EX-PRIME MINISTERS – AUSTRALIA

Keating says 12pc super is 25 years late but worth wait

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 1-Jul-25

The compulsory superannuation guarantee will rise by 0.5 per cent to 12 per cent today, following progressive increases in recent years. Former prime minister Paul Keating – considered to be one of the ‘architects’ of Australia’s super system – has welcomed the milestone but says it should have been reached in 2000. The Coalition government of the era froze the guarantee at nine per cent, a policy which remained in place until 2013. Keating contends that the delay has cost some workers up to $300,000 in retirement savings. He opposes the federal government’s proposed changes to the tax treatment of super, particularly the taxation of unrealised capital gains.

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Treasurer’s panic and disloyalty

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Sep-24

Former prime minister John Howard has criticised Treasurer Jim Chalmers for attempting to blame the Reserve Bank of Australia for the nation’s high interest rates. He contends that this has badly backfired, and RBA governor Michele Bullock does not deserve to be attacked in this way. Howard has also defended the performance of Bullock and the RBA’s board, arguing that they have had no alternative to raising the cash rate, due to factors such as the level of inflation and government spending. However, former RBA governor Bernie Fraser says the central bank has lost credibility and needs to reduce the cash rate sooner rather than later.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Chalmers unmoved by $3m super-tax critics

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Aug-24

Former prime minister Paul Keating has criticised the federal government in regard to its proposal to increase the tax on high-value superannuation accounts. Keating is unhappy about the part of the proposal that involves taxing unrealised gains, while he says if there has to be a threshold, it should be at least $5 million and should be indexed; the government is talking about an account balance threshold of $3 million and does not plan to index it at this stage. Crossbench MPs have echoed Keating’s concerns, but Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rejected the criticisms of Keating and the crossbench MPs, contending his proposals are modest and that he is not open to amending them.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Former PM Gillard to chair $2bn energy fund

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 14 : 7-May-24

HMC Capital has announced that former prime minister Julia Gillard has agreed to chair the newly created $2 billion HMC Capital Energy Transition Fund, which will make investments in energy assets such as wind, battery and bio-fuels. Gillard said she was "excited and honoured" by her appointment, noting it was in the nation’s interests to make the most of its abundant sources of renewable energy, while for his part, HMC Capital CEO David Di Pilla said he was "absolutely delighted" that someone of Gillard’s global standing and experience had agreed to chair the new fund.

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HMC CAPITA LIMITED – ASX HMC, HMC CAPITAL ENERGY TRANSITION FUND

Former PM Gillard to chair $2bn energy fund

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 14 : 7-May-24

HMC Capital has announced that former prime minister Julia Gillard has agreed to chair the newly created $2 billion HMC Capital Energy Transition Fund, which will make investments in energy assets such as wind, battery and bio-fuels. Gillard said she was "excited and honoured" by her appointment, noting it was in the nation’s interests to make the most of its abundant sources of renewable energy, while for his part, HMC Capital CEO David Di Pilla said he was "absolutely delighted" that someone of Gillard’s global standing and experience had agreed to chair the new fund.

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HMC CAPITA LIMITED – ASX HMC, HMC CAPITAL ENERGY TRANSITION FUND

Morrison on meds: toll of top office laid bare

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Apr-24

Former prime minister Scott Morrison has revealed that he experienced "debilitating and agonising" anxiety during much of his tenure in the nation’s top job. Morrison says his anxiety became increasingly acute as he steered the nation through challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and strained relations with China, and his doctor eventually prescribed medication to help him to cope with the medical condition. Morrison says the "unrelenting and callous" brutality of politics and media attacks contributed to his anxiety, but he acknowledges that this is the reality of politics.

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PM betraying Hawke reforms

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Apr-24

Former prime minister John Howard has criticised the federal government’s Future Made in Australia policy. Howard has likened the policy to the "new protectionism" that had been derided by former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke more than three decades ago, and describes it as a betrayal of the reforms undertaken by the Hawke and Keating governments. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described critics of the policy as "flat earthers", but Howard says Albanese "is a flat-earther with the best of them".

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

‘Very dangerous prime minister’: Turnbull attacks Abbott in new ABC documentary

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Original article by Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 30-Jan-24

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has told an ABC documentary that chronicles the former Coalition government’s nine years in power that Tony Abbott was a "very dangerous prime minister". Turnbull, who toppled Abbott in 2015, claims that Abbott sought to exaggerate the threat of terrorism in order to frighten people, and that he was too forceful in his response to Russia in the wake of the downing of flight MH17 in 2014 in which 38 Australians died. Abbott, who did not take part in the documentary, has been approached for comment.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Morrison quits to join forces with Pompeo

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 24-Jan-24

Former prime minister Scott Morrison will become the vice-chairman of American Global Strategies following his retirement from parliament at the end of February. The boutique strategic advisory firm was co-founded by Robert O’Brien, a former national security adviser to the Trump administration. Morrison will also work with former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo as a strategic adviser to asset management firm DYNE. The by-election in Morrison’s Sydney seat of Cook is expected to be held ahead of the federal government’s budget in May; Morrison retained the seat with a comfortable margin at the 2022 election, despite a large swing against him.

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AMERICAN GLOBAL STRATEGIES

Former PM Tony Abbott says climate warnings are ahistorical and implausible

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Original article by Josh Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has used a speech in London to express his view that voters will continue to prioritise issues such as the rising cost of living and energy price over emissions reduction. Abbott also questioned the theory of anthropogenic global warming, arguing that in its more extreme forms it is both "ahistorical and utterly implausible". He also criticised the "emissions obsession" and contended that the "climate cult" will eventually be discredited. Abbott was speaking at the launch of a new report on energy security from the Institute of Public Affairs, a right-wing Australian think tank.

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INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED