Bowen flags east coast gas reserve
Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen on Monday confirmed a government review of the east coast gas market would include whether domestic gas needs would be considered as part of all new export projects, as first reported by The Australian Financial Review last month.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
40 minutes ago
- The Age
Plibersek axes Morrison-era deal to ringfence pensioner savings
Baby boomers' pensions will be reduced as the Albanese government ends a three-year freeze and adjusts rates used to calculate how much retirees can earn on their cash investments. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek quietly issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, during the government's high-profile economic roundtable, to reveal the end of a policy put in place by the Morrison government during the start of the COVID pandemic. Under the change, the expected or 'deemed' return on investments held by age pensioners – including self-funded retirees – will be lifted from 0.25 per cent to 0.75 per cent. While the changes to individual age pensioner's payments will vary based on their financial assets, the move comes as interest rates on savings accounts fall and is likely to enrage seniors who fought against sluggishly high deeming rates in 2019. The three-year freeze came to an end on July 1, two months after the election. Deeming is the process used by the government to calculate a uniform return on financial investments, such as savings accounts and term deposits, to simplify income rates when calculating pensions. Instead of requiring pensioners to provide their actual earned income on financial investments, a deemed rate is applied. Current deeming rates, which Plibersek said had been kept 'artificially low' since 2020, have remained well below real earnings from investments, inflating people's pension payments. She said the government kept this setting after the pandemic to 'help shield age pensioners and other income-support recipients while the economy recovered'. But bank deposit rates have lifted, largely in line with movements in the official cash rate, since the government put in place its deeming rate freeze.
Sydney Morning Herald
40 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Plibersek axes Morrison-era deal to ringfence pensioner savings
Baby boomers' pensions will be reduced as the Albanese government ends a three-year freeze and adjusts rates used to calculate how much retirees can earn on their cash investments. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek quietly issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, during the government's high-profile economic roundtable, to reveal the end of a policy put in place by the Morrison government during the start of the COVID pandemic. Under the change, the expected or 'deemed' return on investments held by age pensioners – including self-funded retirees – will be lifted from 0.25 per cent to 0.75 per cent. While the changes to individual age pensioner's payments will vary based on their financial assets, the move comes as interest rates on savings accounts fall and is likely to enrage seniors who fought against sluggishly high deeming rates in 2019. The three-year freeze came to an end on July 1, two months after the election. Deeming is the process used by the government to calculate a uniform return on financial investments, such as savings accounts and term deposits, to simplify income rates when calculating pensions. Instead of requiring pensioners to provide their actual earned income on financial investments, a deemed rate is applied. Current deeming rates, which Plibersek said had been kept 'artificially low' since 2020, have remained well below real earnings from investments, inflating people's pension payments. She said the government kept this setting after the pandemic to 'help shield age pensioners and other income-support recipients while the economy recovered'. But bank deposit rates have lifted, largely in line with movements in the official cash rate, since the government put in place its deeming rate freeze.
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Where are the cameras?': Labor's economic roundtable scrutinised for kicking out journalists
Sky News host Andrew Bolt says Labor's economic productivity roundtable is 'not turning out that well', as the Albanese government kicked off its three-day discussion to know how the government can fix its 'weak economy and huge government debt". 'It turns out from The Australian Newspaper that union leaders hijacked the first day by demanding yet another new tax on business,' Mr Bolt said. 'Where are the cameras?'
