AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

PM ready for the fight against anti-Semitism

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Original article by Richard Ferguson, Noah Yim, Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Jul-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says anti-Semitism is a "scourge" that has no place in Australia. He adds that the federal government will continue to engage constructively with the Jewish community to ensure that it gets the support that it needs. Albanese has also advised that the government’s special envoy Jillian Segal is working on a new strategy to combat anti-Semitism in the wake of the recent attacks on a synagogue and a Jewish-owned restaurant in Melbourne. It is expected to adopt some of the proposals outlined in a 15-point plan released by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry in February. However, Albanese has rejected Opposition leader Sussan Ley’s proposal to convene an emergency meeting of the national cabinet.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN JEWRY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Roundtable revolt on super

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Jul-25

The federal government’s economic reform roundtable is set to be inundated with submissions from business leaders, the union movement and special interest groups. Many of these submissions are likely to propose alternatives to Labor’s superannuation tax reforms, particularly the controversial plan to tax the unrealised capital gains of super funds. Critics of this provision of the reforms contend that at the very least the $3m threshold should be indexed to inflation. Financial services industry veteran Geoff Wilson has previously warned that taxing unrealised gains will have a negative impact on productivity.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

PM’s $16m team: it’s time to earn it

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Jul-25

The Australian Public Service had 193,503 ongoing and non-ongoing employees at the end of 2024, but the federal government’s March 2025 budget papers had forecast that this will rise to about 213,000 in 2025-26. Meanwhile, analysis shows that the combined remuneration of the 17 highest-ranking federal public servants will be around $16.3m in 2025-26. They received a salary increase on 1 July, following a recent ruling of the Remuneration Tribunal. Steven Kennedy, who heads the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet, is the nation’s highest-paid bureaucrat, with total remuneration of $1,035,690.

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AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

China, critical minerals dominate Quad agenda

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 2-Jul-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese still hopes to have his first face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue leaders’ meeting later this year. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s executive director Justin Bassi say the Quad meeting must address issues such as China’s "coercive conduct" in the Indo-Pacific region and the nation’s dominance of global critical minerals supply. These issues are also expected to be discussed at this week’s Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Washington DC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED

Smelters face risk of closure, Nyrstar warns

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-Jul-25

Nyrstar Australia’s CEO Matt Howell says the company’s smelters in South Australia and Tasmania are expected to post losses totalling "several hundred millon" dollars over the next two years. He says a joint state and federal government rescue package is vital to the future of the smelters, and a deal with the governments is expected shortly. Significant capital investment is required for both the Port Pirie and Hobart smelters, while Nyrstar is also looking at the viability of upgrading the plants to process critical minerals. Tony Wood from the Grattan Institute contends that government assistance should only be provided if it is deemed to be in the national interest.

CORPORATES
NYRSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Keating says 12pc super is 25 years late but worth wait

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 1-Jul-25

The compulsory superannuation guarantee will rise by 0.5 per cent to 12 per cent today, following progressive increases in recent years. Former prime minister Paul Keating – considered to be one of the ‘architects’ of Australia’s super system – has welcomed the milestone but says it should have been reached in 2000. The Coalition government of the era froze the guarantee at nine per cent, a policy which remained in place until 2013. Keating contends that the delay has cost some workers up to $300,000 in retirement savings. He opposes the federal government’s proposed changes to the tax treatment of super, particularly the taxation of unrealised capital gains.

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Gas crisis: Bowen calls on reserves

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Original article by Greg Brown, Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 1-Jul-25

The federal government will undertake a review of the east coast gas market, amid new fears that a shortage could potentially occur by the end of 2025. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has indicated that the government will require new gas projects to supply some of their output to the domestic market, although the policy will not affect the LNG export contracts of existing projects. The government will also consider the option of an east coast reservation scheme, which the Opposition had proposed during its ill-fated election campaign. Bowen has conceded that gas will be crucial to the energy transition, although he remains upbeat about the nation’s troubled green hydrogen industry.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Roy Morgan Poll: Albanese Government retains strong two-party preferred lead after US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities: ALP 57.5% cf. L-NP 42.5%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Jul-25

In the final week of June, and following immediately after US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the ALP 57.5% has maintained a large two-party preferred lead over the L-NP Coalition 42.5%, virtually unchanged on a week earlier, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. Interviewing for this survey began on Monday June 23 – the same day Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed support for the decision by the United States to strike the Iranian nuclear facilities and reiterated Australia’s position that Iran not be able to develop nuclear weapons. In the final week of June primary support for the ALP was at 36.5% (down 1% since early June) and clearly ahead of the Liberal-National Coalition on 30.5% (down 0.5%). Support for the Greens was unchanged on 12% and support for One Nation increased 2.5% to 8.5%. In addition, support for Independents/Other Parties was at 12.5% (down 1%).

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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

PM blowing up our defence hopes

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Jul-25

The federal government struck a deal with the Biden administration in 2024 to purchase $7bn worth of guided missiles for its fleet of warships. However, the deal has yet to receive final approval from the White House, and there are fears that the Trump administration could redirect the consignment of missiles to a US ally that is willing to meet its demands regarding defence spending. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is continuing to resist pressure from the US to increase defence expenditure to 3.5 per cent of GDP; he is adamant that the government will stick with its target of just 2.3 per cent by 2033.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Federal voting intention before US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites showed the ALP retained a strong two-party preferred lead: ALP 58% cf. L-NP 42%

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

The latest Roy Morgan survey shows that the ALP on 58% maintained a large two-party preferred lead over the L-NP Coalition on 42% on a two-party preferred basis for the first three weeks of June. Primary support for the ALP was at 37.5% (up 0.5% since May) in the first three weeks of June, and is clearly ahead of the Liberal-National Coalition on 31% (unchanged). Support for the Greens increased 0.5% to 12% and support for One Nation was unchanged at 6%. In addition, support for Independents/Other Parties was at 13.5% (down 1%). Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating increased 4.5 points to 101.5 during the first three weeks of June. Government Confidence is now above the neutral level of 100 for the first time since February 2023. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 3,957 Australian electors from 2-22 June.

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