Albanese's ‘ideological obsession' is driving emissions up
"Labor's net zero plan is a costly con on Australians, it's economic sabotage dressed up as ideology and nothing more,' Ms Cash told Sky News host Sharri Markson.
'You have household, you have businesses in particularly small businesses, now struggling under some of the highest energy prices ever in Australia.
'This is the irony of Mr Albanese's ideological obsession, emissions in Australia are going up.'
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7NEWS
5 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Kmart dragged into landmark legal case over alleged links to Uyghur forced labor in China
In an Australian legal first, Uyghur community leaders have launched Federal Court action demanding transparency from retail giant Kmart over its potential links to forced labour in China. The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) has filed a motion demanding Kmart hand over internal documents related to two of its clothing suppliers allegedly involved in forced Uyghur labour in the Xinjiang region. Both suppliers are listed in Kmart's 2024 and 2025 factory disclosures, AUTWA said. The legal action, led by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and supported by the Human Rights Law Centre, aims to test whether Kmart's ethical sourcing claims hold up under scrutiny. Speaking outside the court in Melbourne on Tuesday, AUTWA President Ramila Chanisheff said the case marks a historic milestone. 'We just filed a document into the Federal Court asking for records from Kmart about two supply chains that could be linked to Uyghur forced labor,' she told 'It is the first of its kind in Australia to bring a case against an Australian retailer, and it's not just a small retailer, it's actually a major. 'We want to make sure that the products that are made in China and sold in Kmart are not linked to forced labour.' Kmart publicly markets itself as an ethical business. 'We aim to provide great products at the lowest prices for our customers while respecting human rights,' the retailer states on its website. Kmart said it is continually working to improve its ethical sourcing standards and processes, and is collaborating with suppliers, NGOs, trade unions, and government representatives to help improve working conditions in the regions where it sources its products. The court action now centres around whether the company may have breached Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct about the sourcing of its products. AUTWA is seeking access to documents that could demonstrate what Kmart knew — or should have known — about the origins of products made in factories with ties to Xinjiang, where widespread human rights abuses, including state-sponsored forced labour, have been well-documented. 'If it's found that Kmart's products are linked to forced labour, they must divest from those supply chains, not just in Xinjiang, but across China, where Uyghur people are often trafficked into mainland labour camps,' Chanisheff said. The goal is not only to hold Kmart accountable, but to put other industries on notice, she added. 'Australians deserve to make informed choices.' Retailers on notice Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Jennifer Kanis, who is leading the case, said the legal action aims to hold Kmart accountable for its ethical sourcing claims. She said the company must be transparent about its supply chain practices, especially given the known risks of forced labour in Xinjiang. 'Kmart tells customers that it supports ethical sourcing and the protection of human rights — but we know there are credible links between two of its factories and the use of Uyghur forced labour in Xinjiang,' Kanis said. 'Documents will be sought from Kmart to determine whether it engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct about this issue.' She added the Federal Court will be asked to compel Kmart to provide evidence of what due diligence it has conducted on suppliers with links to the region. Associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre Freya Dinshaw said the case underscores significant weaknesses in Australia's approach to modern slavery. 'The alarm bells have been ringing for a long time in relation to the risk of forced labour in the Chinese garment sector, and Australian retailers have been on notice,' she said. 'This court case is about Kmart coming clean on whether it is really doing everything it claims to be doing to ensure that its products are slavery free.' Dinshaw argued it should not be up to the public to force companies into transparency through legal action and called for stronger laws that require businesses to investigate and prevent forced labour. She also noted that, unlike countries such as the US and Canada, Australia has not banned the importation of goods made with forced labour, allowing them to reach store shelves unchecked. What happens next? The Federal Court will consider AUTWA's request in the coming weeks. If successful, the outcome could pave the way for further legal action against Kmart or other major retailers. 'Kmart, and all companies, must ensure they are not profiting from forced labour in China.,' Chanisheff said. The case is expected to fuel growing public pressure on retailers to lift the veil on their offshore operations.
The Australian
5 hours ago
- The Australian
Economic reform roundtable: What Chalmers has planned revealed
Jim Chalmers is shifting the goalposts on his economic reform roundtable to focus outcomes on deregulation, cutting red tape and housing productivity – rather than major tax reform or reining in record government spending. Ahead of the Treasurer meeting the Business Council of Australia and other top chief executives this week, Anthony Albanese and Dr Chalmers are lowering expectations of significant reforms across a range of tax and economic policy issues. Drawing inspiration from the book Abundance, penned by progressive liberals working at The New York Times and The Atlantic, Dr Chalmers will seek consensus from business, union and community leaders on deregulation, productivity and lifting housing activity. The move away from more ambitious proposals to turbocharge Australia's sluggish economy comes amid rising anxiety in private-sector ranks about a unions ambush and the government using business leaders as cover to pursue tax crackdowns on employers and property investors. Despite the hype fuelled by the government over the potential for a contest of ideas at the three-day roundtable hosted by Dr Chalmers at Parliament House from August 19 to 21, The Australian understands there will not be a shared communique at the end of the summit suggesting unanimous agreement on contentious proposals. Instead, Dr Chalmers is expected to provide a wrap-up of the roundtable, and mention a handful of specific changes he will be tasked with implementing. Dr Chalmers, who will have met 75 chief executives and senior industry representatives before the roundtable, is expected to elevate the focus on what Labor describes as 'better regulation' to ramp up productivity and speed-up housing approvals. The Australian understands Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson, who will not publicly release the 900 roundtable submissions her department has received, has been involved in 30 to 40 hours of discussions with Dr Chalmers about proposals put forward. On the back of those discussions, the government has decided that deregulation and speeding up approvals across all tiers of government will now be the roundtable's central plank. The Treasurer, who does not believe all regulation is negative, is recalibrating the summit away from tax reform amid tax policy clashes between unions, business and the Productivity Commission. The return to prioritising productivity follows the Prime Minister initially referring to the post-election gathering as the 'productivity roundtable' before Dr Chalmers dubbed it the 'economic reform roundtable'. Mr Albanese, who shut down Dr Chalmers' signalling that GST changes could be on the table for discussion, said on Monday: 'This is a roundtable … just that … it is not more than that, it's not a replacement of the cabinet.' In June, Dr Chalmers said he was open to most ideas on tax at the roundtable, including the GST. 'I suspect the states will have a view about the GST,' he said. 'It's not a view that I've been attracted to historically, but I'm going to try not to get in the process of shooting ideas between now and the roundtable.' The roundtable, to be officially launched by Mr Albanese, will focus on 'resilience' on day one, 'productivity' on day two and 'budget sustainability' on day three. Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock, Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood and Ms Wilkinson will deliver presentations ahead of formal discussions on each day. Ms Wilkinson will outline some of the big spending areas in a budget Dr Chalmers has described as unsustainable. She will reinforce the Treasurer's criteria that any reforms need to be budget-neutral at a minimum, in the national interest, and specific and practical. Ms Wood, who has already provided recommendations to the Treasurer on tax, energy and AI, has suggested a cashflow tax that would have been neutral to the budget in the medium term but was immediately rejected by big business. The Board of Treasurers, chaired by NSW's Daniel Mookhey, met last week and will finalise state and territory government positions ahead of the roundtable at a meeting late next week. Mr Mookhey is the only state and territory government representative at the roundtable, which has excluded local government officials despite a deregulation push across all tiers of government. Housing Minister Clare O'Neil, who met industry and union bosses on Tuesday, will hold talks with local government representatives in a separate roundtable on Wednesday as she seeks to achieve Labor's target of 1.2 million new homes by mid-2029. Between July 8 and August 15, ministers will have held 41 separate roundtables with stakeholders. Ms O'Neil said: 'It takes much longer to approve a home than to build one … this needs to change. Building regulations need to be simpler, environmental approvals faster and new technologies easier to adopt.' Housing Industry Australia chief executive Simon Croft who attended Ms O'Neil's roundtable said he was encouraged to see this level of government engagement. Dr Chalmers has met business executives including Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn, Westpac's Anthony Miller, HSBC's Antony Shaw and Barrenjoey's Matthew Grounds, as well as BHP's Mike Henry, Woodside's Meg O'Neill, Rio Tinto's Kellie Parker, INPEX's Bill Townsend, Fortescue's Dino Otranto, Shell Australia's Cecile Wake, Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott, Google chief Mel Silva, Telstra's Vicki Brady and AustralianSuper chief executive Paul Schroder. Invitees to Dr Chalmers' roundtable, who will not be forced to sign confidentiality agreements and can speak publicly about discussions, include Tech Council of Australia chair Scott Farquhar, ACTU secretary Sally McManus, BCA chief executive Bran Black, ACOSS chief Cassandra Goldie, IFM Investors chair Cath Bowtell, Australian Retirement Trust chair Andrew Fraser, Woodside board member Benn Wyatt and Mr Comyn. Opposition Treasury spokesman Ted O'Brien, who has been meeting business leaders, will attend but is unlikely to push any major reforms given the Coalition is working through a policy review. The Australian can reveal that a business alliance working together ahead of the roundtable has swelled to 30 industry groups and is preparing a pre-summit joint statement outlining their priorities for outcomes. BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery on Tuesday warned that any 'meaningful conversation about productivity' must focus on making tax settings more globally competitive to help unlock new investment and growth across the private sector. Amid calls from unions for the Albanese government to hike taxes for the country's biggest companies, Ms Slattery said 'proposals to increase the tax burden on Australian businesses would be counter-productive'. Labor's too hard basket piles up ahead of roundtable Politics The Productivity Commission has proposed giving tech giants free access to Australian content for AI training, sparking fears creators will miss out on compensation. Economics New regulation risks $116bn in economic gains at risk, Productivity Commission warns Jim Chalmers.
