| We’re back with the highlights from this week – covering national politics, global issues, and some interesting sport and pop culture moments. Here are your weekly talking points. |
| With so much happening this week, it was hard to narrow it down to the top issues but hopefully we’ve been able to bring you a broad cross section of issues. Politics With federal politicians returning to Canberra on Monday for the Spring sitting period, there is no doubt The Voice will be on the agenda for all sides of politics. The Voice Before the end of this year, Australians will be asked to vote in a referendum – we will be asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to whether to enshrine in the Constitution the establishment of a body called the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice’ (The Voice). This body will make representations to the government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As we highlighted a couple of weeks ago, The Voice is guaranteed to be a much-talked about topic for the foreseeable future – and rightly so. With both sides of the debate releasing their formal campaign pamphlets and the TV ads increasing, we expect to see this important issue continue to dominate news-cycles. That’s why it was no surprise to see former political leaders weighing in into the debate and sharing their thoughts. Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced her support for The Voice when giving a speech at the National Press Club this week. Interestingly she acknowledged how confused the general public must be with politicians sitting on either side and prominent Indigenous leaders in Noel Pearson and Warren Mundine on opposite sides. She also pointed out that the eight referendums in Australia’s history that have succeeded had bipartisan support – The Voice does not. Australia’s second longest serving Prime Minister John Howard also shared his thoughts this week – predicting the referendum will fail. He said ‘Yes’ campaigners have failed to explain how the advisory body will lead to better health, education and social outcomes for Indigenous people. He went even further to say the ‘Yes’ campaign had displayed an “unwillingness” to explain what’s involved. The current Prime Minister also made headlines this week for his fiery interview with 2GB radio host Ben Fordham. The PM highlighted that The Voice was not about a Treaty and also said that the legislation to establish the referendum on The Voice went through parliament without any amendments. However, Ben later showed that amendments were proposed in the House of Representatives by Liberal Julian Leeser and in the Senate by Liberal Richard Colbeck and The Greens Lidia Thorpe. In recent times, some commentators, particularly on Sky News, have accused the PM of trying to walk both sides of the debate. They’ve accused him of changing his messaging on the powers of The Voice depending on the audience he is addressing. We will continue to keep you up-to-date on The Voice and the campaigns on both sides as the matter progresses. Inflation drops to 6 percent This week we saw inflation continue a downward trend (thank goodness) and now we hold out hope that the Reserve Bank will keep interest rates on hold when they meet on Tuesday. Inflation – the increase in the price of goods and services – dropped to six percent in the year to June 2023, with the cost of goods dropping faster than services. In fact, the cost of goods dropped from 7.6 percent in March to 5.8 percent in June, while services inflation remains high at 6.3 percent (highest level since 2001). Australia’s housing shortage and rental crisis has significantly contributed to our high levels of inflation. Rent inflation this quarter jumped 2.5 percent – the highest quarterly increase since 1988. While state and federal governments announce countless housing policies to increase supply, these figures indicate that they aren’t working or helping to bring down inflation. While lower inflation is a step in the right direction, economists aren’t convinced this guarantees a rate freeze. The figures are still higher than the Reserve Bank’s 2-3 percent target so now we wait until Tuesday when the RBA Board meet for the first time since the new Governor was announced. Current Governor Philip Lowe will continue to serve in the role until 17 September when his current deputy Michelle Bullock will take the reigns as Governor. The RBA will undertake significant reforms over the next 12 months and we will explore these details next week after the Board meets and we have a better understanding of how they will operate moving forward. Tourism still down but government says no to extra flights Tourism Minister Don Farrell this week announced $7.5 million to boost workers in the tourism industry, amid growing concerns in the industry that international tourism is not returning fast enough to pre-COVID levels. The grants to state and territory government and tourism bodies are an effort to help meet the government’s goal of returning Australia’s visitor economy to pre-COVID expenditure levels of $166 billion by 2024. It comes a week after the Albanese Government blocked a bid from Qatar Airways to operate an additional 21 flights out of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, which had the support of the New South Wales and Victorian governments as well as the federal opposition. It was opposed, however, by Qantas, who claimed it would lead to a loss of Australian jobs and that it was unfair to give extra capacity to a government-funded airline (forgetting, perhaps, the $2 billion of taxpayers’ money the government handed Qantas during the COVID pandemic…). Denying additional international flight capacity at a time when international visitor spend is only at 64 per cent and trip numbers are just 58 per cent of pre-COVID levels seems an interesting choice by the government, who are due to release an Aviation White Paper in the first half of next year. The government has previously stated its support of competition in the aviation industry to bring down spiralling airfare costs. Transport Minister Catherine King, whose decision it was to block the Gulf state airline’s expansion plans, said this week her decision was not based on Qatar Airways’ treatment of Australian women at Doha airport in 2020. Global This week we look at what’s happening with two of our closest allies – The US and New Zealand. Australian and US representatives meet in Brisbane Australian and US Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers will meet in Brisbane today for the 33rd AUSMIN meetings. AUSMIN stands for Australia-US Ministerial Consultations and is meant to be the principal forum for bilateral consultations with the US. The meetings are held regularly and alternate between Australia and the US. Today will enable Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles to discuss important issues, especially AUKUS, with US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Llyod J Austin III. Australia will likely be seeking assurance from US counterparts that AUKUS is on track after critical legislation was held up by Republican Senators. AUKUS is a security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States that will promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. As part of this partnership, these countries will continue to share intelligence but also expand to include the sharing of specific military capability. In a historic move, and as a result of AUKUS, Australia will acquire conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines from the US. Although this was announced back in September 2021, the US legislation required to enable the acquisition of the submarines was held up last week by US Republican Senator John Wicker. He has refused to allow the legislation to proceed unless the Biden administration agrees to increase spending on the US submarine industrial base. He argued that US capability needed to be addressed before enabling the AUKUS submarine deal. It’s not just the US causing concerns around AUKUS. Next month the Labor Party will hold their national convention and AUKUS is expected to be one of the topics debated. This comes off the back of anti-AUKUS motions being passed by Labor’s Federal Electorate Councils in the seats of Sydney, Mayo and Boothby (SA) and reported eruptions over AUKUS debates at the Queensland and Victorian state Labor conferences. Trans-Tasman travel Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made his first trip as PM to New Zealand this week where, amongst other topics, seamless travel between the two countries was discussed. While our PM has ruled out passport-free travel, he has established a working group with his New Zealand counterpart and tasked them to examine ways that travel across the ditch could be made easier. The Australian tourism industry has long advocated for simplified travel. New Zealand is our number one international tourism market in terms of visitor numbers with over 800,000 New Zealanders visiting Australia in the year ending March 2023. They also contributed $1.3 billion to the Australian economy during their visits. When working for the then tourism minister, airlines and tourism industry associations would lobby us regularly to address trans-Tasman travel requirements. We discussed the matter at length during meetings of the Tourism and Transport Access Working Group (consisted of industry reps, Tourism Minister, Treasurer and Transport Minister) but due to the border security impacts, we were unable to find solution. While we are pleased to see this idea being talked about by leaders and a specific working group established, it will still be quite some time before we see any real change. The working group isn’t expected to deliver their report until June 2024 and then given the pace of government it will be several months, or even years, before we see the implementation of any of the recommendations. Biden impeachment This week there has been extensive US media coverage of a possible Biden impeachment. Impeachment refers to formally charging an official for committing a crime or acting improper – if convicted they are removed from office. US President Joe Biden has been the subject of scrutiny over his possible involvement in or knowledge of his son’s (Hunter) business dealings in Ukraine and China. Controversy has surrounded the Biden family business dealings since Hunter’s laptop was found at a computer shop in late 2019 and then then questionable data emerged in 2020 before the Presidential election. But this week impeachment talk began after an FBI whistleblower gave Republican Senator Chuck Grassley a document that alleges the Biden family was involved in a bribery scheme whereby they pocketed $10 million on the condition the then Vice President put pressure on the Ukrainian government. The Biden family has long denied the President’s involvement in his son’s business dealings however that is under scrutiny as Hunter’s ex-friend Devon Archer prepares to testify before a congressional committee. Devon is expected to tell the committee that Hunter had put his dad on speaker phone during several meetings to impress foreign clients. US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has proposed an impeachment inquiry to evaluate the evidence as none of the evidence on its own is proof of corruption or illegal activity. Despite all of this, the latest calls for impeachment raise the question of whether it has simply become a political tool rather than a way of stamping out real corruption. Trump was impeached twice but acquitted by the Senate on both counts. A political party’s control of the Senate can have a huge impact on the outcome of an impeachment. Sport and Pop Culture As always, we like to finish with some sport and pop culture news that you might find interesting or enjoyable. Barbie movie Phenomenon The Barbie movie has been in theatres for just over a week but it seems the world has been overtaken with fully-fledged Barbie fever. We’ve seen a real-life Barbie dreamhouse emerge on the Sunshine Coast, non-stop Barbie-themed merchandise and clothing in stores, and even Barbie burgers at Grill’d. But it’s the discussion on social media that’s really bringing the movie to the forefront. People were clearly interested to see what all the hype was about as the movie brought in $162 million in its opening weekend alone. However, there seems to be clear division amongst those who have seen the movie – some simply enjoyed it as light-hearted entertainment with gorgeous sets and design, while others took a different approach and focused on what messaging they believed was being promoted through the storyline. It is this messaging that has sparked much debate. Like a lot of things in life, it all comes down to how people interpret it. While some suggest the movie was “anti-male feminism”, others have said that the movie focuses on Ken too much. Some say it showcases the challenges women face in today’s society, while others criticise it for being an inaccurate representation of women. Some even criticise Margot Robbie for being cast as Barbie but fail to acknowledge that she plays the self-admitted role of “stereotypical Barbie”. Basically, there are so many different opinions and interpretations about the movie. But if nothing else, we should acknowledge that the movie has got us all talking and discussing important issues. My daughter and I saw the movie on the weekend and it has opened a whole new dialogue for us – for that reason alone I give Barbie five stars. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the world! AI technology has been in existence for many years, but the technology is rapidly finding its way into our everyday lives. The emergence of ChatGPT has brought the technology into contact with the average person. Young people are using it to complete school assignments, and professionals are using it in the workplace. But what about the negative impacts of AI? Who is regulating the way it can be used? What is the Australian Government doing about it? To answer these questions, we got some help by asking ChatGPT and here is what we were told. “The current state of AI in Australia is growing rapidly, both in terms of research and implementation. Australia has established itself as a global leader in AI research, with several universities, research institutes, and industry players actively involved in AI development and innovation. In terms of AI regulation, the Australian government has recognized the importance of addressing the ethical and legal aspects of AI. The government has committed to developing a national AI ethics framework and establishing responsible AI guidelines. In 2020, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources released a discussion paper on AI ethics, seeking public input on key issues. The government is also investing in initiatives to build AI capabilities and ensure its responsible use. Additionally, there are existing regulations in Australia that govern specific aspects of AI. For example, privacy laws such as the Privacy Act regulate the handling of personal information obtained through AI technologies. The government is also actively involved in discussions and collaborations with international organizations and industry stakeholders to ensure a coordinated approach to AI regulation. Overall, while AI regulation is still a developing area in Australia, the government is taking steps to establish guidelines and frameworks to address the ethical and legal considerations of AI use.” Pretty impressive and accurate response to be honest. We can confirm from our own research and experience in the government process that this information is correct…WOW!! Will we soon see a female on the F1 grid? We couldn’t go past this story this week, and we bet you’re realising we’re bigger sports fans than you’d think. Formula One this week announced every one of their ten teams will field a driver in next year’s F1 Academy season, an all-female competition designed to prepare female drivers for the F1 feeder competitions F3 and F2. It might not seem that consequential, but having the buy-in from Formula One and seeing female drivers racing in their more famous counterparts’ liveries is a huge boost for female participation in the sport. F1 Academy is headed by Susie Wolff (Mercedes’ Toto Wolff’s wife), who was the last female driver to take part in a Grand Prix weekend (in a practice session for Williams in 2014) and the first to do so in more than 20 years. In the history of F1, only five female drivers have entered a Grand Prix with only two of them ever starting a race. Italian Lella Lombardi remains the only female to have claimed a World Championship point. She lined up in 12 races from 1974-76. One for the trivia bank! ————————– We enjoy keeping you up-to-date with the important issues and encourage you to please reach out if there is any particular topic you’d like us to cover. |