They say a week is a long time in politics. This time last week, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was adamant she would lead Labor to next year’s election. Today, new Premier Steven Miles was sworn in and begins his campaign to turn around Labor’s fortunes ahead of the October poll.
We bring you everything you need to know this week, from Queensland’s political dramas to Australia’s position on the biggest global issues.
Let’s take a quick look at this week’s headlines:
- Cyclone season kicks off as TC Jasper makes landfall in North Queensland
- Kathleen Folbigg acquitted of the murder of her four children, for which she spent two decades behind bars
- Queensland Police Service and Tara community remember one year anniversary of Wieambilla massacre
- Unemployment rate hits 18-month high of 3.9 per cent
- Australia considers US request to send Royal Australian Navy warship to the Red Sea amid rising tensions in the Middle East
- Australian rock royalty Jimmy Barnes undergoes open heart surgery, shares recovery update from intensive care
- Australian High Commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith cans Australia Day gala in London due to ‘sensitivities’.
Politics
Treasurer hands down mid-year budget update
Surging tax receipts and high commodity prices have gifted the Albanese Government a very slim $1.1 billion deficit for 2024, down from a projected $13.9 billion in the May budget. The much-improved budget bottom line was revealed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday when he handed down the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO).
The revised deficit figure reflected 92 per cent of upward revisions to revenue since the May Budget and led the Treasurer to give his strongest indication yet the Coalition’s stage three tax cuts, slated to come into effect next July, would remain in place to reign in bracket creep.
Given the rate of revenue increases, it’s now widely expected the government will deliver its second surplus in May next year, putting more pressure on the Treasurer to deliver tangible cost of living relief for middle Australia.
Much to the states’ angst, more than $7 billion of infrastructure spending has been pushed past the forward estimates, adding to the improved bottom line.
A new measure to increase the cost of Australian passport fees by nearly $50 from 1 July 2024 will raise almost $350 million.
And Treasury predicts $500 million will be raised by a new measure to remove the ability for businesses and taxpayers to deduct late fees incurred by not paying their tax on time.
The MYEFO’s ‘decisions taken but not yet announced’ measure, where governments park spending allocated to future announcements, totals $4.7 billion over the next four years.
Queensland unions anoint Palaszczuk’s successor
A teary Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Sunday, during a routine press conference to update Queenslanders on Tropical Cyclone Jasper, that she would be stepping down from the leadership of the Labor Party at the end of this week.
It followed months of intense speculation and repeated confirmations from the long-time leader that she would lead the Party to the October 2024 election.
The announcement sparked furious negotiations among the Labor caucus and key unions to determine who had the support to take the reigns of the Queensland Labor Party for the first time since 2012.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles, of Palaszczuk’s rival Left faction, announced Sunday afternoon he would contest the leadership. Affable Health Minister Shannon Fentiman took until Monday afternoon to throw her hat in the ring, at which time it was already clear Miles had the backing of Queensland’s key union powerbrokers.
He fronted a press conference Tuesday morning with Treasurer Cameron Dick – who was to become the Deputy Premier – as Queensland’s new-look leadership team. Acknowledging the elephant in the room, that a Party known for it’s stringent gender quotas had replaced a female-male leadership team with a male-male duo, Cabinet Ministers Meaghan Scanlon and Grace Grace were invited to stand alongside the pair at the presser and declare their support.
After being officially endorsed today by Queensland’s Labor caucus, Premier Steven Miles was sworn in a short time ago at Government House in Brisbane.
US Congress passes AUKUS legislation
AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, announced by the former Morrison government in 2021. It aims to enhance security and defence interests in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly focusing on naval, cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other undersea domains.
A key element of AUKUS is the collaboration to develop nuclear-powered submarines for the Australian Navy, using technology transferred from the US and the UK. This initiative is significant as Australia becomes only the second nation to which the US has ever shared its nuclear submarine technology.
The nuclear-powered submarines under this agreement are meant to be conventionally armed but powered by nuclear reactors, providing Australia with greater naval capability in the Pacific. This development is particularly notable given the increasing assertiveness of China in the region.
Although agreed to in 2021, it was only this week that the US government passed the enabling legislation to allow Australia to buy three Virginia-class submarines from the US. There had been hold ups in securing majority support in the US Congress, as some members were concerned about the impact on the US defence force and the manufacturing capability.
While this is a significant step forward for AUKUS, it won’t be smooth sailing. There are a number of ‘get out’ clauses in the legislation that the US can activate and the US President of the day must sign off on the eventual transfer of submarines.