The Australian
5 hours ago
- The Australian
Port Pirie, Hobart Nyrstar smelters bailout a boost for critical mineral capacity
Australia will develop new sovereign capacity in critical mineral production, under a $135m bailout of two key Nyrstar smelters in two states. The rescue package for Nyrstar's Hobart zinc and Port Pirie lead smelters, revealed exclusively in The Australian last month, secures 1400 jobs and could create hundreds more. A rare bipartisan, multi-jurisdiction plan, confirmed on Tuesday, will see critical minerals antimony and bismuth produced at Port Pirie, South Australia, and germanium and indium in Hobart. These minerals are critical in the production of key products for defence, clean energy, transport, advanced manufacturing and technology. 'Through this transformation, Nyrstar aims to explore possible production of antimony, bismuth, tellurium, germanium and indium – minerals vital to clean energy, defence and hi-tech sectors,' federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres said. 'An antimony pilot plant will be deployed in Port Pirie as a priority … This would position Port Pirie as Australia's only producer of antimony metal and one of the few globally, supporting sovereign capability in defence and advanced manufacturing.' Federal taxpayers will contribute $57.5m to the package, the Labor South Australian government $55m and the Tasmanian Liberal caretaker government – with state Labor support – $22.5m. As well as the critical mineral projects, the funding – a mix of new and pre-committed money – will help finance a major maintenance project at Port Pirie and major furnace and wharf upgrades in Hobart. SA Premier Peter Malinauskas hailed the outcome, which follows Nyrstar's claims of market sabotage by Chinese-subsidised industry, as 'an opportunity to transform the Port Pirie smelter and secure its future for the long term'. 'We can modernise the Port Pirie smelter and take advantage of the world's desire for critical minerals,' Mr Malinauskas said. 'The Port Pirie operations have faced challenges from global forces largely beyond its control. But the transformation of the smelter into a producer of critical minerals like antimony would put our state at the forefront of a global supply chain that is vital to clean energy, defence and hi-tech manufacturing.' Nyrstar Australia chief executive Matt Howell said the company's operations in this country had a century of history and could now become 'a new hub for the supply of critical metals – not only to Australia but globally'. 'Port Pirie and Hobart represent a key part of Australia's metals processing infrastructure,' Mr Howell said. 'We have an opportunity to build upon this to create a new source of economic growth, producing metals for defence industries, renewable energy and high-technology manufacturing. 'Through this partnership, Australia is demonstrating that it is at the forefront of taking meaningful steps to retain nationally strategic smelters and partner with industry to provide urgent short-term support, as well as work on solutions for their long-term viability.' As Australia's only lead refiner and the largest zinc refiner, Nyrstar contributed about $1.7bn to the economy each year, he said. The first stage of the package would require an additional 350 contractors and 90 suppliers at Port Pirie, and about 200 in Hobart. While welcoming the support, the Australian Workers' Union called for a broader national smelter strategy to provide longer-term sustainability across the metals industry. Coalition industry spokesman Alex Hawke said the bailout 'ignored deeper challenges with Australian industry'. 'High energy costs and stifling regulation must be addressed to improve productivity and boost competitiveness,' he said. Politics The Productivity Commission has proposed giving tech giants free access to Australian content for AI training, sparking fears creators will miss out on compensation. Economics New regulation risks $116bn in economic gains at risk, Productivity Commission warns Jim Chalmers.
