AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Beijing takes swipe at arrogant Wong

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Original article by Stephen Rice
The Australian – Page: 4 : 30-May-22

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has been accused of "double standards, arrogant colonialism and imperialism" in an editorial in the’ Global Times’, China’s most influential state tabloid. This follows her attempts to dissuade Pacific nations from entering into a regional security deal with Beijing. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will put details of the proposed deal to a meeting of Pacific leaders in Fiji on 30 May. Wong visited Fiji just days after her appointment to affirm Australia’s commitment to the Pacific region, observing that Australia is a" partner that doesn’t come with strings attached".

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Alert on $45bn Labor spree

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 30-May-22

S&P Global Ratings has warned that the federal government’s "off-balance-sheet" election promises could potentially put Australia’s coveted AAA credit rating at risk. Labor announced nearly $45bn worth of spending commitments during the election, including its "rewiring the nation" program and funding for social and affordable housing. The ratings agency’s lead country analyst Anthony Walker says off-balance sheet spending is automatically included in its assessment of a nation’s financial position. Walker adds that further government spending risks fuelling inflation and more aggressive tightening of monetary policy.

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S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor urges speed on global tax rules

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 26-May-22

The proposed global 15 per cent minimum tax rate for companies is slated to take effect in 2023. However, the OECD’s secretary-general Mathias Cormann has advised that this will be delayed by at least 12 months. The landmark reform will also include a stricter tax regime for technology giants and other multinationals. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers says that in addition to supporting the "two-pillar" deal, Labor will implement domestic measures aimed at ensuring that multinationals pay their fair share of tax.

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ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Aged care wages should be Labor’s ‘first priority’: HSU boss

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Original article by Angus Thompson
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 26-May-22

The Fair Work Commission has held several weeks of hearings regarding the Health Services Union’s push for a 25 per cent increase in the wages of aged-care workers. The HSU’s national president Gerard Hayes says the federal government’s submission to the wage case should be the new Labor administration’s top priority. Carolyn Smith from the United Workers Union agrees that the issue must be a priority for the government. It was recently estimated that there is a shortage of about 60,000 workers in the aged-care sector.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED WORKERS UNION

Albanese expands access to fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccine for 1.5 million people

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Original article by Dana Daniel
The Age – Page: Online : 26-May-22

The federal government has expanded the eligibility criteria for a second COVID-19 booster shot. Acting on the advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, the government has announced that people aged 16+ who have a range of health conditions or disabilities will be eligible for a fourth vaccine dose from 30 May. A fourth dose is already available to people aged 65+, aged-care and disability care residents, severely immunocompromised people and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50+.

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AUSTRALIAN TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP ON IMMUNISATION

China seeks Pacific states security deal

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Original article by Kirsty Needham, Phillip Coorey, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-May-22

China aims to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific region with a proposed deal with 10 Pacific Island nations. The deal would cover policing, security and communications, as well as a free-trade agreement. China has sent a draft communique to the 10 nations, but it has been rejected by the Federated States of Micronesia; President David Panuelo has expressed concern that the ‘predetermined joint communique’ could spark a new Cold War between China and the West. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong says China has made its intentions clear, and stresses that the new federal government wants to regain Australia’s position as the partner of choice in the Pacific.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Nation ‘needs to expect bad news’: Chalmers

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-May-22

The Coalition’s pre-election economic and fiscal outlook had forecast a Budget deficit of $80bn in 2021-22 and $78bn in the following financial year, before falling to $43bn by 2025-26. However, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned that Labor’s first Budget in October will reveal that the nation’s finances are in a much worse state than the pre-election update had indicated. Chalmers says inflation, rising interest rates and falling real wages are the "defining challenges" for the Australian economy. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has emphasised the need for strong fiscal discipline.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Nationals brawl over hydrogen

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 27-Apr-22

The federal government has committed more than $1bn to the development of hydrogen hubs as part of its net-zero emissions strategy. However, National Party senator Matt Canavan says energy policy should focus on building new coal-fired power stations rather than hydrogen hubs, arguing that Australia needs a reliable energy supply now. Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has defended Canavan’s stance on coal but says that unlike Labor, the Coalition’s policies will allow the nation to have both a coal and hydrogen industry. Joyce has rejected Canavan’s call for Australia to put its net zero strategy on hold.

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NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Stealth carbon tax warning

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 27-Apr-22

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stressed that the federal government is fully committed to its net-zero emissions target of 2050, after Nationals senator Matt Canavan claimed that other countries are abandoning the this target. Meanwhile, Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn claims that Labor’s proposed changes to the government’s safeguard mechanism for large industrial emitters constitutes a "carbon tax by stealth". Labor has confirmed that coal mines will be included in a revised safeguard mechanism if it wins the federal election.

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

Labor defends agricultural visa scheme as farmers brace for minimum wage rise

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Original article by Natasha May
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 27-Apr-22

Labor will make changes to the federal government’s Pacific Australia Labor Mobility scheme if it wins the 21 May election. It will introduce a Pacific Engagement Visa for agricultural workers from the Pacific Islands, which will offer a pathway to permanent residency. Meanwhile, a minimum wage for horticultural workers will take effect from Thursday; Daniel Walton of the Australian Workers’ Union describes it as a "momentous shift" for fruit pickers, saying they have been "routinely and systemically exploited and underpaid" under the piece rate system.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES