Category: Australian News

The Albanese Government has delivered the largest ever investment in Olympic and Paralympic sports to help our brilliant athletes achieve glory on world stages.

A record $283 million in new money will flow to our elite athletes, coaches and support staff over the next two years in a historic show of support on the path to Brisbane 2032.

This investment represents a 50 per cent increase on the previous Government’s 2021- 2022 high performance funding.

It also represents a doubling of the investment the previous Government made for Paralympic athletes.

This new funding is in addition to our $102.8 million annual grant funding and brings the Government’s total high-performance investment to $489m over two years.

The funding package for Paralympians is the biggest ever, as the Albanese Government addresses systemic and structural barriers to performance for para athletes that had been ignored for too long.

The investment will be a major boost for Aussie spirits ahead of Paris next month, and will strengthen Australia’s hopes for gold at LA in 2028, Brisbane in 2032, Winter and Commonwealth Games events.

The funding will create more opportunities and better development pathways for high performance athletes to thrive while inspiring the next generation of Australians to be more active.

The historic investment includes:

• An increase of $17.6 million to the Direct Athlete Investment Support Grants (dAIS) program to address cost of living pressures for athletes.
• A major uplift in direct sport funding.
• Access to more domestic and international competitions to regularly compete against the world’s best in preparation for major sporting events.
• Extra training, well-being and preparation support, including access to world-leading coaches and performance support staff.

Investment in our Paralympic athletes and sports will more than double, with $54.9 million in additional funding – the biggest ever Paralympic spend by an Australian Government.

The funding increase will deliver better classification opportunities, access to fit-for-purpose training environments and specialised coaching and performance support.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“We’re cheering on all our athletes heading to Paris. We are so proud of them and my Government is backing Aussie athletes with record funding.”

Minister for Sport Anika Wells

“This is the biggest investment any government has made in our Olympic and Paralympic sports and will help athletes achieve glory on world stages.

“Today’s commitment brings the Albanese Government’s sport announcements in this Budget to $753.1m, including the $249.7 million investment to revitalise the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) campus in Canberra.

“We have also committed $200m to the Play Our Way fund, the biggest infrastructure program ever for women and girls sport, and invested more than $20m in the Netball World Cup and Women’s Asian Cup.

“We’re giving our future Olympic and Paralympic teams what they need to succeed with upgraded training facilities, the best coaching and support staff and cost-of-living assistance.

“We’ll all be cheering on the Green and Gold in a few weeks when Paris 24 begins and this funding again proves the Albanese Government is committed to sport – from playground to podium.”

Australian Olympic Committee President Ian Chesterman

“We have said many times that a successful home Games needs a successful home team, so this injection of funds at this time is fundamentally important to that outcome.

“The additional money direct to the sports is very good news while the lift in dAIS funding to cover more athletes is critical to giving them the confidence that they can focus on putting in the huge amount of work that is necessary to represent Australia on the international stage.

“It further builds on the investment in the AIS announced recently by Sports Minister Wells to again make that facility a hub of sporting excellence.

“The Prime Minister clearly gets what the Olympic sports do for this country so we thank him his commitment to helping our sports and our athletes.

“This funding increase is a very important start to help our athletes be their best, inspire the generations to come and to build a strong sports system to support them all.

“The AOC also welcomes the lift in Paralympic funding which will benefit the sports which run both Olympic and Paralympic programs.”

Paralympics Australia President Alison Creagh

“This new investment from the Federal Government will bring about monumental generational change for Para-sport in Australia.

“Paralympics Australia commends the Federal Government, in particular the Prime Minister and Federal Sports Minister, for their visionary leadership and for recognising the immense impact that this investment can deliver.

“Since 2000, Australia’s investment in Para-sport has fallen well behind many of our rivals, allowing them to catch up. This funding marks a much-needed reset, positioning Australia to regain its competitive edge in time for the Paralympic Games in 2028 and our Games at home in 2032.”

The Albanese Labor Government’s Homes for Australia plan is delivering an additional $1 billion across the country to get homes built sooner.

States and territories will today be paid $1 billion collectively through the Priority Works Stream of the Housing Support Program to turbocharge construction of new homes.

This investment adds to the $500 million already under the Housing Support Program to boost housing supply.

The additional $1 billion investment can be used by states and territories to build enabling infrastructure and amenities essential for new homes, such as roads, sewers, energy, water and community infrastructure, and for new social housing.

This is one of a range of measures designed to help achieve the ambitious national target of building 1.2 million new, well-located homes over the next 5 years.

It also forms part of the $32 billion in new housing initiatives we are delivering through our Homes for Australiaplan.

States and territories will be required to provide implementation plans for the Priority Work Stream by September 2024 that will outline the specific projects this funding will deliver.

The Government’s Budget last month also included:

• Training more tradies to build the homes Australia needs with 20,000 fee-free TAFE and pre-apprenticeship places for the construction industry.
• Working with the higher education sector on new regulation to require universities to increase student accommodation, taking pressure off the rental market.
• Increasing the Government’s line of credit to Housing Australia by $3 billion.
• Providing concessional finance for community housing providers and other charities, to support delivery of 40,000 social and affordable homes under the Housing Australia Future Fund and National Housing Accord.

The Albanese Labor Government has already delivered $2 billion to states and territories through the Social Housing Accelerator to deliver around 4,000 new social homes.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“This funding for every state and territory will help build more homes, more quickly, in more parts of our country.

“It will build the roads, energy and water we need for new homes.

“Because building more homes will make housing more affordable whether you’re building, renting or buying.”

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King

“Right now, our cities and towns need more homes, and we need the infrastructure that turns those homes into communities – and that’s what our government is funding.

“We are focused on constructing new homes, and supporting them with the infrastructure that delivers thriving communities, bringing down the cost of owning and renting a home and easing the cost of living.”

Minister for Housing and Homelessness Julie Collins

“Our Government is working with states and territories to help build more homes because this is the best way to address Australia’s housing challenges.

“We know we need the right infrastructure to get homes on the ground more quickly, which is exactly what this new funding will help deliver.

“This funding is just one part of our $32 billion Homes for Australia plan to help build 1.2 million homes across the country by the end of the decade.”

Funding paid by state and territory

State and territory	$1 billion Housing Support Program
New South Wales	$304.3 million
Victoria	$248.8 million
Queensland	$199.2 million
Western Australia	$105.3 million
South Australia	$67.4 million
Tasmania	$25 million
Northern Territory	$25 million
Australian Capital Territory	$25 million

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Higher Education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to new analysis by the National Tertiary Education Union’s (NTEU) which reveals wage theft is on track to exceed $380 million. 

Senator Mehreen Faruqi: 

“Sadly, the NTEU’s findings are no shock to any of us. Wage theft in universities is a systemic scourge that is harming staff across the country. 

“The fact that we have a university system where vice chancellor’s earn salaries exceeding $1 million a year while casual staff are robbed of hundreds of millions of dollars is obscene.

“Enough is enough. It is time for the government to fix the broken business model of the neoliberal university that only works off the back of casual and underpaid staff. This must end.

“The  government must take immediate and decisive action by requiring universities to set publicly available targets for increasing permanent employment. There should also be clearer reporting requirements with respect to employment statistics and improved rights of entry for trade unions.

“Critically, the Government must significantly increase funding for universities, and overhaul university governance to shift the balance of power from university management back to staff and students.”

The Greens have split a Government bill to ensure greater scrutiny of Labor’s plan for Build to Rent tax breaks and regulation of Buy Now, Pay Later schemes.

A Greens motion in the Senate today means the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024 will be divided into two separate bills which will both be considered by the Economics Committee.

There is little evidence that Build to Rent will do anything to increase rental affordability. This is because property developers aim to maximise profits and in Build to Rent properties that means ensuring rents continue to rise. Mirvac has boasted about charging rents 15 -20% above market rent on their build to rent projects. This form of gentrification drives up rents for everyone in the area. In Melbourne, a Build to Rent development saw tenants evicted and then the apartments relisted with a rent hike of $185 per week. 

The current ‘build to rent’ plan will see developers able to access tax concessions from the government if they build private rental apartments where 90% can be completely unaffordable, while the other 10% have to meet a weak definition of affordability. The bill stipulates that the lease period for the private rentals must be 3 years, but includes no provisions to cap rent increases or provide protections against unfair evictions.  

The bill currently stipulates only 50 of the apartments must be available to rent, which means a developer could sit on hundreds of vacant apartments while collecting the government tax handouts. 

The legislation currently has a requirement that 10% of the apartments are “affordable”. However, “affordable” is defined in the legislation as 74.9% of market rent, with income thresholds to follow in regulation. With the price of rents so high, for many even the 10% of “affordable” apartments will be unaffordable. 

Noting these concerns and the Senate inquiry process underway, the Greens have split the Bill and will seek to negotiate with the government in return for support in the Senate. With the Greens key negotiating asks to be announced in due course. 

Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim:

“By splitting the bill, we can give each part the attention it needs, especially the controversial Build to Rent tax breaks.”

“It will also mean we can make sure the regulation of BNPL is as robust as it needs to be.”

Greens Housing Spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather MP:

“The Greens will be announcing our demands on this bill in due course, but right now Labor’s plan boils down to giving tax handouts to property developers to build apartments almost no one will be able to afford, with no protections against unlimited rent increases. 

“What this bill proves is if Labor wanted it could impose rent caps on any developer receiving the tax handouts, but instead has chosen to allow developers to jack up the rent by as much as they want.

“Once again Labor is tinkering around the edges and announcing a policy that makes it look like they are doing something for renters, when in reality it is just a plan to give property developers more tax handouts. 

“Under this plan a developer could pocket government tax handouts, then jack up the rent by hundreds of dollars, evict tenants, and sit on hundreds of vacant apartments in an effort to further drive up market rent. 

“Tax handouts for property investors and developers helped create the housing crisis in the first place, so it is genuinely extraordinary that Labor is now proposing to give more tax handouts to property developers. 

“If Labor wanted to help renters they would coordinate a nationwide freeze and cap on rent increases, phase out the tax handouts for property investors denying millions of renters the chance to buy a home, and have the government start building rent capped apartments available to any renter that needs one.

“The Greens have a fully costed policy for a public property developer that would build 610,000 good quality homes for rent and purchase at prices people can actually afford. This would be a far better use of public money than more tax handouts for private property developers.”

With just days to go in the 2023-24 Financial Year, Labor has caved to Coalition pressure and the outcries of the small business community by passing measures that could have, and should have, been law last winter. This comes as the small business community and accountants have made clear that these delays will result in many businesses missing out on benefiting entirely come tax time.

Because of Labor’s legislative stuff up, Australian small businesses have had to contend with uncertainty around small business tax supports as insolvencies skyrocket. Labor failed to prioritise the passage of the Instant Asset Write Off and Small Business Smart Energy Incentive through the Parliament and blocked amendments for a bigger tax cut to small businesses.

In its handling of this Bill, Labor has delayed the passage of the Instant Asset Write Off legislation by months, and voted eight times against more generous tax cuts to small businesses. If elected, the Coalition will make the Instant Asset Write Off permanent to end the uncertainty and ensure small businesses pay lower, simpler, fairer taxes.

Incredibly, the Albanese Government’s much vaunted Small Business Smart Energy Incentive will only be legislated in time for three full business days before the End of Financial Year. Leading accounting body, CPA Australia, has said:

“likely the only businesses who will ultimately benefit from the measure will be those who coincidentally happened to make upgrades this year, rather than those who were incentivised to do so because of the scheme”

The Small Business Smart Energy Incentive was designed to give a tax break worth up to $20,000 to support electrification and more efficient use of energy, helping businesses save money on energy bills by electrifying their heating and cooling systems, upgrading to more efficient fridges and induction cooktops, and installing batteries and heat pumps. Purchases need to be made and installed in the 2023-24 financial year and the measure will not be extended to 2024-25 and ends on 30 June.

Deputy Leader Sussan Ley condemned the Albanese Government for failing to deliver certainty for small businesses.

“Thousands of businesses that survived a once in a century pandemic under the Coalition are going to the wall because of the economic crisis created by the Albanese Government – and now we see that even the meagre support which Labor did put on the table ranked at the very bottom of their priorities.

“I think Australians who support stronger environmental policies, including the Crossbench, would be shocked to learn hundreds of thousands of small businesses will have missed out on using this electrification incentive because of Labor’s delays.”

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the delay on this legislation is another example of the mess Labor’s made of the energy system.

“Small businesses are the engine room of our economy but they’re being smashed by Labor’s high prices, bad workplace laws, and high energy bills.

“Labor cut vital programs to support small businesses to bring down their bills when they came to office, and Labor’s delay on passing this Bill leaves struggling businesses in manufacturing, hospitality, and tourism without support to invest in bringing down their power bills.

“Affordable, reliable energy is the key to a low inflation, strong growth economy. There is no future made in Australia without affordable energy. Instead, struggling businesses are facing electricity and gas prices that have risen by 18 per cent and 25 per cent since Labor came to office.

“All Labor has delivered for small businesses is a homegrown cost of doing business crisis. Only a Peter Dutton Coalition government will deliver the strong back-to-basics economic leadership to get Australia back on track.”

The Instant Asset Write Off will be a clear contrast at the election. The Coalition has committed to raising it to $30,000 and making it permanent, whereas Small Business Minister Julie Collins has ruled out Labor raising it or ensuring it is an ongoing tax support for small businesses.

Today’s monthly inflation data shows Labor’s “carefully calibrated” economic plan is failing Australians.

With headline inflation rising to 4.0% and core inflation – the RBA’s preferred measure – rose to 4.4%, Australian families and small businesses will be bracing for even more economic pain than they have already endured.

No matter how the government tries to spin this, there is no doubt from today’s data that this is Labor’s homegrown inflation crisis with domestic inflation hitting 5.2%.

Australia is at the back of the pack due to this homegrown inflation. Under Labor, Australia’s core inflation is increasing, and higher than every country in the G10, including US, UK, Euro area and Canada who have seen inflation moderating.

This is the result of a government that has spent the last two years completely distracted, with the wrong priorities and absolutely no interest in the economic prosperity of our country.

Over the last two years of Labor the prices for everyday essentials have risen:

• Food 11.4%
• Housing 14.0%
• Rents 14.2%
• Electricity 21.5%
• Gas 22.2%
• Health 11.1%
• Education 10.9%
• Financial and insurance services 16.2%

Instead of showing true economic leadership, the Albanese Labor Government continues to fail Australian families and small businesses.

Australia is in an entrenched household, consumer confidence and productivity recession, with no plan from Labor to fix the situation.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said today’s inflation data is shocking but not surprising.

“This is what happens when you have a big spending Labor government that’s completely out of touch with the economic reality.

“We’ve now had four months in a row of accelerating core inflation. This will no doubt be of concern to the independent Reserve Bank.

“Despite households and business owners doing everything they can to manage their budgets and make ends meet, they are constantly being let down by a weak Prime Minister and a weak Treasurer who have no idea when it comes to the economy.

“The Albanese Labor Government’s economic plan is failing.

“Australians can’t afford more of Labor.”

Australian citizen, Mr Julian Assange, has tonight been reunited with his family in Australia.

His return to Australia is possible due to the conclusion of a plea arrangement between Mr Assange and the United States Department of Justice, which was accepted by a United States court in Saipan on Wednesday 26 June.

This ends a long-running judicial process.

The Australian Government has been clear in its view that Mr Assange’s case had dragged on for too long.

We have, on every occasion and at every level, consistently advocated for Mr Assange’s case to be brought to a conclusion and for Mr Assange to come home.

Australian officials, in particular Ambassador Kevin Rudd and High Commissioner Stephen Smith, have worked closely with US and UK officials in support of these efforts and to enable his smooth return to Australia.

Tonight, we express our appreciation to the United States and the United Kingdom, for their efforts to find a pathway that met the interests of all parties.

As Mr Assange reunites with his loved ones in Australia, we ask that media respect his family’s privacy.

After securing amendments to the government’s Financial Market Infrastructure Bill to require large Australian companies to report against both 1.5 degree and catastrophic warming scenarios the Greens will support the legislation.

The changes to the Bill will also mean the Parliament retains oversight of ASX ownership and not just leave this decision solely with the Treasurer of the day.

The 1.5 degree scenario will test a company’s transition risk, where companies are too slow to respond to the transition, with quickly changing markets and government policy leaving a company’s assets or business model stranded.

The 2.5 degrees or more of warming scenario will test physical risk, which is the damage inflicted by natural disasters turbocharged by coal, oil and gas heating up our planet.

A company or super fund will have to examine how their business or their assets will be affected in a warmed world. For instance if critical public infrastructure they use to get their goods or services to market is destroyed or rendered inoperable.

The existing oversight of the Parliament to disallow a Treasurer’s approval where a company takes an ownership stake greater than 20% of the Australian Stock Exchange Ltd will remain in place.

Senator Nick McKim

“The planet is currently on track for a terrifying 2.5 to 3 degrees of warming by the turn of the century, so requiring companies to test how their businesses will cope in this transformed world will lead to better decision-making and planning.

Better climate risk reporting means investors are better informed and empowered to support climate-smart businesses and pull their money out of companies which have no future in a zero emissions economy. 

As the Liberal and Labor parties commit to expanding coal and gas and making the climate crisis worse, these amendments will focus the minds of company boards on how to deal with the consequences of these decisions by the government and their coal and gas donors.

Getting these stress-tests into legislation means a future climate-denying government can’t unwind these requirements in a radioactive pursuit of cutting red tape.”

In breaking news this morning, Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department of Justice which means he can walk from his prison cell and return home to Australia to be with his family.

The price Julian Assange has paid for telling the truth about the United States military, war and power has been extreme, and the world is thankful for the courage he has shown for so long. 

Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said: 

“I along with millions of Australians are looking forward to welcoming Julian back home where he belongs with his family and his friends. 

“To those around Australia and the the world who have said #FreeAssange, thank you. This would not have happened without sustained pressure from millions of people who support truth telling. 

“To Julian who told the truth and did it knowing he would face a global attack, we are immensely grateful.

“Let’s be clear, Julian Assange should never have been charged with espionage in the first place or had to make this deal. 

“Julian Assange has spent years in jail for the crime of showing the world the horrors of the US war in Iraq and the complicity of governments like Australia and that is why he has been punished.

“We should take a moment to reflect on what this one person has faced, years in solitary confinement, years lost with his family and years of holding to his convictions in the face of impossible pressure.

“Whistleblowers like Julian continue to pay an unfair price for telling the world the unethical and criminal actions of Governments. 

“On this day we again commit to fixing whistleblower laws in Australia and supporting truth telling across the globe,” Senator Shoebridge said. 

Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said:

“This has been a hard fought battle and although justice has not been served today is a day to celebrate that Assange is finally coming home. 

“The persecution of Julian Assange has shone a light on a broken legal system, one in which an innocent man must plead guilty to be free. 

“We should never forget why Julian was targeted by the US for over a decade: for telling an awful, inconvenient truth about war crimes. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should warn Labor members of Parliament that juvenile attacks on the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy could undermine confidence in Australia’s AUKUS nuclear submarine program.

Shadow Attorney-General Senator Michaelia Cash said a social media post by Labor front bencher Andrew Leigh, depicting cartoon character Blinky Bill with three eyes, was a disgraceful example of misinformation likely to undermine confidence in AUKUS.

The post said: “Is this what Peter Dutton wants Blinky to look like in 50 years?”

“This sort of juvenile undergraduate attempt at humour should not be laughed off by the Prime Minister,’’ Senator Cash said.

“Labor has fully supported the AUKUS nuclear submarine program and Mr Albanese should come out and confirm to navy personnel that nuclear submarines will be safe for them to operate,’’ she said.

“As Western Australia will host the submarine program, including storage of waste, Mr Albanese should assure all Western Australians nuclear technology is safe,’’ she said.

“Mr Albanese should pull his front bench and all Labor MPs into line and tell them not to make such attacks,’’ Senator Cash said.

“Andrew Leigh is an assistant minister and should know better. He should immediately apologise and remove the juvenile post from his social media,’’ she said.

“Nuclear is one of the safest forms of energy generation. It’s roughly on par with solar power, and even safer than wind and hydro power,’’ Senator Cash said.

“The technology is safe enough for Australian Defence Force personnel who will shortly be operating nuclear propelled submarines under the AUKUS agreement,’’ she said.

“Australians are smart enough to work out that this type of attack is pure misinformation being pedalled by a Labor Government which has no legitimate objections to nuclear energy,’’ Senator Cash said.