklea jail in Sydney’s west are striking for three days as they continue a campaign for more pay and better safety at work, AAP reports.
It’s the third time the officers, who will rally outside the Parklea correctional centre at midday on Wednesday, have walked off the job in as many months.
Community and Public Sector Union NSW assistant general secretary Troy Wright says the jail near Blacktown has the worst record for serious assaults on prison officers in NSW and the second worst rate of assaults among inmates.
Officers at the maximum security men’s prison were the worst paid in the country, he said.
The jail is privately run by US multinational MTC.
Wright said:
Imagine being so desperate for change in your workplace you would forgo three days’ pay in the hope someone would listen.
In the past few years, there has been a riot and two fires at the jail, one of which caused $8m in damage.
In the past year, there have been three deaths at Parklea prison.
Wright said:
In the last few weeks, a prison officer was king hit from behind and we know of officers having shivs held to their throats and being punched in the face.
Understaffing is chronic and causing a lot of these problems, we know this prison is short-staffed each and every day.
Some areas of the jail are meant to have 28 officers looking after 480 prisoners but routinely have just 17, Wright said.
The union wants an increase in staffing levels and less weekend work.
Comment is being sought from the prison.
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Cool start to autumn for south east Australia: BoM
It’s the first day of autumn, leaving us all wondering – as Noel Harrison sung in The Windmills of Your Mind – “why did summer go so quickly?”
The south-east of the country is already feeling the effects of the cooler autumn weather today but a return to milder conditions is expected over the weekend.
A cooler start to autumn for south-east #Australia, with showers persisting over coastal areas.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) February 28, 2023
Thunderstorms, possibly severe, over eastern #NSW and inland south-east #Qld in the coming days.
Milder and drier conditions return this weekend.
Latest: https://t.co/PGSEyPobuK pic.twitter.com/W6FIj5L1Bi
A pinch (of cool air) and a punch (of light showers) for the first day of the month (and #autumn)! Mild temperatures and isolated showers about the south will persist over the next few days for #Victoria. A warmer weekend ahead.#VicWeatherhttps://t.co/12rc78FD2D pic.twitter.com/1cVKtU0CkC
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) February 28, 2023
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Students ‘protesting against a tax on the right to protest’ in Sydney
Student activists are holding a rally outside the Downing Centre in Sydney in opposition to the arrest of Cherish Kuehlmann, a student protester charged with a single count of unlawful entry at a recent demonstration.
Kuehlmann was arrested at her home at midnight after she took part in a student protest outside the Reserve Bank of Australia over the housing crisis. Activists with the National Union of Students are calling on the police to drop the charges.
Maddie Clark, the University of Sydney environment officer, who is facing suspension for a protest against former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull at the university last year, appeared at the protest.
She urged the state government to reverse laws passed in the wake of a series of climate protests that introduced tough new penalties for activists who blocked roads, bridges and tunnels.
She told the crowd:
We are protesting against a tax on the right to protest.
Kuehlmann said she was shocked to be arrested later that night as she had participated in many similar actions to the one at Martin Place without incident.
What kind of society do we live in where 30 students can’t hold up placards outside the RBA without being threatened with a year in jail? Corporations are reporting record profits and landlords are jacking up rent. Meanwhile students are threatened with evictions and homelessness. I will not be intimidated and am determined to keep up the fight against the people responsible for this.
A police fact sheet seen by Guardian Australia alleged the group had not completed one of the “form one” notifications to police to authorise a public assembly, and that during the protest demonstrators entered the Commonwealth bank where they began “shouting and protesting” while “using loudspeakers to spread their messages” for about five minutes.
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A Lismore climate campaigner on why she does what she does
Ella Buckland became a campaign manager for Australian Parents for Climate Action in Lismore after the climate crisis came to her front door a year ago.
In an opinion piece today, Buckland shares her experience of what this last year has been like for her and her community, as well as what she wants to see for the country going forward:
I’ve never raised my child to be fearful of climate change. She doesn’t even know what it means. I did this to give her a few more years of innocence, but even with my careful planning for her mental health, climate change came to us.
It broke down our doors and windows and delivered a rain of shit on to everything we loved. I don’t want this to be her future, or the future for any child. There are solutions, Australia is just not utilising them.
We need to work together, we need to at least try to reduce emissions to keep our communities, our children safe, because next time, it could be your child.
Read the entire piece here:
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Truth-telling inquiry to hear ‘human toll’ of injustice
The personal toll of systemic injustices on Indigenous Victorians and their families is set to be laid bare by Australia’s first truth-telling inquiry, AAP reports.
From today, Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission will return for another two-week block of public hearings delving into the state’s “broken” child protection and criminal justice systems.
The topics were raised by the commission last year, but the latest block of hearings will place a greater emphasise on personal experiences.
Indigenous parents and carers of removed children and Stolen Generations members will be called during the first week.
Commissioners will also hear from Aboriginal Victorians with links to the adult and youth criminal justice systems and their families, as well as advocates and experts.
Some witnesses will speak in closed sessions because of the sensitive nature of their evidence.
Yoorrook chair Eleanor Bourke said:
We will hear about the human toll of systemic injustice, and the enduring impact this has on individuals, their families and community more broadly.
Reforms to Victoria’s strict bail laws and raising the age of criminal responsibility will continue to be canvassed, after the state government committed to legislative changes, along with addressing systemic injustices in both systems.
Reform needed in a number of areas, not just super tax: Allegra Spender
Independent MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, says she wants to see a wider debate about the whole of Australia’s tax system, “not just one tax at a time”.
In a Twitter thread this morning, Spender talks about the reform she’d like to see:
We talked about capping super for a week. And now the government has acted. But the $2bn [p.a.] raised won’t solve our structural deficit. I’m really pleased the Treasurer Jim Chalmers is encouraging “conversations” because frankly there’s a lot we need to talk about.
So let’s talk about our whole tax system. Not just one tax at a time. Australia relies too much on direct taxes - income tax and company tax. We’re out of step with other OECD countries. We need to consider other tax options.
For example – what about a Minerals Resource Rent Tax for future mining? We’ve seen oil and gas companies reap super profits off the back of the Ukraine war. Australian taxpayers missed out. What sort of tax system should we have for the next mining boom? Cobalt, lithium etc …
While we’re on Super – should we be pushing ahead with lifting compulsory Super to 12% in 2025? The Grattan Institute reports that younger Australians face financial stress because they’re putting aside more than they need for retirement. Let’s tackle that discussion too.
And what about how govt spends your taxes? For example, we’re spending more on education than ever, but education standards aren’t rising. How can we spend that money to better effect? Problems aren’t always solved by more money. We’ve got to make sure we’re spending wisely.
All these areas and more need reform – positive change for the future. Too often the major parties (pushed by the media) won’t tackle reform. They’re trapped in a spiral of gotchas and point scoring where reforms are ruled out before they’re even considered.
We need to develop policies to achieve our national objectives for a future economy that supports innovation, business, climate action, and fairness. Voters want to see politics done better, and I’ll be consulting my constituents and pushing both sides to do politics better.
On what reform other crossbenchers want to see, read Paul Karp’s latest:
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Home price slide loses momentum as new listings tighten
The residential property market continues its downturn but the rate of decline has pulled back sharply, AAP reports.
The monthly home value index released by property data from CoreLogic declined 0.14% over the month – the smallest monthly loss since the Reserve Bank first started hiking interest rates in May last year.
CoreLogic’s research director Tim Lawless said consistently low numbers of new homes listed for sale and rising auction clearance rates were insulating home prices.
Lawless said:
The past four weeks have seen the flow of new capital city listings tracking 17% lower than a year ago and 11.9% below the previous five-year average.
Across the capital cities, Sydney home values recorded the only uplift, rising 0.3%.
But the easing rate of decline was evident across the board, with Darwin the only capital city to record a steeper monthly fall over the month.
Regional home values fell 0.3% and faster than the 0.1% decline across combined capitals, although the lift in Sydney home values largely accounted for this difference.
Overall, rest-of-state regions were still performing the same or better than their capital cities.
Lawless said it was hard to say if the market was bottoming out or if this was “the eye of the storm”:
Considering the Reserve Bank of Australia’s move to a more hawkish stance at the February board meeting, along with an expectation for a weaker economic performance and a loosening in labour markets, there is a good chance this reprieve in the housing downturn could be short-lived.
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Australia must set targets for amount of CO2 to be removed from air, scientists say
Australia should set targets for the amount of carbon dioxide that could be pulled permanently from the atmosphere using “carbon drawdown” techniques like tree planting and direct air capture, according to a report from the Australian Academy of Science.
A national coordinated approach is urgently needed to promote projects that remove carbon dioxide from the air, the report says, with a lack of policies seeing Australia fall behind other countries.
Drivers asked to go without a car in Uber experiment
Fifty Australian drivers will be challenged to give up their cars for a month and replace driving with ride-share trips, rental cars, e-bikes and scooter rides as part of a social experiment.
Uber unveiled its One Less Car trial today, revealing it would work with behavioural researchers as well as micro-mobility firms Lug + Carrie and Lime to test whether it was possible and cheaper to replace car ownership with services.
Each participant will receive more than $1300 in travel credits to use on public transport, Uber rides, short-term Uber car share rentals, e-bikes or e-scooters through Lime, and cargo e-bikes from Lug + Carrie.
The trial will come after a survey of more than 1,000 Australians found almost half were concerned about road congestion but almost as many planned to buy another car within two years.
Uber Australia general manager Dom Taylor said the experiment was “many, many years in the making” and was designed to challenge the idea Australians needed to own a car for everyday transport.
There is going to be a gradual shift, we think, away from car ownership over the next 50 years but Uber’s the sort of place where we don’t love gradual shifts – we like step changes.
There is a mind-boggling problem that Australia faces and that is the 15m cars that Aussies own that sit idle 95% of the time that are causing holes in our cities and our wallets.
Uber will recruit participants from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra for the trial, and ask them to give up at least one of the cars in their household.
Each person must fill out a journal about their experience and wear a fitness tracker to determine whether they exercise more.
Taylor said data compiled in the trial would be analysed by researchers at The Behavioural Architects, and shared with academics and government agencies.
- AAP
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Ancient texts shed new light on mysterious whale behaviour
Taking a step away from superannuation for a moment to bring you news that will delight lovers of whales and ancient history alike.
If there’s one story you’ll want to be bringing to your office lunchroom or whatever conversations you’re having today, it’s this one from our science writer Donna Lu about how ancient texts are shedding new light on mysterious whale behaviour:
Mysterious whale feeding behaviour only documented by scientists in the 2010s has been described in ancient texts about sea creatures as early as two millennia ago, new research suggests.
In 2011, Bryde’s whales in the Gulf of Thailand were first observed at the surface of the water with their jaws open at right angles, waiting for fish to swim into their mouths. Scientists termed the unusual technique, then unknown to modern science, as “tread-water feeding”.
… Flinders University scholars now believe they have identified multiple descriptions of the behaviour in ancient texts, the earliest appearing in the Physiologus – the Naturalist – a Greek manuscript compiled in Alexandria around 150-200CE.
Dr John McCarthy, a maritime archaeologist at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, and the study’s lead author, made the discovery while reading Norse mythology, about a year after he had seen a video of a whale tread-water feeding.
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Taylor doesn’t answer whether the coalition government would repeal the necessary legislation on these changes to super were they to win government at the next election, he only says that they will oppose the legislation in this term of parliament.
He also questions the veracity of the government’s claim that the changes will only affect 80,000 Australians:
It’s very important to understand the idea that this will only affect 80,000 Australians is baloney, because inflation is running hot and the threshold is not indexed.
So we’ll see the threshold dropping in real terms and affecting many, many more Australians.
At a time when we have high inflation, the Treasurer wants to impact many more Australians … the government should be honest about how many Australians will be affected in a relatively high environment as this threshold falls in real terms, and people’s superannuation accounts increase.
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Circling back to the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor’s interview with ABC News Breakfast.
Taylor is worried about the other $150bn worth of tax concessions that were outlined in yesterday’s expenditure statement being “up for grabs” including a tax on the family home and taxes on negative gearing.
When Rowland informs Taylor the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has just ruled out any changes to the capital gains tax on the family home, he says:
Well, he ruled out taxing superannuation as well. So, it’s very clear from what’s been happening in the last week that Labor doesn’t keep its commitments. It doesn’t keep its promises. And I don’t think we can trust the prime minister on claiming he’s not wanting to tax the family home as well.
Taylor is asked to confront the possibility he has double standards when it comes to criticising a Labor government, because as Rowlands points out the coalition government, under then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, “brought in a heap of changes in the 2016 budget”
A $1.6m cap in tax concessions on pension phases, winding back contribution limits, increasing from $300,000 a year to $250,000 a year the income level in which high super taxes come in. None of that was fore shadowed to Australian voters.
Taylor replies:
They were taken to the 2016 election and legislated after the election. Labor is not proposing to do that. They’re proposing to legislate this now, in this term of Parliament. If they were serious about taking it to an election, they wouldn’t legislate before the election.
It’s bizarre. It’s saying, yes, we’re going to legislate this now, and then we’ll take it to the Australian people. I mean that’s not taking it to the Australian people.
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LGBTQ+ health research funding ‘will save lives’: Equality Australia CEO
Equality Australia has praised the government’s $26m for LGBTIQA+ health research as a “gamechanger” that “will save lives”.
As reported earlier, the assistant health minister, Ged Kearney, will announce the funding later today in Sydney, as well as the development of a 10-year health and wellbeing strategy. She will detail the changes at a human rights conference connected to WorldPride.
Equality Australia’s CEO, Anna Brown, backed the announcement this morning.
This historic gamechanging commitment from the federal government recognises that our communities have unique and sometimes very challenging health needs.
Quite simply, this plan will save lives.
LGBTIQA+ people have significantly poorer mental health, disparities in other health outcomes and can often struggle to get the right care and treatment.
Brown said LGBTIQA+ communities had long called for greater national coordination and investment in health, and many felt needs had not been met by the health system.
The fact the announcement has happened here – at the largest LGBTIQA+ human rights conference ever held in the Asia Pacific region – is a sign of how far we have come in Australia when it comes to valuing and respecting our communities.
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Government promises $26m for health and medical research for LGBTQIA+ community
The federal government will invest $26m in new health and medical research for LGBTQIA+ Australians, as well as a new health and wellbeing plan.
The announcement has been hailed as a “gamechanger” by a leading health body.
The health minister, Mark Butler, and assistant health minister, Ged Kearney, will announce the funding today, with Kearney attending a human rights conference connected to WorldPride in Sydney.
Butler and Kearney said LGBTIQA+ people had “unique and often complex health needs, and difficulty getting appropriate health care, which can lead to poorer physical and mental health outcomes.”
They will open a dedicated round of grants through the Medical Research Future Fund, which the government is calling the largest ever investment in LGBTIQA+ health research.
The government will also announce a 10-year National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTIQA+, to address health disparities and improve systems. Kearney is to convene a roundtable before the conference in Sydney, the first part of a major national consultation for the action plan that will be informed by a LGBTIQA+ Health Advisory Group.
Kearney said:
I’m proud of how far we’ve come and I’m even prouder to stand beside so many fierce advocates in the LBGTIQA+ community that have fought to get Australia where we are today – but the fight is not over.
When the glitter washes away, we have real work to do and the new path to better health must be paved together.
She said the government would work with community members, peak bodies and clinical experts to make Australia’s health system more “welcoming, supportive and effective”, and overcome what she called “unacceptable disparities in health outcomes and significant barriers” for LGBTIQA+ people.
Butler said some LGBTIQA+ people still faced discrimination, stigma, isolation, harassment and violence, “all of which leads to poorer health and mental health”.
As WorldPride celebrations continue in Sydney, there is no better time to demonstrate how committed this Government is to health equality.
Darryl O’Donnell, CEO of the Australian Federation of Aids Organisations, said stigma and discrimination were still major barriers to accessing healthcare.
More than one-in-four young LGBTQA+ people have attempted suicide at some point in their lives, while more than six-in-ten have sought counselling or other support.
This investment promises to be a gamechanger. It will transform our understanding of LGBTIQA+ health and properly inform the scope, scale and character of health services needed to arrest the health crisis facing our communities.
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Shadow treasurer insists super tax changes are ‘super-sized broken election promise’
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, is now speaking to ABC News Breakfast.
While the government is saying they haven’t broken any election promises because these super changes won’t be introduced until after the next federal election, Taylor is saying the fact that the legislation is going to be put through this term undermines that.
Michael Rowland:
What’s wrong with voters getting to say yay or nay to this at the next election?
Taylor:
They won’t. Because the legislation is proposed to be put through in this term. So, this is a super-sized broken election promise. And it is very clear that Labor committed they wouldn’t make changes to superannuation taxation before the last election. And now, they’ve changed that. They’re going to put the legislation through in this term.
If they were serious about putting it to an election, they would wait to put the legislation through after the next election. That’s not what they’re proposing. So it’s very clear that this is a breach of trust with the Australian people. The prime minister was unambiguous in saying there wouldn’t be changes to superannuation.
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PM: Opposition ‘are making themselves irrelevant’ on super tax changes and other issues
Anthony Albanese is also trying to wedge the opposition over this. As Murph and Paul Karp have reported, the Coalition (minus a couple of MPs) are against the super changes. Jane Hume referred to it yesterday as “class welfare” (she meant class warfare). But the PM is willing to have a fight over these concessions for people with more than $3m in their super account.
Albanese said:
We’ll continue to pursue the case for reform in this area, like we’re continuing to pursue the case for reform, in housing, in dealing with climate change, in all of these issues.
It’s a pity that the opposition are making themselves irrelevant. But we’ll talk to the crossbench about these issues like we’re having to talk to them about other issues, because the Coalition sitting on the sidelines, throwing rocks – they created the problem of a trillion dollars debt. They just don’t want to be part of any of the solution.
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So will everything be done this way then? Any changes will be set for after the next election?
Anthony Albanese:
No, I think on this measure is the right thing to do. And we have obviously had a discussion about it – cabinet met yesterday – it was something that I strongly supported, ensuring that any changes were after the election. So it’s very clear that we are being upfront about what our intentions are. And that is why doing it after the election makes that very clear.
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PM says negative gearing will not change
Same goes for negative gearing, which independent senator David Pocock wants the government to look at.
That’s a big no from Anthony Albanese.
Albanese says:
He has a range of proposals, and good luck to him.
Albanese says the government is operating on whether or not something is fair. But is it fair for someone to have multiple properties which they are negatively gearing in order to build more wealth?
Albanese doesn’t engage.
We announced exactly what we are doing yesterday.
And the sort of … speculative thing about someone who’s an independent [raising] some issue has no track with me whatsoever.
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Albanese rules out changes to capital gains concessions on family homes
Karvelas interrupts to ask whether there would be any changes to things like capital gains tax.
That’s because Jim Chalmers was asked to play a fun game of rule in, rule out on some of his interviews, including on the Seven network.
Chalmers did not rule in or rule out anything. That opened a door which Albanese has slammed shut when it comes to capital gains concessions.
We are not. We are not going to impact the family home … Full stop, exclamation mark.
Asked why not, Albanese says “we’re not going to” and when asked why not again, he says “because it is a bad idea”.
Albanese:
It’s a bad idea because people who save for their home, that you know that they live in with their family, is something that we have no intention – we will not be making any changes there.
And no one I have never heard in all of the meetings that I’ve been to, over the years – and I’ve been to a few of the Labor party, cabinet caucus and branch meeting – I have never heard anyone raise that as a proposition.
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So far in this interview, Anthony Albanese is sticking to the main lines. No matter how hard Patricia Karvelas tries, the PM is not moving away from talking about the modest concessions it has put forward over tax concessions for people with more than $3m in their super account.
The RN Breakfast host is trying to pin down whether or not there will be wider reforms of tax concessions, given what we saw in the tax expenditure statement yesterday.
The PM is not biting.
This was a treasury statement. It wasn’t a statement by the cabinet, if you like. This was just a statement of fact [of the situation] that we’re in, which we’re compulsorily required to do under the budget as part of the honesty provisions; what we’ve done is release more information. It’s more honest than it’s been in the past …
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Emergency room wait times improve for second quarter in a row in NSW
NSW’s department of health says despite a record number of critical presentations, emergency department wait times has improved for the second quarter in a row.
The Bureau of Health has released the report for the final quarter of last year (October – December 2022) which it says shows the health system is recovering from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite ongoing high demand.
NSW Health deputy secretary, adjunct professor Matthew Daly, said there were more than 790,000 attendances at the state’s emergency departments throughout the final quarter of 2022 and a record number in the most critical categories.
Despite the huge volume of patients, the proportion of all ED patients who started their treatment on time and the number of patients whose care was transferred from paramedics to ED staff within 30 minutes improved.
For the second quarter in a row we are seeing some positive signs in our results, which is testament to our dedicated staff and their outstanding performance through another challenging quarter.
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Labor tracking to win government in NSW, new poll shows
After 12 years in the political wilderness Labor could be poised to form the next NSW government, according to a new poll.
With less than three weeks before the 25 March state election, the Resolve Political Monitor poll is pointing to a majority Labor victory.
However, while 76% of voters polled said they were committed to who they planned to vote for, 24% were still uncertain.
The survey of 803 eligible voters published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday was conducted between February 22-26.
It found Labor’s primary vote had increased one percentage point to 38%, while the coalition’s had dropped two points to 32%.
With 93 seats up for grabs, the data points to an overall swing of 7% to Labor – enough to deliver the 47 seats required to form a majority government.
The Liberal premier, Dominic Perrottet, remains the preferred premier over Labor’s Chris Minns, at 38% to 34%.
Resolve director Jim Reed told the Herald a majority Labor government followed by a minority government were the most likely outcomes of the election. He said:
However, the comments we receive from respondents tell us that they are still not fully engaged, and a quarter of them tell us they are not committed to their current vote choice.
The poll also showed support for independents had increased, with a primary vote of 13% compared with 5% in the 2019 election.
- AAP
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Chalmers reaffirms the government wants to include the defined benefits scheme, which apply to politicians’ and public servants’ pensions, in the changes:
Yes, we’re trying to include the defined benefits schemes in this. There’s a lot of complexity in this. Our intention is to include defined benefit.
What we said is that there’s an opportunity now, between yesterday’s announcement and the budget in May, to engage in some meaningful consultation … One of the things that we do want to engage on and consult on is how we include defined benefit in the changes we have announced.
It’s not unusual for governments to do that. In 2016 when the Liberals increased taxes on super, they found a way to factor in defined benefit. We have got a similar objective here. And we’ll work with the sector to try and get it right.
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Chalmers is pressed on the other tax concessions in the budget such as the $24bn a year in tax concessions for landlords, as well as a similar amount for discounted capital gains tax for people selling investment profits, but he says the government’s only focus is super.
We made it really clear yesterday that our focus in the system is on these superannuation tax concessions.
$150bn worth of concessions in the top 10 of those tax breaks by value – a third of that is superannuation.
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But it’s not just Jim Chalmers who is out and about. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is also up early and doing the big sell. You’ll hear from the PM on ABC radio RN Breakfast very soon.
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Good morning from Canberra, where it is the Jim Chalmers show.
The treasurer has been everywhere this morning. Chalmers has had back-to-back interviews as he sells the government’s plan to reform superannuation tax breaks for people with more than $3m in their account.
It’s not happening until after the next election, but is a very small move towards tax concession reform and, as he was yesterday, Chalmers is making it very clear that only 0.5 % of superannuates will be affected.
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Chalmers continues to defend the changes, saying they are not a broken election promise because they come in after the next election. The treasurer frames the choice Australians will have in terms of the potential for the opposition leader to make savings via cuts to Medicare:
We are taking it to the voters. The outcome of that election will determine if we make this modest change or if Peter Dutton comes after Medicare or finds the money some other way. That will be one of the choices that people will make at the next election.
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Good morning!
Thanks to Martin for getting things started! Let’s jump straight in with the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, who is speaking to ABC News about those superannuation changes announced yesterday.
Asked about why the federal cabinet moved so quickly to bring in these changes, Chalmers denies the government was worried about the conversation getting away from them in consultation:
We thought it was important to make clear our intention to make this modest but meaningful change to superannuation tax concessions, so we can make super a bit more sustainable and affordable and make the budget a bit more responsible.
We take seriously the fact we inherited that trillion dollars of debt and deficits as far as the eye can see and intensifying pressures on the budget. We need to do something about it.
What this change means is that 99.5% of Australians will be unaffected. For that 0.5% with large superannuation balances, they’ll still be able to access generous tax breaks on that super, just a bit less generous than before. As you rightly identify in the your introduction, the change doesn’t come in until after the next election.
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Regions squeezed by population influx
Thirteen regional local government areas around the country recorded a jump in net internal migration levels of more than 100 percent through 2022 – with regional Queensland and Victoria taking the largest share of movers, according to the December quarter regional movers index by the Commonwealth Bank and Regional Australia Institute.
This included the top five highest growth regional areas of Port Pirie (South Australia), Gladstone (Queensland), Murray Bridge (South Australia), Glen Innes (New South Wales), York (Western Australia) which all recorded a jump of more than 200% in 2022.
Net internal migration is a key driver of change in a region’s total population. It calculates the number of people from outside the region (but still within Australia) moving in, less the number of local people leaving that region for another (within Australia).
Housing disruption caused by the pandemic was a big factor driving people away from cities, the report says.
It shows movement between regional areas also rose in 2022, averaging 8% higher than the two years before the pandemic.
Region-to-region migration increased by 2.2% in the December quarter, the second highest level since the pandemic began.
“These disruptions are affecting housing and rental affordability, particularly for low-income regional dwellers previously able to access and afford housing,” the report said.
“Part of the increase in inter-regional migration is likely reflecting people searching for and relocating to other places where housing is more available and affordable.”
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Labor to axe some Coalition infrastructure projects
The Albanese government will axe “undeliverable” infrastructure projects announced by the Coalition when in power, warning that amid a shortage of roughly 100,000 workers across construction, projects that deliver better returns should be prioritised.
In a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Catherine King, the minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development will also criticise the previous government for neglecting the management of key national highways and rail tracks.
King will note that while there are almost 190,000 Australians working on public infrastructure projects, there is demand for 283,400 workers across the sector. That shortfall of 94,000 is predicted to peak at 112,000 workers in September, with shortages of engineers, surveyors, project managers and labourers the most pronounced. The shortage will come amid the rising cost of many construction materials.
As a result, King will say “we can’t build everything at once” and that “we have to be strategic and we have to ensure that we don’t add to inflationary pressures”.
Without getting too political – we have to work out which projects are actually deliverable, and which were just political window dressing. These are not easy decisions to take, but I would rather be honest with people now than do what the previous government did – building hope that a undeliverable project would one day be built
Criticising the previous government’s attitude to infrastructure, King will say:
The simple fact is that the past decade, where we have had the Liberal and National parties treat the infrastructure investment pipeline as their election fund, has been one of significant lost opportunity. They chose to spend money on commuter car parks, urban congestion projects and roads of strategic importance that miraculously seemed to largely only be needed in Liberal and National party-held seats.
That is why I am so determined that commonwealth investment is targeted – that we invest in the projects that deliver productivity growth, connect communities and deliver both economic and social returns.
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Rajwinder Singh to arrive in Australia after extradition from India
Rajwinder Singh, the man accused of murdering Toyah Cordingley on a beach in Queensland, is reportedly on the way back to Australia, after boarding a Qantas flight from New Delhi to Melbourne on Tuesday evening.
An Indian court approved the 38-year-old’s extradition in January, after Singh, an Australian national of Indian origin, waived his right to challenge the request.
Singh is suspected in the alleged murder of Cordingley, the 24-year-old who was killed while out walking her dog on Wangetti beach north of Cairns in Queensland in October 2018, in a case that sent shock waves across the country.
Her body was discovered half-buried in the sand dunes and police said she had been killed in a “personal and intimate attack”.
Singh, a father of three who was working as a nurse in Australia, is said to have boarded a flight to India soon after the killing, prompting a four-year search by Australian police.
In January, outside an Indian court, he said “I did not kill the woman” and wanted to reveal all the details to an Australian court.
The ABC reports that Singh boarded the flight to Melbourne after being escorted by seven police officers from Delhi’s Tihar prison to the airport.
The BBC says he will first appear in court in Victoria, before being moved to Queensland where the crime allegedly took place, to face a magistrate in Brisbane probably later this week before being remanded in custody.
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Welcome
Morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you the top overnight stories before my colleague Natasha May comes along to take you through the day.
Among our top stories this morning is an exclusive warning that the voice to parliament referendum is “really susceptible to misinformation”, according to a leading communications expert advising the government. He adds the referendum expected later this year is “poised on a knife-edge” because voters may make up their minds far later in the campaign than at a standard election.
The Albanese government will axe “undeliverable” infrastructure projects announced by the Coalition when in power, warning that amid a shortage of roughly 100,000 workers across construction, projects that deliver better returns should be prioritised. The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, will announce the cuts at the National Press Club today.
Inflation figures will be released later this morning with expectations that it will have fallen slightly in January to 8%, from 8.4% in December. But the Reserve Bank is still expected to hike the cash rate a couple more times this year. And one reaction by people to higher costs has been to move into regional areas from cities, according to a new report today. Thirteen regional local government areas recorded a jump in net internal migration levels of more than 100% through 2022 – according to the regional movers index by the Commonwealth bank and Regional Australia Institute. Hopefully not too far from the bank.
