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SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 6 May 2025
Warning over impact of superannuation tax Trump places restrictions for travel on 17 nations Christiano Ronaldo scores to secure Portugal's place in UEFA Final Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . Shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien says Labor's plan to double taxes on superannuation balances over $3 million will be 'an absolute disaster'. Mr O'Brien told ABC any tax on unrealised gains was an 'egregious idea'. "We believe in lower taxes. We believe in simpler taxes. We believe in fairer taxes … People are going to be paying a tax on theoretical profits, money that hasn't even hit their bank account. This crosses a red line in Australian tax law. It will be an absolute disaster. … Where does that then go? Will Labor start taxing unrealised capital gains on your primary residence? We don't want a bar of that." The policy aims to curb the number of high net-worth individuals using their super for tax deduction purposes, rather than for their retirement. Treasurer Jim Chalmers remains firm on the proposed changes but says the government doesn't have the numbers in the Senate to pass the legislation. The median super balance for 60- to 64-year-olds is roughly $200,000 for men and $150,000 for women. Tasmanians could be facing a snap election, with state premier Jeremy Rockliff expected to be dumped by parliament. The Liberal state minority government is in political turmoil after Mr Rockliff faced a no-confidence motion on Wednesday, with a marathon debate expected to continue when sittings resume this morning. The motion, put forward by the Labor opposition, appears all but certain to pass with support of the Greens and three cross bench MPs. Mr Rockliff has conceded the numbers are against him but has vowed to "fight to his last breath" and not resign. Newly elected independent MP, Nicolette Boele, says she is 'very confident' with the outcome of Bradfield's recount. Ms Boele was declared winner of the Sydney seat of Bradfield on a wafer-thin margin of 26 votes from more than 118,000 - more than a month after polls closed. She told ABC, the question of whether the recount should be disputed was up to her opponent, Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian. 'I think I'm very confident with the process that's been run by the AEC and the outcome that we have here. So, I'm keen to get on with the job, but I can understand you might need to ask that question to Giselle Kapterian." Ms Kapterian is yet to concede and has said she will 'carefully review' the original count and the recount. President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation, preventing people from a dozen countries from entering the United States. The countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In addition to the ban, which takes effect next Monday local time there will be heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Mr Trump says he's acting "to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people". He says the move is a response to an attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado. US authorites say the suspect was an illegal resident. UN Security Council members have criticised the United States after it vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza. Washington's United Nations envoy Dorothy Shea says the resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire and would embolden Hamas. "Fourteen votes in favour, one against. The draft resolution has not been adopted, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member." The vote has sparked anger among members of the council. Pakistan's ambassador to the UN, Asim Ahmad, says the veto will remain "a moral stain on the conscience" of the council "that will reverberate for generations". France's ambassador to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, said the council was "prevented from shouldering its responsibility, despite the fact that most of us seem to be converging on one view". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies not to show weakness to Vladimir Putin, after the Russian leader threatened retaliation against recent strikes in a call with US counterpart Donald Trump. In an online post, Mr Zelenskyy said when Putin "feels neither strength nor pressure but weakness, he commits yet more crimes". The Ukrainian leader has proposed implementing a ceasefire with Russia, until a meeting can be arranged with Mr Putin. He told a briefing in Kyiv that Europe, Ukraine, and the whole world have a chance to end the war. 'My proposal, which I believe our partners can support, is that we agree a ceasefire with the Russians until the leaders meet. We offer a meeting any day starting from Monday, if there is no mutual understanding, if there is no desire for de-escalation, if there is no desire and vision how to put an end to it, then ceasefire will be over the same day." Mr Zelenskyy added Ukraine would "be grateful" for support for a ceasefire from Mr Trump. In football, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the winner for Portugal, as the side fought back from behind to beat Germany 2-1 and reach the UEFA Nations League final. Germany took the lead in the 48th minute, with a well-timed header from Florian Wirtz following a lobbed pass from Joshua Kimmich. However, Portugal turned the match around, first equalising through an individual goal from substitute Francisco Conceicao in the 63rd minute, before Ronaldo tapped in five minutes later to send the visitors into the final. Portugal coach Roberto Martinez says he's proud of his team's reaction to going a goal down. 'It's 25 years since the last time we beat Germany in Germany, so, it was that psychological barrier, if you want, and then when we concede the goal, the reaction was incredible. So, we could speak about the tactical aspects and what we did, but I think I would like to remark the psychological strength that we showed today.' Spain and France will clash in the other semi-final tomorrow to decide who will face Portugal in the decider on Sunday.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Sussan Ley encourages ‘assertive women' to join Liberals in rebuff to party elder's controversial comment
