AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Budget faces $9b hit from NDIS delays

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Jun-25

The federal government’s budget papers in March showed that it is targeting $19bn worth of savings related to the National Disability Insurance Scheme over the next four years. However, some $8.8bn of these savings are now in doubt, which will jeopardise the government’s goal of restricting growth in the NDIS to just eight per cent a year from mid-2026. Its annual growth rose to 20 per cent in 2022, prompting former NDIS minister Bill Shorten to commission a review of the scheme; amongst other things, it recommended the introduction of ‘foundational supports’.

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Bosses demand tax reform as a priority

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Jun-25

The Centre for Independent Studies’ chairman Nicholas Moore has welcomed the federal the government’s decision to make productivity a focus of its policy agenda for its second term in office. Business leaders and economists agree that tax reform should be a key priority for the government’s productivity roundtable in August. However, the former Macquarie Group CEO, who is an adviser to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, says tax reform is difficult and it has been an issue for 25 years; Moore adds that issues such as housing and the red-tape burden are likely to take precedence at the roundtable.

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THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Wong’s Israeli sanctions create legal minefield

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 12-Jun-25

The federal government is under growing scrutiny over its decision to back a joint statement imposing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli cabinet ministers. Foreign Minister Penny Wong reiterated Labor’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in announcing the sanctions on National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade has warned that Australian individuals or companies that have business interests in Israel should seek legal advice, because they could potentially be in breach of the sanctions and may incur large fines or even imprisonment.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

PM leaves door ajar to super tax compromise

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Original article by Greg Brown, Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Jun-25

The federal government will require the support of either the Coalition or the Greens to pass legislation in the Senate from 1 July. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given indications that Labor may be willing to make changes to its superannuation tax reforms to secure the Coalition’s support for the legislation. Shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien recently stated that the Coalition would consider a deal with Labor if it agreed to abandon plans to tax the unrealised capital gains of super funds. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar says the business community would welcome greater co-operation between the major political parties if it results in policy outcomes that are in the national interest.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Climate change spend surges to $9bn a year

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 4-Jun-25

Analysis by the Institute for Public Affairs shows that the federal government’s spending on climate change and net zero policies has increased by 400 per cent since it took office in May 2022. Labor allocated more than $9bn to such initiatives in its pre-election budget in March, compared with just $1.7bn in the former Coalition government’s last budget in March 2022. This compares with the $600m that was spent on climate change and net zero programs a decade ago. The IPA’s chief economist Adam Creighton says that despite the big increase in spending on net zero, the government’s own figures show that Australia’s carbon emissions have fallen by just 2.8 per cent compared with 2005 levels.

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INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese enjoys third honeymoon as ALP strengthens two-party preferred lead in May: ALP 58.5% cf. L-NP 41.5%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Jun-25

The latest Roy Morgan survey shows that support for the ALP has risen to 58.5% on a two-party preferred basis (up 3.2% since winning the federal election), well ahead of the Liberal-National Party Coalition on 41.5% (down 3.2%). The Albanese Government’s second election victory netted the party 94 seats in the House of Representatives, equalling the all-time record of the Howard Government in 1996. In addition, the two-party preferred result – currently at 55.3% for the ALP according to the AEC – is the largest since Malcolm Fraser won the 1975 election for the Coalition with a two-party preferred result of 55.7%. In the month of May primary support for the ALP increased to 37% (up 2.4% since the election), and is clearly ahead of the Coalition on 31% (down 0.8%). Support for the Greens dropped 0.7% from the election to 11.5% and support for One Nation was down 0.4% to 6%. In addition, support for Independents/Other Parties was at 14.5% (down 0.5%). Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating increased 15.5 points to 97 during May. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 5,128 Australian electors from 5 May to 1 June.

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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

‘Furious’: Nationals MP says Littleproud misled the party

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Original article by James Massola
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 28-May-25

National Party leader David Littleproud is under scrutiny in the wake of the recent falling out with the Liberal Party which briefly ended their long-standing coalition. Nationals MP Colin Boyce has accused Littleproud of misleading his colleagues regarding the scope of the Nationals’ demands in four key policy areas which prompted the split. Boyce has described the split as a ‘fiasco’ and says he cannot support a leader who misleads the party room. Boyce adds that he opposes the Coalition’s net zero emissions target of 2050, and contends that the issue should have been discussed in the Nationals’ party room meeting last week.

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NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Steph Hunt (Melbourne) and Aaron Violi (Casey) are the only two Liberals to achieve a primary vote swing of +4%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-May-25

The Liberal Party suffered a crushing defeat at the Federal Election held earlier this month, and the recriminations continue under new leader Sussan Ley. However, there were some bright spots for the party with 20 Liberal/LNP candidates achieving a positive primary vote swing, led by Liberal candidate for Melbourne, Steph Hunt, who achieved a primary vote swing of +4.6% from 2022, and Liberal MP from Casey (Victoria), Aaron Violi, with a primary vote swing of +4.4%. Other notable performances included Simmone Cottom with a primary vote swing of +3.9% in the Victorian seat of Hawke, Benson Saulo with a swing of +3.5% in the inner Melbourne seat of Macnamara, Tim Beddoe with a swing of +3.3% in the western Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong and re-elected Liberal MP Tim Wilson reclaiming his seat on Melbourne’s bayside with a primary vote swing of +3.1%. Of the 20 Liberal/LNP candidates to achieve a positive primary vote swing in their electorate, 15 were in Victoria, three were in New South Wales and two were in Queensland.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

PM urged to act over US Darwin port offer

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 5 : 28-May-25

Landbridge Group’s long-term lease on the Port of Darwin is under renewed scrutiny, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese under growing pressure to act on his election pledge on the issue. Shadow home affairs minister James Patersons says Albanese should use the federal goverment’s constitutional powers to force Landbridge to relinquish its lease if it does not do so willingly on commercial terms. US-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has proposed buying the port lease; Paterson says Cerberus would be an acceptable buyer under Australia’s foreign investment rules.

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PORT OF DARWIN, LANDBRIDGE GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP

Gas exporters on notice to lock in more supplies for Australians

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Original article by Nick Toscano
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 28-May-25

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King addressed the Australian Energy Producers conference in Brisbane on Tuesday. Amid growing fears of a looming gas shortage on the east coast, King said that Australians are tired of seeing the nation’s vast gas resources exported while paying high prices themselves. King added that while some Australian LNG producers are "doing the right thing" by ensuring that there is sufficient domestic supply, a lot of work still needs to be done on this issue. She added that the federal government plans to undertake a review of laws and regulations governing the LNG sector, to ensure that they are working as intended.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY PRODUCERS