Federal Voting Intention: ALP loses support as Reserve Bank raises interest rates – on a two-party preferred basis ALP 53.5% (down 2.5%) cf. L-NP Coalition 46.5% (up 2.5%)

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Feb-26

The Roy Morgan Poll from February 2-8, 2026 shows primary support for the ALP down 2% to 28.5%, One Nation down 0.5% to 24.5%, and the L-NP Coalition up 2% to 22.5% – interviewing for the survey was completed before the Coalition re-united on Sunday afternoon. Support for the Greens was up 1% to 13.5% and support for Independents/Other Parties was down 0.5% to 11%, according to the latest Roy Morgan survey conducted with a representative Australia-wide cross-section of 1,584 electors. On a two-party preferred basis, the ALP is 53.5% (down 2.5% from a week ago) ahead of the Coalition on 46.5% (up 2.5%). When preferences from this week’s Roy Morgan survey are allocated based on how Australians voted at the 2025 Federal Election the two-party preferred result is closer than the respondent allocated preferences with the ALP on 53% (down 1.5%) leading the L-NP Coalition on 47% (up 1.5%).

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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

The Geoff Wilson model for CGT change

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Feb-26

Wilson Asset Management’s founder Geoff Wilson supports changes to the capital gains tax discount for existing homes. He stresses that any such reforms must be revenue-neutral rather than a budget "cash grab". Wilson adds that CGT reforms must ensure that capital is moved from non-productive assets such as property to productive assets. He says one option would be to reduce the CGT discount for purchases of existing houses for investors to about 25 per cent while increasing the discount on investing in Australian businesses to 75 per cent. Wilson will appear before a Senate Inquiry into CGT in coming weeks. The CGT discount applies to any asset that has been held for at least 12 months.

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WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT

Taylor claims to have numbers but Ley digs in

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Feb-26

Sources close to Opposition leader Sussan Ley contend that there is "zero chance" of her stepping aside, despite ongoing scrutiny over her future and dismal public opinion polls. Members of the Liberal Party’s moderates faction have expressed support for Ley, and dispute claims by supporters of would-be leadership contender Angus Taylor that he has sufficient numbers in the party-room to force a spill and win the resulting ballot. However, shadow attorney-general Andrew Wallace says the focus should be on rebuilding the newly-unified Coalition, arguing that the Liberals will face a backlash if the party’s first female leader is ousted.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Royal commission at risk over secrecy concerns

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 10-Feb-26

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland told Senate estimates on Monday that $131.1 million had been allocated to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. It comes as Rowland has agreed to meet with Teal independent Allegra Spender to discuss Spender’s concerns about current or former intelligence agents who may want to give evidence to the commission. Spender, whose seat of Wentworth takes in Bondi Beach, the site of the December massacre that saw 15 people killed, wants stronger protections for those agents, due to concerns that whistleblowers could face jail time for appearing before the commission

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION ON ANTISEMITISM AND SOCIAL COHESION

RBA issues dire growth warning

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Original article by Lea Jurkovic
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Feb-26

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest forecasts shows that the domestic economy is expected to grow by just 1.6 per cent in the year to June 2028. This is the central bank’s lowest medium-term growth outlook since it began releasing forecasts in 1990. Stephen Smith from Deloitte Access Economics notes that this compares with the Treasury’s growth forecast of 2.75 per cent in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook; he adds that a GDP hit of more than one percentage point would have "fairly material implications" for budget revenue forecasts. Meanwhile, Labor used question time on Monday to refute suggestions that rising government spending contributed to last week’s interest rate increase.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Seeing red: meat industry wants fair cut of EU deal

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Original article by Matthew Denholm
The Australian – Page: 5 : 10-Feb-26

Australia and the European Union are holding talks on a possible free trade agreement, with Trade Minister Don Farrell promising he does not do "bad deals". However, meat and food producers are concerned that the federal government may sacrifice the interests of some sectors in an attempt to secure an FTA that has been a long time coming. The Australian red meat industry is calling for a quota for beef exports to the EU of 50,000 tonnes, which compares to the current quota of just 3,389 tonnes, while the EU is said to be offering half what the Australian red meat industry is seeking.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Australian ministers met Japanese gas companies 20 times amid fossil fuel lobbying push

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Original article by Adam Morton
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 10-Feb-26

Thinktank InfluenceMap claims that federal resources minister Madeleine King met at least 17 times with representatives from Japanese liquefied natural gas firms in the last term of parliament, with InfluenceMap finding its information through freedom-of-information documents. Those documents also show that four other ministers had single meetings with Japanese gas companies, including prime minister Anthony Albanese, with the details of the meetings contained in a report by InfluenceMap in which it argues that Japanese LNG companies have worked with Australian gas interests to lobby for favourable local government policy to prolong the life of the industry and slow a shift to clean energy in Asia Pacific.

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INFLUENCEMAP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Minister to grill Roblox over child grooming fears

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Original article by Tess Bennett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 10-Feb-26

The eSafety Commission has started auditing the age verification measures that Roblox put in place last September with the intention of preventing adults communicating with minors on the platform. The audit comes as Communications Minister Anika Wells seeks an urgent meeting with Roblox’s management, following recent reports that online predators were bypassing the new measures by purchasing age-verified accounts to chat to children, along with a report that a Queensland man allegedly groomed hundreds of children using fake profiles on Roblox, Fortnite and Snapchat.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE ESAFETY COMMISSIONER, ROBLOX, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, FORTNITE, SNAPCHAT

Interest rate increases set to hit mortgage holders in Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania the hardest

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Feb-26

The most recent Roy Morgan data on mortgage stress shows that 24.5% of mortgage holders are now ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress. Last week’s interest rate rise is expected to increase this to 25.3%, and a 25 basis point interest rate rise in March to 4.1% would increase this to 27.2% (1,322,000 mortgage holders). A deep dive into Roy Morgan’s data on mortgage stress by State shows that the situation is worst in Tasmania; 29.8% of mortgage holders are classified as ‘At Risk’, and this will increase by 3.8% points to 32.6% if the Reserve Bank increases interest rates again in March. In clear second place is Victoria with 27.2% of mortgage holders classified as ‘At Risk’ and set to increase to 29.9% (up 2.7% points) following another RBA interest rate increase. However, a potential RBA interest rate increase will hit hardest in Queensland and would mean 26.8% of mortgage holders are ‘At Risk’ – an increase of 3.2% points. Overall, 17.1% of mortgage holders are ‘Extremely At Risk’, and this will increase by 2.4% points to 19.5% if the Reserve Bank increases interest rates in March (947,000 mortgage holders).

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Herzog issues warning to Australia, and the world: Hatred of Jews never ends with the Jews

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Original article by Stephen Rice, Lachlan Leeming
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 10-Feb-26

Israeli’s President Isaac Herzog visited the Bondi Pavilion on Monday, where he laid a wreath and stones that he had brought from Jerusalem and met survivors of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack and relatives of the 15 victims. He expressed frustration that more was not done to address anti-Semitism in the lead-up to the terrorist attack, and warned that "hatred that starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews". Herzog added that the rise of anti-Semitism is a global emergency, and said that "we must all act to fight against it". Herzog also accused pro-Palestinian protesters of seeking to undermine Israel’s existence, and stressed that his country did not seek the war with Hamas that began with the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

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