GOVERNMENT SPENDING POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Labor to slash $5.6b from public sector

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Luke Kinsella, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Nov-25

The cost of running the federal public service is expected to top $111bn in 2025-26, having increased by 38 per cent since Labor took office in May 2022. Cabinet ministers and public service heads have been directed to find savings in their budgets of up to five per cent, in addition to the existing ‘efficiency dividend’ of one per cent. It is estimated that a five per cent spending cut across the public sector would result in savings of about $5.6bn. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has indicated that any savings are likely to be redirected to other policy priorities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Dire defence warning to PM, at eleventh hour

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jamie Walker
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 12-Nov-25

Retired army major-general Greg Melick has used a Remembrance Day speech at the Australian War Memorial to criticise the federal government’s spending on defence. Melick contended that Australia needs a "grand strategy" to be prepared for war amid the deteriorating security situation in the Indo-Pacific region; he warned of the risk that defence spending may become a "matter of what we can afford and not what we need". The nation’s defence budget is slated to rise from about two per cent of GDP at present to 2.33 per cent over the next decade. Melick is also the outgoing national president of the RSL.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL, THE RETURNED AND SERVICES LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Scientists slam budget cuts that threaten Nobel Prize-generating research

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Liam Mannix, Angus Dalton
The Age – Page: Online : 22-Oct-25

Science Minister Tim Ayres recently described Professor Richard Robson’s Nobel Prize in chemistry as a "tribute to the effectiveness and capability" of Australia’s research sector. However, the federal government proposes to shut down two of the beamlines at the Australian Synchrotron, which is being used to study the metal-organic frameworks that were pioneered by Professor Robson. Professionals Australia estimates that about 10 per cent of the synchrotron’s 150 employees are likely to be retrenched. The government also proposes to shut down the KOALA Laue diffractometer at the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in Sydney. Critics have warned that this will jeopardise Australia’s progress in achieving net-zero emissions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN SYNCHROTRON COMPANY LIMITED

Mount Isa smelter set for bailout

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ryan Cropp
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 8-Oct-25

The federal and Queensland governments are set to announce a taxpayer-funded support package for Glencore’s Mount Isa copper smelter. Industry sources have indicated that the package to be announced today will enable the plant to remain open for at least another four years. The federal and NSW governments are still holding talks with Rio Tinto regarding similar support for the Tomago aluminium smelter, while taxpayer assistance has previously been announced for the Whyalla steelworks and two zinc and lead smelters that are owned by Nyrstar Australia.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, GLENCORE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TOMAGO ALUMINIUM COMPANY PTY LTD, NYRSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Ley attacks idea of free everything

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 17-Sep-25

Opposition leader Sussan Ley will use a Committee for Economic Development of Australia speech to call for action to curb government spending. Amongst other things, Ley will contend that the culture of dependency on the government that has emerged since the pandemic is not sustainable and must end. She will argue that providing people with everything for free merely diverts resources from those who need help the most, while she will advocate increased use of means-testing. Ley’s speech today will coincide with growing scrutiny of the Coalition regarding its stance on net zero emissions.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

PM sticks to defence dollars before US visit

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 16-Sep-25

Australia’s spending on defence is slated to rise to 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033, compared with just over two per cent at present. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese contends that defence spending should be measured as a total dollar amount, arguing that people are "too fixated" on the GDP figure. The federal government continues to face pressure from the Trump administration to increase defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP; however, Albanese contends that the US should take into account factors such as the in-kind military support it receives from Australia and the security partnerships that the nation has struck in the Asia-Pacific region.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Government spending tops $1trn for the first time

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Sep-25

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the combined recurrent spending of the federal and state governments rose by 7.7 per cent in 2024-25, to $1.02 trillion. In contrast, government revenue increased by just four per cent during the financial year. The increase in recurrent spending was driven by a number of factors, with government employee costs rising by 8.8 per cent and social benefits up 11.9 per cent. EY’s chief economist Cherelle Murphy warns that fiscal sustainability across the federal and state governments will be at risk if the current spending trends continue, which could potentially result in credit rating downgrades.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ERNST AND YOUNG

Consultancy firms win nearly $1bn in Australian contracts in past year despite new outsourcing rules, research shows

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Henry Belot
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 26-Aug-25

Analysis undertaken by the Parliamentary Library on behalf of the Greens shows that the value of federal government contracts with consulting firms rose to $968m in 2024-25; this is 48 per cent higher than the previous financial year. However, the value of public contracts with the four major consulting firms – PwC, KPMG, EY and Deloitte – fell from $138m in 2023-24 to $114m. Greens senator Barbara Pocock says the analysis shows that while the government claims that it is spending less on consultants, it is merely shifting these contracts from the "big four" to other firms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Nyrstar to get $135 million bailout for struggling smelters

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 6-Aug-25

Nyrstar Australia has welcomed the $135m joint federal and state rescue package for its smelters in Port Pirie and Hobart. The federal government will contribute $57.5m, while the South Australian and Tasmanian governments will provide $55m and $22.5m respectively. Nyrstar will use the taxpayer funding to undertake feasibility studies into the production of critical metals, including antimony and bismuth at the Port Pirie lead smelter and germanium and indium at the Hobart zinc smelter. A pilot plant at Port Pirie will be able to produce up to half a tonne of antimony each day.

CORPORATES
NYRSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

A culture of dependency has taken root

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Jul-25

Research by the Centre for Independent Studies shows that more than 50 per cent of Australian voters now rely on federal or state governments for most of their income. This includes public sector workers, welfare recipients and people who receive subsidies of some kind. Robert Carling from the think tank says this dependence presents a major challenge for politicians who might attempt to reduce government spending. Analysis shows that total federal and state government spending has increased to 39 per cent of GDP; this is its highest level since the end of the second world war, and compares with about 35 per cent of GDP prior to the global financial crisis in 2008.

CORPORATES
THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED