Huge political news this week with the resignation of former Labor leader Bill Shorten coming as a surprise to many yesterday.
Also this week, confirmation the Australian economy is just barely ticking over, balancing precariously close to a recession.
We bring you these important issues and so much more in our weekly wrap-up, but first let’s take a look at what is making headlines:
- Fears Plibersek’s Blayney gold mine decision could threaten investment certainty in the resource sector
- Labor announces $4.7bn package to address gender-based violence
- BAE Systems Australia boss ousted after tensions over big contracts
- Taylor Swift spotted at Chiefs game as 2024 season gets underway
- Lauren Parker becomes first Australian Paralympian in years to win gold in two sports
- Australia’s number one tennis player Alex de Minaur fails to get past quarter-finals at US Open
Politics
Chalmers says RBA “smashing the economy”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ comments over the weekend that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s high interest rates were “smashing the economy” sparked a lot of criticism from the opposition, as well as some economists and commentators.
Ahead of the release of the national accounts on Wednesday, the Treasurer was making the case that a slowing economy was to be expected, given the weight of inflation and interest rates on borrowers and businesses.
The opposition and others said Chalmers was seeking to blame the RBA for the pain felt by households and pin the cause of sluggish economic growth solely on the RBA. The Liberal Party rolled out John Howard who, in an opinion piece in The Australian on Wednesday, said RBA boss Michele Bullock “didn’t deserve” Chalmers’ comments and backed the central bank’s strategy to tackle inflation. He said the government has lost control of spending and the Treasurer’s attempts to shift the blame were transparent.
The Treasurer, of course, disagreed and said there was nothing unusual about his comments attributing economic pain to high interest rates. His former boss and former Treasurer Wayne Swan today backed his protégé in, saying he was “very disappointed” in the RBA and that it’s restrictive monetary policy was “hammering households”.
Worst economic growth figures in 30 years outside of the pandemic
After all the back and forth about who was to blame for the economy virtually grinding to a halt, Wednesday’s national accounts figures confirmed what economists – and the Treasurer – had been predicting.
In the worst result since Australia’s economy was pulling out of recession in the early 1990s, the economy grew just 0.2 per cent for the three months to the end of June and just 1 per cent for the 2023-24 financial year. It was the 6th consecutive quarter of negative GDP per capita growth, confirming that Australia is in the middle of a per capita recession, and at increasing risk of slipping into a proper recession.
High migration numbers and big government spending propped up the figures, with the Treasurer proudly proclaiming if it were not for government spending, Australia would be in recession by now.
Australia’s government spending hit 11.8 per cent of GDP this quarter, matching the only other time it was this high during the early months of the pandemic when the government was shovelling money out the door to keep a crippled economy afloat. While the government says their fiscal strategy to pump billions of dollars into cost of living relief programs has been “vindicated” by the GDP figures, some economists say it’s the cause of lagging productivity growth which – while not a new problem – has completely stalled. Driving productivity growth is the only solution to dragging the economy out of its sluggish state.
Calls for dental to be covered by Medicare
Now that we are well and truly in the campaign part of the election cycle, it was no surprise to see some Labor backbenchers ramp up their calls for Medicare to be extended to include dental services.
This week Labor backbenchers Helen Polley, Brian Mitchell, Mike Freelander and Graham Perrett backed opening discussions about how dental could be added to Medicare.
Senator Polley acknowledged the significant cost but said it was something the government needed to do, and she plans to continue to push this issue. Her Tasmanian colleague Brian Mitchell has been a longtime supporter of the policy and said it’s not a matter of if dental should be included but rather when.
The Greens’ have a similar dental policy that they announced last week, and that policy is estimated to cost $46 billion to deliver.
In response to his Labor colleagues and the Greens, Minister for Health Mark Butler said the government is focused on strengthening the fundamentals of Medicare, particularly general practice and bulk billing, but clarified that including dental care is not part of the government’s immediate plans for this term.
What’s going on in Cabinet?
Leaks from Cabinet often signal nervousness in the ranks and with an election due within eight months and polls indicating a minority government, there appears to be at least three nervous ministers.
This week the Sydney Morning Herald reported three separate leaks from Cabinet over the PM’s backflip on changes to the next Census regarding questions about gender identity. The leaks detailed the PMs annoyance over the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ proposed questions and then the mishandling of the issue. While they agreed the PM made the right call, it is never good for ministers to be leaking from Cabinet.
In our experience, leaks from Cabinet can be used to undermine the leader and create tension within the party room. Continuous leaks help fuel speculation about leadership challenges and cause disunity within the party. Hopefully that’s not what is going on here but only time will tell.
Less than six weeks ago, the PM unveiled a new ministry after three ministers announced their retirement at the next election. It is believed Albanese asked all of his ministers at the time to outline their plans as he only wanted one reshuffle before the election. However, on Thursday Bill Shorten MP caught almost everyone by surprise announcing that he is retiring from parliament in February 2025. Not wanting to spark another reshuffle, the PM announced Shorten will remain in Cabinet until he exits parliament and by then they will be so close to the election (or already in the formal campaign) that a reshuffle won’t be necessary.
Queensland
The Premier copped a beating in the media this week after revelations he and his entourage took an 11-minute, 74km trip in the government jet from Hervey Bay to Bundaberg. With shades of Bronwyn Bishop’s infamous chopper-gate scandal, the news outraged Queenslanders who felt the Premier should have driven the one hour and 20-minute journey up the Bruce Highway. To make the optics worse, the Premier had travelled to Bundaberg to present local MP Tom Smith with a birthday cake that afternoon. You’ve got to wonder who in the Premier’s office approved that trip.
In other news that caught our eye this week, the government reportedly signed off on a $240m, 15-year lease and fit-out for a new Queensland Police Service (QPS) station in inner-city Stones Corner. That compares to the $150m the government has allocated for a brand-new police station and training academy up in Townsville. The government and the QPS both refused to confirm the reported cost of the new Stones Corner HQ, but the LNP said they should come clean and be transparent about the deal.
And just a week after it’s high-profile opening, Star Entertainment has said it’s flagship Queen’s Wharf precinct may be forced to close if they can’t secure a deal with the government to delay payment of a $300m tax bill for gambling and payroll tax obligations. The Premier has said closure of The Star’s newly opened premises would be the “worst case scenario” and confirmed the government is in talks with the casino operator about the tax payments. It has infuriated other restaurant and business owners in the city, with Hellenika owner Simon Gloftis saying it was “absolute bullsh-t” that Star “run their business poorly and we have to pick up the tab.”
Parliament in schools
On indulgence this week, I want to share my recent experience talking to my daughter’s grade six class about parliament, democracy and the history of our political system.
When I walked into the room and had about one hundred 11- to 12-year-olds staring at me, I must admit I was a little nervous – not about speaking in public (I love that), but if this was a topic they would even be interested in.
I started by explaining how councils, states and federal governments work together and outlining their respective responsibilities as defined by the Constitution, and then shared how the federal parliament works including how legislation is passed and my experience working in politics. I asked the students many questions as I went along and was delighted to see such enthusiastic and knowledgeable young people actually engaged in how our political system works.
Once I finished and opened it up to questions, I was excited to see so many hands-up and students equipped with thoughtful and challenging questions. They wanted to know what some of Australia’s Prime Ministers are really like and why Queensland doesn’t have an Upper House.
It is so important for the next generation to be engaged in our political system and understand how, and more importantly, why it works the way it does. Politics often cops a bad rap, but it is necessary for young people to understand the good that can and should be done. That’s why I was so thrilled to see the Parliament to Schools program being run by the Speaker of the House, the Hon Milton Dick MP.
The Speaker is traveling across the country taking parliament to schools to help educate young people about the political process and encourage them engage. It was especially great to see the Speaker join Nationals MP Darren Chester in regional Victoria this week ensuring that as many children as possible have access to the program. The program transcends political ideology and is all about helping young people understand the importance of democracy, what it means and how it works.
We shouldn’t take our democratic system for granted and education will help ensure our system continues in this uncertain global environment.
– Karly
Many thanks for the great insights Karly