AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

$25bn in Coalition grants made through closed process with no competitors, report finds

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Original article by Sarah Martin
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

The Auditor-General has released a report which shows that the federal government spent $60.2bn via its GrantsConnect program between December 2017 and June 2021. A total of 108,206 grants were allocated over this period, and 42% were awarded via a non-competitive tender process. The report also shows that 27 per cent of grants that were earmarked for regional development programs were allocated to recipients with capital city postcodes; just eight per cent of the grants were awarded to remote or very remote areas.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL

Crossbench test for class action reform

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Original article by Adeshola Ore
The Australian – Page: 7 : 19-Oct-21

The federal government is expected to shortly introduce a bill to cap the proportion of class action payouts received by lawyers and litigation funders at 30 per cent. Shadow financial services minister Stephen Jones says Labor has yet to decide its position on the proposed fee cap. The government will require the support of at least three Senate crossbenchers if Labor and the Greens oppose the bill. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson supports the proposed reforms, but independent senator Rex Patrick contends that the bill should be subject to a Senate inquiry.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

PM cites national security as a key climate incentive

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 19-Oct-21

Sources within the National Party are hopeful that it can strike a deal with the Liberals over a net zero emissions target by 2050 by the end of the week, or at the beginning of next week at the latest. The Nationals met for the second day in a row on 18 October to discuss their stance on a climate deal, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the Liberal partyroom on the issue. He is said to have told the meeting that the election of US President Joe Biden has increased the pressure on Australia to commit to a net zero target, apparently saying that Australia needs the Western alliance "now more than ever".

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NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ALP (53%) lead over the L-NP (47%) narrowed slightly before Sydney re-opened this week

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Oct-21

The latest Roy Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention shows that support for the ALP has fallen to 53% (down 1% point since late September), cf. the L-NP on 47% (up 1% point) on a two-party preferred basis. The 1% points swing to the L-NP came after Prime Minister Scott Morrison met foreign leaders in Washington in late September as part of a series of security meetings. However, the swing to the L-NP in recent weeks has merely acted to reverse the similarly sized swing away from the L-NP in September. If a Federal Election were held now the ALP would be elected with a similar margin to that won by Bob Hawke at the 1983 Federal Election (ALP 53.2% cf. L-NP 46.8%). Primary support for the L-NP increased by 1.5% points to 37.5% in mid-October and is now just ahead of the ALP, which is unchanged on 36%. Greens support has dropped 1% point to 11.5%. Support for One Nation was down 0.5% points to 3%, while support for Independents/Others was unchanged at 12%. Interviewing for the latest Roy Morgan Poll was conducted over the weekends of October 2/3 and 9/10, with a nationally representative cross-section of 2,794 Australian electors using a combination of telephone and online interviews (multi-mode).

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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

US ‘won’t share nuclear subs’: expert

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Oct-21

Former US submariner and navy commander Bryan Clark believes that Australia is likely to buy Britain’s Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine. Clark doubts that the US will make its Virginia-class submarine available to Australia under the recently-announced three-nation AUKUS alliance. He adds that the Astute-class vessel is smaller and significantly less expensive, and is designed for a range of different missions. Clark adds that the US is also highly unlikely to lease refurbished nuclear submarines to Australia.

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Lockdowns no barrier to budget tax jump

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Original article by John Kehoe, Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 1-Oct-21

The federal government has advised that the Budget deficit blew out to a record $134.2bn in 2020-21, although this is well below the government’s worst-case scenario forecasts. Meanwhile, data from the Department of Finance shows that the underlying cash deficit for the first two months of 2021-21 was $22bn, compared with a forecast of $28.1bn in the Budget in May. Government revenue for the period was $12.1bn higher than had been forecast in the Budget, with higher-than-expected revenue from personal and company taxes.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

National cabinet secrecy: senator to cross the floor

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 29-Sep-21

The federal government will need the support of four crossbench senators for its legislation to overturn a Federal Court ruling on the status of the national cabinet. Justice Richard White recently ruled in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that the national cabinet is not covered by secrecy laws. Liberal senator Gerard Rennick has advised that he will vote against the legislation, stating that he has no time for secrecy and that Australians have a right to know what is discussed in meetings of the national cabinet.

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FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Chalmers’ Shorten-era tax threat

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 29-Sep-21

Labor abandoned a number of unpopular policy measures that contributed to its 2019 election defeat, including changes to the franking credit and negative gearing regimes. However, shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers is said to have pushed for Labor to retain a policy which targeted the use of family trusts to minimise taxation. He is believed to have raised the issue at a recent meeting of Labor’s strategic policy review committee. Sources have indicated that discussions regarding the policy on discretionary trusts are at a preliminary stage and the issue has not been debated by the shadow cabinet.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

PM to end money for lockdowns

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 29-Sep-21

The federal government’s temporary COVID-19 Disaster Payment will be phased out when the states and territories have achieved the vaccination rates that were agreed upon in the national plan to reopen the economy. The income support payments will be completely withdrawn two weeks after 80 per cent of the eligible population of a given jurisdiction has been fully vaccinated. States and territories that opt to set higher vaccination targets than the national plan will be required to implement their own income support programs. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the coronavirus cannot be eliminated, so Australia must learn to live with it.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Frydenberg flags home loan curbs

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 28-Sep-21

Growing concern about the high debt-to-income ratios of home buyers may prompt the federal government to push for regulatory intervention. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg discussed the issue at the Council of Financial Regulators’ recent quarterly meeting, although the CFR is not expected to announce any macro-prudential measures in its quarterly statement on 29 September. Frydenberg says Australia’s macro-prudential settings must be continually assessed, and they should be adjusted if this is deemed to be necessary.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS