POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Labor canvasses capping stage three tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Oct-22

The federal government has ruled out scrapping the stage-three income tax cuts that are slated to take effect in mid-2024, although it may be open to scaling them back. The Greens and the majority of independents in the Senate favour winding back the tax cuts, which will primarily benefit people on higher incomes. Labor could potentially announce any change in its stance on the legislated tax cuts in the Budget on 25 October. The British government has reversed its decision to abolish the nation’s top tax rate, and the Greens have urged Labor to follow its example.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Dutton presses button on the nuclear debate

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 5 : 3-Aug-22

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the energy crisis has demonstrated the need for more dispatchable power in the electricity grid. He adds that the nation must have an honest and informed debate on the benefits and costs of nuclear energy. Dutton has advised that the Coalition will hold an internal party review on the issue of nuclear energy; he says it is mature, proven technology that can provide reliable, emissions-free, base-load electricity. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable has welcomed the Coalition’s commitment to looking at the option of nuclear energy, but Energy Minister Chris Bowen contends that more renewable energy is the solution to rising power prices.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Climate change bill set to pass

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-Aug-22

The federal government’s climate bill may be put to a vote in the House of ­Representatives as early as ­Wednesday. The bill to enshrine a 43 per cent per cent emissions reduction target in law is expected to be passed after the Greens and teal independents pushed for amendments that are likely to be accepted by Labor. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has indicated that the Coalition will review its emissions reduction targets ahead of the next election. The Senate is likely to vote on the climate bill in September, with the government requiring the support of the Greens and at least one crossbencher.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Albanese calls Greens’ bluff on emissions target

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 17-Jun-22

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has formally informed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that Labor intends to cut carbon emissions by 43 per cent over 2005 levels by 2030. He says legislation to implement that target will be introduced when Parliament resumes on 26 July, along with a target of net zero emissions by 2050. Albanese will need the support of the Greens to get his legislation through the Senate, as the Coalition opposes legislated targets. Albanese has ruled out negotiating a higher target with the Greens, claiming that business groups deserve investment certainty after more than a decade of "dysfunction".

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

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.

CORPORATES
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Nationals brawl over hydrogen

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 27-Apr-22

The federal government has committed more than $1bn to the development of hydrogen hubs as part of its net-zero emissions strategy. However, National Party senator Matt Canavan says energy policy should focus on building new coal-fired power stations rather than hydrogen hubs, arguing that Australia needs a reliable energy supply now. Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has defended Canavan’s stance on coal but says that unlike Labor, the Coalition’s policies will allow the nation to have both a coal and hydrogen industry. Joyce has rejected Canavan’s call for Australia to put its net zero strategy on hold.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Stealth carbon tax warning

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 27-Apr-22

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stressed that the federal government is fully committed to its net-zero emissions target of 2050, after Nationals senator Matt Canavan claimed that other countries are abandoning the this target. Meanwhile, Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn claims that Labor’s proposed changes to the government’s safeguard mechanism for large industrial emitters constitutes a "carbon tax by stealth". Labor has confirmed that coal mines will be included in a revised safeguard mechanism if it wins the federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor defends agricultural visa scheme as farmers brace for minimum wage rise

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Original article by Natasha May
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 27-Apr-22

Labor will make changes to the federal government’s Pacific Australia Labor Mobility scheme if it wins the 21 May election. It will introduce a Pacific Engagement Visa for agricultural workers from the Pacific Islands, which will offer a pathway to permanent residency. Meanwhile, a minimum wage for horticultural workers will take effect from Thursday; Daniel Walton of the Australian Workers’ Union describes it as a "momentous shift" for fruit pickers, saying they have been "routinely and systemically exploited and underpaid" under the piece rate system.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES

Labor to regulate buy now, pay later

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 19 : 27-Apr-22

Shadow financial services minister Stephen Jones has flagged greater regulation of the ‘buy now, pay later’ sector if Labor wins the federal election. Jones says the BNPL sector is operating in an "ambiguous" regulatory space, and he contends that it requires some degree of regulation as it is directly competing with credit providers. He has also indicated that Labor will take action to halt a sharp decline in the number of financial advisers, with many leaving the industry in recent years due to federal government reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor mulls broader emissions safeguard

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 8-Nov-21

Labor is still working on its climate policy in the lead-up to the next federal election, with shadow climate change minister Chris Bowen confirming that it will not include a climate tax or emissions trading scheme. Bowen has indicated that Labor will consider an expansion of the federal government’s ‘safeguard mechanism’, which requires large emitters to cut their carbon pollution. However, some Labor MPs are said to be wary of embracing the safeguard mechanism, due to concerns that it could make Labor vulnerable to a carbon tax-style scare campaign.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY