AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Super tax puts SMSFs on red alert

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 26-Aug-26

The federal government is under growing pressure to make further changes to its tax reforms following revelations about their potential impact on superannuation funds that have exposure to managed investment trusts. The SMSF Association has warned that "hundreds of thousands" of self-managed super funds will face higher effective tax rates due to the new rules, which place restrictions on how managed investment trusts can offset capital gains and losses. CEO Peter Burgess notes that the latest data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that SMSFs allocated some $264bn to listed, unlisted and ‘other managed investments’ which could potentially be impacted by the tax changes.

CORPORATES
SMSF ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Mediocre nation: business warns of competition crisis as Labor unrest grows

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Aug-26

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered the keynote speech at the Business Council of Australia’ annual dinner last night. He emphasised the need for business and the federal government to work together to keep the economy and democracy strong amid the rise of populism, and argued that Labor’s property tax reforms are the key to fighting populism and ensuring prosperity. Meanwhile, BCA president Geoff Culbert said every policy decision has consequences for business, investment and all Australians. Noting that the nation now ranks rank 21st out of 42 nations on the Competitiveness Index, he has called for action to reverse this, including more competitive tax rates, reduced red tape and government spending, and an overhaul of the planning system.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Controversial NDIS bill passes Senate with substantial amendments as Labor and Coalition strike deal

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Original article by Sarah Basford Canales
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Aug-26

Independent senator David Pocock says the federal government’s amendments to its National Disability Insurance Scheme reform bill have improved the legislation. However, Pococks adds that he still does not support the bill, due to measures such as a reduction in funding for NDIS participants’ social and community participation. The Senate passed the bill last night without Pocock’s support, after the Coalition agreed to back the government’s amendments. The bill will be put to a final vote in the lower house today, while legislation to repeal the so-called ‘widow tax’ is also expected to be passed; the Coalition had previously stated that its support for the NDIS reforms was conditional on removing the controversial tax.

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Tech tax changes could spur job losses at Nine, News Corp

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 5-Aug-26

The federal government’s changes to its News Bargaining Incentive will allow technology companies to offset a tax levy by securing commercial deals with at least six local media groups. However, the tax offset with each news pubisher will be capped at 16.7 per cent of the digital platform’s tax liability; this means there will be no incentive for them to provide more funding to one media company than another. Nine Entertainment’s CEO Matt Stanton says there could be more job losses in the media sector if the bill is passed by parliament in its current form, because it penalises media groups that have invested more in quality journalism than their peers. News Corp Australia has expressed similar concerns.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Visa revamp aims to curb migration

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Original article by Luke Kinsella
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Aug-26

The Department of Home Affairs has made changes to the order in which it will process applications for permanent and temporary skilled visas. It will now give priority to applications for visas from migrants who are already living and working in Australia, rather than skilled workers who are applying from overseas. Migration Institute of Australia CEO Peter Van Vliet says the directive from Home Affairs Minister shows that the federal government is trying to reduce net migration numbers by "shifting priorities", given that migrant workers who are in Australia are already included in the nation’s population data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, THE MIGRATION INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Chalmers moves to defuse row over widow tax

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 5-Aug-26

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has released draft legislation to abolish the so-called ‘widow tax’; It was an unintended consequence of the federal government’s changes to the negative gearing and capital gains tax regimes, and would have removed exemptions to the reforms for jointly-owned properties that are transferred due to divorce or death. The Coalition, the Greens, One Nation and independent senator David Pocock will push for the legislation to be given priority in the Senate when parliament resumes next week.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Fuel excise relief set to dry up on Sunday night

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 29-Jul-26

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out extending the current reduction in the fuel excise tax beyond 2 August. The excise tax will return to $0.52 a litre on Monday, after having been cut to $0.26 a litre from March to June and $0.16 during this month. Albanese has emphasised that the federal government will pursue other measures to provide Australian families with cost-of-living relief. However, some Labor MPs advocate further excise tax relief; Rob Mitchell, the MP for McEwen, has suggested that it should be considered on a month-by-month basis, based on the global oil price.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor in thrall to Islamists and far left

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Original article by Ben Packham, Elizabeth Pike, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Jul-26

The Labor Friends of Israel group’s co-convenor Mike Kelly has criticised the removal of explicit references to the disarming of Hamas from Labor’s national policy platform. Kelly says the changes that were endorsed at Labor’s national conference underline the "unholy alliance" between the ultra-left and Islamist extremists. Former federal MP Michael Danby in turn contends that Labor has been "hijacked" by extremists; he adds that the far left and Islamists have been allowed to dominate Australians streets since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in October 2023. However, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Labor MP Josh Burns have expressed support for the policy platform changes.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Labor refuses to rule out taxpayer-funded housing for ISIS brides after insisting no assistance would be provided

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Original article by Oscar Godsell, Laurence Karacsony
News24 – Page: Online : 28-Jul-26

The Department of Home Affairs has failed to clarify if the ISIS brides have been provided with housing since their return to Australia or whether they will be entitled to government-funded accommodation in the future. Questions on the issue have been referred to state and territory authorities, which have stated that they ae not in a position to comment. Meanwhile, former Australian Federal Police detective David Craig says the government is likely to provide the Jihadist women and their children with housing; he adds that they should be subject to control orders, including curfews, access to a limited number of electronic devices and restrictions in who they are permitted to associate with.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

Libs face fresh confusion over possible One Nation coalition

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Original article by Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 28-Jul-26

Federal opposition leader Angus Taylor has dismissed a suggestion that the Liberal Party should consider joining forces with One Nation after the next election to form a governing majority. The suggestion came from Coalition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg, who said on Monday that if there is a chance of forming a government to defeat the "communist Labor" one, then the possibility should be considered. Coalition frontbencher James Paterson said he would be "surprised if Andrew Bragg is advocating for a coalition with One Nation", with Bragg’s comments coming as Labor steps up its arguments that a vote for the Coalition is effectively a vote for Pauline Hanson

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY