AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Treasurer under pressure to fix budget after RBA lifts rates for first time in two years

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

The Opposition contends that Treasurer Jim Chalmers must accept responsibility for yesterday’s increase in official interest rates to 3.85 per cent. Shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien said in parliament that the 25 basis point increase is a direct consequence of the govermment’s "addiction to spending", arguing that it has kept inflation higher for longer. Chalmers has rejected suggestions that government spending has contributed to a rising inflation rate, noting that the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy statement did not mention it. Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has declined to commence on whether government spending is to blame for rising inflation, and noted that the central bank considers both private and public sector spending. The Reserve Bank now does not expect inflation to return to its target range of 2-3 per cent until mid-2028.

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

Federal Voting Intention: ALP maintains big two-party preferred lead as One Nation support surges to 25%

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Feb-26

The Roy Morgan Poll from January 26 – February 1, 2026, shows primary support for the ALP unchanged on 30.5% and One Nation support up 2.5% to a new record high of 25%. Support for the Liberals dropped 2% to 18%, Nationals were unchanged on 2.5%, Greens were down 0.5% to 12.5% and an unchanged 11.5% supported Independents/Other Parties, according to the latest Roy Morgan survey conducted with a representative Australia-wide cross-section of 1,401 electors. On a two-party preferred basis, the ALP is 56% (down 0.5% from a week ago) ahead of the Coalition on 44% (up 0.5%). When preferences are allocated based on how Australians voted at the 2025 Federal Election the two-party preferred result is closer, with the ALP on 54.5% (unchanged) leading the L-NP Coalition on 45.5% (unchanged).

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

Former senator Cory Bernardi is One Nation’s latest recruit

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 3-Feb-26

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has confirmed that former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has joined the right-wing minor party. He will be One Nation’s lead candidate im the upper house in the upcoming state election in South Australia; Bernadi says SA is essentially a one-party state, because it currently has no effective Opposition. Bernadi left the Liberals in 2017 to establish the Australian Conservatives, but he disbanded the party in 2019 and resigned from parliament in early 2020. There is speculation that Liberal senator intends to defect to One Nation, amid growing support for the party in public opinion polls.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

First steps to seal Coalition rebirth

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-Feb-26

The National Party’s 14 MPs are expected to sit on the lower house’s crossbench today, with a deal to rebuild the Coalition unlikely to be struck before parliament sits for question time. Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals counterpart David Littleproud held talks aimed at mending the rift on Monday evening. The Nationals’ deputy leader Kevin Hogan says there was goodwill on both sides and a lot of progress had been made. The Liberals and Nationals will both hold partyroom meetings today, with Gippsland MP Darren Chester expected to receive strong support for a motion to reunite the Coalition as quickly as possible; some Liberals are said to be considering a similar motion. Meanwhile, a leadership challenge against Littleproud failed on Monday after the Nationals’ partyroom rejected a spill motion put forward by backbencher Colin Boyce.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Big business urges $50b spending cut

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lea Jurkovic
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Feb-26

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has used its pre-budget submission to call for federal government spending to be scaled back in order to combat inflation. It contends that government spending should be reduced to 25 per cent of GDP, compared with the Treasury’s own forecast of about 27 per cent over the next two years. The ACCI has suggested that the NDIS, childcare, aged care, health and defence should have funding reduced; CEO Andrew McKellar warns that failing to address inflation could undermine Labor’s economic agenda to improve productivity. The Reserve Bank is widely tipped to increase official interest rates today, in response to the latest inflation data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Labor’s hate speech laws pass Senate in late-night vote as Nationals split from Liberals to oppose bill

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom McIlroy, Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 21-Jan-26

The federal government’s hate speech bill has been passed by both houses of parliament, after Labor secured a deal with Opposition leader Sussan Ley regarding further changes to the legislation. Amongst other things, the legislation creates a new aggravated offence for religious or spiritual leaders who advocate violence, while people who join designated hate groups or provide them with funding could be jailed. The Senate voted 38-22 to pass the bill late on Tuesday night, despite the Nationals voting against it after all of their proposed amendments where rejected; the bill had been passed by the lower house earlier in the day. Meanwhile, the government’s legislation to establish a national gun buyback scheme has been passed with the support of the Greens.

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

Federal Voting Intention: ALP increases two-party preferred lead as One Nation surges (up 6%) at the expense of Coalition (down 6.5%)

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Jan-26

The Roy Morgan Poll from January 12-18, 2026 shows the ALP (53.5%, up 1.5% from a week ago) increasing its lead over the Coalition (46.5%, down 1.5%) on a two-party preferred basis. Primary support for the ALP fell 1.5% to 28.5%, the Coalition was down 6.5% to 24%, and One Nation surged 6% to 21% – a new record high for the party in the history of the Roy Morgan Poll. The Greens were unchanged on 13.5% while Independent/ Other Parties were up 2% to 13%. Only 52.5% of electors supported either the ALP or Coalition while 47.5% supported either One Nation, The Greens, or Independents/ Other Parties. The latest Roy Morgan Poll was surveyed with a representative cross-section of 1,630 Australians from Monday January 12 to Sunday January 18. Full details of this Roy Morgan Poll will be released later today.

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

Albanese defends two-party politics

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Thomas Henry, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Jan-26

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has responded to public opinion polls which show that support for One Nation is rising. Speaking on ABC Radio, Albanese said he does not want One Nation’s vote to exceed that of the Coalition, contending that Australia’s two-party system has "served the nation pretty well". He also argued that One Nation promotes division rather than social cohesion, adding that the party has been a divisive force ever since it was established. Meanwhile, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says the public is "fed up" with a lack of leadership from the major political parties and sees her as someone who wants to fight for them. Hanson added that "I stand up for what I believe in".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ONE NATION PARTY

Queensland rejects gun buyback plan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brittney Levinson, Jesinta Burton, Sumeyya Ilanbey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Jan-26

A Queensland government spokesman has advised that it will not support the proposed national gun buyback scheme, contending that the state will not be distracted from the core issue of anti-Semitism. The federal government’s gun buyback scheme will be jointly funded by the states and territories, although Tasmania and the Northern Territory oppose this aspect of the scheme. Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia CEO James Walsh says gun owners should receive "fair market value" for surrendering their firearms; he notes that unlike the 1996 gun buyback, the government’s proposed scheme does not guarantee fair compensation for gun owners and sellers.

CORPORATES
SHOOTING INDUSTRY FOUNDATION OF AUSTRALIA

Labor’s hate speech laws set to pass as Ley and Albanese cut deal on bill crafted in wake of Bondi terror attack

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dan Jervis-Bardy, Tom McIlroy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Jan-26

The National Party will seek additional protections regarding the banning of hate groups when parliament debates the federal government’s hate speech laws today. However, sources within the Liberal Party say that the legislation is likely to be passed even without the Nationals’ support, after Liberal MPs agreed to vote in favour of the revised bill. Opposition leader Sussan Ley had described the previous omnibus bill as "pretty unsalvageable", but the Coalition agreed to back the hate speech provisions after Labor accepted the need to legislate gun control laws separately and make a number of changes to the hate speech bill. Legislation to establish a national gun buyback scheme is expected to be passed with the support of the Greens.

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