BILL DRAFTING – AUSTRALIA

New IR laws open doors to more union corruption, say employers

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Jun-26

Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth has defended an exemption to discrimination laws that would allow the federal government to favour businesses that have union-backed enterprise agreements when awarding public contracts. The bill was passed by the Senate on Monday night, and Rishworth says it will be good for workers and will be used with discretion. However, the Australian Industry Group is concerned that the legislation has been rushed through parliament without sufficient scrutiny; CEO Innes Willox warns that it will import the ‘Victorian disease’ to Canberra, a reference to the ongoing corruption scandal regarding the state’s Big Build infrastructure program.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Labor-Greens deal clips the wings of SMSFs

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Original article by Anthony Keane, Noah Yim, Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Jun-26

Treasurer Jim Chalmers estimates that changes to the rules governing the purchase of residential properties via self-managed superannuation funds will boost government revenue by about $50m over four years. Labor has agreed to scrap the limited recourse borrowing arrangements for SMSFs in return for the Greens’ support for its budget tax reform legislation in the Senate; Chalmers contends that this will only affect "a very small part" of the housing market. However, economists and financial advisers contend that the changes will make SMSFs less attractive and result in fewer new ones being established, while boosting demand for industry super funds.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Labor predicts budget backlash will fade

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Jun-26

The federal government has secured the Greens’ support for its capital gains tax and negative gearing reforms in the Senate, in return for several concessions. Self-managed superannuation funds will be banned from borrowing to buy residential properties, while the government has agreed to extend a Senate inquiry into its National Disability Insurance Scheme reform bill for eight weeks; delaying the passage of the NDIS legislation until mid-August is expected to cost the budget hundreds of millions of dollars, given that the reforms were intended to start on 1 July. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher believes that the general public’s concerns about the tax reforms will quickly abate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Labor’s hate speech laws pass Senate in late-night vote as Nationals split from Liberals to oppose bill

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Original article by Tom McIlroy, Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 21-Jan-26

The federal government’s hate speech bill has been passed by both houses of parliament, after Labor secured a deal with Opposition leader Sussan Ley regarding further changes to the legislation. Amongst other things, the legislation creates a new aggravated offence for religious or spiritual leaders who advocate violence, while people who join designated hate groups or provide them with funding could be jailed. The Senate voted 38-22 to pass the bill late on Tuesday night, despite the Nationals voting against it after all of their proposed amendments where rejected; the bill had been passed by the lower house earlier in the day. Meanwhile, the government’s legislation to establish a national gun buyback scheme has been passed with the support of the Greens.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Labor’s hate speech laws set to pass as Ley and Albanese cut deal on bill crafted in wake of Bondi terror attack

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Original article by Dan Jervis-Bardy, Tom McIlroy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Jan-26

The National Party will seek additional protections regarding the banning of hate groups when parliament debates the federal government’s hate speech laws today. However, sources within the Liberal Party say that the legislation is likely to be passed even without the Nationals’ support, after Liberal MPs agreed to vote in favour of the revised bill. Opposition leader Sussan Ley had described the previous omnibus bill as "pretty unsalvageable", but the Coalition agreed to back the hate speech provisions after Labor accepted the need to legislate gun control laws separately and make a number of changes to the hate speech bill. Legislation to establish a national gun buyback scheme is expected to be passed with the support of the Greens.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Preach hate, go to prison: PM’s sermon

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Original article by Sarah Ison, Elizabeth Pike
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Jan-26

The federal government aims to pass its omnibus bill on hate speech and gun control during a special two-day sitting of parliament next week. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged bipartisan support for the bill, but says he is open to "constructive suggestions" to improve it. Amongst other things, the bill is intended to target Islamic hate preachers and ban designated hate groups, with jail terms of up to 15 years for people who join or finance such groups. However, the Opposition has criticised the decision to address hate speech and a national gun buyback scheme in a single bill, contending that they are unrelated policy areas. There is also concern about an exemption from the hate speech laws if someone is merely quoting from religious texts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor’s changes to listing hate groups will target Islamist and far-right extremists operating just inside the limits of law

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Original article by Josh Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Dec-25

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says the federal government’s proposed legislation will crack down on hate groups that do not currently meet the criteria for being listed as a proscribed terrorist organisation. Burke has indicated that Hizb ut-Tahrir and the National Socialist Network are among those that will be targeted, stating that such groups hate Australia and should not be operating in this country. He adds that both Hizb ut-Tahrir and the National Socialist Network "have gone right to the limits of the law" but avoided prosecution under existing hate laws. Dr Josh Roose from Deakin University says the new laws should also target individuals who operating outside of established groups and extremist online ‘influencers’.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

Companies could have profits from breaking environment laws stripped under Australian reforms

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Original article by Graham Readfearn
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Oct-25

The federal government hopes to get its proposed changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act passed by the end of this year, with the legislation to be put before parliament in coming weeks. Environment Minister Murray Watt says he wants the overhauled environmental laws to include a definition of "unacceptable impact". He has also flagged harsher penalties for breaching environmental laws, including giving the government powers to strip companies of any financial gains made from such breaches. Watt adds that the proposed federal Environmental Protection Authority will be able to issue a ‘stop work order’ to prevent environmental harm.

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

Senator rejects Chalmers’ super tax offer

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 5-Feb-25

The federal government’s legislation to double the tax rate for superannuation funds with balances exceeding $3m requires the support of the Greens and at least three Senate crossbenchers. Lydia Thorpe and Fatima Payman are expected to support the bill, while Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock firmly oppose it. The support of Tasmanian independent Tammy Tyrell will therefore be crucial; however, she has rejected a deal to back the bill in retun for a commitment to proceed with a proposed ban on debit and credit card surcharges. Tyrell and a number of other crossbenchers are particularly concerned about the proposal to tax the unrealised gains of super funds. One Nation opposes the entire bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Plibersek praised nature positive deal with Pocock and Greens as critical before PM scrapped it, documents reveal

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Original article by Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 30-Jan-25

A draft Senate program shows that a bill to establish a federal environmental protection agency is listed for debate next Thursday. Documents released via freedom of information laws confirm that Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek reached a written agreement with the Greens and independent senator David Pocock to amend the EPA legislation in late November. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened to put the deal on hold less than 24 hours later. The proposed EPA is part of the federal government’s so-called ‘nature positive’ environmental reforms. Shadow environment minister Jonno Duniam has called for the proposed laws to be scrapped, and says Plibersek and Albanese must state their real intentions regarding the legislation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET