Labor Party's ‘extremely risky' super tax criticised
Former Labor minister Graham Richardson discusses the Labor Party's 'risky' super tax.
The government is planning to tax people on the increase in value of their assets if they have more than $3 million in their super account.
'It's politically risky, extremely risky, and I can't see why we'd bother doing it,' Mr Richardson told Sky News host Rowan Dean.
'I'm not a great fan of it, and were I having a chat to Jim (Chalmers), I would certainly say that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
32 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
'Fight and win': weapons factories in UK defence boost
Britain must be ready to fight and win a war against states with advanced military forces, Prime Minister Keir Starmer says as his government announced a 1.5 billion-pound ($A3.1 billion) plan to build at least six new weapons and explosives factories. Starmer's warning comes a day before he publishes a major review of Britain's military capabilities. The UK and countries across Europe are rapidly trying to boost their defence industries after US President Donald Trump said the continent had to take more responsibility for its own security. "We are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, so we must be ready to fight and win," Starmer wrote in an article for The Sun on Sunday newspaper, citing as examples Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its co-operation with Iran and North Korea. Defence Minister John Healey announced the munitions investment program in a BBC interview on Sunday, describing it as "a message to Moscow" as well as a way to stimulate the country's sluggish economy. The Ministry of Defence said it would procure up to 7000 long-range weapons, built in Britain. The extra investment means Britain will spend around six billion pounds ($A12.5 billion) on munitions in the current parliament, the Ministry of Defence said. The Sunday Times reported the government wanted to purchase US-made fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons. The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The Strategic Defence Review, commissioned by Starmer's Labour government shortly after it won power in July 2024, will set out the threats Britain faces and the military equipment and services needed to meet them. Starmer has already committed to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 and target a three per cent level over the longer term. The government has already announced a billion-pound plan to invest in artificial intelligence that can be used to enhance battlefield decision-making, and has separately committed to spend an extra 1.5 billion pounds ($A3.1 billion) to tackle the poor state of housing for the country's armed forces. Britain must be ready to fight and win a war against states with advanced military forces, Prime Minister Keir Starmer says as his government announced a 1.5 billion-pound ($A3.1 billion) plan to build at least six new weapons and explosives factories. Starmer's warning comes a day before he publishes a major review of Britain's military capabilities. The UK and countries across Europe are rapidly trying to boost their defence industries after US President Donald Trump said the continent had to take more responsibility for its own security. "We are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, so we must be ready to fight and win," Starmer wrote in an article for The Sun on Sunday newspaper, citing as examples Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its co-operation with Iran and North Korea. Defence Minister John Healey announced the munitions investment program in a BBC interview on Sunday, describing it as "a message to Moscow" as well as a way to stimulate the country's sluggish economy. The Ministry of Defence said it would procure up to 7000 long-range weapons, built in Britain. The extra investment means Britain will spend around six billion pounds ($A12.5 billion) on munitions in the current parliament, the Ministry of Defence said. The Sunday Times reported the government wanted to purchase US-made fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons. The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The Strategic Defence Review, commissioned by Starmer's Labour government shortly after it won power in July 2024, will set out the threats Britain faces and the military equipment and services needed to meet them. Starmer has already committed to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 and target a three per cent level over the longer term. The government has already announced a billion-pound plan to invest in artificial intelligence that can be used to enhance battlefield decision-making, and has separately committed to spend an extra 1.5 billion pounds ($A3.1 billion) to tackle the poor state of housing for the country's armed forces. Britain must be ready to fight and win a war against states with advanced military forces, Prime Minister Keir Starmer says as his government announced a 1.5 billion-pound ($A3.1 billion) plan to build at least six new weapons and explosives factories. Starmer's warning comes a day before he publishes a major review of Britain's military capabilities. The UK and countries across Europe are rapidly trying to boost their defence industries after US President Donald Trump said the continent had to take more responsibility for its own security. "We are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, so we must be ready to fight and win," Starmer wrote in an article for The Sun on Sunday newspaper, citing as examples Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its co-operation with Iran and North Korea. Defence Minister John Healey announced the munitions investment program in a BBC interview on Sunday, describing it as "a message to Moscow" as well as a way to stimulate the country's sluggish economy. The Ministry of Defence said it would procure up to 7000 long-range weapons, built in Britain. The extra investment means Britain will spend around six billion pounds ($A12.5 billion) on munitions in the current parliament, the Ministry of Defence said. The Sunday Times reported the government wanted to purchase US-made fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons. The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The Strategic Defence Review, commissioned by Starmer's Labour government shortly after it