Furthermore, to help increase the manufacturing capability of the US so they can meet the increased demand, Australia will need to pay an initial $4.5 billion to the US – essentially a down-payment on the total cost which is said to be up to $368 billion (remembering that this is likely to be a 40-year project).
Global
Climate talks acknowledge world must “transition away” from fossil fuels
It appeared unlikely at the beginning of the week, but countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai have agreed on a summit statement that calls on leading nations to “transition away” from fossil fuels towards renewables.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen caused controversy earlier this week when he delivered a speech at the summit saying calling for the ‘end of fossil fuels’ and that they had no future in Australia’s energy mix.
The 198 nations represented at COP28 agreed to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity, but also recognised that transitional fuels (i.e. gas) will play a key role.
This will be unwelcome news for the Australian Greens, who have been actively trying to stymy new major gas projects across Australia.
Israel, Jewish groups slam Australia’s ceasefire vote
Having until now resisted calls from the Greens and it’s own Left faction members to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed on Wednesday that Australia had voted with 152 other countries at the UN General Assembly for a motion calling for a humanitarian ceasefire.
Both Canada and New Zealand also voted for the motion, and the three countries released a joint statement after the vote. The Federal Opposition slammed the move, pointing out one of the 28 countries voting against the motion was Australia’s key ally the United States.
Awkwardly for the government, one of their own MPs Josh Burns was in Israel this week speaking to media about how a premature ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup and attack Israel one again. He later downplayed the significance of the motion, saying it meant little ‘on the ground’ in Gaza.
The Coalition have seized on the move, saying it demonstrates the government is more concerned about protecting its inner-city seats from the Greens than maintaining support for Australia’s ally Israel.
Increasing trade with the UAE
This week the government announced Australia is set to begin trade talks with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2024, aiming to establish a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
The move is part of Australia’s strategy to diversify its exports and reduce reliance on China, especially following the collapse of trade talks between Australia and the European Union.
The UAE is Australia’s largest trading partner in the Middle East. In 2022, bilateral non-oil trade between Australia and the UAE was valued at $4.5 billion, marking a 28 per cent increase from 2021 and nearly double the total in 2020.
If Australia is successful in securing the agreement with the UAE, it will be the first with a country in the Middle East and Africa. The partnership is expected to bring opportunities in logistics, food security, tourism, renewable energy, mining, and other sectors.
Key Australian exports to the UAE include alumina, meat, vehicle parts, and telecom equipment, while sectors like agriculture, education, and tourism also play significant roles. More than 300 Australian businesses operate in the UAE across various sectors, including construction, financial services, agricultural supplies, and training services.
Let’s hope these negotiations deliver a better outcome than Australia’s previous negotiations with India and the EU.
Sport and other news
ICC bans Australian Test opener Khawaja from making Palestine protest
During the first test match against Pakistan that kicked off this week, Australian cricket star Usman Khawaja attempted to make a statement in support of Palestine by wearing cricket shoes with messages supporting Palestinian rights. Those messages were, “all lives are equal” and “freedom is a human right” written in the colours of the Palestinian flag.
Khawaja’s action was in response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has regulations that prohibit players from displaying personal messages on their clothing or equipment during international matches. As such, the messages on Khawaja’s shoes were prohibited and he ultimately had to cover them with black tape. Instead, he wore a black arm band to demonstrate his concerns about the conflict in Gaza.
Federal Sports Minister, Anika Wells, supported Khawaja’s actions and advocated for athletes’ rights to voice their opinions on important matters. But others in the cricket community opposed such displays during matches, emphasising the need to separate personal beliefs from professional sports representation.
Retailers expecting Christmas boost
Australians are expected to spend more during the Christmas season this year compared to last year. According to a survey by Finder, the average Australian is projected to spend approximately $1,479 on presents, food, alcohol, eating out and travel.
In total, Australians are expected to spend a combined $30 billion during the festive season, which represents a 10 per cent increase on the estimated $27.3 billion spent in the previous year. Victorians are anticipated to spend the most among all states, with an average of $1,765, followed by New South Wales residents with an average of $1,657.
While Australia is suffering a cost-of-living crisis, high interest rates and increasing energy bills, it seems Christmas will provide retailers with a significant boost during the festive season.
Oscar Pistorius to be released
After serving 10 years in prison for the 2013 murder of Reeva Steenkamp, South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been granted parole from January 5 next year.
Before being charged and eventually convicted for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, Pistorius gained global fame for competing in both the Paralympic and Olympic Games as a sprinter. He claims he mistook her for an intruder when he shot and killed her in his home.
In 2014, he was initially convicted of culpable homicide, but this was later upgraded to murder in 2015 following an appeal by the prosecution. He received 13 years and five months prison sentence.