AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Small business lashes senators over insulting haste on IR bill

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Dec-23

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has criticised the Senate for passing the Closing Loopholes Bill on federal parliament’s last sitting day for the year. COSBOA’s CEO Luke Achterstraat and chairman Matthew Addison have written to senators expressing their concern that the bill was passed too quickly and without consulting employers; this includes amendments that were only announced on the day the legislation was passed. COSBOA also contends that provisions of the bill that were hived off and will be voted on separately in 2024 should be abandoned.

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COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Troop boost but no ship to Red Sea

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Original article by Ben Packham, Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 19-Dec-23

The US government will shortly reveal details of a new multi­national task force to combat Houthi rebels’ attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The US Navy had initially asked Australia to contribute to Operation Prosperity Guardian by deploying a warship to the Red Sea; however, the US is believed to have now requested the deployment of additional Australian soldiers to the region, after the federal government indicated that the Indo-Pacific is its priority. Five members of the Australian Defence Force are currently serving with the US-led Combined Maritime Force. Shipping lanes in the Red Sea carry about 10 per cent of the world’s cargo.

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AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE, UNITED STATES NAVY

Roy Morgan Federal voting intention poll shows two major parties dead-locked at Christmas: ALP 50% cf. L-NP 50%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

The ALP on 50% (down 1%) is now ‘dead-locked’ with the Coalition on 50% (up 1%) on a two-party preferred basis, according to the final Roy Morgan survey on Federal voting intention for 2023. If an election were held now we would have a hung parliament with the minor parties and independents controlling the balance of power. The primary vote of both major parties improved this week with the Coalition now on 38%, up 1% from a week ago well ahead of the ALP on 32%, up 1.5%. The Greens are down 2.5% to 11.5% and One Nation is down 0.5% to 4.5%. Support for Independents increased 1.5% to 9%, but support was down 1% to 5% for Other Parties. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,720 Australian electors from December 11-17, 2023. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine here: http://www.youtube.com/roymorganaus.

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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

Albanese calls for Gaza ceasefire in joint statement with NZ and Canada PMs

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Original article by
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Dec-23

The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian governments have condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October. The joint statement issued by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his counterparts Chris Luxon and Justin Trudeau also calls for a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and for Hamas to release all remaining hostages, stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields and lay down its arms. The three leaders have also recognised Israel’s right to defend itself but have emphasised that the nation must respect international humanitarian law.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CANADA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Roy Morgan Federal voting intention poll is unchanged this week: ALP 51% cf. L-NP 49%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Dec-23

Roy Morgan’s latest Federal voting intention survey shows support for the ALP is unchanged at 51% on a two-party preferred basis; support for the Coalition is also unchanged at 49%. The ALP’s primary vote has fallen by 2% from a week ago to 30.5%, while the Coalition’s primary vote is down 0.5% to 37%. However, the Greens are up 1.5% to 14% and One Nation is unchanged on 5%. Support for Independents dropped 1% to 7.5%, but support for Other Parties increased by 2% to 6%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,719 Australian electors from December 4-10. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine.

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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

Overseas student numbers expected to drop by 100,000

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Original article by Julie Hare
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 12-Dec-23

Experts say the federal government’s new visa requirements on international students will help to ‘weed’ out people who are seeking to use the student visa system as a ‘back door’ to the Australian jobs market. Internal government estimates indicate that the new requirements could see the number of foreign students coming to Australia to study fall by around 70,000, while 38,000 graduates could find themselves being sent home for failing to meet English-language tests.

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More than 870 Australian federal public servants acted corruptly over six years, investigation finds

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Original article by Henry Belot
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 6-Dec-23

The Australian Public Service Commission’s latest ‘state of the service’ report has highlighted the extent of misconduct within the nation’s bureaucracy. An internal investigation by the APSC has found that more than 870 public servants had acted corruptly between 2017-18 and 2022-23. It also shows that 162 public servants had acted dishonestly or without integrity in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the APSC has established a new team to investigate serious misconduct allegations in response to the former Coalition government’s ‘robo-debt’ scandal.

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AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

Australia Post to end daily letter deliveries in a bid to avoid losses

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 6-Dec-23

The federal government will announce changes to Australia Post’s community service obligations on Wednesday. The overhaul will result in ordinary letters and unaddressed mail being delivered every second business day in 2024, although parcels, express and priority mail will still be delivered each day. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says Australia Post’s business structure must reflect the needs of modern consumers; she notes that Australians are receiving fewer letters and more parcels. Australia Post recently booked a loss of $200m for the 2022-23 financial year.

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AUSTRALIA POST, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Labor’s preventive detention regime passes Senate as third freed immigration detainee arrested

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 6-Dec-23

The Senate has passed the federal government’s preventative detention laws, which were introduced in response to the High Court’s landmark ruling on indefinite immigration detention. The bill was supported by the Coalition, which moved a motion for the Senate to immediately vote on the laws following revelations that a third former immigration detainee has been arrested and charged just weeks after being released. The convicted child sex offender faces three counts of having contact with a juvenile and using social media and a live chat facility in breach of his reporting obligations. The other two former detainees have respectively been charged with indecent assault and drug possession. The lower house will vote on the legislation on Thursday.

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Chalmers hints at cost-of-living relief

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 5-Dec-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says households should not expect significant cost-of-living relief in the federal government’s mid-year update. However, he adds that the government may be open to further measures in its May 2024 Budget, depending on factors such as economic conditions at that time. Meanwhile, the national accounts data for the September quarter will be released on Wednesday; Chalmers says the data is likely to reflect the impact on economic growth of 13 interest rate rises since May 2022. The general consensus of economists is that the economy expanded by 0.4 per cent in the quarter.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY