Superannuation has topped the political agenda this week, with the federal government hinting at possible tweaks to super tax concessions and other aspects of the scheme in the coming May budget.
“We haven’t taken any decisions, but we should be up for a national conversation about the future of some of these concessions which cost the budget a lot of money,” the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said today.
So what’s the issue, according to critics of the current scheme?
Super tax concessions are costing taxpayers $52.5bn a year, almost as much as the $55.3bn spent on the pension. And they’re potentially worsening inequality – 11,000 Australians have mega super balances of over $5m, and a lot of that isn’t even being spent in retirement, it’s just an accumulation of wealth at the top end.
My colleague Paul Karp has broken the discussion down in this quick explainer.
Top news
Wage growth lower than expected | Salaries increased at a faster pace in the December quarter, but not enough to prevent the gap with inflation (7.8%) widening to a record level. The wage price index for the final three months of 2022 came in at 3.3%, an increase on the 3.1% pace in the September quarter and the highest since the end of 2012. Economists had forecast a 3.5% increase.
Woolworths and Santos post bumper profits | The flipside to the inflation crisis is a boost in profits in sectors like supermarkets and energy. Woolworths reported a $907m net profit for the six months to December, up 14% from the previous corresponding period. And energy giant Santos’s underlying profit more than doubled in 2022, coming in at $3.6bn, up from $1.4bn the year prior.
Experts condemn Queensland child bail law | Experts say there is zero evidence to support Annastacia Palaszczuk’s controversial decision – which includes overriding the state’s Human Rights Act – to pursue criminal charges against children who breach bail. “I know of no evidence anywhere in the criminological literature that would support the effectiveness of such a measure,” Ross Homel, a criminologist at Griffith University, said. “It’s only going to increase the number of kids in pretrial detention.”
Former Victorian minister lobbied for a property developer | … in exchange for donations to the 2018 election campaign of his daughter, the state’s corruption watchdog has found. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the daughter.
Perrottet open to investing in coalmines | At least that’s what he told a gathering on Sydney’s southern outskirts late last year, in a recording provided to Guardian Australia. The New South Wales premier kept the door open to investing in coalmines if companies couldn’t raise adequate capital themselves.
Perth band to represent Australia at Eurovision | Voyager, a synth-metal band, will be singing this song at this year’s competition in Liverpool. “We filmed the music video in both the city of Perth and beautiful parts of Western Australia to showcase the majestic beauty of our home state,” their lead singer, Danny Estrin said in a statement.
Wagner group falling out with Russian army | Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, has accused Moscow’s military chiefs of “treason”, saying they are refusing to supply the group with munitions. The mercenaries are playing a key role in Russian efforts to capture the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s east. The battle has exposed tensions between the Wagner group and the Russian army.
Andrew Tate detention extended by 30 days | The influencer and professed misogynist, along with his brother and two female accomplices, is being investigated in Romania for alleged sexual assault and exploitation. All four deny any wrongdoing.
Biden’s Trump-style immigration plan | Different president, same tough policy on asylum seekers. Under new rules proposed by the Biden administration, the US would generally deny asylum to migrants who show up at its southern border with Mexico without first seeking protection in a country they passed through, mirroring an attempt by the Trump administration that never took effect because it was blocked in court.
Full Story
Wieambilla shooting: Australia’s ‘first fundamentalist Christian terrorist attack’
Queensland police say the Wieambilla shooting that resulted in the deaths of six people was a religiously-motivated terrorist attack. We discuss in this 25-minute episode why people are being drawn to these extremist beliefs and how the terror threat to Australia is changing.
What they said …
Twitter might have its challenges, but there’s still room for some friendly cross-cultural exchanges.
In numbers
The wage price index for the final three months of 2022 came in at 3.3%, while consumer prices rose 7.8%, indicating a 4.5% retreat in real wages once inflation is deducted.
Before bed read
Scroll through this slick interactive map showing Russia’s advances – and retreats – in Ukraine one year after it invaded its smaller neighbour.
Daily word game
Teasing your brain helps slow memory decline, apparently. It’s also fun. So have a crack at Wordiply – you have five goes to get the longest word including today’s starter word.
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