| There’s no doubt the Coalition wants to fight the next election on immigration, border security and fiscal responsibility. Having prosecuted immigration and border security for months, this week they began their campaign on the economy announcing $100 billion in budget savings. They’ve certainly got their work cut out for them in restoring their reputation on economic management after their pandemic spending resulted in a trillion dollars worth of debt. Meanwhile, the Treasurer launched a scathing attack on Peter Dutton labelling him “the most divisive leader of a major political party in Australia’s modern history”. Given the current political landscape and vast difference between the two major parties, expect to see more attacks like this in the lead up to the election. Over in the US, Donald Trump is trailing Kamala Harris in many of the polls, including those in key battleground states. The Democrats have received a much-needed bump in the polls confirming Harris replacing Biden was the right move. The race to the Whitehouse is much closer than it was two months ago. We bring you all these issues and so much more in our weekly wrap-up, but first let’s take a look at what is making headlines: 1. Country Liberals secure a landslide win in the Northern Territory defeating the longtime Labor Government 2. Monthly inflation drops to 3.5 per cent off the back of energy subsidies, underlying pressures still evident 3. PM reverses decision not to include question on 2026 census about Australians’ sexuality and gender after backbench revolt 4. Qantas sees profits dip as fares fall 5. Australia Post reports $88 million loss as Aussies abandon letters 6. Brisbane shocked by random attack on baby in a suburban park 7. Energy sector warns major parties urgent action is needed on gas supply and infrastructure to avoid energy crisis Politics Nasty scenes at national CFMEU rallies Tens of thousands of construction workers walked off the job on Tuesday to join CFMEU rallies protesting the Albanese Government’s decision to force the militant union into administration, after legislation passed Parliament last week. Union leaders told construction workers they had been let down by the Prime Minister and his Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt, accusing the longtime unionists of abandoning their own. Protestors invoked offensive Nazi signs and props including a fake coffin with Albanese’s face on it, calling for the Labor Government to be voted out at the next election. Coalition and government frontbenchers slammed Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather for joining the Brisbane rally and speaking in support of the CFMEU, saying by accepting a speaking role he was endorsing the criminal behaviour of the union. A spokesperson for Chandler-Mather said he had seen the Nazi sign before he took the stage and had asked for it to be taken down, a request that was clearly not acted on. Hundreds of CFMEU officials have been sacked by administrator Mark Irving KC since he was appointed a week ago. Chalmers launches attack on Dutton This week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers launched a pointed attack on opposition leader Peter Dutton. In a speech during the 2024 Curtin Oration, Chalmers labeled Dutton “the most divisive leader of a major political party in Australia’s modern history.” He argued that Dutton’s approach to leadership is deliberately divisive, almost to a pathological extent, and described it as “dangerous” and “disqualifying” for someone seeking to lead the country. Chalmers expressed concerns that Dutton’s strategy could harm social cohesion and suggested that such divisiveness is not what Australia needs in its political leadership. These comments sparked significant controversy, particularly because of the harshness of the language used and the implications that Dutton’s approach to politics is not only divisive but also potentially harmful to the nation’s social fabric. The use of terms like “pathological” and “disqualifying” elevated the intensity of the political rhetoric, making it a focal point in media coverage and drawing strong reactions from both supporters and critics. However, Dutton dismissed the comments as a “smokescreen” designed to divert attention from what he sees as the government’s failure to manage the economy effectively. He argued that if the economy were performing as well as Chalmers claims, the Treasurer wouldn’t need to focus on personal attacks against him. Dutton also suggested that Chalmers’ remarks reflect internal tensions within the Labor government, implying that the harsh criticism was more about deflecting from Labor’s own issues than addressing his leadership. As the polls continue to tighten, prepare to see more character assassinations and criticism in the lead up to the federal election – whenever that may be. Coalition seeks to restore reputation on economic management In an attempt to restore their reputation as strong economic managers, the Coalition announced, if elected, they would deliver a “back to basics” budget that would deliver significant savings, around $100 billion. They would “arrest excessive government spending”. The Coalition used to pride themselves on their record of disciplined economic management however decisions taken during the pandemic, which resulted in a trillion dollars of debt, have essentially destroyed their credibility on this issue. Given the cost-of-living crisis and high inflation, this week the opposition outlined their potential budget strategy and how they would deliver budget savings. The savings include the axing of the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, scrapping of the $20 billion Rewiring the Nation project and abolishing the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. There are also other infrastructure projects and government incentives on the chopping block if the Coalition wins government, and the public service would also be trimmed after Labor recently committed to add 36,000 new employees. These measures reflect the Coalition’s broader strategy of fiscal conservatism, focusing on reducing government debt and limiting the size of government by cutting back on spending and maintaining a lower tax burden. That’s what shadow treasurer Angus Taylor means when he says “back to basics” – back to liberal budget basics. In response, the Prime Minister and Treasurer came out hard against the proposed savings. They called on the opposition to provide more details and criticised their cuts to housing projects when the country is experiencing a mass housing shortage. There is no doubt the opposition want to fight the next election on immigration, border security and fiscal responsibility. They’ve been prosecuting immigration and border security for months, and now it appears they’ve started their campaign on the economy. The opposition is certainly getting campaign ready. Greens float new tax policy targeting ‘big corporations’ Greens leader Adam Bandt addressed the National Press Club on Wednesday to explain the minor party’s new ‘Robin Hood’ policy, which would see Australia’s ‘big corporations’ slugged an extra $514bn in taxes. He said the minor party would push for the Albanese Government to adopt the policy should they find themselves in minority government after the next election. Bandt said companies that make “excessive profits” would be subject to a 40 per cent tax on those profits. It targets big coal and gas producers, but also supermarkets, banks and telcos. The additional revenue collected would be used to fund expensive Greens policies such as free dental care under Medicare. The announcement was almost universally panned across all sides of politics and the business community. Business leaders accused the Greens leader of “economic sabotage”, while both the Coalition and Labor said the Greens were simply “making up numbers” and pedalling unrealistic policies. Journalists at the Press Club on Wednesday questioned the Greens leader on the details and impact of his “Big Corporations Taxes”. He dismissed legitimate questions about the loose revenue estimates provided by the Parliamentary Budget Office, as well as the potential of the policy to impact the competitiveness of Australia as an international investment destination. He argued Australia would still need banks, supermarkets and retailers so suggestions big corporations would simply pull out of Australia were unfounded. The need for these services is unquestioned, whether there would be any companies willing to provide them is the issue. Universities condemn student caps Australia’s top universities have warned the government their planned overhaul of the international education sector risks damaging Australia’s reputation as a top destination for the brightest international students. Education Minister Jason Clare unveiled the changes on Tuesday, which will see international student commencements capped at 270,000 across both the higher education and VET sectors. The changes will have the greatest impact on universities in Sydney and Melbourne with high levels of Chinese students, which is designed to ease pressure on the housing market. Universities say it will ruin Australia’s reputation as a global leader in international education and have a detrimental impact on their revenue models – impacting the services they are able to offer all students, including Australian students. Go8 executive director Vicki Thomson, who represents the richest universities in Australia, said the policy would force universities to limit their intake of domestic students, due to the high cost of teaching courses such as medicine and dentistry. The Greens have slammed the government for making international students the scapegoat of the housing crisis, while the Coalition is likely to support the legislation in the senate. Shadow Minister for Education Sarah Henderson said the Coalition would propose a number of amendments to the bill but supports international student caps in principle. The proposed changes also favour regional universities and training providers, which the Coalition supports. Queensland Former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made an unusual public appearance this week in her role as International Ambassador for the Smart Energy Council. She was attending the Smart Energy Council Expo in Brisbane, where she delivered a speech, and was asked whether she endorsed Premier Steven Miles at the upcoming election. Politely excusing herself, Palaszczuk appeared to resist the opportunity to offer her endorsement, and the story blew up as evidence of a fractured relationship between the former Premier and her successor. She later told the Courier Mail she ‘of course’ endorsed Miles. The Premier, who admitted yesterday it was a “tough ask” for the government to win re-election, also copped it this week from Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner. He penned an opinion piece saying the government had squandered ‘the longest runway for any Summer Olympics in history’ and that it was ‘tragic’ that one in four days before the Brisbane 2032 Games had passed by without any real progress. Leader of the opposition David Crisafulli, meanwhile, shot down the government’s plans to resurrect the ageing QSAC stadium for the 2032 Games, saying only the Premier thinks it’s a good idea to build a temporary stadium “in the middle of the scrub”. But he also ruled out building a new stadium, leaving open the option to rebuild the Gabba as was the government’s preferred plan from the get-go. And as the city inches towards the Games, the long-awaited and delayed Queens Wharf precinct has opened, marking a milestone in Brisbane’s transformation into a world-class city. While most of the precinct’s major attractions – including a casino and many of the expected retail and dining options – remain unfinished, residents and visitors will be able to visit the SkyDeck 100m above the city. Queen’s Wharf will account for 10 percent of the city’s CBD footprint once complete. Global PM pledges more Pacific money for regional policing force Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy were in Tonga this week for the Pacific Islands Forum, bringing together regional leaders to discuss issues affecting the Pacific. The PM hailed the forum as a great success, announcing the Pacific Policing Initiative (PPI), a $400m commitment by Australia to bolster Pacific nations’ security forces. It will involve the establishment of regional police training Centres of Excellence, a multi-country police capability and a Policing Development and Coordination Hub to be hosted in Brisbane. Increasing Pacific nations’ reliance on Australia to provide policing and security resources undermines China’s attempts to expand its footprint in the Pacific. The PM stressed the PPI was ‘Pacific-led, after the Prime Minister of Vanuatu had earlier voiced concerns the deal was cooked up to protect Australia and other western nations’ strategic interests in the region. It was strongly endorsed by the Prime Ministers of Papua New Guinea and Fiji. While at the forum, Albanese raised eyebrows for suggesting to US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell they could “go halvies” on the $400m deal during an informal chat inadvertently captured by a New Zealand journalist. The journalist also caught remarks from Campbell that suggested the US had been asked not to make their own Pacific announcement during the forum by Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd. The PM rebuked the journalist for sharing the video, suggesting it was a private chat between “mates”. Harris beating Trump For the first time, Democratic Presidential nominee and current US Vice President Kamala Harris is beating Donald Trump in several polls across the US, including key States. A nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Democrat Kamala Harris leading Republican Donald Trump 45% to 41%. This four-percentage point advantage builds on the one-point lead Harris held over the former president in a late July Reuters/Ipsos poll. The bounce comes off the back of the Democratic National Convention which saw popular former politicians like Obama and Clinton join celebrities like Pink in declaring their support for Harris. Diving deeper into the results, Harris leads Trump by 49% to 36% among both women voters and Hispanic voters. While Trump leads among white voters and men. Importantly for the Democrats, the polls show they made the right decision in dumping Biden for Harris as this is an eight-point turnaround from late June when Trump led Biden in the polls by nearly four points. Given the complexities of the US electoral system, it isn’t enough to win a majority nationwide as there are key states that come into play. And in positive news for Harris, she is now leading Trump in three of those battleground states.According to a new Fox News poll, Harris is up in the polls in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, while in North Carolina, the Trump is only ahead by one point. Looks like there is now a real race to the White House. Sport and pop culture Paralympics begins The 160-strong Australian team joined other athletes for the opening ceremony in the early hours of Thursday morning Australian time. Madison de Rozario and Brenden Hall, who hold five Paralympic gold medals between them, were Australia’s flag bearers and they were welcomed by 50,000 spectators. Incredibly, they are both also competing at their fifth Paralympics. Our remarkable athletes will compete across 17 different events in Paris during the next 11 days of competition. Sixty-one of them will be making their Paralympic debut in Paris. And there has already been success in the pool with Tom Gallagher claiming Australia’s first gold medal of the Games after winning the men’s 50m freestyle S10 with Rowan Crothers earning a bronze in the same race. Brenden Hall won Australia’s first medal after claiming bronze in the men’s 400m freestyle S9. We look forward to cheering our athletes on and celebrating their success. Taylor Swift The CIA released new information about the foiled attack planned for Taylor Swift’s concert in Vienna. Speaking at an annual intelligence summit outside Washington, DC, CIA’s deputy director David Cohen said the alleged attackers wanted to kill “a huge number” of people. Three male teenage suspects were arrested in connection with the foiled attacks, allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group. The CIA Deputy Director highlighted that the Austrians were able to make those arrests because the CIA and partners were able to provide them with the information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do. However, he did not disclose how his agency had learned about the plot. Last week, Swift broke her silence commenting publicly for the first time about the planned attack. She said, “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.” Following the attacks, Swift went on to perform eight sold out shows at Wembley, overtaking a record for any solo singer, which was previously set by Michael Jackson in 1988. |