AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

‘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.

CORPORATES
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.

CORPORATES
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.

CORPORATES
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.

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

Chalmers concedes energy rebates must end

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 7 : 21-May-25

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has refused to rule out extending the federal government’s energy rebate for a third time. However, he acknowledges that the government is aware that the $6.8bn rebate must end at some stage, which is why it has been extended for just six months rather than a year. Independent economist Chris Richardson says the rebate is "bad policy" and the money should have been used to reduce the structural deficit and increase unemployment benefits. Professor Bob Breunig from the Australian National University agrees that the rebate should not be extended beyond 2025, arguing that such subsidies tend to be inflationary.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

King to offer first details of critical minerals stockpile

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Original article by Tom Rabe, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 21-May-25

The federal government has emphasised that mining companies will not be required to contribute to its proposed critical minerals stockpile. Resources Minister Madeleine King is set to disclose some details about the stockpile at a mining summit today; she will argue that Australia has an obligation to take a lead on critical minerals and rare earths globally, given that China – which dominates the sector – is seeking to impose export controls on some of these minerals. King adds that the stockpile will only hold ‘small’ and ‘temporary’ volumes of critical minerals; she has also downplayed concerns that the policy will distort prices, arguing that China’s market dominance is already doing this.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

Liberals back Nationals split as necessary reset after election lashing

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Original article by Olivia Caisley
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 21-May-25

The National Party has formally abandoned its long-standing alliance with the Liberal Party, advising that it will not renew the Coalition agreement for the upcoming term of parliament. Nationals leader David Littleproud the negotiations between the two parties broke down over a number of policy issues, including nuclear energy, expanded divestiture powers for supermarkets and a $20 billion regional future fund. Former prime minister John Howard has urged the two parties to resolve their differences and reunite; however, a number of senior Liberals believe that the split was necessary, and some contend that it should have happened long ago. The Liberals will remain the formal Opposition in Parliament, with 28 lower house seats; the National will have 15 seats and Labor will have about 94.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

No rush to strike a tariff deal with volatile Trump

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 6 : 14-May-25

Australia is among more than 50 countries that hope to negotiate a better tariffs arrangement with the Trump administration in the wake of the global turmoil caused by the so-called ‘Liberation Day’ in early April. Australia failed to receive an exemption from the baseline tariff of 10 per cent and a tariff of 25 per cent on steel and aluminium exports, despite being one of the few countries that has a trade surplus with the US. However, government officials have indicated that Labor will adopt a "wait and see" approach, and assess the outcome of other countries’ negotiations with the US before seeking a deal on tariffs.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Ley puts tax, economic reform on to-do list

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-May-25

Federal Opposition leader Sussan Ley has indicated that all of the Coalition’s policies will be up for review in the wake of the election defeat on 3 May. This includes nuclear energy and the net zero emissions target of 2050. Ley added that economic and tax reform will be priorities for the Coalition; she also committed to consulting with her colleagues and the community in reviewing the Coalition’s policies. Robert Carling from the Centre for Independent Studies says the Coalition needs to abandon ‘populist’ policies. Ley has become the Liberal Party’s first female leader at federal level, after defeating Angus Taylor 29-25 in a party room vote on Tuesday. New deputy leader Ted O’Brien is expected to replace Taylor as shadow treasurer.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED

Cabinet backs above-CPI wage rise for low paid

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-May-25

The newly sworn-in cabinet ministers have approved the federal government’s submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review. The submission will argue the case for an "economically sustainable real wage increase" for workers on the minimum wage and industry award wages. The government has not specified a percentage increase, although it says this must be above the inflation rate. The budget papers in March had forecast an inflation rate of 2.5 per cent in 2024-25 and three per cent in 2025-26. The ACTU has called for a minimum wage rise of 4.5 per cent from 1 July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU