Albanese sets out his agenda as parliament returns
Political editor Jacob Greber takes a look at the dynamics of the new 48th Parliament.
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Tasmanian Liberals accused of breaching caretaker conventions over Marinus Link and TT-line borrowing limit
As votes continue to be counted and both major parties continue discussions with crossbenchers to form government following Tasmania's snap election, the government is being accused of breaching caretaker conventions. Tasmania's Labor opposition has claimed the government's handling of two policy decisions — an increase in the borrowing limit for ferry operator TT-Line and the yet-to-be-made decision on whether to proceed with the Marinus Link undersea power cable — have contravened caretaker conventions. The government said it would follow all relevant caretaker conventions and that it had briefed Labor on the TT-Line decision, and would consult with Labor on the Marinus decision "in due course". When the House of Assembly is dissolved for a general election, the government is placed in what is called a caretaker period. Caretaker conventions outline how the government should operate during the period. According to the guidelines, the conventions are "neither legally binding nor hard and fast rules" and they should be applied to individual cases with "sound judgement and common sense". Professor emerita Anne Twomey, a constitutional law expert at the University of Sydney, said the conventions were developed "as a matter of fairness". "The idea is that during that [caretaker] period, after parliament has been dissolved, where governments are no longer actively responsible to parliament because there's no parliament in existence, then they should be a lot more careful about what they do. "You don't want to bind a new government, which may have completely different policies, by entering into a whole lot of commitments immediately beforehand to make life difficult for them," Professor Twomey said. Professor Twomey said it "comes down to the people". "It's really a political matter as to how effective they are. So, it comes down to the people, particularly when they vote, in terms of deciding whether the government has behaved appropriately," she said. Under the guidelines, governments are encouraged to avoid making major policy decisions that are likely to commit an incoming government. However, this is not always possible, Professor Twomey said. "There is an additional principle that says, if you have to make a major decision in that period, then you should consult the other side as well and try to reach an agreed position," she said. The government does not require endorsement from the opposition during consultation. "Ultimately, it's the government that makes decisions. "But it's better to try and get some kind of agreement between both sides in order to progress matters that are significant and would have an impact on an incoming government," Professor Twomey said. Labor is calling on the government to release the business case for the Marinus Link undersea power cable project, saying that withholding it is a breach of caretaker conventions. Marinus would be a second electricity interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria. A decision by the Tasmanian, Victorian and federal governments on whether to proceed with the project is due by the end of July. A whole-of-state business case was provided to the government by Treasury in May. The government promised to release the case 30 days before its final investment decision, however said the release has been delayed due to the early election. Labor MLC Sarah Lovell said the premier needed to release the business case "as soon as possible". "These are major financial decisions that will be made by the government. "These are long-term decisions and under caretaker conventions one of the prerequisites is that decisions that are being made that will impact on future governments need [to have] all that information released to both the opposition and the government, and we're not seeing that from the premier," Ms Lovell said. On Saturday, Liberal MP Felix Ellis said Labor had not been briefed yet "because no final decision has been made" on Marinus Link. "We'll continue to work through the process. This is an important investment for our state, and we'll be updating the public as well as the opposition in due course," Mr Ellis said. State Energy Minister Nick Duigan also said on Saturday that "all relevant information will be publicly released" only once a decision on the project is finalised. Professor Twomey said the government did not have to be "undecided" before it consulted. "It's fair enough for a government to take a view as to what it wants to do before engaging in consultation," she said. "But if you're saying a decision means that's our final decision and we're not going to pay one iota of attention to anything you say, that would be rather pre-empting the consultation and making it pointless." At the weekend, the government agreed to support a temporary $410 million increase to Bass Strait ferry operator TT-Line's borrowing capacity. Treasurer Guy Barnett said the government received advice from Treasury on July 25 "recommending TT-Line's guaranteed borrowing limit be increased". "[Opposition treasury spokesperson] Josh Willie was briefed on July 26, and the decision was announced the same day," Mr Barnett said. Mr Willie said he received a call just over an hour before the decision was announced. "Jeremy Rockliff's idea of 'consultation' is a last-minute phone call. That's not consultation — that's a courtesy call after the decision had already been made. "When a major policy decision is being made during the caretaker period — especially one that would bind a future government — Labor must be consulted before the decision is made," Mr Willie said. Professor Twomey said caretaker conventions did not outline specific requirements for adequate consultation, rather that was "a matter for the relevant parties to decide". "Telling someone something an hour before you publicise it does seem to be perfunctory in terms of genuine consultation," she said. "As a general principle, that would be something that you would think would not be adequate consultation. "But, again, these are not binding rules. They're just conventions and it's a matter for the political parties to decide how they want to interpret them."
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
For many Muslim women in Australia, Islamophobia feels inevitable
Dr Nora Amath, Executive Director of the Islamophobia Register, observed a 'dramatic surge' in Islamophobic incidents, following the October 7 th attacks in 2023. She said women and girls were disproportionately targeted, making up about 75 per cent of victims. Dr Amath said geopolitical events can serve as a catalyst for Islamophobia in Australia, but they're not the only contributing factor. 'Political rhetoric is very important to whether we see a rise or a decrease in incidents reported to us.' In this episode of Understanding Hate , we look at Islamophobia in Australia today.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Superannuation at risk, economists say
Annie Guest: Millions of Australians in or approaching retirement are potentially exposed to enormous financial insecurity. It's connected to the global bond market. That's where governments, corporations and financial institutions trade debt securities, primarily bonds. Our business correspondent David Taylor joined me earlier for more. David, what's at the heart of the concerns for millions of Australians in or approaching retirement? David Taylor: Annie, I'll try to make this simple. Many Australians rely on superannuation nest eggs for their retirement income. Now, those nest eggs are made up of shares and bonds and things like that. Now, superannuation funds are heavily invested when it comes to shares in US shares. Australian share market is big, but not quite big enough to produce the sort of returns they want. Now, that's good news because Wall Street's consistently flirting with all time highs. So, you know, that boosts superannuation balances big time. But Annie, there are concerns that Wall Street now is vulnerable to a lasting correction or a big drop, a lasting drop in stock prices. Annie Guest: David, what's the basis for those concerns? David Taylor: Well, Australians are not the only ones invested in US stocks and bonds. The Japanese are too. And a problem may come, Annie, if Japanese bonds become an attractive place for both Japanese and Chinese and other investors to put their money in. Now, what I mean by that is investors are chasing returns. So, if the share market in the US on Wall Street is doing well, you get high returns. Go over to the bond market in Japan. If the interest rate on those bonds starts to rise, well, people go, maybe I should be investing in the Japanese bond market. And so, money is transferred from the United States and Wall Street into the Japanese bond market where they can get, where they can own a relatively safe security with higher returns. As AMP's head of investment strategy, Shane Oliver, explains. Shane Oliver: Well, the basic concern is that the Japanese government lost its majority in the upper house elections on the weekend. That is leading to political uncertainty in Japan. It's unsure as to how long the Prime Minister will remain. That, in turn, is adding to risks that there will be some sort of fiscal easing and further expansion in Japanese government debt. And if that occurs, it will mean higher bond yields than we've already got in Japan, which of course will suck money out of the US and elsewhere back into Japan as investors unwind their so-called carry trades. And carry trades are basically situations where investors borrow very cheaply in Japan, put that money into places like the US, pick up a higher level of yield. But whenever there's uncertainty about the global economy or there's rising yields in Japan, then that money can flow back to Japan. And we're seeing a bit of that at present. David Taylor: So is AMP concerned about a large volume of money in the event that money does end up moving from the United States to Japan? Shane Oliver: Look, to be honest with you, we're not overly concerned about it, but it's certainly something we're monitoring. Annie Guest: That's the AMP's Shane Oliver there. And the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, or ASFA, represents many superannuation funds. What's it had to say about this worry? David Taylor: Annie, it might not surprise you that it's not concerned. It says it's not concerned. It expects that $450 billion US dollars will be directed to US assets over the next decade. It says that superannuation giants are well-placed to deal with the market volatility if it eventuates in any case. Annie Guest: That's business correspondent David Taylor.
