AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

BHP tapped to advise on fuel crisis fix

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Original article by Perry Williams, Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 22-Apr-26

Resources Minister Madeleine King says the federal government has been working with companies across the economy to shore up the nation’s diesel fuel supplies since the Iran war began. It has been revealed that the government accepted an offer from BHP to provide expert advice on securing diesel supplies; Rio Tinto has also been assisting Labor to navigate the fuel market, although neither of procured physical supplies for the government. However, sources have indicated that Labor had been slow to accept assistance from the corporate sector.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

Federal support looms for smelter to save jobs

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 21-Apr-26

A number of potential buyers have been conducting due diligence on the Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter in Tasmania, which was placed in administration in March. However, a deal between administator EY and unions to keep paying the smelter’s workers is set to expire this week, and about 175 jobs will be lost unless the workers agree to take leave without pay. The federal government is expected to intervene with a support package to fund the smelter’s $1.6m fortnightly payroll until prospective buyers have completed due diligence. Industry Minister Tim Ayres has described Australia’s only manganese smelter as "efficient" and "capable".

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG

NDIS infiltrated by organised crime gangs using intimidation and threats of violence against Australians

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 21-Apr-26

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has warned that the National Disability Insurance Scheme is being exploited by criminals. The ACIS has told an NDIS integrity review that organised crime gangs are using the scheme to launder money, earn income and hide assets. The ACIS has also told the review that lack of sufficient surveillance has allowed NDIS providers who have been banned from the system to reapply and resume their rorting. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has advised that NDIS cost reductions will be a key savings measure in the federal budget on 12 May.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Big business says Chalmers must reign in welfare for the wealthy

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 21-Apr-26

The Business Council of Australia has used its pre-budget submission to urge the federal government to cap real spending growth at per cent a year. Government spending currently comprises nearly 27 per cent of GDP – its highest level in four decades excluding the pandemic – and the BCA warns that it will reach a record high within a decade if action is not taken. The BCA notes that untargeted government spending that supports wealthy Australians and middle-income earners is increasing, while more targeted income support payments for the unemploy and people on the age pension are declining.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Beware Chalmers, the anti-economist Treasurer at helm

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Original article by Judith Sloan
The Australian – Page: 11 : 21-Apr-26

Even if there is an early resolution to the Iran war, which looks unlikely, there will be a hit to Australia’s economic growth rate with headline inflation increasing. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is essentially an anti-economist who is trying to transform the Australian economy from Canberra. He distrusts markets and thinks government intervention and spending can produce superior outcomes. Without a coherent economic framework, Chalmers’ response to war-induced economic difficulties is likely to be ill-advised and ineffective. His instinct will be to ditch any budget plans for real savings and to pour money into pump-priming the economy through more handouts. The minor tax reforms in the budget will be piecemeal and designed to shift attention away from the loose fiscal settings.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Federal Voting Intention: Albanese Government maintains large two-party preferred lead as One Nation loses support to other parties

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Apr-26

Last week ALP primary support was virtually unchanged at 30.5%, and the L-NP Coalition virtually unchanged at 23% – Liberals on 19.5% and Nationals on 3.5%. One Nation lost support, down 3% to 21.5%, while support for the Greens was up 1% to 13.5%, and up 1% to 11.5% for Independents/ Other Parties. A look at voting results by gender shows the ALP leading strongly amongst women on a two-party preferred basis: ALP 60.5% (down 0.5% points) cf. L-NP 39.5% (up 0.5% points). However, amongst men, there continues to be a much closer result. On a two-party preferred: ALP 50.5% (up 0.5% points) cf. L-NP 49.5% (down 0.5% points) according to the Roy Morgan survey conducted from April 13-19, 2026, with a representative Australia-wide cross-section of 1,620 electors.

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

Foreign tax grab shocks investors

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Apr-26

The federal government has previously announced a range of measures aimed at boosting investment in Australia. However, tax experts warn that Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ proposal to retrospectively apply a 30 per cent capital gains tax on foreign investors who sell property-related assets may have the opposite effect. The tax measure had previously been expected to apply to future asset sales, but Chalmers has proposed backdating it to 2006. Jenny Wong from CPA Australia warns that applying new tax laws to past transactions will make the nation a less attractive investment destination. The CGT change would apply to assets such as renewable energy infrastructure, ports, water entitlements and mining machinery.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CPA AUSTRALIA

‘Not appropriate’: Labor MP asks colleagues not to talk about Ben Roberts-Smith

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Original article by Natassia Chrysanthos
The Age – Page: Online : 14-Apr-26

Labor MP Luke Gosling has sent an email to all federal MPS and senators to ask them not make public comments about the Ben Roberts-Smith case. Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Roberts-Smith was arrested last week and charged with five counts of the war crime of murder, alleged to have been committed during his deployment to Afghanistan. Gosling, who spent 13 years in the army and who is the federal government’s special envoy for defence and veterans’ affairs, says it is "not appropriate for MPs to comment on a serious criminal trial which will be before a jury".

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Alarm over Russian blood oil

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Apr-26

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Brunei and Malaysia in coming days as the federal government seeks to shore up Australia’s fuel supply. He has been urged to seek assurances that any fuel that is imported to Australia from countries such as Brunei and Malaysia has not been sourced using crude oil from Russia. Both nations have become significant importers of crude oil from Russia in recent years, and the Iran war-induced fuel crunch has prompted many Asian countries to buy the so-called "blood oil". Australia’s sanctions prohibit oil from being directly imported from Russia, although a loophole allows local companies to buy refined fuels from third countries that process Russian crude.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Tourists to Australia would have social media accounts vetted under Trumpian Coalition plan

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 14-Apr-26

Opposition leader Angus Taylor will use a Menzies Institute speech tonight to outline the first details of the Coalition’s much-anticipated immigration policy. Amongst other things, migrants will be required to embrace Australian values, including the rule of law, tolerance and equal opportunity; Taylor contends that some people who want to migrate to Australia will be a "net drain" rather than a net benefit to the country. The Coalition will also reinstate temporary protection visas, which the federal government abolished in 2023, while it will develop a list of countries to which failed asylum seekers can be safely returned. People who apply for a visa to Australia – including tourists – would also be required to submit their social media accounts for screening,

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY