Labor has indicated that its proposed national anti-corruption commission will be given powers to investigate misconduct retrospectively. Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has indicated that the commission is likely to have the power to investigate corruption or misconduct that is alleged to have occurred up to 15 years ago. Dreyfus adds that politicians and public servants could
Roy Morgan polling has identified the precise time when female voters began to switch away from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, with Roy Morgan tracking male and female two-party-preferred outcomes. The switch happened in February 2021, when Brittany Higgins went public about her ordeal and treatment by the Coalition government. While there has been a slight narrowing
The Australian is fighting a losing battle on the election but it has unearthed unsettling material on Labor’s deputy leader, Richard Marles, who appears to have been a driving force behind its total misreading of trends around China: Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles held 10 meetings with the Chinese embassy or officials in the past
‘Teal’ candidates Monique Ryan, Allegra Spender and Zoe Daniel have backed the model for a national integrity commission (NIC) that has been proposed by independent MP Helen Haines. They are of the view that any federal anti-corruption watchdog should have the power to investigate the misuse of taxpayers’ money. Ryan says that amongst other things,
China is lying: Beijing’s growing co-operation with the South Pacific is not a threat to Australia’s security, China’s local ambassador says, amid regional alarm a security pact with the Solomon Islands could pave the way for a military base. In a further conciliatory sign from Ambassador Xiao Qian, he said common interests between Australia and
Bravo to this! The U.S. Department of Defense has asked Congress to let it fund facilities in the United Kingdom and Australia that process strategic minerals used to make electric vehicles and weapons, calling the proposal crucial to national defense. The request to alter the Cold War-era Defense Production Act (DPA) came as part of
According to polls, Labor is romping to victory: Labor would win government in its own right and secure a modest majority with 80 seats in parliament if an election were held today according to the most sophisticated poll conducted across Australia measuring voter intention in every electorate in the country. According to a special YouGov
Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently attracted criticism for describing ICAC as a “kangaroo court” that had “destroyed people’s reputations and careers before it’s even made a finding” and could turn Australia into a “public autocracy”. The NSW government has defied these criticisms and will provide the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) with increased funding in
I have a working theory that overall betting odds on elections are affected by what people wish would happen as much as what people think will happen. However, my theory is individual seat odds are less likely to be affected by the casual gambler and the betting odds are likely to be dominated by either
Last year, former NSW Planning Minister, Rob Stokes, used COVID as an excuse to turbo-charge development: NSW planning processes and development applications will be fast-tracked in a bid to support the construction sector and maintain jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessments of state significant developments, rezoning and development applications will be accelerated under the changes
Here comes the election-stopper: The Morrison government is bracing for a high-level Chinese delegation to touch down in Honiara imminently to officially sign the security pact between Beijing and the Solomon Islands. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to lead the delegation on a tour of the region. Several well-placed sources told The Australian
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) still holds a commanding 9% two-party preferred lead over the Coalition, according to the latest Roy Morgan polling: Primary support for the ALP was up slightly by 0.5% points to 35.5% this week and is now ahead of the L-NP on 34% (down 1% point). Support for the Greens was
The words are minimal but they are very important: The fieriest clash was over China. Asked whether his description of a potential Chinese military base in Solomon Islands as a “red line” meant Australia would blockade the Pacific nation, Mr Morrison said he would not speculate. “What is necessary in international environments such as this
Newspoll first: IPSOS the same: Labor’s primary vote has inched up 1 percentage point to 35 per cent and the Coalition’s has fallen 3 points to 29 per cent. The Greens remain steady at 12 per cent, One Nation is on 4 per cent, the United Australia Party is on 3 per cent, others are
The futures market has truly lost its marbles, ratchetting up its Australian interest expectations even higher. As shown below, the RBA cash rate is now forecast by the market to hit 2.75% by the end of this year and around 3.7% by September 2023: The next table shows what the market’s forecasts would mean for
New research from Climate Analytics that is pretty black and white:
As the Morrison Government has sat on its arse for eight months knowing this was coming, we are watching the formation of China’s Pacific Axis in real-time: The Solomon Islands opposition says Chinese security personnel could soon outnumber Australian peacekeepers in the country, warning that Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is likely to install a “strongarm”
The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has presented research on negative gearing and the capital gains tax (CGT) discount, which would have been useful in 2018-19. According to the PBO, both tax lurks overwhelming benefit higher income earners – something MB has argued for years: 57 per cent of negative gearing deductions go to the top
So say “economists“: Cost-of-living spending in the federal budget “100 per cent” helped pull forward the Reserve Bank’s decision to increase official interest rates, say economists who warn most Australians will suffer real falls in wages over the next 18 months. As Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg defended their handling of the
The ABC is carrying the story of the latest verbal missile thrown at Australia from the Solomons: The Solomon Islands Prime Minister has launched a tirade in parliament, suggesting Australia and its allies are deliberately trying to undermine his government, criticising the Western response to Russia’s invasion and praising China’s treatment of Christians. Manasseh Sogavare
More Morrison corruption today: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has opened a new front in the debate over a national integrity commission, declaring Australia could become an unrecognisable “public autocracy” if such a body is given too much influence over government decision-making. With Labor, the Greens and the “teal” independents campaigning hard on the need for
NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) commissioner Stephen Rushton, SC, appeared before state parliament’s ICAC oversight committee yesterday. Rushton told the committee that people who have referred to ICAC as a ‘kangaroo court’ were “buffoons”, and that such comments risked eroding trust in ICAC and undermining public trust in governments. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has
Much like Newspoll and Resolve yesterday, Roy Morgan’s latest polling on voter intentions has Labor (55.5%) widening its two-party preferred lead over the Coalition (44.5%): The ALP gained 1% point on a two-party preferred basis during the week to Sunday May 1, increasing its lead to 10% points: ALP 55.5% cf. L-NP 44.5% according to
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attacked Labor’s proposed shared equity scheme for home buyers, which would see the federal government take a 30% to 40% share in their property. Morrison claims Labor “wants the government to own your home”. However, he has previously supported similar schemes operated by state governments and the private sector: Morrison
A new report from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) claims that a 10.3% increase in workers’ productivity since the Coalition government won office in 2013 has not been reflected in wages growth. The peak union body says the average worker would have been $10,000 better off if real wages had kept pace with
