AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Greens vow to keep fighting on housing as party takes aim at Labor’s help to buy scheme

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Sep-23

The federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund bill will be put to a final vote in the Senate on Wednesday, after the Greens agreed to back it in return for additional funding for public and community housing. The minor party abandoned its push to include a rent cap and freeze in the bill, but Greens leader Adam Bandt says this is still on its agenda. The government’s shared equity scheme is likely to be the Greens’ next target in its bid to introduce a cap and freeze on rents.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Treasury, Trade not consulted on Qatar call

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 4 : 13-Sep-23

The federal government continues to attract scrutiny over its decision to reject Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights to Australia. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Trade Minister Don Farrell have confirmed that their departments were not asked for advice from Transport Minister Catherine King regarding the request from Qatar Airways. King has stated that she had consulted "relevant ministers" before making the decision on 10 July. Shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie has questioned why the Treasurer was not deemed to be a relevant minister. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have also stated that they were not consulted until after the decision had been made.

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QATAR AIRWAYS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

‘Base racism’: Yes leader in no-holds-barred call

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Joe Kelly, Sarah Ison, Paige Taylor
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Sep-23

Voice advocate Professor Marcia Langton has rejected claims that she accused No voters of racism in a speech in Bunbury on Sunday. Professor Langton said in her speech that if you start pulling apart the No case’s arguments, it either gets down to base racism or sheer stupidity. However, she stresses that she does not believe that the majority of Australians are racist, and contends that No campaigners are using racist tactics. Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has called for both sides of the debate on an Indigenous Voice to parliament to "act respectfully and with care for their fellow Australians".

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Developers scoff at 1.2m homes target

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 13-Sep-23

Housing Minister Julie Collins has told a property summit that the federal government’s target of building 1.2 million new homes in five years is "ambitious but achievable". However, Western Australian property developer Nigel Satterley says that at best about 600,000 to 650,000 dwellings are likely to be completed within this time-frame, citing a labour supply shortage. Melbourne-based developer Tim Gurner agrees that the target will be difficult to achieve, noting that high costs and poor planning laws are also a challenge for the sector.

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Key crossbenchers in bid to split up IR bill

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 13-Sep-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has reiterated that the federal government wants the entire Closing Loopholes Bill to be passed by the end of 2023. This follows a push by Senate crossbenchers to remove four provisions from the bill and legislate them by the end of the year. They include proposed changes that would make it easier for first responders such as firefighters and ambulance crews to claim workers’ compensation for job-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Independent senator David Pocock says this would allow more time to consider the more contentious elements of the bill.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

PM flies blind in Qatar storm

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Original article by Joe Kelly,Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 6-Sep-23

The Senate will hold an inquiry into the federal government’s decision to block Qatar Airways’ application for additional flights to Australia, which was made by Transport Minister Catherine King on 10 July. There have been allegations that the decision was aimed at protecting Qantas from competition. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament on Tuesday that he did not discuss the issue with outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce before the decision was made. He conceded that he had discussed the application with Virgin Australia Jayne Hrdlick on 13 July, and stated that he had only been made aware of King’s decision on Tuesday. However, this had been widely reported on 18 July. Five women who are suing Qatar Airways for invasive physical searches were also told of the decision in a letter from King that was dated 10 July.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET,QATAR AIRWAYS,QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Burke to get extraordinary IR powers

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Sep-23

Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar says the Closing Loopholes Bill contains at least 32 clauses that will allow Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke to give himself new regulatory powers. He says this is an "extraordinary" number, and argues that it will heighten uncertainty about the real cost of the proposed industrial relations reforms to business. Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn in turn says the ministerial powers will create greater uncertainty for independent contractors and businesses when entering commercial arrangements. Amongst other things, Burke will have broad powers to issue regulation that change the definitions for labour hire rules and gig economy workers’ pay.

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AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY,MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Liberals accused of dirty tactics over Indigenous voice pamphlet leading voters to site that harvests information

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Original article by Tory Shepherd
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 6-Sep-23

The Coalition is under scrutiny over a pamphlet delivered to thousands of homes that directs electors to a website that harvests their personal information. The pamphlet advocating the ‘No’ case in the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament includes a QR code with a link to the postal.vote website, which was also used by the Liberal and National parties during the 2022 election. It invites voters to apply for a postal vote by entering their name and contact details, and states that this will be forwarded to the Liberal and National parties. The site then informs electors that applications for postal votes are not yet available. The Australian Electoral Commission says people should always apply for a postal vote directly through it.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA,NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA,AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

We could lose the race on critical minerals

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Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 6-Sep-23

Lynas Rare Earths has received a $US258m ($404m) grant from the Biden administration to build a heavy rare earths refinery in Texas. It will be the first facility of its kind outside of China, and will process material from Lynas’s Mt Weld mine in Western Australia. However, although the federal government has allocated some funding to Australia’s burgeoning critical minerals industry, its strategy for the sector seems to be based primarily on local companies gaining access to funding from the US. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm has used a Minerals Week speech in Canberra to call for greater action to capitalise on Australia’s competitive advantage in the criticals minerals sector.

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LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC,TESLA INCORPORATED

BHP says IR changes to cost more than $1.3b estimate

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Sep-23

BHP estimated in May that the ‘same job, same pay’ policy for labour hire workers would cost the resources group about $1.3bn a year. However, BHP believes that the actual cost may be much higher, given that the explanatory memorandum attached to the Closing Loopholes Bill could potentially capture mining service providers such as Thiess and Downer EDI. BHP did not take such providers into account when it released the initial estimate. BHP says it supports the intention of the bill with regard to low-paid and vulnerable workers, but argues that it is not appropriate for the mining sector; BHP notes that the average wage for employees in its Operations Services division is nearly $150,000 a year.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP,THIESS PTY LTD,DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW