AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Labor flags reforms to big four firms

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Original article by Edmund Tadros, Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 1-Jul-26

The fallout from KPMG’s audit scandal is continuing, with eight of the firm’s top partners advising of their departure; the scandal had already resulted in the ousting of several key executives, including CEO Andrew Yates and chairman Martin Sheppard. Meanwhile, the federal government has released Treasury’s position paper on the regulation of accounting and consulting firms. Amongst other things, the Treasury has recommended stricter regulation of the sector, harsher penalties and imposing mandatory time limits on audit contracts. Another option that Treasury has canvassed is effectively breaking up the major accounting firms by restricting them to no more than 400 partners.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Democracy under assault from significant third parties at 2025 federal election, parliamentary inquiry finds

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Original article by Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 1-Jul-26

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has made 14 recommendations in the interim report of its 2025 federal election review. Amongst other things, the inquiry has proposed a new mandatory code of conduct for all participants at polling places; this includes so-called ‘third party’ campaigners such as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and the Advance lobby group. The committee is chaired by Labor MP Jerome Laxale, who says the conduct of some third parties at the 2025 election felt like an assault on democracy; he adds that many voters had reported "unsafe and intimidatory experiences" at polling places in targeted electorates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON ELECTORAL MATTERS, PLYMOUTH BRETHEN CHRISTIAN CHURCH, ADVANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

New IR laws open doors to more union corruption, say employers

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Jun-26

Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth has defended an exemption to discrimination laws that would allow the federal government to favour businesses that have union-backed enterprise agreements when awarding public contracts. The bill was passed by the Senate on Monday night, and Rishworth says it will be good for workers and will be used with discretion. However, the Australian Industry Group is concerned that the legislation has been rushed through parliament without sufficient scrutiny; CEO Innes Willox warns that it will import the ‘Victorian disease’ to Canberra, a reference to the ongoing corruption scandal regarding the state’s Big Build infrastructure program.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

ALP snubs Greens, unions on teen super

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Original article by Thomas Henry, Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-Jul-26

The Greens have moved to block a provision in payday superannuation laws that exempt businesses from making super contributions to employees under the age of 18 who work for less than 30 hours per week. However, the Senate has agreed to delay parliamentary debate on the disallowance motion, which has the support of unions and super funds. The ACTU’s assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell says it is unfair that young workers are not paid super on their wages, contending that doing so could boost their super balance by thousands of dollars when they retire. Business Council of Australia CEO Bran Black opposes the motion, arguing the need for measures that make it easier rather than harder to employ people.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ACTU, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Bowen’s world COP goals

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Jul-26

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says his co-presidency of the COP31 climate summit in November will have positive economic benefits for Australia. Bowen concedes that he does not expect the summit in Turkey to result in "massive breakthroughs" on global climate action, contending that there will be a "more iterative" step forward on the issue compared with landmark ones such as COP21 in Paris. Bowen has also indicated that a push to curb coal and gas exports will not be on the agenda for COP during his joint presidency. Taxpayers are facing a bill of more than $500m in travel costs for Bowen and his team of more than 100 bureaucrats ahead of the summit.

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

Break their funding: McKenzie calls for penalties on universities that teach white guilt

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Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Jun-26

National Party senator Bridget McKenzie has used a speech in London to argue that social factors – including respect for ‘Australian values’ – should be a key criteria in determining the migrant intake. McKenzie said that Australia has become "addicted" to immigration, and she argued that this carries a social cost if it does not deliver a fair outcome for families. She contended that Australia needs to curb the number of fee-paying international students, given their growing share of the nation’s population. McKenzie also called for an overhaul of the funding model for universities, particularly ones that teach students doctrines such as ‘white guilt’ and ‘climate catastrophe’. McKenzie is a former maths teacher and university lecturer.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

New One Nation MP David Farley sides with teals and Greens

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Original article by Brittany Busch, Nick Newling
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 24-Jun-26

The House of Representatives has voted against an amendment to the fuel tax credit scheme that was proposed by independent MP Nicolette Boele. She sought to cap the annual rebate for mining companies at $50m and an "orderly phase-out" of fuels that are eligible under the scheme. The amendment was supported by the Greens, Teal MPs and One Nation’s recently-elected MP for Farrer, David Farley; however, both Labor and the Coalition voted against it. Meanwhile, Farley has responded to comments made by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson on the need for Australia to be a "monoculture". He contended that the nation is multicultured, multiracial and multifaith; however, he agreed that migrants must "blend in" by "acting Australian".

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

Labor-Greens deal clips the wings of SMSFs

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Original article by Anthony Keane, Noah Yim, Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Jun-26

Treasurer Jim Chalmers estimates that changes to the rules governing the purchase of residential properties via self-managed superannuation funds will boost government revenue by about $50m over four years. Labor has agreed to scrap the limited recourse borrowing arrangements for SMSFs in return for the Greens’ support for its budget tax reform legislation in the Senate; Chalmers contends that this will only affect "a very small part" of the housing market. However, economists and financial advisers contend that the changes will make SMSFs less attractive and result in fewer new ones being established, while boosting demand for industry super funds.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Labor predicts budget backlash will fade

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Jun-26

The federal government has secured the Greens’ support for its capital gains tax and negative gearing reforms in the Senate, in return for several concessions. Self-managed superannuation funds will be banned from borrowing to buy residential properties, while the government has agreed to extend a Senate inquiry into its National Disability Insurance Scheme reform bill for eight weeks; delaying the passage of the NDIS legislation until mid-August is expected to cost the budget hundreds of millions of dollars, given that the reforms were intended to start on 1 July. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher believes that the general public’s concerns about the tax reforms will quickly abate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Pressure to stagger fuel excise increase

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Original article by Matthew Denholm
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Jun-26

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has indicated that the federal government will make a decision on extending the fuel excise reduction next week. The temporary halving of the excise to $0.263 per litre is slated to end on 30 June, and the Australian Trucking Association has called for the full tax to be phased in over three months to avoid a sudden spike in petrol prices. The Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association and the ServoPro industry body for independent service station operators also favour reinstating the full tax over a period of time.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALASIAN CONVENIENCE AND PETROLEUM MARKETERS ASSOCIATION, SERVPRO