GOVERNMENT SPENDING POLICY – AUSTRALIA

$368b unremarkable, says Marles

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 15-Mar-23

The federal government has disclosed that the deal to acquire nuclear-power submarines will cost $9bn over the next four years and up to $58bn over the next decade. However, this will be offset by savings elsewhere in the defence budget. The nuclear submarines program is slated to cost between $268bn and $368bn over the next 30 years, which Defence Minister Richard Marles has described as an "unremarkable amount" for any major government policy over three decades. In contrast, the National Disability Insurance Scheme is expected to cost some $2trn over the same period.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

Billions more in military spending won’t be enough to counter China: Morrison

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Original article by Paul Sakkal
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 7-Mar-23

Former prime minister Scott Morrison says Australia’s defence budget should be increased to at least 2.5 per cent of GDP, compared with less than two per cent at present. Morrison contends that a big increase in defence spending is needed in order to counter the rise of China in the Indo-Pacific region; however, he concedes that Australia could not hope to defeat China in a military conflict, so alliances with countries such as the US and India are vital. The Chinese government recently revealed plans to increase its defence spending by seven per cent in 2023, to $330 billion. In contrast, Australia’s annual defence budget is currently $48.7bn, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants to lift this to more than two per cent of GDP.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM demands budget spending offsets

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Feb-23

The current inflation rate stands at 7.8 per cent, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers told parliament on 6 February that it is "obviously unacceptably high" and will stay higher than the government would like for longer than it would prefer. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says spending restraint must be the theme of its 10 May budget, particularly as around 20 per cent of all mortgage loans will switch from fixed rates in 2023 to much higher variable rates. It is understood that Albanese has told his ministers not to come up with new spending proposals for the budget unless they are accompanied by offsets

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Chalmers still open to JobSeeker increase

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Jan-23

Australian Council of Social Service CEO Cassandra Goldie has called for the JobSeeker payment to be increased from $48 per day to at least $73. The Greens in turn advocate increasing it to $88 per day. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that he may be open to increasing JobSeeker, after some members of the federal government’s economic inclusion advisory committee supported such a move. However, he has reiterated the need to take into account other pressures on the economy. Gareth Aird from the Commonwealth Bank cautions that increasing JobSeeker would boost inflation and may create a disincentive for unemployed people to work.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Shorten: NDIS blows out to $50b

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 19-Oct-22

The federal government will bring forward a review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, amid growing concern about the rising cost of the program. NDIS Minister Bill Shorten says the review will examine its operation, sustainability and responsiveness to participants’ needs. He has conceded that many people who use the NDIS do not have "complex needs". Shorten has revealed that the government’s first Budget on 25 October would show that the projected cost of the NDIS will rise by $8.8bn over the next four years, to $50bn a year. The former Coalition government had estimated that it would cost $44.6bn annually by 2025-26.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

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.

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