AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Roy Morgan Poll: Coalition maintains a narrow lead over ALP on the Australia Day long weekend: L-NP 52% cf. ALP 48%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Jan-25

A Coalition Government, with a slim majority, would now win a Federal Election with an unchanged two-party preferred vote from a week ago: L-NP 52% cf. ALP 48%, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. Although primary support for the Coalition dropped 1.5% to 40.5% and ALP support was up 1% to 29.5%, the movements for the minor parties cancelled this trend out. Support for the Greens dropped 1.5% to 11.5% while support for One Nation was up 2% to 6%. Other Parties were down 0.5% to 3.5% while support for Independents increased 0.5% to 9%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,567 Australian electors from January 20-26. When comparing different polls, it is always important to make sure to take note of the dates when the polls are conducted to undertake a proper comparison between two polls.

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

Deep end: big tech’s disruption

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 29-Jan-25

Science Minister Ed Husic says it is too early for the federal government to determine whether China’s DeepSeek AI platform is a potential national security risk. He says the government will take advice from national security agencies on the potential threat posed by the DeepSeek chatbot. US technology investor Marc Andreessen has described the latest version of DeepSeek as "AI’s Sputnik moment". However, Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Justin Bassi says the West was never reliant on the Soviet Union’s economy or its technology in the way it is with China; he adds that Western governments and companies acted after the Soviets launched the Sputnik artificial satellite in 1957, and similar action is required now.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED

Coalition demands Labor hate speech crackdown explicitly outlaw threats and attacks on places of worship

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Original article by Krishani Dhanji
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Jan-25

Federal parliament will resume in February, with Labor’s proposed crackdown on hate speech set to be one of the major points of discussion. Tabled in September, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus contends that the legislation will act as a deterrent to anti-Semitism and other forms of hate speech and would protect places of worship, but the Coalition wants the legislation to explicitly outlaw threats and attacks against places of worship. For her part, independent MP Allegra Spender has called on the government to include a stronger vilification offence for hateful speech in the legislation. Her eastern Sydney electorate has a large Jewish community and LGBTQ+ community, who she said have both raised concerns about the proposed legislation not doing enough.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

ALP’s workaround to cope with a new political climate

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Original article by Greg Brown, Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 22-Jan-25

US President Donald Trump signed a number of climate-related executive orders on the first day of his second term in office. They included the formal withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate agreement, the abolition of electric vehicle subsidies and an expansion of the fossil fuel sector. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would not offer a "running commentary" on Trump’s domestic policy agenda; he added that Australia will not make any major policy changes in response to Trump’s election, including on climate change. However, the government has flagged the possibility of working directly with US states that are controlled by the Democrats regarding climate initiatives.

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

Cops suspect foreign actors paying crims for anti-Semitic attacks

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Alexi Demetriadi
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 22-Jan-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese belatedly convened a meeting of the national cabinet on Tuesday to discuss the growing incidence of anti-Semitism in Australia. The virtual meeting with state and territory leaders was held in the wake of the latest anti-Semitic attack, in which a Sydney childcare centre was firebombed and daubed with an anti-Semitic message; the facility is not directly linked to the Jewish community, but it is located just 200 metres from the Maroubra synagogue. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw has raised the possibility that ‘overseas actors’ may be using encrypted devices to hire ocal criminals to carry out anti-Semitic attacks and paying them with cryptocurrency.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

Union demands action over bank branch closures

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 14 : 22-Jan-25

The Finance Sector Union’s national secretary Julia Angrisano has urged federal government intervention to ensure that consumers still have access to bank branches. Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that 2,334 branches have been closed nationwide over the last seven years. The Bank of Queensland recently advised that it will close another 14 branches, in addition to several that were already slated to close. Agrisano says the government has failed respond to a review of banking in regional areas, where many people no longer have access to branch banks.

CORPORATES
FINANCE SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ

Dutton pledges mandatory sentences for terror

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Original article by Rhiannon Down, Ellie Dudley
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Jan-25

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to convene a meeting of the national cabinet to address the growing problem of anti-Semitism and extremism. Dutton has also committed to introducing a minimum mandatory sentence of six years for terrorism offences and 1-5 years for displaying Nazi symbols and those of prohibited terrorist organisations. However, Law Council of Australia president Juliana Warner and Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Greg Barns have criticised Dutton’s push for mandatory sentencing for such crimes.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LAWYERS ALLIANCE

Roy Morgan Poll: Coalition lead over ALP strengthens in mid-January: L-NP 52% cf. ALP 48%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Jan-25

A Coalition Government, with a slim majority, would now win a Federal Election with a marginally improved two-party preferred vote from last week: L-NP 52% (up 0.5%) cf. ALP 48% (down 0.5%), the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. Primary support for the Coalition increased 1.5% to 42% at the expense of the ALP, down 1.5% to 28.5%. Support for the Greens was up 0.5% to 13%, One Nation was down 0.5% to 4%, Other Parties were up 0.5% to 4% while Independents dropped 0.5% to 8.5%. The rising level of anti-Semitic attacks has raised questions about how seriously the Albanese Government is taking the issue. The Coalition is clearly benefiting from the strong stance it has taken in condemning these actions forthrightly and consistently under Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

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

Seeds of positivity for Albanese-Trump relationship: ex-envoy

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 9 : 21-Jan-25

Australia’s ambassador to Washington, Dennis Richardson, says comments by Marco Rubio are a promising sign that the relationship between new US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be a positive one. Rubio, the incoming US secretary of state, recently backed the AUKUS security agreement, while Richardson says there could be uncertainties in the trade relationship between the US and Australia. Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she will lobby for Australia to be exempt from any US tariffs while she is in Washington for Trump’s inauguration; she notes that the US has had a trade surplus with Australia since the time of President Truman.

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

‘National day January 26 by law’: Dutton

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Original article by Brendan Kearns
The Australian – Page: 3 : 15-Jan-25

Some 81 local councils shifted the date of their citizenship ceremonies in 2024 via federal government’s laws that allow them to be held within three days on either side of 26 January. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has indicated that he would be open to formally legislating 26 January as the national holiday if the Coalition wins the upcoming election. Dutton has also urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to "stand up to mayors" whose local councils refuse to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day. There is growing support for Dutton’s stance on Australia Day amongst many mayors, including some in federal seats that are held by Labor or independents.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY