AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Distrust behind recent election losses for the Liberals

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Apr-23

The Liberal Party suffered a crippling and unexpected loss in the Aston by-election in early April, losing the once safe seat in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs to Labor – the first time a government has won a seat off an opposition at a federal by-election since 1920. This latest loss came only a week after the Liberals suffered defeat at the New South Wales election, following losses at the federal, Victorian and South Australian elections in 2022. Roy Morgan’s data has consistently shown that the Liberal Party, as well as its leaders, are suffering from deep levels of distrust (far outweighing their levels of trust), while the Labor Party has generally recorded near equal levels of trust and distrust. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that before the Liberal Party can re-gain the trust of the Australian people and form government again, it must first neutralise its high levels of distrust. This must be a key focus for the opposition between now and the next federal election.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Wyatt urges Libs to defy Dutton on Voice

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Apr-23

Former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt believes that Liberal Party MPs will be given a conscience vote on the Indigenous Voice to parliament. However, he hopes that more Liberals will opt to support the Voice, despite the party’s formal rejection of the federal government’s proposed model. Wyatt’s comments follow the decision of Julian Leeser to resign as shadow attorney-general in order to support the ‘Yes’ case. Liberal senator Simon Birmingham says he respects Leeser’s decision but has ruled out joining him on the Coalition’s backbench. Birmingham has also stated that he will not campaign for the ‘No’ case.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Albanese government axing external debt collectors in bid to prevent another robodebt

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

Services Australia will assume full responsibility for recovering outstanding debts from welfare recipients when existing contracts with external debt collection firms expire on 30 June. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has advised that all debt recovery will be undertaken in-house, contending that the nation must ensure that the robodebt scandal never happens again. The controversial scheme resulted in an increase in the use of external debt collection agencies to recover overpayments to welfare recipients. However, the majority of Centrelink debts were in fact recovered by Services Australia.

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AUSTRALIA. SERVICES AUSTRALIA. CENTRELINK

China to be cut from critical minerals deals

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Original article by Peter Ker, Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Apr-23

The federal government will shortly release its critical minerals strategy. Resources Minister Madeleine King will use a speech on Thursday to indicate that this strategy will push back against the "concentration" of critical minerals processing in China. She will also state that "like-minded" foreign investors will be welcome to back the nation’s critical minerals projects, and emphasise that such investment will be needed to develop new projects in the sector. However, Global Lithium’s MD Ron Mitchell says the government must remember that China is a very important trading partner, and rather than excluding China, it could offer incentives for miners that secure deals and supply agreements with allied nations.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, GLOBAL LITHIUM RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GL1

Government debt bill poised to double: IMF

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Apr-23

The International Monetary Fund has forecast that federal and state government spending as a share of the Australian economy will settle about two per cent above its pre-pandemic average. It also expects the general government interest bill to account for 1.8 per cent of GDP by 2028; this is more than double the size of the interest bill in the years leading up to the pandemic. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal budget has structural issues, due to factors such as the growing debt bill, the rising cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and spending in areas such as health, aged care and defence.

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Liberals must shake off nastiness to win back voters: Birmingham

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Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 5-Apr-23

Liberal Party insiders have downplayed the potential for Peter Dutton to face a leadership challenge in the wake of the loss of the Victorian seat of Aston. However, Liberal senator Simon Birmingham contends that the party must become more inclusive if it hopes to win office, and do more to attract support from people who have turned away from the Liberals, including women, migrants, urban and younger voters. Birmingham adds that the Liberals need to adopt new policies on issues such as housing and climate change.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Lambie swings the vote on $10b housing fund

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 22-Mar-23

The federal government still hopes to pass its Housing Affordability Future Fund legislation before parliament rises next week. The prospects of getting the bill through the Senate have been boosted after the Jacqui Lambie Network flagged its potential support for the $10bn fund; however JLN senator Tammy Tyrrell says this will be conditional on a guarantee that some 1,200 of the HAFF’s 30,000 social and affordable rental homes will be built in Tasmania, the home state of both herself and party leader Jacqui Lambie. The government also requires the support of the Greens.

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JACQUI LAMBIE NETWORK, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Time to reassess $250,000 deposit guarantee, says Swan

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 & 23 : 22-Mar-23

Former federal treasurer Wayne Swan says the recent spate of bank failures is in some ways similar to the global financial crisis, although he stresses that the factors at play in 2023 are different to those of 2008-09. Swan notes that Australia now has some buffers in place that were not present during the GFC, while enforcement and regulatory arrangements have been improved since then. The bank deposit guarantee is amongst the measures that were introduced in response to the GFC; Swan contends that the latest turmoil in the global banking sector means that it would be appropriate for the federal government and regulators to consider increasing the $250,000 threshold.

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Chalmers eases fears: banks are safe

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 15-Mar-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed concerns about the potential implications of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse for Australian banks. He says the federal government, the Treasury and regulators are monitoring the situation and the potential impact on Australia’s financial system. Chalmers has emphasised that the nation’s banks are well-capitalised and have high levels of liquidity. The fallout from SVB’s collapse has prompted a global selldown of bank shares, while many investors now expect the Reserve Bank to leave the cash rate on hold in April.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SILICON VALLEY BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

$368b unremarkable, says Marles

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 15-Mar-23

The federal government has disclosed that the deal to acquire nuclear-power submarines will cost $9bn over the next four years and up to $58bn over the next decade. However, this will be offset by savings elsewhere in the defence budget. The nuclear submarines program is slated to cost between $268bn and $368bn over the next 30 years, which Defence Minister Richard Marles has described as an "unremarkable amount" for any major government policy over three decades. In contrast, the National Disability Insurance Scheme is expected to cost some $2trn over the same period.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE