O75 Public Administration

Labor’s plan to woo right investments

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-May-24

The federal government is set to overhaul the nation’s foreign investment rules, which will include fast-tracking applications from investors with a proven record of investing in Australia. The reforms will also result in closer scrutiny of proposed foreign investment deals that have national security implications, such as critical infrastructure and mineral resources. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will outline the proposed reforms in a Lowy Institute speech on Wednesday; he will also reveal more details of Labor’s flagship Future Made in Australia policy.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

$13b surplus tipped but Labor needs credible plan

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 1-May-24

Deloitte Access Economics expects the federal government to post a budget surplus of $13.4bn for 2023-24. The government itself had forecast a full-year deficit of $1.1bn in its mid-year economic and fiscal outlook in December. Deloitte says the budget bottom-line will be boosted by $14.5bn in additional company tax receipts and a $5.6bn increase in personal income tax revenue due to the strong labour market. Deloitte partner Stephen Smith says that while Labor is on track for a second successive budget surplus, this is unlikely to be repeated in 2024-25 due to the goverment’s spending plans. Smith adds that the Future Made in Australia policy could further undermine the budget position.

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DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Census changes to dilute religion

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Original article by Rhiannon Down, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 3 : 30-Apr-24

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Timothy Costelloe has expressed concern about plans by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to make changes to census questions regarding religion. Accusing the ABS of including a "new bias in favour of no religion", Costelloe says the changes will lead to an increased number of invalid responses. The changes are also opposed by Anglican Bishop of South Sydney Michael Stead, who suggest they will produce less accurate data; he said his concern is that this data is often used by those who want to "champion the fact that Australia is becoming more and more secular and less and less ­religious".

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Mehreen Faruqi v Pauline Hanson: Greens senator tells court attacks on white people not racist

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Original article by Karen Middleton
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 30-Apr-24

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi is suing One Nation senator Pauline Hanson over a social media post in which Hanson told Faruqi to "pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan", with Faruqi describing the post as "the ultimate racist slur". Appearing as the first witness in the case on Monday, Faruqi was accused by Hanson’s lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou SC, of being a hypocrite, with Chrysanthou claiming Faruqi had made and endorsed racist remarks about white people. Faruqi denied that verbal attacks on white people are racist, claiming that racism is also about power and the use of that power to perpetrate racism and oppress people; she claimed that power in Australia is held by white people.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Brutal portrait of ALP’s detainee woes – and ministers go missing in action

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Apr-24

The federal government is under renewed scrutiny following revelations that a former immigration detainee participated in a home invasion in which a 73-year-old woman was brutually assaulted. It is alleged that Kuwait national Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan was one of three men who robbed a Perth couple. He was released into the community in late 2023 after the High Court ruled that indefinite detention is unlawful. Doukoshkan was granted bail earlier in 2024 after being charged with two counts of breaching a curfew order. The Opposition has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to sack Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles if they refuse to accept responsibility for the detainee disaster.

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HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Spending cuts must take heat off rates

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Apr-24

Economists are calling on the federal government to cut net discretionary spending in its 14 May budget, contending that such spending is making it harder for the Reserve Bank to combat inflation. Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and Coalition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said on Monday that the government should "restore budget discipline" by reintroducing the Coalition’s 23.9 per cent tax-to-GDP cap. Treasurer Jim Chalmers responded by claiming that the Coalition is advocating cuts to spending.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

ALP maintains election winning lead over Coalition in late April: ALP 52% cf. L-NP 48%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Apr-24

The Albanese Labor Government has retained the lead for the second week in a row with support on 52% (unchanged) ahead of the Coalition on 48% (unchanged) on a two-party preferred basis. If a Federal Election were held now the ALP would be re-elected with a slim majority as they have now, the latest Roy Morgan survey shows. Primary support for both major parties increased this week, at the expense of the Greens, with the ALP up 1% to 31.5% but still behind the Coalition, up 1% to 36.5%; support for the Greens dropped 2% to 14%. Looking at the minor parties, support for One Nation was unchanged at 5.5%. Support for Independents was up 0.5% to 8% and support for Other Parties was down 0.5% to 4.5%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,719 Australian electors from April 22-28. When comparing different polls it is always important to make sure to take note of the dates when the polls are conducted to undertake a proper comparison between two polls. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by CEO Michele Levine

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Morrison on meds: toll of top office laid bare

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Apr-24

Former prime minister Scott Morrison has revealed that he experienced "debilitating and agonising" anxiety during much of his tenure in the nation’s top job. Morrison says his anxiety became increasingly acute as he steered the nation through challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and strained relations with China, and his doctor eventually prescribed medication to help him to cope with the medical condition. Morrison says the "unrelenting and callous" brutality of politics and media attacks contributed to his anxiety, but he acknowledges that this is the reality of politics.

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Australians flattened by biggest tax increase in world

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 26-Apr-24

Data from the OECD shows that the amount of income tax paid by the average wage-earner in Australia rose by 7.6 per cent in 2023. New Zealand ranked second among developed nations with an average tax increase of 4.5 per cent. The OECD says the decision to phase out the low- and middle-income tax offset contributed to the sharp rise in Australians’ personal income tax bills in 2023-24. The temporary measure was part of the former Coalition government’s stage-three tax cuts package.

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ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Inflation means tax cuts could pose a risk

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Original article by Sarah Ison, Lydia Lynch
The Australian – Page: 6 : 26-Apr-24

AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver says the higher-than-expected inflation data for the March quarter means the revised stage-three income tax cuts present a greater economic risk than when they were first announced. He contends that the tax cuts to be announced in the 14 May budget would have been less of a risk to the economy if inflation had been falling. Veteran economist Chris Richardson notes that it has been known for a long time that the tax cuts will be inflationary. Consumer prices rose by one per cent in the March quarter; this compares with economists’ expectations of 0.8 per cent growth, and the 0.6 per cent increase in the December quarter.

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AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP