Latest news with #SundayAgenda
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Albanese government accused of hiding truth over super tax rules for politicians on old pension scheme
The Albanese government has faced scathing criticism for failing to be upfront about how Labor's controversial $3 million super tax will apply differently to politicians. It comes after it was revealed that Mr Albanese and other politicians under the generous defined benefit pension schemes will not have to pay the tax until after they retire. Sky News also revealed recently that state officials on the old pension schemes are not expected to be taxed at all due to constitutional protections. Shadow industrial relations minister Tim Wilson told Sky News the super tax was 'one of the worst taxes' he had ever seen. 'It's reckless, it is dangerous, it' irresponsible and the family savings tax must be defeated,' he said on Tuesday. 'The government is looking at this as a way to get revenue. But what it actually means is young Australians won't be able to then go on and secure jobs in growth industries.' The comments come amid questions about how transparent Labor has been in the tax's applications to politicians, compared to other high-net-worth superannuants. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth recently admitted to Sky News Sunday Agenda that some politicians would be 'treated differently'. 'They are treated differently. There is interest payable that is calculated in a defined benefit scheme,' she said. 'It is the same way that other superannuation tax changes and other changes have been applied to the defined benefit schemes.' Unlike ordinary superannuants with balances above $3 million, politicians on the old pension will only begin paying after they retire. Interest will accumulate on the tax owed at the long-term government bond rate of about 4.5 per cent. Mr Albanese deflected on Sunday when asked by Sky News whether he and others on these legacy schemes would pay the tax later than other superannuants. 'Look it applies to us as it applies across the board, but the legislation, of course, has yet to be carried by the parliament,' he said. The 'different' treatment has infuriated critics, who say the government has been deliberately opaque. Shadow finance minister James Paterson slammed the government's approach as dishonest and self-serving, warning it created a 'double standard'. 'Let me be helpful and answer the question: yes, it is deferred. You do not pay it during your working life,' Mr Paterson told Sky News Sunday Agenda. 'Every other taxpayer, if they exceed the threshold, has to pay it during their working life, but people like Anthony Albanese, on a defined benefit pension, only have to pay it after they retire. 'I think the government has to be open and transparent, much more transparent than the (Employment) Minister (Ms Rishworth). 'The Prime Minister should stand up today and explain his understanding of this different treatment between different categories of retirees.' When Treasurer Jim Chalmers was asked on May 14 by Sky News whether the tax would apply to politicians like Mr Albanese and Peter Dutton, he insisted it would. 'Yes, and we've made that clear... Politicians on defined benefit will be impacted if they've got very substantial balances by the changes we're proposing,' he said. However, Mr Chalmers' answer failed to clarify that the tax would not apply annually but instead would be deferred until retirement for defined benefit members. The government has attempted to justify its approach by saying it mirrors previous governments, including the Coalition, handling of tax legislation. A spokesperson for Mr Chalmers recently told Sky News the primary legislation makes it "clear that all federal politicians … will be subject to the measure'. "This is the case regardless of when they entered into parliament and whether have a defined benefit interest or not.' The superannuation tax, which the government claims will affect fewer than 0.5 per cent of superannuants initially, has been projected to raise $40 billion over a decade. However, critics warn that the unindexed $3 million threshold will subject increasing numbers of Australians to the tax over time. AMP Deputy Chief Economist Diana Mousina conducted modelling that showed the average 22-year-old will be hit by the tax by the time they retire. CPA Australia's Superannuation Lead, Richard Webb, called on policymakers to ensure the policy will be indexed to inflation. 'Bracket creep is already having a silent eroding effect on personal finances,' Mr Webb said in a statement. 'Allowing this further erosion of superannuation savings is contrary to the fundamental principles of our tax system.'
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Strategic expert blasts Anthony Albanese's 'bizarre' attack on defence spending report as Australia faces a 'crisis situation'
Strategic Analysis Australia Director Peter Jennings has blasted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after he lashed out at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and refused to meet the United States halfway on defence spending. Sky News' Sunday Agenda reported Mr Albanese would not accept the US request and would stand by Labor's existing policy of increasing defence funding. Under the government's projections, defence spending is forecast to reach 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033–34, up from about 2.05 per cent in 2025-26. The Prime Minister launched a verbal attack on ASPI last week after it published a report criticising the government's funding trajectory. 'Seriously, they need to, I think, have a look at themselves as well and the way that they conduct themselves in debates,' Mr Albanese told ABC Radio. 'We've had a Defence Strategic Review. We've got considerable additional investment going into defence – $10 billion." Mr Jennings - who worked at ASPI for years - said Mr Albanese's comments were 'bizarre' and not reflective of someone who wanted to present himself as an 'elder statesman in Australian politics'. 'You know, Anthony Albanese, he shouldn't be so glass-jawed,' he said. 'What ASPI was saying in that report is pretty much the mainstream view of that small group of people which actually looks at defence and security, which is that we are significantly underfunded.' Mr Jennings said the current defence force was being 'cannibalised' to pay for future submarines, which he said would not materialise for 10 to 15 years. The strategic expert said Australia was facing a 'crisis situation' which was acknowledged by 'almost everyone that looks at defence'. 'Even those people that don't like the American alliance say that we need to be spending more on defence,' he said. 'So for the Prime Minister to be so sort of mean in the way he picked out ASPI I thought was bizarre.' Mr Jennings claimed it was one of China's demands of Australia to have think tanks 'shut down' that are critical of them. 'Why is the Prime Minister giving this gift to the Chinese?' he said. 'You know, he really needs to be more broad-shouldered and actually look at the content of that ASPI report, which was pretty good.' Mr Jennings argued the government had made 'virtually minimal change' to the 2016 Defence White Paper projections, which outline the strategic plan for the ADF over the following decade. The SAA director said the plan no longer fits the strategic circumstances Australia now faces with the conflict in Europe and the Middle East, and the 'much greater risk of conflict' in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr Jennings said Australia had been 'riding the coattails' of American security for the past 20 to 30 years and had now been warned by US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth to increase defence spending. 'I'm sad that Australian governments haven't seen their own way to concluding that we need to spend more on defence. But the call from Pete Hegseth is timely,' he told Sky News host Peta Credlin. "We really should be paying attention to it.' Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week, Mr Hegseth warned the threat of China was real and potentially imminent as he pushed allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on their own defence needs. Mr Hegseth echoed the Trump administration's motto of maintaining 'peace through strength' and stressed the importance of restoring the 'warrior ethos'. Mr Jennings told Sky News that Mr Hegseth's plea was a 'warning from our closest ally to say we've got to get our act in order'. The strategy expert told Credlin that China's President Xi Jinping was not going to 'die wondering' about Taiwan and insisted he would make his move by the end of the decade. '(Defence Minister) Richard Marles at Shangri-La kept talking about a lack of transparency in Chinese planning. That's simply not true. Xi has been telling the military to be ready for war in 2027,' he said. 'He says it repeatedly when he gives speeches. Of course, they'd rather take over Taiwan peacefully, but I think they are more than prepared to do it militarily if they feel they have to. And something in the second half of this decade is going to happen.' Former chief of army Peter Leahy said the Prime Minister's hesitation to up defence spending was an 'abrogation of the primary responsibility' of government. 'The almost total lack of consideration of defence matters during the recent election campaign and the current focus on a far-off distant, enormously expensive force demonstrates how willing our politicians are prepared to tolerate risk,' General Leahy told The Australian. 'This is an abrogation of the primary responsibility of our elected representatives to provide for the defence and security of the nation and the safety of our servicemen and women. 'Those who wear Australia's uniform place great trust in those who task and equip them. This trust is not being honoured.' Shadow defence minister Angus Taylor said Australia must commit to increasing defence spending to at least 3 per cent, adding that Labor 'must find ways to finance it'. Mr Taylor said he worked closely with Andrew Hastie, James Paterson and Jane Hume on the Coalition's commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP within five years and 3 per cent withing a decade. 'The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens. Labor is failing to match this serious duty with funding and action. It needs to catch up or risk jeopardising Australia's safety,' Mr Taylor wrote in The Australian on Tuesday. 'We must move from rhetoric to readiness… We can't afford another decade of 'on-hold' projects. Every delay widens the gap between what Australia needs and what the ADF can actually deliver. 'Defence must be delivered, not just promised.'
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Coalition accuses Labor of failing to ‘safeguard sovereignty and freedom' amid US push for higher defence spending
United States' Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Defence Minister Richard Marles to lift defence spending in a meeting on Friday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference. Sky News Sunday Agenda understands Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will not bow to pressure to raise defence spending to three per cent of GDP. In response, Mr Paterson told Sky News Sunday Agenda that Labor was failing to match its rhetoric on national security with action. 'When it comes to defence and national security, often they (Labor) talk a good game, but they deliver very little, and Richard Marles is in that category,' Mr Paterson said. 'He talks all the time about how this is the most dangerous and uncertain strategic environment since the end of World War II, but defence spending has been flat.' Mr Marles recently admitted that the pentagon chief, Mr Hegseth, had urged him and other allies to lift defence investment. He even appeared to leave the door open to higher spending, saying the government was 'up for the conversation'. The Albanese government's existing policy so far has been to increase defence funding to 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033, which Mr Paterson said 'doesn't meet the challenge'. There has been growing concern within the defence community over aggressive activity from Russia and China in the space domain. The Coalition's policy at the federal election, in contrast to Labor, was to raise the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP within five years, and 3 per cent within a decade. 'That reckons with the environment that we are dealing with in our own region. It takes it seriously and responds to it to make sure that we can safeguard our own sovereignty and our own freedom,' Mr Paterson said. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth told Sky News Sunday Agenda that the government's focus was on AUKUS, rather than more defence spending. 'Our focus, of course, is delivering what is a fundamental capability uplift in AUKUS,' Ms Rishworth said. 'AUKUS is a significant... capability uplift for Australia that is so critical. That requires incredible partnership with the US as well as the UK. 'And of course, coming from South Australia, AUKUS will have such a revolutionary impact on our city and our country. And that's what we're firmly focused on.' Mr Albanese lashed out on Thursday at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) after it published a report criticising the government's funding trajectory. 'Seriously, they need to, I think, have a look at themselves as well and the way that they conduct themselves in debates,' Mr Albanese told ABC Radio. 'We've had a Defence Strategic Review. We've got considerable additional investment going into defence – $10 billion." ASPI Executive Director Justin Bassi defended the report, saying the government was failing to meet the urgency of the global threat landscape. 'ASPI was set up to deliver the hard truths to the government of the day,' Mr Bassi told Sky News. 'Unfortunately the world has these threats that do impact Australia and to counter these threats we need to, unfortunately, spend more money in the area." Mr Albanese's highly-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump appears likely to occur at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis from June 15 to 17, 2025.
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth does not rule out portable leave and remote work penalty rates
The Albanese government has left the door open to allowing workers to receive penalty rates while working from home, as well as the possibility of a federal portable leave scheme. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth did not rule out either possibility but told Sky News Sunday Agenda she was focused on delivering on election promises. The Albanese government has promised to legislate penalty rates, forcing employers to pay overtime for work performed outside of normal conditions The Australian Industry Group has brought forward the case that, under the clerks' award, some workers could get penalty rates while working from home. 'Let's be really clear, our commitment we made in the election was protecting penalty rates in awards, that is the safety net,' Ms Rishworth said. 'We are working through and consulting on the details but the principle is pretty clear, and that is we are going to protect penalty rates in the awards system. 'Because that is a safety net and of course enterprise bargaining is available to others.' She added that the government's plan to legislate penalty rate protections would not interfere with enterprise-level negotiations. Ms Rishworth also left the door open to introducing a federal portable leave scheme—a policy advocated for by unions such as the Australian Workers' Union. Portable leave would allow employees to carry entitlements like annual or long service leave across different jobs and employers. When asked whether she could rule out implementing the scheme during Labor's second term, Ms Rishworth responded that she would 'consider' different ideas put forward. She reiterated that her top priority was fulfilling Labor's existing promises, including legislating to protect penalty rates and supporting a rise in the minimum wage. The Fair Work Commission will announce its minimum wage decision on Tuesday 3 June 2025. Unions have asked for a 4.5 per cent increase, while employers want 2.6 per cent, roughly the rate of inflation. There is an expectation the increase will be around 3 per cent. 'We have put forward a submission that has called for an economically responsible real wage increase,' Ms Rishworth said. 'We don't want to see our minimum and award wage workers go backwards.'
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth says veteran MPs ‘treated differently' under super tax but refuses to clarify deferral loophole
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth has admitted that politicians on defined benefit pensions will be 'treated differently' under the government's controversial superannuation tax. Ms Rishworth, however, was unable to answer whether or not these politicians will be allowed to defer payments until retirement. It was recently revealed that unlike ordinary superannuants with balances above $3 million, some politicians will only begin paying the tax after they retire. Pressed repeatedly by Sky News Sunday Agenda about whether Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would pay the new super tax immediately or only after leaving office, Ms Rishworth declined to give a yes or no answer. 'They are treated differently. There is interest payable that is calculated in a defined benefit scheme,' Ms Rishworth said on Sunday. 'It is the same way that other tax changes and other changes have been applied to the defined benefit scheme. It's no different. 'They are different schemes, but ultimately, what the government does, and has done in the past, is look at how you can apply this, the equitable equivalent tax to the same to the scheme.' Ms Rishworth insisted the government's approach was 'entirely consistent and long standing' and that it applied across the board to defined benefit schemes. But her refusal to explicitly confirm whether senior politicians would be able to delay payment has fuelled criticism that the government has carved out a quiet exemption for its own ranks. Shadow finance minister James Paterson accused the government of deliberately dodging transparency and creating a 'double standard' that favours Mr Albanese. 'I'm not sure whatever that was, was an answer. It was an excruciating couple of minutes,' Senator Paterson told Sky News Sunday Agenda. 'Let me be helpful and answer the question: yes, it is deferred. You do not pay it during your working life. 'Every other taxpayer, if they exceed the threshold, has to pay it during their working life, but people like Anthony Albanese, on a defined benefit pension, only have to pay it after they retire.' Mr Paterson suggested the policy may have been designed to shield Mr Albanese and raised concerns about a conflict of interest. 'Jim Chalmers has written rules which are favourable to his boss. Did Jim Chalmers ever discuss this with Anthony Albanese?' he said. 'Was it ever discussed in cabinet?... Did the Prime Minister exempt himself from that discussion… because of the significant personal conflict of interest that he has?' The superannuation tax, due to come into effect on July 1, will double the tax on earnings for balances over $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. Defined benefit scheme members – including long-serving MPs who entered parliament before 2005 – will not be taxed on earnings until retirement. Instead, interest will accumulate on the amount owed, calculated at the long-term government bond rate of around 4.5 per cent. The superannuation tax, which the government claims will affect fewer than 0.5 per cent of superannuants initially, has been projected to raise $40 billion over a decade. However, critics warn that the unindexed $3 million threshold will subject increasing numbers of Australians to the tax over time. AMP Deputy Chief Economist Diana Mousina conducted modelling that showed the average 22-year-old will be hit by the tax by the time they retire. CPA Australia's Superannuation Lead, Richard Webb, called on policymakers to ensure the policy will be indexed to inflation. 'Bracket creep is already having a silent eroding effect on personal finances,' Mr Webb said in a statement. 'Allowing this further erosion of superannuation savings is contrary to the fundamental principles of our tax system.' The government maintains that all federal politicians with more than $3 million in super will be subject to the tax regardless of scheme type. A spokesperson for Treasurer Jim Chalmers previously stated, 'This is the case regardless of when they entered into parliament and whether (they) have a defined benefit interest or not.'