won power in July 2024, will set out the threats Britain faces and the military equipment and services needed to meet them. Starmer has already committed to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 and target a three per cent level over the longer term. The government has already announced a billion-pound plan to invest in artificial intelligence that can be used to enhance battlefield decision-making, and has separately committed to spend an extra 1.5 billion pounds ($A3.1 billion) to tackle the poor state of housing for the country's armed forces. Britain must be ready to fight and win a war against states with advanced military forces, Prime Minister Keir Starmer says as his government announced a 1.5 billion-pound ($A3.1 billion) plan to build at least six new weapons and explosives factories. Starmer's warning comes a day before he publishes a major review of Britain's military capabilities. The UK and countries across Europe are rapidly trying to boost their defence industries after US President Donald Trump said the continent had to take more responsibility for its own security. "We are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, so we must be ready to fight and win," Starmer wrote in an article for The Sun on Sunday newspaper, citing as examples Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its co-operation with Iran and North Korea. Defence Minister John Healey announced the munitions investment program in a BBC interview on Sunday, describing it as "a message to Moscow" as well as a way to stimulate the country's sluggish economy. The Ministry of Defence said it would procure up to 7000 long-range weapons, built in Britain. The extra investment means Britain will spend around six billion pounds ($A12.5 billion) on munitions in the current parliament, the Ministry of Defence said. The Sunday Times reported the government wanted to purchase US-made fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons. The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The Strategic Defence Review, commissioned by Starmer's Labour government shortly after it won power in July 2024, will set out the threats Britain faces and the military equipment and services needed to meet them. Starmer has already committed to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 and target a three per cent level over the longer term. The government has already announced a billion-pound plan to invest in artificial intelligence that can be used to enhance battlefield decision-making, and has separately committed to spend an extra 1.5 billion pounds ($A3.1 billion) to tackle the poor state of housing for the country's armed forces.
The Advertiser
32 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Seven killed by bridge blasts in Russian border regions
At least seven people have been killed and 69 injured when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine ahead of planned peace talks aimed at ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine, Russian officials say. A highway bridge over a railway in the Bryansk region was blown up at 10.50pm on Saturday night just as a passenger train carrying 388 passengers to Moscow was passing underneath, Russian investigators said. Four hours later, a railway bridge over a highway was blown up in the neighbouring Kursk region showering the road with parts of a freight train, the investigators said. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, linked the incidents and said explicitly that both bridges were blown up. In the Bryansk region, social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to climb out of smashed carriages in the dark. Part of the passenger train was shown crushed under a collapsed road bridge and wrecked carriages lay beside the lines. "The bridge was blown up while the Klimovo-Moscow train was passing through with 388 passengers on board," Alexander Bogomaz, the region's governor, told Russian television. The Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been subject to frequent attacks by Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both sides accuse the other of targeting civilians, and both deny such accusations. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the incidents, which took place just a day before the United States wants Russia and Ukraine to sit down to direct talks in Istanbul to discuss a possible end to a war which, according to Washington, has killed and injured at least 1.2 million people. Ukraine's HUR military intelligence agency said on Sunday that an explosion had derailed a Russian military train hauling cargo and fuel trucks near the settlement of Yakymivka, in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. The agency did not claim responsibility or attribute the explosion to anyone, though Ukraine has in the past claimed a series of attacks deep into Russia. Russian politicians lined up to blame Ukraine, saying it was clearly sabotage aimed at derailing the peace talks which the United States has demanded. "This is definitely the work of the Ukrainian special services," the chairman of the defence committee of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Andrei Kartapolov, told the SHOT Telegram channel. "All this is aimed at toughening the position of the Russian Federation and stoking aggression before the negotiations. And also to intimidate people. But they won't succeed." President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the bridge blasts by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Emergency Ministry throughout the night, the Kremlin said. Putin also spoke to the governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz. US President Donald Trump has demanded the sides make peace and he has threatened to walk away if they do not - potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers. But as politicians talk of peace negotiations, the war is heating up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has not committed to attending the talks in Turkey, saying it first needed to see Russia's proposals, while a leading US senator warned Moscow it would be "hit hard" by new US sanctions. At least seven people have been killed and 69 injured when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine ahead of planned peace talks aimed at ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine, Russian officials say. A highway bridge over a railway in the Bryansk region was blown up at 10.50pm on Saturday night just as a passenger train carrying 388 passengers to Moscow was passing underneath, Russian investigators said. Four hours later, a railway bridge over a highway was blown up in the neighbouring Kursk region showering the road with parts of a freight train, the investigators said. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, linked the incidents and said explicitly that both bridges were blown up. In the Bryansk region, social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to climb out of smashed carriages in the dark. Part of the passenger train was shown crushed under a collapsed road bridge and wrecked carriages lay beside the lines. "The bridge was blown up while the Klimovo-Moscow train was passing through with 388 passengers on board," Alexander Bogomaz, the region's governor, told Russian television. The Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been subject to frequent attacks by Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both sides accuse the other of targeting civilians, and both deny such accusations. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the incidents, which took place just a day before the United States wants Russia and Ukraine to sit down to direct talks in Istanbul to discuss a possible end to a war which, according to Washington, has killed and injured at least 1.2 million people. Ukraine's HUR military intelligence agency said on Sunday that an explosion had derailed a Russian military train hauling cargo and fuel trucks near the settlement of Yakymivka, in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. The agency did not claim responsibility or attribute the explosion to anyone, though Ukraine has in the past claimed a series of attacks deep into Russia. Russian politicians lined up to blame Ukraine, saying it was clearly sabotage aimed at derailing the peace talks which the United States has demanded. "This is definitely the work of the Ukrainian special services," the chairman of the defence committee of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Andrei Kartapolov, told the SHOT Telegram channel. "All this is aimed at toughening the position of the Russian Federation and stoking aggression before the negotiations. And also to intimidate people. But they won't succeed." President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the bridge blasts by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Emergency Ministry throughout the night, the Kremlin said. Putin also spoke to the governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz. US President Donald Trump has demanded the sides make peace and he has threatened to walk away if they do not - potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers. But as politicians talk of peace negotiations, the war is heating up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has not committed to attending the talks in Turkey, saying it first needed to see Russia's proposals, while a leading US senator warned Moscow it would be "hit hard" by new US sanctions. At least seven people have been killed and 69 injured when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine ahead of planned peace talks aimed at ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine, Russian officials say. A highway bridge over a railway in the Bryansk region was blown up at 10.50pm on Saturday night just as a passenger train carrying 388 passengers to Moscow was passing underneath, Russian investigators said. Four hours later, a railway bridge over a highway was blown up in the neighbouring Kursk region showering the road with parts of a freight train, the investigators said. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, linked the incidents and said explicitly that both bridges were blown up. In the Bryansk region, social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to climb out of smashed carriages in the dark. Part of the passenger train was shown crushed under a collapsed road bridge and wrecked carriages lay beside the lines. "The bridge was blown up while the Klimovo-Moscow train was passing through with 388 passengers on board," Alexander Bogomaz, the region's governor, told Russian television. The Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been subject to frequent attacks by Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both sides accuse the other of targeting civilians, and both deny such accusations. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the incidents, which took place just a day before the United States wants Russia and Ukraine to sit down to direct talks in Istanbul to discuss a possible end to a war which, according to Washington, has killed and injured at least 1.2 million people. Ukraine's HUR military intelligence agency said on Sunday that an explosion had derailed a Russian military train hauling cargo and fuel trucks near the settlement of Yakymivka, in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. The agency did not claim responsibility or attribute the explosion to anyone, though Ukraine has in the past claimed a series of attacks deep into Russia. Russian politicians lined up to blame Ukraine, saying it was clearly sabotage aimed at derailing the peace talks which the United States has demanded. "This is definitely the work of the Ukrainian special services," the chairman of the defence committee of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Andrei Kartapolov, told the SHOT Telegram channel. "All this is aimed at toughening the position of the Russian Federation and stoking aggression before the negotiations. And also to intimidate people. But they won't succeed." President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the bridge blasts by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Emergency Ministry throughout the night, the Kremlin said. Putin also spoke to the governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz. US President Donald Trump has demanded the sides make peace and he has threatened to walk away if they do not - potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers. But as politicians talk of peace negotiations, the war is heating up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has not committed to attending the talks in Turkey, saying it first needed to see Russia's proposals, while a leading US senator warned Moscow it would be "hit hard" by new US sanctions. At least seven people have been killed and 69 injured when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine ahead of planned peace talks aimed at ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine, Russian officials say. A highway bridge over a railway in the Bryansk region was blown up at 10.50pm on Saturday night just as a passenger train carrying 388 passengers to Moscow was passing underneath, Russian investigators said. Four hours later, a railway bridge over a highway was blown up in the neighbouring Kursk region showering the road with parts of a freight train, the investigators said. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, linked the incidents and said explicitly that both bridges were blown up. In the Bryansk region, social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to climb out of smashed carriages in the dark. Part of the passenger train was shown crushed under a collapsed road bridge and wrecked carriages lay beside the lines. "The bridge was blown up while the Klimovo-Moscow train was passing through with 388 passengers on board," Alexander Bogomaz, the region's governor, told Russian television. The Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been subject to frequent attacks by Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both sides accuse the other of targeting civilians, and both deny such accusations. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the incidents, which took place just a day before the United States wants Russia and Ukraine to sit down to direct talks in Istanbul to discuss a possible end to a war which, according to Washington, has killed and injured at least 1.2 million people. Ukraine's HUR military intelligence agency said on Sunday that an explosion had derailed a Russian military train hauling cargo and fuel trucks near the settlement of Yakymivka, in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. The agency did not claim responsibility or attribute the explosion to anyone, though Ukraine has in the past claimed a series of attacks deep into Russia. Russian politicians lined up to blame Ukraine, saying it was clearly sabotage aimed at derailing the peace talks which the United States has demanded. "This is definitely the work of the Ukrainian special services," the chairman of the defence committee of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Andrei Kartapolov, told the SHOT Telegram channel. "All this is aimed at toughening the position of the Russian Federation and stoking aggression before the negotiations. And also to intimidate people. But they won't succeed." President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the bridge blasts by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Emergency Ministry throughout the night, the Kremlin said. Putin also spoke to the governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz. US President Donald Trump has demanded the sides make peace and he has threatened to walk away if they do not - potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers. But as politicians talk of peace negotiations, the war is heating up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has not committed to attending the talks in Turkey, saying it first needed to see Russia's proposals, while a leading US senator warned Moscow it would be "hit hard" by new US sanctions.
Sky News AU
43 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Energy Minister Chris Bowen branded a 'snake' by Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce over net zero 'guilt trip'
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has branded Energy Minister Chris Bowen a "snake" as he claimed Labor was attempting to "swindle" Australians with its net zero push. Following the Labor's resounding victory at the last federal election, Mr Bowen has doubled down on the party's controversial push to overhaul the nation's energy grid. On Sunday, the Energy Minister recommitted to expanding renewables developments across the country in order to meet ambitious emissions reductions targets and reach net zero by 2050. Mr Bowen also suggested Australia could soon introduce targeted tariffs on imports deemed emissions-intensive. In response, Mr Joyce, a longtime critic of net zero, told Sky News Australia Labor's plans would soon see Australians "pay through the teeth" for energy. "What are we doing this for? The majority of the globe in population and the majority of the globe, in economics, does not participate in net zero," he said. "What we've got to clearly understand is this is the most appalling virtue statement that signs you up for the greatest swindle, and I really mean that, in modern times. "What happens at the end is the pensioner, poor old Australians, they pay through the teeth. "We have put our nation at risk because of this mythical guilt trip and this huge swindle on us." Mr Joyce and Nationals colleague Matt Canavan have stepped up their attacks on net zero since the election, with Senator Canavan even challenging for the leadership of the party in order to dump the Coalition's commitment to emissions reductions. While that challenge was ultimately unsuccessful, new Liberal leader Sussan Ley has been coy on whether the Coalition will continue to stand by net zero, leading to fresh suggestions of climate change denialism from Labor. Mr Joyce, however, hit back at those claims, criticising the way in which the government was engaging in the debate over energy. "Don't you just hate the way that they go about this?" he said. "With a guile of a snake, they create this guilt trip. "They say: 'Well, if you disagree with me, the kitties will instantaneously combust and everything will die and the beaches will go and the houses will be flooded'." The Nationals MP also speculated on what might happen if Labor's plan proved ineffective at reducing the effects of climate change, suggesting it could even jeopardise the political future of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. "Mr Bowen and Mr Albanese, we're so far down the track," he said. "Is it going to be the case that if the floods and the cyclones don't stop, they'll resign?" While such an outcome is unlikely, Labor does face pressure over power prices, which have remained elevated despite its claims the renewables push would lower household bills over time. That pressure is likely to grow further once federal energy rebates end next year.
