GOVERNMENT SPENDING POLICY – AUSTRALIA

ALP razor gang eyeing veterans, bushfire funds

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Oct-22

Labor’s ‘razor gang’ is looking to make savings from the Community Development Grants Program, with one grant under scrutiny being one of $15 million to establish veteran wellbeing centres in three regional cities. Another grant potentially under scrutiny is one of almost $6 million to repair fire recovery centres in the Victorian towns of Ensay and Sarsfield, which were hit by the Black Summer bushfires. However, despite Labor’s review of the Community Development Grants Program, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says regional Australia will not get left behind in its upcoming budget.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Australia’s public education funding went backwards during COVID pandemic

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Original article by Gabriella Marchant
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 4-Oct-22

A report from the OECD shows that Australian governments reduced their spending on public education by nearly two per cent during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hungary was the only OECD member nation that reduced education funding by a higher margin; in contrast, overall spending among OECD nations increased by an average of 1.5 per cent. The report also shows that Australian teachers’ salaries are generally higher than the OECD average, although local teachers spend longer hours in the classroom than their overseas peers.

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ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Nats upset by watchdog threat to grants fund

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 7 : 4-Oct-22

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has suggested that the proposed National Anti-Corruption Commission could be given the power to investigate the targeting of seats through grant programs. However, Nationals leader David Littleproud says such programs are a mechanism for seeing that regional areas get their fair share of funding, and that they should not come under the remit of the NACC. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce says it does not view ‘pork barrelling’ as corruption but as a way of taking care of regional towns. Meanwhile, the Coalition has called for a high-ranking judge to make the final decision on whether NACC hearings are held in public.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Alert on $45bn Labor spree

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 30-May-22

S&P Global Ratings has warned that the federal government’s "off-balance-sheet" election promises could potentially put Australia’s coveted AAA credit rating at risk. Labor announced nearly $45bn worth of spending commitments during the election, including its "rewiring the nation" program and funding for social and affordable housing. The ratings agency’s lead country analyst Anthony Walker says off-balance sheet spending is automatically included in its assessment of a nation’s financial position. Walker adds that further government spending risks fuelling inflation and more aggressive tightening of monetary policy.

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S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Mining, defence top agenda on PM’s Perth visit

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 16-Mar-22

The federal government will provide four critical minerals projects with funding via its $1.3 billion modern manufacturing initiative. The $243m funding package will be announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison during his trip to Western Australia; the projects include a battery material refinery hub near Kalgoorlie and a rare earth separation plant in the Northern Territory. Industry Minister Angus Taylor says the government support is aimed at addressing China’s global dominance of critical minerals supply. Morrison has also announced a $4.3bn upgrade of the Henderson naval shipyards in WA.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

The ABC’s budget hasn’t been restored – it’s still facing $1.2 billion in losses over a decade

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Original article by Alexandra Wake, Michael Ward
The New Daily – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

The ABC’s management has welcomed the federal government’s new three-year funding package and the abolition of the budget indexation freeze that was imposed in 2018. The ABC will receive $3.284bn over the three years from 2022-23, including $45.8m to continue its enhanced news gathering program for local public interest journalism in regional areas. However, analysis shows that the ABC’s funding has been cut by $783m in total since 2014, and it faces accumulated funding cuts of $1.201bn over the period from 2014-15 to 2024-25.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Labor Covid policies an extra $81bn hit: Finance Minister

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Feb-22

The federal government has spent about $337bn on economic and health support programs since the COVID-19 pandemic began, which has contributed to the budget deficit blowing out to $134bn. However, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says the government has contained spending during the pandemic by making its emergency measures "temporary, targeted and proportionate". He adds that Labor’s pandemic policies would have cost an additional $81bn in unnecessary spending and increased the deficit by 20 per cent. Shadow finance minister Katy Gallagher has in turn described the Coalition as the most wasteful government since Federation.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

$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

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

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.

CORPORATES
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