Latest news with #FederalElection
Herald Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- Herald Sun
China's chilling warning for one Aussie city
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News. China has again warned Australia against plans to take back its strategic Port of Darwin, threatening the move would result in 'enduring pitfalls for the country.' 'If the Darwin Port issue is further politicised, or forcibly taken back under the pretext of so-called 'national security,' it would become another negative typical case that affects the healthy and stable development of China-Australia relations,' an anonymous editorial in the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Global Times states. The strategic economic and defence facility was leased in 2015 for $506 million to the Australian subsidiary of a privately owned Chinese company, the Landbridge Group. The 99-year deal was cemented by the then Country Liberal Northern Territory Government. The geopolitical fallout was immediate. The White House complained it had not been consulted. After all, its freshly committed US Marine presence in the Northern Territory relied on the port for support. Australia's regional neighbours raised their eyebrows: Hadn't Canberra been pressuring them to reject significant Chinese infrastructure money? Ten years later, both Labor and the Coalition went to the May 2025 Federal Election promising to take back Military facilities across the Top End are being upgraded 'to enhance the ability of the Australian Defence Force to project force,' Brigadier Matthew Quinn said at a sod-turning ceremony earlier this month. The Port of Darwin is owened by a Chinese company. Picture: ASCO 'These critical upgrades follow recent works to enhance the main runway and taxiways, improving the capacity, security and resilience of RAAF Base Darwin.' It was just one $160 million piece of a massive international defence buildup across northern Australia. The cause: China's assertive territorial ambitions. 'Taking back the Port of Darwin from Landbridge Group would also symbolise a dangerous shift from commercial cooperation to military development,' the Global Times warns. 'The move of 'de-Sinicisation' aims to remove obstacles for the US to advance its militarisation in northern Australia.' The lease of Darwin Port to China's Landbridge Group has become a contentious issue. Picture:Strategic and economic security 'It is well known that Darwin Port only became linked to so-called 'national security' and subjected to a wave of political and security scrutiny after so-called 'concerns' were voiced from Washington,' the Global Times editorial insists. All China-based and owned companies must have Communist Party Commissars on their boards. They must also readily hand over any and all information on their customers and deals to any government agency upon demand. US President Barack Obama broke the news of potential problems directly with then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull during an APEC meeting in November 2015. He asked that Washington be given a 'heads-up' over similar deals in future. Obama's cause for concern was obvious. Chairman Xi was, at the time, deeply engaged in building illegal island fortresses on sand banks claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. His government was vocally asserting ownership over Japan and South Korea's islands in the East China Sea. Threats of invading Taiwan had already become commonplace. Darwin was even then a significant stepping stone for rapidly expanding US and allied military activities in northern Australia. 'As the Indo-Pacific becomes increasingly contested, supply chains become more vulnerable and coercive statecraft becomes more common,' argues Australian Strategic Policy Institute national security analyst John Coyne. 'Darwin's proximity to key maritime routes and regional partners makes it an indispensable asset.' Chinese President Xi Jinping. Picture: Florence Lo-Pool/Getty Images Follow the money The purchase of the Darwin Port was touted as part of Chairman Xi Jinping's grand 'Belt and Road' vision of a Chinese-controlled trade network spanning the Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The natural deep-water harbour is strategically positioned as a hub between the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. And about 4.5 million tonnes of cargo and significant quantities of oil and gas pass over its piers each year. In 2015, the Foreign Investment Review Board headed by then federal treasurer Scott Morrison, decided against examining the proposed deal. The Defence Department, undergoing one of many ministerial transitions, had no objections. And the then minister for trade and investment, Andrew Robb, was ecstatic. '(It is) a powerful sign of the enhanced commercial relationship between Australia and China flowing from the China-Australia free trade agreement,' Robb declared in October 2015. Robb resigned from Parliament four months later and immediately took up a position as 'advisor' to the Landbridge Group. Now, both sides of politics are firmly in agreement: Make Darwin Australian again. During the 2025 election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the port would be sold to an Australian operator. This is despite reports US equity firm Cerberus Capital, which has close ties to President Donald Trump's White House administration, is preparing to make a bid. Former opposition leader Peter Dutton went further, promising his Liberal-National Coalition would nationalise the asset under government ownership. But Beijing is biting back. The Global Times warned Tuesday that 'should the Australian government take the drastic step of forcibly taking back Darwin Port', this would 'undoubtedly' produce 'enduring pitfalls for the country'. Russia's President Vladimir Putin greets Chinese President Xi Jinping. Picture: Mikhail METZEL / POOL / AFP Investor returns 'Whether the Port of Darwin becomes a hub of prosperous trade or the eye of a geopolitical storm is not a difficult choice, but it does test Canberra's strategic wisdom,' the Global Times editorial reads. The Communist Party editorial says its 2015 purchase had been 'timely assistance' to the Northern Territory at a time when Canberra 'wasn't interested'. 'From turning the port's operations from loss to profit and helping ease the Northern Territory government's debt crisis, to investing more than $A83 million and upgrading port facilities … and greatly contributing to local economic and social development, Landbridge Group's involvement has brought systematic and positive changes to Darwin Port,' it states. But concern over possible financial difficulties contributed to the port's prominence in the recent Federal Election. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the port would be sold to an Australian company. Picture: NewsWire / Richard Gosling Landbridge Australia non-executive director Terry O'Connor said this week that the company had 'not yet received any offers or engagement from the (Australian) government at any level.' But he 'welcomed' comments by Beijing's envoy to Australia, Xiao Qian. Xiao issued a statement on Sunday after touring the port's operations. He insisted the lease had been purchased through 'an open and transparent bidding process, fully compliant with Australian laws and market principles'. 'It's very morally inappropriate to rent out the port when it is in the red and take it back once it is profitable,' he argues. Tuesday's Global Times editorial went one step further, warning that placing 'politics over the rule of law' sent a 'dangerous signal to global investors … especially in sectors like infrastructure and energy that require long-term investment'. NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner speaking with Landbridge Group chairman Ye Cheng. Picture: Lauren Roberts 'The operation of Darwin Port is, at its core, a market-driven economic project and should operate within the framework of the rule of law and market principles,' it adds. But the world economic and security order has been upended since 2015, with Chairman Xi securing an unconstitutional third term and US President Trump vigorously pursuing an 'America First' agenda in the opening months of his second term. 'Darwin's development has long been framed as a national opportunity. It is now a strategic obligation,' Coyne argues. 'Australia cannot afford to leave its north underdone or underutilised. 'A sovereign, commercially viable, and strategically aligned marine industry in Darwin is no longer aspirational.' Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer | @ Originally published as 'Enduring pitfalls': China's chilling warning over controversial Darwin Port deal
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Conservatives had a ‘leader problem,' not a ‘strategy problem': Liberal campaign director
Former Liberal national campaign co-director Andrew Bevan talks about when it became clear that the Liberals had a chance to win the 2025 federal election.
Courier-Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Courier-Mail
Labor secures easier Senate with third Victorian spot to Michelle Ananda-Rajah
Don't miss out on the headlines from Federal Election. Followed categories will be added to My News. The new makeup of the Senate will nearly guarantee the passage of Labor's controversial proposed 15 per cent tax on superannuation balances. While super balances are currently taxed at a lowered rate of 15 per cent, Labor's touted reforms would increase the levy to 30 per cent on balances over $3m. This would affect about 80,000, or about 0.5 per cent of Australians, with Treasury figures indicating the cohort to increase to 1.2 million Australians without indexation. Critics of the plan state the plan could hit unrealised profits and affect people who hold farmland or commercial properties in their funds, however Jim Chalmers has said the plan would merely make 'generous concessions slightly less generous'. The Greens have backed the policy, however, say they want the threshold lowered to $2m with an annual indexation clause to keep up with inflation. Labor's ability to pass the legislation has been bolstered with the government guaranteed at least 28 seats in the Senate. This comes after the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed on Wednesday that Michelle Ananda-Rajah, who previously held the abolished lower house seat of Higgins, won the hard to win third spot on Labor's Victorian ticket. This means they will be able to secure legislation through the upper house with the support of the Greens, which are likely to hold 11 seats. As it stands, the Australian Electoral Commission has yet to publish the results for the six Senate seats in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia. Labor's proposed super tax will be a major test of the Prime Minister's ability to work with the minor party. Manager of Greens business in the Senate Sarah Hanson-Young said the Green's position to lower the threshold to $2m, which would be increased through indexation, had been made 'very clear' in the last parliament. 'This is a new parliament, and of course, we will be open, as we always are, to talk and negotiate with the government,' she said. 'Our position has been clear for a number of months, and we'll keep talking to the government if and when the government wants to.' Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said that while the party still backed a $2m threshold, it was willing to work with the government on its tax plan. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman However she wouldn't directly comment on whether the new Senate numbers will guarantee the passage of the tax in some form. 'We will always take a constructive approach, improve where we can, push where the community expects us to, and hold the government to account, whether it's over this piece of legislation or others,' she continued. 'We have a job to do in the Senate, and that is to get outcomes and to hold the government of the day accountable, and we will continue to do that.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can now pass legislation through the Senate with only the support of the Greens. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman While Greens Leader Larissa Water said that while her party has not discussed the issue at a party room meeting, she was 'hopeful' of a good outcome, and told The Australian her party was 'prepared to consider it'. Going into the federal election, Senator Waters' predecessor Adam Bandt pledged to put five key demands to Mr Albanese if Labor fell short of a majority at the federal election. They included blocking any new coal or gas projects, expanding Medicare to cover dental health, reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax, ending logging in native forests, and rolling out free universal early childhood education. Mr Bandt was swept up in Labor's landslide win along with Queensland one-termers Stephen Bates and Max Chandler-Mather. Despite being reduced to just one seat in the lower house, the Greens have sought to frame the election as a win because they are 'now in sole balance of power' in the Senate. Greens leader Larissa Waters has called on Labor 'to be bold'. Picture: Dan Peled / NewsWire It is unclear how the Greens will use that power, but Senator Waters called on Labor 'to be bold' in her first remarks after winning the party leadership. 'The issues that people are facing are getting harder and are getting worse,' she said. 'We need strong action on the climate, on nature, on the housing crisis, on the cost of living crisis, and we need our parliament to work to actually meet the needs of the people that it's been elected to represent.' Originally published as Labor secures easy passage of $3m super tax with third Senate spot in Victoria
Mercury
3 days ago
- Business
- Mercury
Labor secures easier Senate with third Victorian spot to Michelle Ananda-Rajah
Don't miss out on the headlines from Federal Election. Followed categories will be added to My News. The new makeup of the Senate will nearly guarantee the passage of Labor's controversial proposed 15 per cent tax on superannuation balances. While super balances are currently taxed at a lowered rate of 15 per cent, Labor's touted reforms would increase the levy to 30 per cent on balances over $3m. This would affect about 80,000, or about 0.5 per cent of Australians, with Treasury figures indicating the cohort to increase to 1.2 million Australians without indexation. Critics of the plan state the plan could hit unrealised profits and affect people who hold farmland or commercial properties in their funds, however Jim Chalmers has said the plan would merely make 'generous concessions slightly less generous'. The Greens have backed the policy, however, say they want the threshold lowered to $2m with an annual indexation clause to keep up with inflation. Labor's ability to pass the legislation has been bolstered with the government guaranteed at least 28 seats in the Senate. This comes after the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed on Wednesday that Michelle Ananda-Rajah, who previously held the abolished lower house seat of Higgins, won the hard to win third spot on Labor's Victorian ticket. This means they will be able to secure legislation through the upper house with the support of the Greens, which are likely to hold 11 seats. As it stands, the Australian Electoral Commission has yet to publish the results for the six Senate seats in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia. Labor's proposed super tax will be a major test of the Prime Minister's ability to work with the minor party. Manager of Greens business in the Senate Sarah Hanson-Young said the Green's position to lower the threshold to $2m, which would be increased through indexation, had been made 'very clear' in the last parliament. 'This is a new parliament, and of course, we will be open, as we always are, to talk and negotiate with the government,' she said. 'Our position has been clear for a number of months, and we'll keep talking to the government if and when the government wants to.' Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said that while the party still backed a $2m threshold, it was willing to work with the government on its tax plan. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman However she wouldn't directly comment on whether the new Senate numbers will guarantee the passage of the tax in some form. 'We will always take a constructive approach, improve where we can, push where the community expects us to, and hold the government to account, whether it's over this piece of legislation or others,' she continued. 'We have a job to do in the Senate, and that is to get outcomes and to hold the government of the day accountable, and we will continue to do that.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can now pass legislation through the Senate with only the support of the Greens. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman While Greens Leader Larissa Water said that while her party has not discussed the issue at a party room meeting, she was 'hopeful' of a good outcome, and told The Australian her party was 'prepared to consider it'. Going into the federal election, Senator Waters' predecessor Adam Bandt pledged to put five key demands to Mr Albanese if Labor fell short of a majority at the federal election. They included blocking any new coal or gas projects, expanding Medicare to cover dental health, reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax, ending logging in native forests, and rolling out free universal early childhood education. Mr Bandt was swept up in Labor's landslide win along with Queensland one-termers Stephen Bates and Max Chandler-Mather. Despite being reduced to just one seat in the lower house, the Greens have sought to frame the election as a win because they are 'now in sole balance of power' in the Senate. Greens leader Larissa Waters has called on Labor 'to be bold'. Picture: Dan Peled / NewsWire It is unclear how the Greens will use that power, but Senator Waters called on Labor 'to be bold' in her first remarks after winning the party leadership. 'The issues that people are facing are getting harder and are getting worse,' she said. 'We need strong action on the climate, on nature, on the housing crisis, on the cost of living crisis, and we need our parliament to work to actually meet the needs of the people that it's been elected to represent.' Originally published as Labor secures easy passage of $3m super tax with third Senate spot in Victoria
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
New Coalition agreement to be inked in ‘coming couple of days', Littleproud says
A new Coalition agreement will be inked in the 'coming couple of days', David Littleproud says. The Nationals leader earlier this week announced his party was breaking up with the Liberal Party, marking the only the fourth breach in the Coalition's 79-year history. But days later, both Mr Littleproud and Sussan Ley confirmed the shock split was on pause following last-minute concessions from the Liberal leader. Mr Littleproud said on Sunday he had 'received the written response and confirmation that the Liberal Party is prepared to accept the four policy areas that were the reason we couldn't sign up to that coalition'. 'They were important to us,' he told Sky News. 'They were policy areas that people before I even got into the National Party party room had fought for and could see would change the lives of the people we represent. 'And we made great progress in the last term of parliament, and I wanted to make sure that they they remained, and we couldn't get that guarantee.' The four policies the Nationals would not budge on in negotiations included divestiture powers for supermarkets, nuclear power, its proposed $20bn regional Australia fund and greater telecommunications coverage. It clashed with Ms Ley's vision of a 'nothing adopted and nothing abandoned' approach to reviewing policies in the wake of the Coalition's decimation at the federal election. Mr Littleproud said the would be 'further discussions with Susan (Ley)' in the coming week but welcomed that 'the Liberal Party were able to finally appreciate' how important the policy demands were to the Nationals. 'Unfortunately, it was after we had to give the ultimate decision from our party room,' he said. He added it was not a decision 'we took lightly', but 'one that came with much sacrifice from many of our people, knowing that they weren't going to get paid Shadow Cabinet positions and potentially lose their Senate spots'. 'But we took a principled position, and we're appreciative that the Liberal Party party room was finally brought together to appreciate that, and we got a resolution,' Mr Littleproud said. 'I think that shows great intent from the Liberal Party.'
