Independents criticise all-round electricity rebate
Paul Karp
On Tuesday evening the independent senator Jacqui Lambie told ABC TV that just as she is “not comfortable with people like myself and the super rich out there that got a $4,500 tax cut”, she disapproves of the $300 going to every household.
Are we back in Covid days? We’re just chucking money, left, right and centre. You’re too lazy to do some means testing. We don’t need $300, I can assure you.
The independent senator David Pocock said Australia would “be much smarter as a country investing in household electrification where households could be saving $2,000 to $5,000 every year going forward”.
While the opposition will help pass cost-of-living measures, the Coalition has signalled a fight on the 10-year $23bn Future Made in Australia plan, rejecting its $13.7bn in production tax incentives for green hydrogen and processed critical minerals as a “handout to billionaires”.
Dutton said the Coalition “don’t support it”.
I just think people like Clive Palmer and Twiggy Forest and others … are great business people, they know how to milk a pretty weak government – and I think that’s what they’re doing at the moment.”
Those projects should be able to stand along and we support them – but now with taxpayers money, splashing billions of dollars.
Dutton will deliver his budget reply on Thursday evening, but refused to say if he is ready to release the Coalition’s delayed nuclear energy policy, which would likely require significant taxpayer support to establish civilian nuclear energy in Australia.
Dutton also criticised the “unprecedented” level of immigration with “1.67m people coming in over a five-year period” at a time of “11-year lows in building starts”. In April Guardian Australia revealed the Coalition is working on a policy to link the net migration rate to housing construction.
Key events
The budget reaction continues to roll in:
The Greens will officially be standing against the government’s proposed biosecurity levy bill.
Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said while the Greens support the spirit of what the legislation is attempting to do, it shouldn’t be farmers who have to pay
The Greens support significant and new biosecurity funding that ensures Australia has robust threat abatement measures in place to safeguard our communities, the environment and industry into the future – and we congratulate the Agricultural Minister for raising significant additional revenue from some key biosecurity risk creators.
But the bill the government flagged for parliament to specifically tax farmers in this regard is poor policy in both principle and design and should be rejected.
The fact this new proposed levy has zero buy-in from the agricultural sector speaks for itself – consultation on it was rushed and inadequate.
He said the Greens will work with the government to find a solution, but believe the $50m the government wants the levy to raise in order to boost biosecurity measures at the border “it should look elsewhere”.
To put things in perspective, if Labor accepted the Greens’ offer on doubling the tax on gas corporations to pass the government’s PRRT changes, we would raise $500m a year, ten times the annual amount Labor is seeking from farmers.
Labor doesn’t have the guts to tax the fossil fuel corporations posting billions in profit to fund their policies and instead is looking to farmers to foot the bill.
Benita Kolovos
Caulfield MP, David Southwick, has welcomed what he says is a ban on wearing keffiyeh in parliament (we are seeking confirmation from the speaker’s office).
Southwick, who is Jewish,says seeing the scarf was “triggering” for him:
We do not need political activists playing games in parliament, it’s not a peace sign.
Benita Kolovos
(continued from previous post)
Following the ruling, Sandell issued a statement saying Victoria’s parliament was one of the only parliaments in the world to ban the keffiyeh.
She said the Greens wear the keffiyeh “ in solidarity with the countless Palestinians under siege right now”:
In the midst of a potential genocide our government should be joining the millions of people around the world calling for a permanent ceasefire. Instead Victorian Labor has secret relationships with the Israeli Ministry of Defence and Elbit Systems – Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. And today the Victorian parliament becomes one of the only parliaments in the world to ban the wearing of the keffiyeh in the chamber.
Benita Kolovos
Victoria’s speaker, Maree Edwards, has told Greens MPs they are not allowed to wear the keffiyeh in parliament.
Asked by Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, why last week she ruled that an MP had to take it off, Edwards replied that. “political paraphernalia” are “not permitted in this house”.
When pressed by Sandell why the keffiyeh – a traditional piece of clothing that is linked to the Palestinian resistance movement – was being treated differently to other “cultural and religious clothing”, Edwards told Sandell the house was “not the appropriate forum” for the discussion.
She suggested they meet in her office.
Mike Hytner
Steven Bradbury awarded for bravery after rescuing teen swimmers
Steven Bradbury, who made a name for himself by being in the right place at the right time, has been presented with a bravery award by the Queensland governor, Jeanette Young, after he rescued four teenagers from rough seas at Caloundra last year.
The former speed skater was giving a surfing lesson to his son when he spotted a teenage girl in trouble in March 2023. He sent his son to get help from lifeguards before paddling out to retrieve the young woman and then heading back out to assist three more teenagers.
AOC president Ian Chesterman said:
The fact that Steven acted quickly, calmly and with such courage is so impressive. He richly deserves this recognition. We have always admired Steven for the way he has made history on the ice, but his actions last year reflect an incredible achievement – saving four young lives. I know he has talked about going into ‘Olympic mode’ as the emergency required decisive action. He always had amazing courage as an athlete and it has served him well here.”
The award is the second he has received for his quick thinking and bravery – he has also been commended by Governor General David Hurley in the Australian Bravery Decorations.
Bradbury won an unlikely gold at the Salt Lake Winter Olympics in 2002 – Australia’s first gold medal at a Winter Games – when he came from behind to take advantage of several crashes ahead of him to cross the line first, giving rise to the term ‘doing a Bradbury’.
Melissa Davey
Budget ‘a step backward’ for suicide prevention
The national peak body for the suicide prevention sector, Suicide Prevention Australia, says the budget has left the sector “stunned and concerned with the revelation that the newly formed National Suicide Prevention Office is set to be absorbed into the machinery of government”.
In a statement, the organisation said this “signals a step backward for suicide prevention efforts in Australia at a time when we know Australians are doing it tough amidst a cost-of-living crisis”.
While the Suicide Prevention Australia CEO, Nieves Murray, welcomed the cost-of-living relief measures including energy bill relief, an increase in commonwealth rental assistance for those on low incomes, a medicines cost freeze and changes to the indexation on student loans, she has concerns.
Murray said:
A clear omission in the budget is direct investment into crisis support services to manage the distress already being felt in our local communities.
We also cautiously welcome the establishment of a national low intensity digital mental health service that is free of charge and free of need for referral. More still needs to be done to sufficiently grow and strengthen the suicide prevention peer workforce.
Groups that are disproportionally impacted by suicide received some measures but LGBTIQA+ communities were not adequately addressed in this year’s budget.
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To get help 24/7, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 or the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007. If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, phone 000 for emergency services.
Josh Taylor
eSafety v Musk’s X battle over church attack footage set for July hearing
The federal court hearing between X and the eSafety commissioner over whether Elon Musk’s platform must remove 65 tweets containing the stabbing attack at the Wakeley church last month will be heard in late July.
At a case management hearing on Wednesday, barrister for the eSafety commissioner, Christopher Tran, said the eSafety commissioner needed time to consider the interlocutory ruling made on Monday which found that eSafety would not succeed in extending the block on the tweets globally.
Justice Geoffrey Kennett found that it could affect international relations and would potentially be ignored or disparaged by other countries.
Tran indicated that the AAT case X has launched to review the eSafety decision to order the removal could also affect the federal court case. He said if the AAT sets aside the decision, for example, it would “pull the rug” on the federal court case, while if it ruled in favour of eSafety it would raise questions on whether X could challenge the validity of the notice.
X had pushed for a tighter timeline, arguing that every day the company was not in compliance with the order it was a daily fine of up to A$785,000. Tran however, indicated that it is for the court to determine the civil penalties if eSafety wins, and the court would likely take into account that X had defended the litigation and would likely not penalise the company for doing so.
The hearing has been set down for two days on 25 and 26 July.
Here is some more from Mike Bowers’ very busy morning:
Caitlin Cassidy
Universities welcome budget’s R&D support
Tertiary bodies have backed a strategic examination into the Research and Development (R&D) sector announced in the budget as a “once in a generation opportunity”, while urging the federal government to ramp up funding that has languished for years.
The budget also flags the establishment of an Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) as a steward of the tertiary education system. Both measures were recommended in the Universities Accord final report, handed down earlier this year.
Chief executive of the Group of Eight (Go8), Vicki Thomson said the budget had “rightly focused” on cost of living relief for students, however long term investment in R&D was needed to underpin Australia’s future prosperity.
The long-term legacy of this budget, this government and its Future Made in Australia initiative will be how it delivers on the challenges in Australia’s higher education and research systems.
The Universities Accord has laid bare the structural deficiencies of research funding … this includes a significant reliance on international student fees to subsidise government investment in research that still leaves Australia’s national investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP less than half that of the US.
The Australian Academy of Science president Chennupati Jagadish said the strategic examination was a welcome acknowledgement that a strong nation couldn’t be built with a stagnant R&D system.
It is a necessary precursor to the creation of a strategic roadmap that can direct R&D and reverse the 14-year decline in investment that has left
Australia … uncompetitive and ill-equipped to meet our national ambitions.
The examination is … a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create the necessary conditions for science and research to maximise its contribution to our national prosperity.
(Continued from previous post)
A different program producer from the blushing senior producer telling the prime minister the debt isn’t real because the world is ending and countries around the world all know it, so it doesn’t matter. “The debt won’t exist when the world’s done anyway”
Albanese not planning for the end of the world.
That producer not being added to the expenditure review committee (the budget razor gang that decides what is and isn’t in the budget)
Albanese ordering ‘all your little people under you’ (presumably the RBA?) to keep interest rates the same.
Albanese saying it doesn’t work like that.
Albanese being told he is the “big dog” and should just make it happen.
Albanese singing the Hawthorn team song with the team after their win on the weekend.
Hawthorn v the Saints.
AFL
Brendan Fevola (one of the hosts) kicking for charity
How good is the budget
PM ramps up the spruiking on FM
Anthony Albanese has continued his FM radio blitz (it is a strategy Bill Shorten’s team started, Scott Morrison’s team attempted and Albanese’s team have embraced, on how to get the message out to people who don’t usually think too much about politics, while not having to endure any pesky, annoying political questions).
Albanese has ramped up the strategy more than his predecessors – he went to Kyle Sandilands wedding, and hosted WA FM radio hosts at the Lodge for dinner.
First up this morning was Melbourne radio Fox FM, where the topics covered were:
The program’s senior producer being a “fan” of Albanese.
The program’s senior producer being “a bit of a nerdburger” (host comment, not Albaneses)
The program’s senior producer blushing
The tax cuts and energy rebate
Future Made In Australia
Just wiping Australia’s debt away.
Albanese: Just to get rid of it all?
Host: Yeah, but the money is not like it’s, where did you, who do you borrow it off? Like the Commonwealth Bank? Like where is it?
Albanese: No, no, it is borrowed and you do have to pay interest on it.
Host: Can’t the Government just wipe it? Hey, let’s just go start fresh.
Albanese: It doesn’t quite work that way.
Being a sensible government.
(Continued in next post)
Benita Kolovos
Victorian government gives budget thumbs up
Victoria’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, has welcomed the federal budget and says he’s confident it won’t cause inflationary issues. He told reporters outside parliament:
I’ve congratulated federal treasurer on his budget. He’s tried to thread a pretty fine needle really. First and foremost it’s great to see commonwealth providing assistance to families
… I think it will have the desired effect of helping families but not peaking inflation. I also recognise the enormous work that the commonwealth have done in working with the states around national partnerships – this will still need to continue. It’s far from clear exactly how those national partnerships play out.
On infrastructure, he says with $5bn in new funding it’s an improvement on previous budgets:
If we look at it this way, $5bn of new [funding] to Victoria, out of $16.5bn worth of new announcements for the federation. So we come in about 30% of national new announced allocations. That’s a dramatic improvement in the past it’s a heck of a lot better than the 1% I was going on about when the mid year financial update came out.
Caitlin Cassidy
Budget money to combat sexual assault at universities welcomed
The founder of End Rape on Campus (Eroc), Sharna Bremner, has been crying happy tears after the announcement in the budget of $38m towards a student ombudsman and higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence at universities.
I cried. Again. A lot,” she posted on X last night.
The measures were recommended in a report commissioned by the federal government to address student safety concerns. Eroc Australia and Fair Agenda, national advocates on sexual violence, have been campaigning for the recommendations in the action plan for years.
In a post on X, Eroc said student victim survivors had led the fight, while the budget signalled “just how seriously the government is taking this issue”.
Mike Bowers has been up at sparrows to capture the media carousel, and also found Jim Chalmers sneaking up behind Anthony Albanese this morning:
Caitlin Cassidy
Student union lauds budget move on services fee
The federal government has been praised by the National Union of Students (NUS) for mandating that universities pass on 40% of the student services and amenities fee (SSAF) to student organisations in the budget.
The SSAF is a fee students pay each semester that was introduced by the federal government to fund non-academic services and supports at universities, set at around $175.
Currently, while universities are required to consult with student representatives about the distribution of SSAF revenue, they decide where it is allocated, and around six in 10 give less than 40% to student organisations, including student associations, unions and guilds.
NUS president Ngaire Bogemann said student organisations had been plugging the “gaping service provision hole” left by the federal government.
This will help the many student unions, guilds and associations across the country provide higher education students with the targeted advocacy, mental health and cost-of-living relief services they so desperately need.”