AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Labor in a two-state daydream

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Original article by Ben Packham, Sarah Ison, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 11-Oct-24

Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie says the public debate on the current conflict in the Middle East has been hijacked by extremists. The Labor stalwart has also criticised the federal government’s stance on Israel, as well as its broader policies regarding the Middle East; he contends that a two-state solution will never happen unless the enemies of Israel accept the nation’s right to exist. Beattie has also responded to the government’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon by arguing that unless all parties agree to a comprehensive peace plan it will merely be a "pause before the next battle".

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

May poll firms as Labor sets its budget date

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 4 : 11-Oct-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has frequently reiterated that the current parliament will run for its full term and he will not call an early election. The draft parliamentary sitting schedule for 2025 suggests that he still intends to go to the polls in May, given that Labor has pencilled in 25 March to hand down the budget. This would make 3 May the earliest possible date for an election, while the Constitition requires it to be held no later than 17 May. Meanwhile, Labor has advised that parliamentary inquiry into nuclear energy is slated to deliver its final report by the end of April; building seven nuclear power plants will be part of the Coalition’s election platform.

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

Doubts over legal regime to re-detain those released from Australian immigration detention, FoI documents reveal

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 9-Oct-24

Former immigration minister Andrew Giles stated in May that community safety orders will be a key element of the federal government’s respond to the High Court’s landmark ruling that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful. However, the minutes of a meeting attended by senior home affairs officials in mid-January show that concerns were raised about the effectiveness of the CSO regime. Amongst other things, the officials noted that it could take up to nine months for courts to hear the first applications for CSOs, which would enable non-citizens to be returned to detention if they commit a serious crime.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Jewish leaders: put Greens last

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Original article by Joe Kelly, David Tanner
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 9-Oct-24

The Executive Council of Australian of Jewry and the Zionist Federation of Australia have joined forces to urge Labor and the Coalition to preference the Greens last on their how-to-vote cards at the upcoming federal election. The two Jewish groups argued in their letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton that the two major political parties should preference each other ahead of the Greens, citing the minor party’s "shameful and cynical behaviour" in the 12 months since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. They also urged Albanese and Dutton to rule out any deal with the Greens to form a minority government.

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EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN JEWRY, ZIONIST FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Bitterness set in motion: House fails on bipartisanship

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Original article by Ben Packham, Rosie Lewis, Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 9-Oct-24

A condolence motion for victims of the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel was passed by the lower house on Tuesday, with the support of crossbenchers; the Greens abstained from voting. The Coalition also voted against the motion, because Opposition leader Peter Dutton had wanted it to focus solely on October 7. Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had agreed to a joint motion, but the latter wanted it to include clauses in support of a two-state solution and an end to the Middle East’s "cycle of violence". Albanese ultimately put his version of the motion to parliament, and Dutton accused him of rejecting the Coalition’s "more than reasonable position" for his own "domestic political advancement".

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

100,000 migrant overshoot

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Oct-24

The federal government’s budget papers in May had forecast that the net migrant intake would be just 395,000 in 2023-24, compared with 518,000 in 2022-23. However, former bureaucrat Abul Rizvi expects the final figure for 2023-24 to be around 450,000; he adds that it could potentially be as high as 475,000. Saul Eslake from Corinna Economic Advisory has emphasised the need to focus on quality rather than just quantity with regard to the migration intake. Meanwhile, Rizvi says the government’s net migrant target of just 260,000 for 2024-25 is also likely to be exceeded unless there is a significant downturn in the labour market.

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CORINNA ECONOMIC ADVISORY PTY LTD

Bosses demand clause ban on CFMEU

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Oct-24

The CEOs of four construction-related employers’ groups have joined forces to urge the federal government to remove certain clauses from enterprise agreements. The clauses in question includes ones that give the CFMEU a right of veto over the use of subcontractors and require subcontractors to be paid the same as those engaged by the head contractor. Amongst other things, the letter to Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt calls on the government to ban the Fair Work Commission from approving any enterprise agreements that include the clauses.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Roy Morgan Poll: Federal voting intention tied in early October: Coalition 50% cf. ALP 50%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Oct-24

If a Federal Election were held now the result would be ‘too close to call’ with the ALP 50% (up 1%) tied with the Coalition 50% (down 1%) on a two-party preferred basis, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. Neither major party has held a decisive election-winning lead above 52% two-party preferred since the first week of June. ALP primary vote support increased 1.5% points to 31.5% while Coalition dropped 0.5% points to 37.5%. Support for the Greens was down 1% to 12.5% while One Nation increased 1% to 5.5%. Support for Other Parties dropped 0.5% to 4% and support for Independents was down 0.5% to 9%.

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

Jeers for Albanese and cheers for Dutton as leaders join Jewish communities to mark 7 October atrocities

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Original article by Benita Kolovos, Daisy Dumas
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 8-Oct-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended a vigil in Melbourne on Monday to mark the one year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel. Walking alongside rabbi Gabi Kaltmann, Albanese was met with some jeers, while he did not speak at the event. Opposition leader Peter Dutton spoke at a Sydney commemoration organised by the Zionist Council of NSW and the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, with Dutton receiving a loud cheer when he walked on to the stage. He claimed there had been a "vacuum of leadership" and "moral fog" in Australia since the 7 October attack, while he said he wanted to make it very clear that he believed that Israel has every right to defend its territory

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ZIONIST COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NEW SOUTH WALES JEWISH BOARD OF DEPUTIES INCORPORATED

Albanese targets grocery shrinkflation in battle to curb cost-of-living poll risk

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 3-Oct-24

The federal government has indicated that it will review the Unit Pricing Code of Conduct, and potentially expand its coverage to include more retailers. The government has been targeting supermarket pricing ahead of the federal election, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that addressing the problem of ‘shrinkflation’ is part of its strategy to "get a better deal" for consumers. It is a common practice for manufacturers of packaged food and groceries to downsize their products while leaving the prices unchanged or even increasing them.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET