Protests, criticisms of anti-Semitism report continue
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Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Chalmers needs to show some courage to help save Australian economy
For the first Albanese government timidity resulted in another bite of the cherry. But, unfortunately, caution is lingering as a second-term hallmark, despite a massive landslide that gave Labor open slather to effect wide-ranging change. This month's Economic Reform Roundtable should have been the vehicle for substantial reform. But, amid the Productivity Commission recommendations for tax reform, unions calling for curbs on negative gearing, the capital gains discount and the use of family trusts, business groups railing against too much change and suggestions that the transition from fossil fuels to renewables be speeded up, the government appears to have lost some chutzpah. A day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese talked down the roundtable's significance, Treasurer Jim Chalmers also started hosing down expectations, sending a clear message around parliament: excited observers should curb their enthusiasm. Beginning on August 19, the three-day Economic Reform Roundtable aims to build consensus on ways to improve productivity, enhance economic resilience and strengthen budget sustainability in the face of global uncertainty. It brings together a mix of leaders from business, unions, civil society and government. Some 900 submissions have been received and anticipations of change were running high. But the Herald' s chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal said cabinet had become concerned about the huge expectations stoked, and the summit is expected to produce a handful of policies to which Chalmers would immediately commit. Speedier approvals for energy projects, cutting red tape and new incentives for home building were seen as quick wins with wide support from warring unions and business lobbies. More significant changes that gain support from assorted experts, captains of industry and unions will be put off for further examination. The roundtable was already seen at risk of becoming a Canberra gabfest. But tax will undoubtedly be the elephant in the room, given Albanese's refusal to consider changing the GST, a veto that is already tying one of the government's hands behind its back. The exclusion of those major players in taxation and deregulation, states and territories, is another handicap. For a summit considering Australia's economic future, ignoring the GST seems blinkered, especially as economist Richard Holden and independent MHR Kate Chaney suggested to the Herald 's Shane Wright that a 15 per cent GST could deliver a $28 billion boost to government coffers while providing an annual $3300 rebate to all Australians as an offset. However, almost all other taxes are on the table. The Productivity Commission has proposed a company tax cut for smaller businesses, while larger companies pay more. New visions are required in a world where old certainties are quickly fading, and the one reality is that productivity is key to meeting future challenges. That said, courage and big ideas – including controversial reform of the GST – will help drive the Australian economy, not the risk aversion displayed by a Labor government too afraid for, or of, its own mandate to act for the greater good.
The Australian
14 hours ago
- The Australian
PM accused of ‘weakness' as China, Russia team up in the Indo-Pacific
The opposition says China and Russia are 'testing' Australia with joint naval drills in the Western Pacific due to Anthony Albanese's 'weakness' on defence. China and Russia are carrying out joint patrols in the Western Pacific after wrapping up five days of war games near Vladivostok – a coastal military hub in Russia's far east that is home to the country's Pacific fleet. Crews executed live fire drills and practised taking out enemy submarines, according to the Chinese military. While some vessels have headed back to their home ports, others have gone on to prowl in international waters, including some of China's most advanced battleships. 'Crews of the Russian Navy and China's PLA Navy will form a new task group to carry out joint patrol missions in the Asia-Pacific region,' Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing defence officials. Beijing's mouthpieces have framed the patrols as 'jointly countering security threats' and a testament to 'deepening of China-Russia military ties'. Chinese and Russian warships have carried out joint live fire drills in the Indo-Pacific. Picture: Chinese Ministry of Defence / Handout 'The routine joint maritime patrol in the region not only showcases the two navies' capabilities, but also demonstrates their firm determination in safeguarding regional peace and stability, deterring potential security threats, and creating a favourable environment for peaceful development in the region,' according to the Global Times, a leading propaganda outlet for the Chinese Communist Party. Doing its best to imitate a Western-style publication, the Global Times is often used to circulate the CCP's various pet peeves and routinely takes scathing shots at Australia. But however Chinese state media has spun the joint operations, the opposition says it is anything but innocent and the Prime Minister is, at least in part, to blame. 'China and Russia are flexing their muscles in the region and testing democratic nations with their 'no-limits' partnership,' acting opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie told NewsWire. 'While concerning, this is not surprising. They are testing us because they see weakness in Prime Minister Albanese. 'The Prime Minister has set a dangerous precedent by repeatedly refusing to stand up for our Australian Defence Force. 'Australia must show strength, and we're not seeing it from Labor.' Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles did not respond to a request for comment on the patrols or naval exercises. Chinese and Russian battleships are prowling international waters after five days of war games. Picture: China Daily / Handout China's Shaoxing and Urumqi destroyers are among the ships out on patrol. Entering service in 2022 and 2018, they are prized examples of China's most recent wave of naval modernisation and fitted with the latest military hardware. Their vertical launch systems can fire a smorgasbord of guided weapons, including long-range surface-to-air missiles. They are also equipped with anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles and anti-submarine capabilities. Russia's Admiral Tributs, a large anti-submarine destroyer, is also partaking in the patrols. They come a day after the Albanese government announced it picked a Japanese firm to build Australia's new fleet of 'next-generation' warships in record time. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build 11 Mogami-class frigates to replace the ANZAC-class fleet, which the Navy has been operating since World War II. Australia is expected to get its first Japanese-built frigate by 2029 and its third by 2034, with the remaining eight to be built in Western Australia. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin inked a 'no limits' strategic partnership shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine. Picture: Chinese Ministry of Defence / Handout But, like the AUKUS submarines, the delivery timeline is still well after when the US expects a conflict in the Indo-Pacific. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year warned of an 'imminent' threat to the region, pointing to Taiwan as a flashpoint. With the People's Liberation Army simulating invasions, he told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China could move on the democratically self-governing island as early as 2027. On the sidelines of the conference, he also urged the Albanese government to hike Australia's military spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP in a meeting with Mr Marles. Mr Albanese and Mr Marles have firmly pushed back on the request, saying it has already committed record billions to mid and long-term defence projects, such as AUKUS. Analysts from Brussels to Canberra have long-warned of Beijing and Moscow forging stronger defence ties. The allies signed a 'no-limits' strategic partnership shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Xi Jinping has not publicly backed Vladimir Putin's war, but China has pumped hundreds of billions into the Russian economy, undermining international sanctions.
Sydney Morning Herald
16 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Leaked letters and closed-door talks with PM: Media bosses' AI fight
Australia's media bosses are directly lobbying Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the threat artificial intelligence poses to news outlets, uniting with authors, musicians and artists to slam a proposal to waive copyright laws for multibillion-dollar AI companies. The prospect of large language models such as ChatGPT scraping articles, songs and art without paying creators burst into the spotlight on Wednesday after the government's think tank, the Productivity Commission, proposed a copyright exemption for AI firms training their models. A letter from Australia's top media firms and creative bodies, sent to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland on July 11 and obtained by this masthead, vowed to fight any move to weaken copyright protections, opening a fresh battle between local media outlets and foreign technology companies. Nine chief executive Matt Stanton took the media's fears directly to Albanese in private talks last month, as Labor tries to balance its agenda to rein in digital behemoths against the spectre of retaliation from the Trump administration against countries that regulate US tech giants. The media companies' concern centres on the way companies such as Google are reconstituting information from publishers and presenting it as AI answers to search queries, which one study found resulted in up to 80 per cent fewer views of underlying articles. Loading Stanton argued weakening copyright protections to allow AI firms to legally obtain Australian data – which has already largely happened due to it being a legal grey area – would amount to legalising theft. 'They don't care for permission, they ignore direct requests to stop and are now actively campaigning our politicians to make this theft a legal and acceptable practice,' Stanton told this masthead, which Nine owns. 'To even contemplate making this behaviour legal is beyond comprehension. Yet that is the risk presented to us if our investment in Australian journalists and local news reporting is rendered worthless because these generative AI platforms can simply take it.'
