AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Tax cuts to soon disappear as budget relies on workers to recover from COVID-19

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 22-Sep-21

Analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office shows that ‘bracket creep’ will erode the benefits of the federal government’s personal income tax cuts over the next decade. The PBO has forecast that people with annual income of $20,000 to $50,000 face an increase of 6.6 per cent in their average tax rate by 2031-32, while those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay an extra three per cent. People earning $96,000 to $160,000 a year are the only ones who will be paying a lower average tax rate. The final stage of the income tax cuts package will take effect in mid-2024.

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AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

US has ‘no closer ally than Australia’, says Biden after AUKUS pact

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Original article by Patrick Wintour
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Sep-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US President Joe Biden have held their first official in-person meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Biden praised Australia ahead of the meeting, stating that the US has no "closer or more reliable ally". Biden had earlier addressed the general assembly, but his speech did not directly mention the new AUKUS security alliance between Australia, the UK and the US. Meanwhile, former prime minister Kevin Rudd has criticised Morrison’s handling of the cancelled submarines contract, particularly his failure to inform the French government that the deal would be dropped in favour of nuclear-powered subs under the new alliance.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED NATIONS. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

57% of Australians approve of the Federal Government’s agreement to purchase nuclear submarines from the USA

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Sep-21

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey shows that 57% of Australians approve of the Federal Government’s agreement to buy nuclear-powered submarines from the US, while 43% disapprove. Some 89% of L-NP supporters approve of the agreement, compared to 47% of ALP supporters and only 14% of Greens supporters. Meanwhile, 68% of men and 46% of women approve of the agreement. There is also a clear ‘age gap’ on views of the agreement, with strong approval among people aged 50-64 (60%) and those aged 65+ (72%); in contrast, 53% of people aged 18-24 and 51% of those aged 25-34 disapprove of the agreement. This Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,714 Australians aged 18+ on 16 September.

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

Australia’s nuclear sea zone

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 3 : 17-Sep-21

Australia’s new fleet of up to eight nuclear-powered submarines will cost significantly more than the cancelled deal to build 12 French-designed conventional subs. The first of the nuclear vessels is also unlikely to enter service until the late 2030s; the first Attack-class sub had been slated to do so in 2034. However, nuclear subs can be deployed for many months at a time without needing to surface, while conventional subs must do so regularly in order to recharge their batteries. The federal government has already invested some $2.5bn in the Attack-class contract with Naval Group. The government will also extend the operational life of the existing Collins-class submarines until the new fleet is delivered.

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NAVAL GROUP

France says Australia’s $90b submarine deal cancellation is a stab in the back

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Original article by Jack Hawke
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 17-Sep-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the federal government’s decision to cancel the submarine contract with France-based Naval Group. He has argued that decisions must be made in the best interests of national security, and stressed that France is still an important partner in the Pacific region. However, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has criticised the decision to ditch the contract in favour of nuclear-powered submarines, arguing that the relationship of trust between the two nations has been broken.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NAVAL GROUP

Free-trade deal with India a big step closer

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Original article by Ben Packham, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 7-Sep-21

Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton will shortly travel to India for discussions with their counterparts, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar views this as a positive sign that Australia is keen to secure a free-trade agreement with his nation, and he is optimistic that a deal will proceed. Negotiations for a free-trade deal have stalled for some years, but Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has signalled the importance of India as a trading partner as exporters seek to reduce their reliance on China.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INDIA. MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Angus Taylor and Keith Pitt asked by Senate inquiry chair to explain dealings with firm awarded Beetaloo gas grants

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Original article by Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 2-Sep-21

Two federal government ministers are under scrutiny over the decision to award $21m in grants for gas exploration in the Beetaloo Basin to Empire Energy, which has close links with the Liberal Party. It has been revealed that the company enquired about the eligibility criteria and application process for the grants some time before the guidelines for the program were released in March. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says Energy Minister Angus Taylor and Resources Minister Keith Pitt must disclose whether they had any communications with Empire Energy prior to this date.

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EMPIRE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX EEG, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

ALP (54.5%) increases lead over L-NP (45.5%) for third straight interviewing period

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Sep-21

The latest Roy Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention shows that ALP support has increased to 54.5% (up 0.5% points since mid-August) cf. L-NP on 45.5% (down 0.5% points) on a two-party preferred basis. This was the third straight increase in support for the ALP and they are now up 4% points since having a narrow lead in mid-June (ALP 50.5% cf. L-NP 49.5%). It is the largest two-party preferred lead for the ALP since the national bushfires crisis of last year when the ALP enjoyed a maximum lead of 10% points on a two-party preferred basis in early February 2020 (ALP 55% cf. L-NP 45%). If a Federal Election were held now the ALP would be easily elected with the largest share of the vote since the 1977 Federal Election won by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser with 54.6% of the vote. Primary support for the ALP is up 1% point to 38.5% since mid-August and has now moved ahead of the L-NP which is unchanged on 37.5%. ALP support increased at the expense of the Greens, who were down 1% point to 11.5%. Support for One Nation was down 0.5% points to 3%, while support for Independents/Others was up 0.5% points to 9.5%. Interviewing for the latest Roy Morgan Poll was conducted over the weekends of August 21/22 & 28/29, 2021 with a nationally representative cross-section of 2,735 Australian electors using a combination of telephone and online interviews.

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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

Labor exposed by $20m handout

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Original article by Alice Workman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Sep-21

Transport and tourism operator SeaLink received more than $20m worth of JobKeeper payments in total. This includes some $11.9m in 2020-21, when the company booked a profit of $37.8m and its revenue topped $1bn for the first time. SeaLink CEO Clint Feuerherdt is the husband of Labor senator Marielle Smith, which has attracted criticism amongst some members of the party’s ranks. One Labor MP has noted that the party would be "screaming the place down" if a Liberal politician’s partner had received JobKeeper payments under these circumstances.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SEALINK TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SLK

Home quarantine should be widespread once vaccination target is hit, PM says

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Original article by David Crowe, Rachel Clun
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 1-Sep-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is continuing to urge the states and territories to support the national plan for reopening the economy when the COVID-19 vaccination target has been reached. He contends that Australians who are returning from overseas should be allowed to quarantine at home rather than in a hotel once 70-80 per cent of eligible adults have been vaccinated. However, he has conceded that internal border closures are a matter for the states; Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan is maintaining a tough stance on border closures.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET