POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Coalition voters win in Labor’s tax U-turn: PM

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 7 : 31-Jan-24

Treasury analysis shows that the federal government’s proposed changes to the stage-three income tax cuts package will strongly benefit Coalition voters. The analysis suggest that about 85 per cent of voters in seats held by the Liberal or National parties will be better off than they would have been if the tax cuts had gone ahead in their original form. The federal government will use the Treasury data to seek the Coalition’s support for its changes. The Opposition will not decide its formal stance on the changes until parliament resumes next week; however, it will continue to reiterate that Labor has broken an election promise regarding the tax cuts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Coalition MPs snub 2035 target

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Jan-24

The Paris Agreement requires the federal government to finalise a 2035 emissions reduction target by February 2025. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under pressure to adopt a 2035 target of at least 70 per cent, and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has previously stated that the government’s 2035 target will be announced "in due course". Meanwhile, a number of Liberal and National MPs have cautioned Opposition leader Peter Dutton against taking an emissions reduction target to voters at the next election. Amongst other things, they are concerned that it would exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis, particularly for people in regional areas.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Greens vow to keep fighting on housing as party takes aim at Labor’s help to buy scheme

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Sep-23

The federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund bill will be put to a final vote in the Senate on Wednesday, after the Greens agreed to back it in return for additional funding for public and community housing. The minor party abandoned its push to include a rent cap and freeze in the bill, but Greens leader Adam Bandt says this is still on its agenda. The government’s shared equity scheme is likely to be the Greens’ next target in its bid to introduce a cap and freeze on rents.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS

‘Steps to treaty this term’: Labor’s actual agenda

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Original article by Sarah Ison, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Aug-23

The federal government is under growing scrutiny over its policy agenda if the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament succeeds. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently stated that the voice is not about a treaty with Indigenous Australians. However, Labor’s latest draft national policy platform states that the party supports all elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – including a Makarrata commission for agreement-making – in the current term of government. An earlier draft did not include any time frame or a specific reference to the Makarrata commission. Opposition leader Peter Dutton says Labor will have to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, given that Albanese has committed to doing so at least 34 times.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Jobs galore, but more on JobSeeker

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-May-23

Data from the Department of Social Services shows that 921,000 people were receiving the JobSeeker and youth allowance payments at the end of March. The number of people receiving these payments has fallen by just 59,000 since Labor took office in May 2022, despite the unemployment rate having fallen to its lowest level in nearly five decades. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has urged the federal government to strengthen the ‘work for the dole’ program, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rejected. He says the 9 May budget will include measures aimed at supporting communities that are facing "entrenched, long-term unemployment".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Wyatt urges Libs to defy Dutton on Voice

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Apr-23

Former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt believes that Liberal Party MPs will be given a conscience vote on the Indigenous Voice to parliament. However, he hopes that more Liberals will opt to support the Voice, despite the party’s formal rejection of the federal government’s proposed model. Wyatt’s comments follow the decision of Julian Leeser to resign as shadow attorney-general in order to support the ‘Yes’ case. Liberal senator Simon Birmingham says he respects Leeser’s decision but has ruled out joining him on the Coalition’s backbench. Birmingham has also stated that he will not campaign for the ‘No’ case.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Lambie swings the vote on $10b housing fund

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 22-Mar-23

The federal government still hopes to pass its Housing Affordability Future Fund legislation before parliament rises next week. The prospects of getting the bill through the Senate have been boosted after the Jacqui Lambie Network flagged its potential support for the $10bn fund; however JLN senator Tammy Tyrrell says this will be conditional on a guarantee that some 1,200 of the HAFF’s 30,000 social and affordable rental homes will be built in Tasmania, the home state of both herself and party leader Jacqui Lambie. The government also requires the support of the Greens.

CORPORATES
JACQUI LAMBIE NETWORK, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Greens threaten to support Liberal amendment in move that could derail passage of key integrity bill

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-Nov-22

The federal government is still aiming to pass legislation for its National Anti-Corruption Commission before parliament rises for the year. However, it has received a setback after the Liberal Party proposed an amendment which would require the appointments of the NACC commissioner and inspector to be approved by at least three-quarters of the joint parliamentary oversight committee’s members. The Greens have indicated that they may be open to supporting this amendment unless the government agrees to allow the NACC’s parliamentary oversight committee to be chaired by a non-government MP.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Public hearing test strikes right balance

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-22

The Greens have confirmed that they will support legislation to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission. However, Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather and other crossbenchers have urged the federal government to lower the threshold for public hearings of the NACC. As it stands, the NACC bill requires hearings to be held in private unless there are "exceptional circumstances". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the exceptional circumstances test, arguing that it strikes a balance between the benefits of public hearings and the potential negative impacts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Freeze rents or we’ll block Labor housing bill: Greens

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Original article by Geoff Carmody
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Oct-22

Legislation to establish the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund will be put before parliament after the Budget is handed down on 25 October. Investment returns from the fund will be used to build 30,000 new social and affordable homes over the first five years. However, the Greens contend that this will not be sufficient to meet the nation’s housing needs, and will seek a number of concessions in return for their support. They include a commitment to building 275,000 new public and affordable homes over five years and imposing a nationwide rent freeze for two years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS