AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Influence of podcasts swaying more votes

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Original article by Elizabeth Pike
The Australian – Page: 5 : 11-Nov-26

The annual PodPoll survey undertaken by Deadset Studios and Insightfully shows that 50 per cent of Australians aged 15+ now regularly engage with podcasts. The survey also shows that ‘government and politics’ has been the fastest-growing podcast genre in 2026. Meanwhile, the survey has found that one-third of male respondents indicated that a podcast has made them reconsider who they will vote for at an election, while 42 per cent said their vote had been reinforced by a podcast. Overall, women were found to be less influenced by podcasts, although 31 per cent of females under the age of 29 have changed their voting intention due to a podcast.

CORPORATES
DEADSET STUDIOS, INSIGHTLY

Wholesale hell: power prices to double by 2029

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Original article by Perry Williams, Colin Packham, Jacquelin Magnay
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 11-Nov-26

Modelling by Rystad Energy suggests that wholesale electricity prices will rise from 60 per megawatt hour at present to around $110MWh by 2029. Rystad has criticised the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme, noting that its ­financial closure success rate of just 18 per cent is the lowest of any major renewable under­writing mechanism in Australia. Rystad’s senior analyst David Dixon says the CIS was intended to have additional renewables capacity online by 2030; he adds that it is now too late, as construction work on these projects has yet to begin. Rystad says coal-fired power stations may need to stay open for longer, given that wind and solar plants can take 3-4 years to build.

CORPORATES
RYSTAD ENERGY AS

One Nation could surpass Greens in Senate

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 5 : 11-Nov-26

One Nation has four senators in the current federal parliament, while there are 10 Greens in the upper house. However, the major political parties believe that One Nation could potentially win one or two Senate seats in every state at the 2028 federal election, resulting in between five and 11 extra seats for the populist party. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is its only senator who is facing re-election in 2028; assuming she retains her seat, One Nation could potentially have up to 15 Senate seats in the next parliament. In contrast, four Greens senators will recontest their seats at the next election, while the party is widely tipped to gain one Senate seat in each state; this would give it 12 seats in the upper house.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Business to PM: Act now, act big

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Original article by Greg Brown, Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Nov-26

Sources have indicated that the federal government is unlikely to pursue a major change of strategy in next month’s mid-year budget update. However, the Business Council of Australia has called for a range of measures in the budget update, including an annual real spending growth cap of two per cent and a 25 per cent reduction in red tape. The Australian Institute of Company Directors’ CEO Mark Rigotti in turn has urged Labor to accelerate its deregulation agenda in order to boost productivity. The AICD’s latest Director Sentiment Index shows that 90 per cent of company directors expect cost pressures to worsen over the next year, while ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence has fallen to its third-lowest point since the survey began in 1973.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ANZ GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

MPs granting powerful political lobbyists unfettered access to Australia’s parliament, data reveals

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 4-Nov-26

More than 2,000 companies and lobby groups currently have passes that give them access to private areas of Parliament House in Canberra. New rules require two MPs to sponsor lobbyists to register for a pass, and the names of parliamentarians who do so must be disclosed on a public register. Analysis of the available data shows that both Labor and Coalition MPs have sponsored passes for companies such as Woodside Energy, ConocoPhillips and Alinta Energy, as well as lobby groups including the Minerals Council of Australia and Responsible Wagering Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, CONOCOPHILLIPS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, RESPONSIBLE WAGERING AUSTRALIA

Defiant Chalmers refuses to resign as difficult reforms take toll

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 5 : 4-Nov-26

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is under growing pressure over the federal government’s handling of the budget, and the latest rise in the cash rate will result in more scrutiny of him. Chalmers says he accepts responsibility for the "difficult" reforms that he is pursuing, but he is adamant that he will not step down. Chalmers adds that Australians are looking for reasons for the pressures they are under, and the government is acting through tax cuts, more bulk billing, cheaper medicines and ‘decent’ wages. Meanwhile, some government MPs have stated privately that internal morale is at its lowest level since Labor took office in May 2022.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Chalmers flags budget cuts to fight inflation as interest rates hit 4.85 per cent

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Original article by Shane Wright, Millie Muroi
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 4-Nov-26

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to increase the cash rate to an 18-year high of 4.85 per cent was not unanimous; three members of the nine-person monetary policy board voted to keep interest rates on hold. RBA governor Michele Bullock said that although Australia is not yet in a recession, it will feel that way to many people as they cope with falling real wages, higher inflation and higher mortgage interest rates. Meanwhile, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal government’s budgets have not been a primary contributor to inflation, although he adds that Labor intends to play a "helpful roll" in curbing inflation. The government’s expenditure review committee met earlier this week, amid expectations that next month’s mid-year budget update will include spending cuts.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Coalition to tackle ATO over debt hits

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Thomas Henry
The Australian – Page: 4 : 28-Oct-26

The Australian Taxation Office’s automated system for recovering outstanding tax debts will come under scrutiny at a Senate estimates hearing today. Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson says small business owners are being targeted by the ATO’s "supercharged" automatic collection scheme and being threatened with fines of up up to 200 per cent plus interest charges, but with no evidence of misconduct. Data from Tax Ombudsman Ruth Owen shows that there was a 74 per cent increase in complaints about the ATO’s tax debt collection procedures in the six months to September, compared with the same period in 2025.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Greens promise tax cuts for all – but not the resource sector

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 28-Oct-26

Australian Greens leader David Shoebridge will use today’s National Press Club speech to call for income tax relief. He will propose increasing the tax-free threshold from $18,200 to $26,000; the cost of the tax cuts would be offset by making changes to resource rent taxes and imposing a tax of 25 per cent on gas exports. Shoebridg will contend that the majority of workers would receive a tax cut of about $1,000 each year, while the new taxes on gas and mining companies would raise some $45bn a year. Shoebridge will also propose increasing welfare payments by $1,000 a year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Trust issues: Chalmers faces fury over tax changes that could cost Aussies $13.3bn

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Original article by Ellen Ransley
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 14-Oct-26

The federal government’s legislation to establish a new minimum 30 per cent tax on discretionary trusts will be introduced to parliament today. The proposed reforms are aimed at encouraging trusts to restructure as companies or switch from being a discretionary trust to a fixed trust, although both options would expose them to stamp duty and significant restructuring fees. Meanwhile, analysis by Wilson Asset Management suggests that it would cost families and small businesses beween $8bn and $13.3bn in total to receive advice or restructure in response to the reforms; chairman Geoff Wilson notes that the reform are forecast to raise just $4.5bn over five years.

CORPORATES
WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT