AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

PM plans giant UN event despite possible COP out

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Sep-25

The federal government has released tender documents for the appointment of an event manager to handle the COP31 climate change summit in 2026, even though the host nation has yet to be decided. The government’s advance planning for the summit envisions that it will be attended by more than 52,000 people, and will be bigger and more complex than any event that Australia has hosted in the past. However, Turkey remains reluctant to withdraw its rival bid to host COP31, and senior Labor figures have conceded that this makes it increasingly likely that Labor’s bid will fail.

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Labor truth tax set to be blocked

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Original article by Sarah Ison, James Madden
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-Sep-25

The federal government’s proposal to charge a fee for submitting Freedom of Information requests appears set to be defeated. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley contends that Australians "should never have to pay for the truth", while she adds that secrecy is the "refuge of weak governments". The Greens have also criticised Labor’s proposal to impose a fee for FOI requests and ban people from making anonymous applications; justice spokesman David Shoebridge says the latter measure is another attack by Labor against "whistleblowers and truth tellers" within the government. Communications Minister Anika Wells has defended the legislation, arguing that the deluge of automated FOI requests is diverting public servants from important work.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Investors calm as government debt nears $1trn

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 3-Sep-25

Official data shows that the federal government’s debt currently stands at $961bn, while its monthly interest bill is about $2bn. Meanwhile, gross debt has risen from just five per cent of GDP to 37 per cent in the last 15 years, although this compares favourably with the US (124 per cent) and Japan (216 per cent). Robert Thompson from RBC Capital Markets expects federal government debt to top $1bn in early 2026. However, Oliver Levingston from Bank of America says Australia has low debt and low deficits compared with the majority of advanced countries. He adds that Australian government bond yields are highly attractive at present.

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RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION

One absent ambassador and two useful idiots

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Original article by Will Glasgow
The Australian – Page: 1 & 11 : 3-Sep-25

The Chinese government’s Victory Day parade in Beijing will be attended by the leaders of Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Australia’s ambassador to China, Scott Dewar, will be a notable absentee, and the nation will be represented by a defence attache and political counsellor from the embassy; in contrast, the then-minister for veteran affairs Michael Ronaldson represented Australia in 2015. Sources have stated that there is "no way" Labor would send a government representative to an event being attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The sources have stressed that former state premiers Bob Carr and Daniel Andrews are attending the event in their personal capacity; Carr is also an ex-foreign minister.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

AUKUS at risk of failing: experts

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 6 : 27-Aug-25

The Center for Strategic & International Studies recently recommended narrowing the focus of the so-called ‘Pillar II’ of the AUKUS defence alliance. John Lee from the Hudson Institute says this proposal is understandable given the federal government’s insufficient allocation of funding for defence and Pillar II in particular. Lee adds that Labor needs to build a public case for an increased commitment to AUKUS and Pillar II. Meanwhile, Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge contends that the aim of AUKUS is to shift the military balance in the Indo-Pacific region away from China in order to deter war. He says AUKUS will fail if the alliance’s partners cannot explain this common purpose to their constituents.

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CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AUSTRALIA

Ambassador expelled, terror law changes: Iran’s brazen antisemitic attacks on Australian soil

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Original article by Matthew Knott, Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the federal government is taking "strong and decisive action" after ASIO advised that Iran had directed at least two arson attacks on Australia’s Jewish community. Albanese says the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and a kosher cafe in Sydney in 2024 were "extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression" orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. He adds that they were attempts to "undermine social cohesion and sow discord" in the community. The goverment has expelled Iran’s ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and given him seven days to leave Australia; it has also closed Australia’s embassy in Tehran and indicated that it intends to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Slash green tape to hit 2035 target

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Original article by Greg Brown, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Aug-25

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is set to reveal the federal government’s 2035 carbon emissions reduction target in September. A group of Australian companies have joined forces under the Business For 75 banner to lobby the government, calling for an emissions target of at least 75 per cent. The Climate Change Authority is considering a target of 65-75 per cent, but the Business For 75 members contend that a target at the higher end of tis range would increase investment by $20bn a year. Bowen has indicated that the government may adopt a target range for reducing emissions, rather than a specific figure.

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

Housing prices up: insurers go to war

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Original article by Greg Brown, Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Aug-25

Modelling produced by Lateral Economics suggests that the federal government’s proposed expansion of the home guarantee scheme will adversely affect the first-home buyers it aims to help. The government will allow such people to buy a home with a deposit of just five per cent, and without the need for lenders mortgage insurance. The report, which was produced on behalf of the Insurance Council of Australia, concludes that the policy will result in house prices rising by between 3.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent nationally within its first year. ICA CEO Andrew Hall says house prices will rise by more than the cost of lenders mortgage insurance.

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LATERAL ECONOMICS, INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Arts degrees to cost $50,000 until at least 2027 despite Albanese reform promises, vice-chancellor says

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Original article by Krishani Dhanji
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 26-Aug-25

Western Sydney University’s vice-chancellor George Williams says changes to the former Coalition government’s job-ready graduates scheme will take some time to implement. The scheme prioritised courses whose graduates are in high demand, while increasing the cost of degrees in disciplines such as arts and humanities. Williams says the scheme was flawed from the outset, and it was a major disincentive for students to go to university – particularly for women and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. He hopes the cost of arts degrees will be reduced in time for the 2027 student intake.

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WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY

Consultancy firms win nearly $1bn in Australian contracts in past year despite new outsourcing rules, research shows

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Original article by Henry Belot
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 26-Aug-25

Analysis undertaken by the Parliamentary Library on behalf of the Greens shows that the value of federal government contracts with consulting firms rose to $968m in 2024-25; this is 48 per cent higher than the previous financial year. However, the value of public contracts with the four major consulting firms – PwC, KPMG, EY and Deloitte – fell from $138m in 2023-24 to $114m. Greens senator Barbara Pocock says the analysis shows that while the government claims that it is spending less on consultants, it is merely shifting these contracts from the "big four" to other firms.

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AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED