Category: Australian News

Today I announce that the 2023 recipients of the Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award are Sarah Dingle of Australia and Yunita Tandililing of Indonesia.

Ms Dingle is a Senior Reporter of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National Breakfast program and a dual Walkley Award winner. Ms Tandililing is a Lead Producer at Kompas TV with over 15 years’ experience in broadcast media.

The award will support Ms Dingle and Ms Tandililing to spend two weeks in Indonesia and Australia respectively. Both journalists will engage in specialised programs to deepen their understanding of contemporary issues in each country.

The Elizabeth O’Neill Award is an initiative of the Australia-Indonesia Institute, which fosters links between Australia and Indonesia by increasing cultural awareness, cooperation and mutual understanding.

The Award commemorates the distinguished career of Elizabeth O’Neill OAM, who died in the service of her country in Indonesia on 7 March 2007. It continues the legacy of Ms O’Neill, who worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and was passionate about fostering mutual understanding of Australia and Indonesia through informed media coverage.

The Award is open to high-achieving journalists from print, radio, television and online media organisations across Australia and Indonesia.

Australia’s recently announced 2023 federal budget has raised serious concerns about its impact on the average Australian household. One of the most pressing issues is the mounting government debt, which directly affects the country’s inflation and interest rates. As government debt rises, Australians are starting to feel the pinch. The removal of the middle and low-income tax offset means hard-working individuals will face a significant tax increase at a time when they are already struggling (1).

The surging government debt has ballooned from 4.7% of GDP in 2008 to a staggering 42.5% of GDP in 2021 (2). This alarming increase in debt has a direct impact on mortgage rates, burdening Australian citizens further. While some argue that immigration can help bolster the budget, One Nation opposes using this strategy as it leads to higher rents and mortgage repayments for Australians  (3). Instead, the party advocates for expanding the mining sector to generate revenue for vital services such as schools, hospitals, and infrastructure.

The budget surplus projected by the Labor Party is partly based on increased revenue from various sources, including high commodity prices, employment rates, immigration, corporate taxes, higher wages, and inflation. (4). However, the rising popularity of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) poses concerns. Advocates of MMT claim that government debt is not an issue since the government can print its own money. Historical evidence, however, shows that printing money to finance government expenses leads to hyperinflation and a decrease in the value of citizens’ savings and assets (5). One Nation’s economic plan aims to halt the practice of printing money to support the Australian economy.

In addition to debt and monetary policy concerns, the budget includes wasteful spending on unnecessary projects. Economists have labelled the budget as a “stimulus” budget, which will pressure interest rates (1). One significant expenditure is the Voice referendum, which has been criticized for its high cost and unnecessary divisiveness. Taxpayers will have to bear the burden of over 400 million dollars for a referendum that could have been allocated to more pressing needs (2).

Furthermore, the budget’s lack of funding for vital infrastructure projects is disappointing. Instead, the Treasurer has announced a 3-month review into infrastructure spending, raising concerns that essential projects may be scrapped. This uncertainty risks Queenslanders missing out on crucial infrastructure development. (3).

During parliamentary sessions, Senator Pauline Hanson brought attention to a notable discrepancy in the budget. While there is an allocation of 326.7 million dollars for women’s safety, there is no corresponding support or funding for male victims of domestic and family violence. This omission raises questions about the government’s commitment to addressing domestic violence comprehensively. (4)

Successive governments have been reckless with taxpayers’ hard-earned income. Australia must carefully consider the ramifications of mounting debt, inadequate infrastructure spending, and inflation on everyday Australians. Responsible management of these economic challenges is crucial for the nation’s long-term prosperity.

Sources:

7News, 10/05/2023

Institute of Public Affairs

ABC News, 03/04/2023

Financial Review, 09/05/2023

Forbes Advisor, 18/03/2023

Labor’s second Budget is a betrayal of the people promised that no one would be left behind. It makes bad choices that put a surplus ahead of supporting people in poverty, while the wealthy and big corporations continue to win big.

During a worsening cost of living crisis, the government is continuing with $254 billion in unfair Stage 3 Tax Cuts over ten years. Over the forward estimates, they’re giving $16.7b in handouts for wealthy property moguls, and $41 billion in fossil fuel subsidies. These tower over Labor’s $14.6 billion spend for people doing it tough.

Cost of living measures in the budget don’t address the scale of the rental, housing and poverty crises the country is facing. Jobseekers will see only $2.85 more a day, and the increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance is as little as $1.12 a day. Capital city rent increases last year were ten times the increase in rent assistance. There is no new money directly invested in building new social and affordable housing.

Although the Treasurer’s speech didn’t mention climate change, pressure from Greens in the balance of power means there is more funding for climate, but Labor will spend more on fossil fuel subsidies than they’re spending on climate change. Meanwhile, the budget cuts $74.3 billion from the NDIS across the next ten years.

While Labor has described their budget as the result of ‘hard choices’, they’re just pushing the hard choices onto people doing it tough.

These bad choices have been made in the context of a $4.2bn surplus, which shows the government has more to spend, but has decided instead to withhold support, such as for single parents with 14 or 15-year-old children, buying a surplus off the back of everyone they have chosen to leave in poverty.

The Greens welcome more than $1.6bn on household and business electrification. It was secured as part of the Party’s negotiations on December’s energy price legislation last year.

Adam Bandt MP, Leader of the Australian Greens said:

“Labor’s Budget leaves millions behind, leaving people in poverty while billionaires get tax cuts,” Mr Bandt said.

“With a quarter of a trillion dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy, Labor’s Budget is a betrayal of renters, young people, and jobseekers. 

“Food bank queues are growing and renters are skipping meals, but Labor’s giving $3.97 a day to a jobseeker getting rent assistance while giving a $9,000 a year tax cut to politicians and billionaires.

“Rent assistance is going up by just as little as $1.12 a day while rents in capital cities go up ten times faster, and 5.5 million renters get nothing at all. There’s no new money directly invested in building public or affordable housing.

“Under Labor, the Budget’s in surplus but people are living in cars and tents. Every dollar of surplus is a dollar not spent lifting people out of poverty. 

“This year, Labor’s making more from rising student debt than they are from changes to their gas tax. Millions of people have been left in poverty while big corporations making record profits win big. 

“Labor hasn’t made tough choices, they’ve made bad choices, spending $254 billion on tax cuts for politicians and billionaires while 1 in 6 children live in poverty. 

“When Budget legislation hits the Parliament, the Greens will push to make the big corporations pay more tax to fund a freeze on rent increases and lift people out of poverty. 

“The Greens have secured changes that make up more than a third of new climate spending, with a $2b package to help households, businesses and public housing get off gas. However, Labor’s still spending $41.4 billion on fossil fuel subsidies, more than the $29.5b climate spend.

“Voters elected this parliament to act on climate and the cost of living. If Labor worked together with the Greens we could immediately stop all new coal and gas, lift people out of poverty, freeze rent increases and wipe student debt.”

Senator Nick McKim, Greens Treasury Spokesperson said:

“This is a budget that delivers for property moguls and the already super wealthy. Under Labor the problems we are facing will get worse. It’s more than disappointing. It’s a betrayal.

“A surplus shows that the government is underinvesting at a time when people desperately need cost of living support. It’s nothing to be proud of – every cent of surplus is unspent money that should be going into the pockets of people who need it.

“There’s a few extra hundreds and thousands on top, but this is the same cake we’ve been told to eat for the last decade. Time and time again they’re making the wrong calls.

“Labor is giving $16.7 billion to wealthy property investors over the next 4 years, while telling renters to suck it up on as little as $1.12 a day.

“Across the next four years, Anthony Albanese is giving four times more tax cuts to the country’s richest people than he’s giving in support to people doing it tough.

“They’re spending almost 500 times more on fossil fuel subsidies than they are on the National Transition Authority.

“All of these decisions are framed by a surplus that shows the government could spend more, but has chosen not to. 

“Jim Chalmers may be able to take the ‘Back In Black’ mug off the Liberals, but to do that, he’s chosen to leave JobSeekers in poverty, forcing them to make impossible choices to survive. A surplus doesn’t mean shit for someone living on $52 a day.”

Senator Barbara Pocock, Greens Finance Spokesperson said:

“This is yet another budget that locks in decades of bad spending, while giving measly one-off concessions to the people who were counting on Labor for help. 

“We saw reports over the weekend that Labor has been scrambling to spend $20 billion so the surplus didn’t look ludicrously large. What does that say to people living below the poverty line, and to everyone stuck on a waiting list for housing, that the government decided that their survival wasn’t important enough?

“The greatest act of kindness in the budget, Labor’s change to single parenting payments, doesn’t even completely reverse Gillard’s act of cruelty by forcing so many single mums onto JobSeeker. Around 15,000 single parents with 14 and 15 year old kids will be left behind.

“Labor may have given up on ‘no one left behind’, but we haven’t. We will fight to make sure this budget does what every government should: give people what they need to live with dignity.”

Labor’s second budget lacks humanity and compassion for migrants and abjectly fails to respond to the urgent challenges in Australia’s immigration system, the Greens say.

“This budget locks into place many of the Coalition’s policies and fails to deliver Labor’s election promises to migrant communities,” Greens Immigration spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“It locks in billions of dollars for offshore detention, does not raise the humanitarian intake and does not acknowledge the dire humanitarian crisis Australia helped to create in Afghanistan.”

“The budget doesn’t even mention Australia’s utterly broken family reunion visa system which keeps people apart from their partners, young children and elderly parents for years on end, and in many cases with no end in sight.”

“It fails to deliver Labor’s commitments to restore migrant settlement services that were slashed, it does not raise the community sponsored refugee program and it does not create the Independent Refugee Tribunal.”

“And after years of backlogs and closed borders, jacking up visa fees is a kick in the teeth for people who have chosen to live, work and study in Australia.”

“Many of the immigration policies in Labor’s budget may as well have been handed down by Peter Dutton.”

With every budget the government ignores the women’s safety sector’s sustained calls for $1 billion in funding, leaving frontline family and domestic violence services with no choice but to turn away victim-survivors.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Larissa Waters said:

“In a cost-of-living crisis women needed bold action from Labor, instead we get more of the same half-measures and spin we saw in the October budget.

“The government continues to ignore frontline domestic violence services, who have repeatedly called for a $1B per year to ensure they can help everyone who needs it.

“The funding shortfall will see one in three women unable to get the help they need to escape violence. 

“While the Labor Government continues to underfund support services, victim-survivors are turned away from crisis accommodation and one woman is murdered every 10 days in this country.

“The government has spoken often about difficult choices in the lead up to the budget, but many women now face an impossible choice: stay in an unsafe home, or leave and put themselves and their kids at risk of homelessness.

“As usual, Albanese is singing from Morrison’s playbook by choosing to put the tax cuts for our highest income earners above women’s safety.”
 

The Albanese Government is delivering a transformational package of support to the Pacific to respond to Pacific priorities and ensure our shared interests in a peaceful, prosperous and resilient region.

Building on our longstanding contributions to regional stability, we are deepening connections between our people and enhancing cooperation across labour mobility, maritime security, policing, responding to and preparing for humanitarian disasters, media and sport.

In our first 12 months, Albanese Government Ministers have visited every Pacific Islands Forum member to renew our Pacific partnerships, listen to Pacific priorities and deliver for our collective interests. This Budget will enhance our capacity to respond by funding additional diplomatic staff across the Pacific, further demonstrating our commitment to the region as a whole.

We will further expand and improve the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme to maximise its economic contributions to Pacific economies and to workforce shortages in Australia. Our new investments will deliver more skills development and community liaison officers for Pacific workers and strengthened worker protections and compliance operations in Australia.

We are supporting the key regional body, the Pacific Islands Forum, to ensure it is equipped to respond collectively to shared challenges and opportunities for our region and deliver the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

We are boosting our contribution to Pacific security priorities with $1.4 billion over four years to support the Pacific family first approach agreed by Pacific Islands Forum Leaders, and the peace and security commitments under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

This includes:

• Supporting delivery of infrastructure, maritime security capability and sustainment, including under the Pacific Maritime Security Program.
• One of the most significant increases to the AFP’s partnership with the Pacific family, to support Pacific law enforcement efforts and criminal justice initiatives.
• Additional support for cyber resilience and other Pacific security priorities.

As climate change continues to threaten Pacific communities, Australia will take a regional approach to humanitarian relief and strengthen support for disaster preparedness, working closely with the Pacific family to support their responses to crises.

We will leverage Australia’s strengths, including through media and sport. We will expand the Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy, boosting media connections and enabling more Pacific Islands Forum members to access Australian content. We will continue to expand our Pacific sports diplomacy, bringing people closer together through our shared love of sport.

The Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific continues to deliver critical infrastructure for the Pacific and Timor-Leste. The Australian Government has now agreed to a total of $1.25 billion in financing for 14 projects in nine countries.

The Albanese Government’s approach in the Budget will make Australia more influential in the world, by investing in all elements of our statecraft including diplomatic power, trade and development.

At a time when we face the most confronting circumstances in decades, the 2023-24 Budget will better enable Australia’s global network to shape the region and advance our interests, including by lifting the capability of our foreign service, and by countering disinformation.

Since coming into office, the Albanese Government has made a significant investment in our key relationships and our diplomacy, bolstering DFAT’s capability by funding more than 350 staff across our diplomatic network, raising the Department’s workforce to its highest levels in over a decade.

The 2023-24 Budget includes more than $55.7 million over the forward estimates to deepen our engagement in Southeast Asia. This will be achieved through innovative programs to support more people-to-people links, including specialised scholarships.

The Albanese Government will also support the National Centre for Asia Capability (Asialink Business). These represent critical initial investments that will complement the implementation of the Government’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, to be released later this year.

The Government is delivering on its commitment to advance Australia’s trade and investment diversification agenda by investing $31.9 million to progress the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. This regional framework will expand Australia’s trade and economic interests including in digital and green trade and strengthen regional supply chains.

Investment in the Simplified Trade System and the Trade Information Service is key to helping Australian producers and exporters navigate regulatory requirements and access information on emerging markets.

The 2023-24 Budget continues the Albanese Government’s long-term rebuild of Australia’s international development program, after almost a decade of Coalition cuts and neglect, including funding for DFAT to grow its team of development professionals to deliver an effective program with impact.

These measures will underpin the Government’s forthcoming new international development policy and provide the framework for working with partners across the region to meet our most pressing challenges, including climate change.

The Albanese Government is determined to clean up the fiscal messes left by the former Government, including a series of band-aid fixes through terminating budget measures.

There will be ongoing funding for the Interim Mission on Afghanistan, reflecting Australia’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan, and our enduring security and consular interests.

The Foreign Arrangements Scheme was introduced to ensure agreements with foreign countries are consistent with Australia’s national interests. Despite its clear benefits, terminating funding was provided by the former Government in successive budgets from the scheme’s 2020 introduction.

The Albanese Government will support the ongoing administration of the scheme, as well as funding the required legislative review of the scheme to ensure it is working efficiently.

A temporary measure put in place by the former Government to cover historical underfunding of the Department’s overseas lease costs was due to expire. The Albanese Government will fix this structural shortfall with ongoing funding.

The Government will upgrade Australia’s ageing International Communication Network infrastructure, which supports global secure communications across government, building resilience against cyber threats.

The Albanese Government continues to support the recovery of our vibrant visitor economy and fourth largest export earner, through the $48 million tourism and travel package.

This funding is helping tourism businesses attract and upskill workers to address current workforce shortages and improve the quality of Australia’s tourism offerings.

Tonight’s Budget is a typical big-spending, big-taxing Labor Budget.

After less than a year of Labor in office, government spending will increase by $185 billion.

Labor cannot spend its way out of its cost of living crisis.

Its Budget does nothing to help you or your family get ahead.

Tonight, we needed a Budget that reduces inflation and reins in spending to combat the cost of living crisis facing all Australians.

Instead, this Budget makes life harder for Australians.

Under this Albanese Labor Government, a typical Australian family with kids will be around $25,000 worse off under Labor.

This Budget will not build a stronger economy, and it is not a budget that is fair for all Australians.

This Budget confirms:

• Your cost of living continues to go up;
• Your gas and electricity bills continue to skyrocket;
• Real wages have not grown;
• Inflation remains stubbornly high;
• Unemployment will rise; and
• Higher taxes for Australians.

Before the election, the Prime Minister promised to lower the cost of living, he promised “cheaper electricity” and he promised “cheaper mortgages.” This Budget confirms these are broken promises.

Your electricity bills continue to rise. Despite the Prime Minister promising Australians that he would reduce your power bill by $275, even after Labor’s energy relief plan, your electricity bill will still go up by almost $500.

Despite recalling Parliament last December to legislate “emergency relief,” this relief will not flow until July at the earliest – seven months after it was promised – is only temporary, and only flows to some Australians.

This Budget fails hard-working Australians right at a time when they needed a plan to address inflation and the cost of living crisis. In fact, the Government’s Economic and Fiscal Strategy removes addressing inflation as a priority.

There is no plan to address the unprecedented increase in net overseas migration that will see, under Labor, 1.5 million new migrants coming to Australia over five years. At the same time, this Budget cuts infrastructure spending, and fails to address congestion, the housing and rental crisis, and the liveability and amenity of our towns and suburbs.

Before the election, the Prime Minister promised that no one would be left behind, yet this Budget leaves the majority of Australians behind.

For every dollar of new taxes it has imposed in this budget, the Government has decided to spend two. In this Budget, it is spending twice as fast as it is taxing Australians.

The Coalition wants Australians to do well, but at the moment we are being held back by a government with no economic plan for the future.

Australians deserve better.

More than five million households and one million small businesses will be eligible for Energy Price Relief Rebates from July 1, as part of the Albanese Labor Government’s responsible and targeted plan to reduce cost-of-living pressures.

The Energy Price Relief Rebates will provide responsible and meaningful energy bill relief and help ease the pressure on families and small businesses.

These rebates, led by the Albanese Government and co-funded by the states and territories, will directly reduce electricity bills for eligible households and businesses and are expected to reduce inflation by one quarter of a percentage point in 2023-24.

When combined with the Government’s earlier market interventions to limit coal and gas price increases, they are expected to reduce inflation by three quarters of a percentage point in 2023-24.

Rising power prices are among the biggest burden on Australian families and Australian businesses.

The Energy Price Relief Rebates will take the sting out of power price rises in late 2023 and early 2024 when these increases are expected to be most acute.

As agreed by states and territories, jurisdictions facing the highest power price rises will contribute more funding to deliver slightly more generous relief to households.

Pensioners, veterans, seniors and other concession card holders, as well as recipients of the Carer Allowance, Family Tax Benefit, and anyone eligible for existing state and territory electricity concession schemes will be eligible for the rebate.

A $250 Commonwealth rebate will be available to eligible households in the following jurisdictions, delivering $500 in power bill relief in total (including state contributions):

• NSW
• Victoria
• Queensland
• South Australia
• And Tasmania

A $175 Commonwealth rebate (generally $350 in total bill relief) will be available to eligible households in:

• Western Australia
• Northern Territory
• The Australian Capital Territory

A $325 Commonwealth rebate will be available to eligible small businesses in each state, which will translate to a $650 benefit for small businesses in states that have matched the relief.

Eligible households that receive existing state and territory rebates will have this new rebate applied to their bill automatically from 1 July 2023.

Energy Price Relief Rebates will be administered by state and territory governments.

Faced with skyrocketing power prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine along with a decade of energy policy chaos under our predecessors, we made a decision that we weren’t going to do nothing while hardworking Australians suffered.

That’s why we recalled the Parliament in December to legislate $1.5 billion worth of power price relief – relief the Liberals and Nationals voted against.

We also acted to cap coal and gas prices, which has seen wholesale electricity prices fall by around 50 per cent since October.

We recognise that Australians are doing it tough right now.

We thank the Premiers, Chief Ministers, Treasurers and Ministers from across the nation for working collaboratively with us in the best interests of all Australians.

This goes to show what we can achieve when both levels of government – regardless of politics – working together in good faith.

The Energy Price Relief Rebates are part of the Albanese Government’s plan to provide responsible and targeted cost-of-living relief to Australians.

For more information, visit Energy Bill Relief Fund.

Labor’s second Budget is a betrayal of people who were promised that no one would be left behind.

This Budget was an opportunity to lift people out of poverty and Labor didn’t take it. 

Budgets are about choices. During a worsening cost of living crisis, the government is choosing to continue with Stage 3 Tax Cuts, nuclear submarines, and handouts for wealthy property investors and fossil fuel corporations while leaving people below the poverty line, cutting the NDIS and increasing student debt by $6 billion dollars over the next two years. 

A fundamental job of government is to make sure people have the basics they need to live life with dignity. 

With rents soaring and everyday costs rising, tonight Labor’s Budget has just a $1.12 a day increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance and $2.85 a day extra for income support recipients. Labor is leaving people in poverty. 

We need a freeze on rent increases now, we need to wipe student debt and to lift income support above the poverty line. Watch our full take on tonight’s Budget here. 

Labor has the power to lift people out of poverty, they’ve just chosen not to use it. 

Labor told us tonight they had to make ‘hard choices’ to balance the budget. But they’re just pushing the hard choices onto people doing it tough. Forcing millions of people to choose between paying the rent, having food in the fridge or accessing medical treatment. 

At the last election, voters wanted a government that would tackle the inequality crisis. They’re still waiting.

Labor’s surplus of $4.2 billion dollars will be no comfort for those who are trying to keep their head above water. You can’t pay rent with a surplus. Every dollar of surplus is a dollar not spent lifting people out of poverty.

Meanwhile, gas corporations making obscene profits while cooking the planet pay next to nothing. Labor is raising more from lifting student debt than they are from their changes to the gas tax.

There’s simply no excuse not to deliver the housing, health and income support people are crying out for – especially when they’re spending four times more on stage 3 tax cuts for the wealthy than they are on cost of living relief. 

This parliament was elected to take action on climate and the cost of living. If Labor worked together with the Greens we could immediately lift people out of poverty, freeze rent increases and wipe student debt.

Labor may have given up on ‘no one left behind’, but we haven’t. 

We will fight to make sure this budget does what every government should: give people what they need to live with dignity.