PM puts lid on GST hikes, pledges boost for business
While he did not want to rule any policy changes in or out of the government's economic reform agenda, Anthony Albanese was far from supportive of increasing consumption taxes in comments to a News Corp event on Friday.
Some economists have called for the GST to be lifted from 10 to 15 per cent and the base broadened to include items like private health insurance and fresh food to provide revenue in order for other levies like income tax to be lowered.
But that would mean making the tax system more regressive, resulting in lower earners contributing more as a share of their incomes.
"I'm a supporter of progressive taxation," Mr Albanese said, in the clearest indication yet that GST won't be increased after an economic reform roundtable in August.
"Consumption taxes, by definition, are regressive in their nature. So that's something that, you know, doesn't fit with the agenda."
Outside of tax changes, Mr Albanese promised to get out of businesses' way to help the private sector resume its "rightful place" as the primary driver of Australia's economic growth.
Unlike in his government's first three years in power, when fighting inflation and easing cost-of-living pressures took up much of the government's bandwidth, boosting productivity has been identified as Labor's main concern this term.
"In a strong, dynamic and productive economy, government should be a driver of growth, but not the driver of growth; facilitating private sector investment and job creation, not seeking to replace it," Mr Albanese said.
While tax reform would form an important part of the conversation, he acknowledged the need to cut red tape to make it easier for businesses to create jobs.
But any businesses hoping for a relaxation of industrial relations protections will be disappointed.
Despite boasting higher wages than other countries in the region, Australia could recapture its manufacturing edge without cutting labour costs, the prime minister insisted.
But the nation must make the most of new technologies and capitalise on its ability to locate industrial facilities alongside renewable energy resources.
"In the years ahead, comparative advantage in manufacturing will not be defined by minimising the cost of labour," Mr Albanese said.
"It will be secured by the most productive use of technology, by cutting transport costs and by cheaper, cleaner energy."
Mr Albanese's message was met with cautious support from the opposition.
Coalition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie said the government had spent its first term "smashing" small business through industrial relations policies and regulations and needed to use its landslide election win to help the country become more prosperous.
"Use the huge mandate that the Australian people have given you to set our country up for the future, and we will back you the whole way," she told Sky News on Friday.
"If Labor wants us to be more productive, wants the private sector to grow and prosper, then it needs to look at removing red tape and make tough decisions that their traditional supporters might not like."
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
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Why 'racist' preacher couldn't be charged by police
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The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. "They were being jostled, they weren't allowed to cross, there was shouting … and they were angry they could not access the shops that they wished to." Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer told the inquiry her school was spending $3.9 million a year on security, a figure that had nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. "Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched," she said. "Our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit and this has become our normal." The Jewish school, in Sydney's east, faced an average of one security incident per week in 2025, she said. A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader's former home and the spray-painting of anti-Semitic slurs in various prominent locations. Mr Hudson said reports of anti-Semitism have increased. More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023. An Islamist preacher who called Jewish people "vile" couldn't face criminal sanctions but new laws might soon allow police to lay charges for similar comments. A ruling in the Federal Court described Wissam Haddad's speech as containing "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and making "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. But police did not have scope to lay criminal charges when the incident was assessed, a senior officer has revealed. "The legal advice was it wouldn't reach the threshold for prosecution," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a state parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The prospects of prosecution would change under laws taking effect in August, he added, although the legislation was not retrospective. Mr Haddad has been ordered by the court to remove the sermons from social media and not publicly repeat similar statements. The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. "They were being jostled, they weren't allowed to cross, there was shouting … and they were angry they could not access the shops that they wished to." Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer told the inquiry her school was spending $3.9 million a year on security, a figure that had nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. "Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched," she said. "Our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit and this has become our normal." The Jewish school, in Sydney's east, faced an average of one security incident per week in 2025, she said. A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader's former home and the spray-painting of anti-Semitic slurs in various prominent locations. Mr Hudson said reports of anti-Semitism have increased. More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023. An Islamist preacher who called Jewish people "vile" couldn't face criminal sanctions but new laws might soon allow police to lay charges for similar comments. A ruling in the Federal Court described Wissam Haddad's speech as containing "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and making "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. But police did not have scope to lay criminal charges when the incident was assessed, a senior officer has revealed. "The legal advice was it wouldn't reach the threshold for prosecution," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a state parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The prospects of prosecution would change under laws taking effect in August, he added, although the legislation was not retrospective. Mr Haddad has been ordered by the court to remove the sermons from social media and not publicly repeat similar statements. The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. 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More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023. An Islamist preacher who called Jewish people "vile" couldn't face criminal sanctions but new laws might soon allow police to lay charges for similar comments. A ruling in the Federal Court described Wissam Haddad's speech as containing "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and making "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. But police did not have scope to lay criminal charges when the incident was assessed, a senior officer has revealed. "The legal advice was it wouldn't reach the threshold for prosecution," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a state parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The prospects of prosecution would change under laws taking effect in August, he added, although the legislation was not retrospective. 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"They were being jostled, they weren't allowed to cross, there was shouting … and they were angry they could not access the shops that they wished to." Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer told the inquiry her school was spending $3.9 million a year on security, a figure that had nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. "Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched," she said. "Our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit and this has become our normal." The Jewish school, in Sydney's east, faced an average of one security incident per week in 2025, she said. A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader's former home and the spray-painting of anti-Semitic slurs in various prominent locations. Mr Hudson said reports of anti-Semitism have increased. More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
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‘How strange': Anthony Albanese leaves ‘You're the Voice' off his top ten Aussie rock songs
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Site preparations for new Huntlee high school to begin as stage two awaits approvals
The first site preparation works for a new high school at Huntlee, promised in 2023 as part of a state significant development of thousands of new homes there, began this week after the developer was granted initial approvals. It comes as stage two of the Huntlee development, which will mean some 5000 new homes at Branxton, awaits approval and funding from last month's state budget. The public primary and high school in the rapidly growing area will serve the communities of Branxton, Huntlee and North Rothbury. It is slated for Reading Road and Personia Boulevard, with the primary school to include a pre-school. Huntlee is planned to house 20,000 people. The 2021 Census showed the areas population had grown from 900 to 2300 in five years. Classes are expected to begin in 2028, a spokesman for the NSW Education Department said. Testing and investigations began in May to inform the schools' designs, which remain in development. Once planning approval is received and a contractor is onboard, construction work will begin. "The project is currently in the planning and design stages. We will keep the community informed as the project progresses," the spokesman said. In the 2024-2025 budget, the state announced plans to create 100 new co-located pre-schools across the state and set aside $630,000 to deliver a kindergarten to year 8 school in Huntlee. Across the state, the government will invest $9 billion in school infrastructure over four years for new and upgraded schools. New schools were promised by the Labor state government in 2023 after parents in the burgeoning suburban hub raised concerns that the estate lacked needed facilities. "We were told Huntlee is this wonderful new town designed for 20,000 people, which is all well and good, but this town and its residents deserve education facilities," parent Lee-Anne Moore told the Cessnock Advertiser in 2023. 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Classes are expected to begin in 2028, a spokesman for the NSW Education Department said. Testing and investigations began in May to inform the schools' designs, which remain in development. Once planning approval is received and a contractor is onboard, construction work will begin. "The project is currently in the planning and design stages. We will keep the community informed as the project progresses," the spokesman said. In the 2024-2025 budget, the state announced plans to create 100 new co-located pre-schools across the state and set aside $630,000 to deliver a kindergarten to year 8 school in Huntlee. Across the state, the government will invest $9 billion in school infrastructure over four years for new and upgraded schools. New schools were promised by the Labor state government in 2023 after parents in the burgeoning suburban hub raised concerns that the estate lacked needed facilities. "We were told Huntlee is this wonderful new town designed for 20,000 people, which is all well and good, but this town and its residents deserve education facilities," parent Lee-Anne Moore told the Cessnock Advertiser in 2023. "Given Huntlee will be home to 20,000 people, a similar size to Singleton, we need these education facilities, first a high school and then a primary school, to be built, and built now." The NSW Department of Planning was contacted for comment. The first site preparation works for a new high school at Huntlee, promised in 2023 as part of a state significant development of thousands of new homes there, began this week after the developer was granted initial approvals. It comes as stage two of the Huntlee development, which will mean some 5000 new homes at Branxton, awaits approval and funding from last month's state budget. The public primary and high school in the rapidly growing area will serve the communities of Branxton, Huntlee and North Rothbury. It is slated for Reading Road and Personia Boulevard, with the primary school to include a pre-school. Huntlee is planned to house 20,000 people. The 2021 Census showed the areas population had grown from 900 to 2300 in five years. Classes are expected to begin in 2028, a spokesman for the NSW Education Department said. Testing and investigations began in May to inform the schools' designs, which remain in development. Once planning approval is received and a contractor is onboard, construction work will begin. "The project is currently in the planning and design stages. We will keep the community informed as the project progresses," the spokesman said. In the 2024-2025 budget, the state announced plans to create 100 new co-located pre-schools across the state and set aside $630,000 to deliver a kindergarten to year 8 school in Huntlee. Across the state, the government will invest $9 billion in school infrastructure over four years for new and upgraded schools. New schools were promised by the Labor state government in 2023 after parents in the burgeoning suburban hub raised concerns that the estate lacked needed facilities. "We were told Huntlee is this wonderful new town designed for 20,000 people, which is all well and good, but this town and its residents deserve education facilities," parent Lee-Anne Moore told the Cessnock Advertiser in 2023. "Given Huntlee will be home to 20,000 people, a similar size to Singleton, we need these education facilities, first a high school and then a primary school, to be built, and built now." The NSW Department of Planning was contacted for comment. The first site preparation works for a new high school at Huntlee, promised in 2023 as part of a state significant development of thousands of new homes there, began this week after the developer was granted initial approvals. It comes as stage two of the Huntlee development, which will mean some 5000 new homes at Branxton, awaits approval and funding from last month's state budget. The public primary and high school in the rapidly growing area will serve the communities of Branxton, Huntlee and North Rothbury. It is slated for Reading Road and Personia Boulevard, with the primary school to include a pre-school. Huntlee is planned to house 20,000 people. The 2021 Census showed the areas population had grown from 900 to 2300 in five years. Classes are expected to begin in 2028, a spokesman for the NSW Education Department said. Testing and investigations began in May to inform the schools' designs, which remain in development. Once planning approval is received and a contractor is onboard, construction work will begin. "The project is currently in the planning and design stages. We will keep the community informed as the project progresses," the spokesman said. In the 2024-2025 budget, the state announced plans to create 100 new co-located pre-schools across the state and set aside $630,000 to deliver a kindergarten to year 8 school in Huntlee. Across the state, the government will invest $9 billion in school infrastructure over four years for new and upgraded schools. New schools were promised by the Labor state government in 2023 after parents in the burgeoning suburban hub raised concerns that the estate lacked needed facilities. "We were told Huntlee is this wonderful new town designed for 20,000 people, which is all well and good, but this town and its residents deserve education facilities," parent Lee-Anne Moore told the Cessnock Advertiser in 2023. "Given Huntlee will be home to 20,000 people, a similar size to Singleton, we need these education facilities, first a high school and then a primary school, to be built, and built now." The NSW Department of Planning was contacted for comment.