The opposition leader has encouraged 'assertive women' to join the Liberals, hitting back at controversial comments made by a party elder. Sussan Ley, the first female leader of the federal Coalition, said her party must reflect a modern Australia after the Liberal's former federal president Alan Stockdale reportedly claimed women had become 'so assertive' the party might need to consider support for men. 'There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman, in fact I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal party,' she said in a statement on Thursday. 'The Liberal party must reflect, respect and represent modern Australia and that means recognising the strength, merit and leadership of the women in our ranks.' Stockdale, who was treasurer under ex-Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, made the comments at the women's executive gathering on Tuesday night. 'The women in this party are so assertive now that we may needs some special rules for men to get them preselected,' the 80-year-old told a meeting of the NSW Liberal Women's Council, the Daily Telegraph reported. He later told the Telegraph he had made 'a lighthearted but poorly chosen remark'. Deputy opposition leader Ted O'Brien questioned Stockdale's comments, appealing to strong women to join the Liberals. 'To any of the assertive women out there, the Liberal Party is your party,' he told ABC's News Breakfast on Thursday. 'We need more women engaging with our party, running for our party. 'I'm proud to have Sussan Ley as our leader.' The Liberals have long been accused of having a 'women problem' as female candidates are often placed in unwinnable positions and the party has lost support from female voter bases. This was laid bare at its landslide federal election loss in May. During the campaign, the Liberal party announced a policy requiring public servants to stop working from home. It was blamed for alienating women voters, many of whom use working from home to balance their jobs with child care and other duties. The NSW division of the Liberal party, in particular, has been in turmoil after it failed to nominate more than 140 candidates for the state-wide local government elections in September. The federal Liberals soon took over and appointed three figures, including Stockdale, to oversee the party's state affairs. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and former Labor premier for Queensland Anna Palaszczuk joined forces to condemn Stockdale's remarks. 'Honestly, Alan, read the room,' Senator McKenzie told Nine's Today show on Thursday. 'It was a shocking comment - I think it's time for Alan to head back to the Melbourne Club, have a stiff whisky and chat with the old boys about what went wrong.' Palaszczuk said she couldn't believe it. 'You've finally got one step forward for the Liberal party with Sussan Ley being elected [federal leader], and it's three steps backwards with these comments,' she told Today. 'These are not appropriate in this day and age, and honestly, the Liberal party needs a good hard look at themselves, especially the men.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Liberals flip-flopping on super tax talks, Jim Chalmers says
Jim Chalmers is claiming the opposition is flip-flopping on super tax talks as the mudslinging over the controversial proposal intensifies. The Treasurer has accused the Coalition of shutting the door on negotiations to pass a version of the reforms through the Senate when parliament resumes in August. His opposition counterpart Ted O'Brien has accused him of doing the same and choosing to deal with the Greens instead. Mr Chalmers said on Thursday there was 'a lot of disunity in the Coalition' on the tax. 'First of all, on my opposite number, one day he said he wanted to have a discussion about it, the next day he said that he didn't,' he told the ABC. 'There's a lot of disunity in the Coalition over this. 'They seem to have different views amongst them and different views from day to day.' Mr Chalmers also said the Albanese government had 'been very clear from the beginning we don't have the numbers in the Senate to pass our legislation on our own'. 'We need to engage with the crossbench in particular in this instance, and I intend to do that,' he said. 'And I'll have discussions with the spokesperson from the Greens, Nick McKim, whose appointment was announced yesterday. 'I'll have discussions with him between now and the parliament returning. 'But our intention, our preference, is to legislate the plan that we announced almost 2½ years ago now.' Critics have blasted the proposal to roll back concessions on ultra-high super balances as a tax on unrealised gains that would penalise younger generations down the track. Only half a per cent of Australians – some 80,000 – have super balances north of $3m. But Labor has admitted that 1.2m superannuants would be captured within 30 years. The Albanese government has also argued that super holders in the top half per cent would still be eligible for 'generous' concessions and it was fair that they contribute more. Also speaking to the ABC, the shadow treasurer accused Mr Chalmers of framing himself as a 'modern-day Robin Hood'. 'The Treasurer is not being upfront,' Mr O'Brien said. 'And the reason is he's wanting to pretend he's sort of some modern-day Robin Hood, taking from the fat cats with multimillion-dollar portfolios to fund the good deeds of government. 'That's not right because they're not indexing it, which means a young person today who earns average salary, pays the super contributions over time, they will get paid into the super account – they're going to hit that threshold which is why you have got organisations like Wilson Asset Management saying that over eight million Australians will end up paying this over the next few decades.' Anthony Albanese again defended the policy, telling reporters in Melbourne there was 'not anything new here'. 'This has been before the parliament for about two years,' the Prime Minister said. 'What we need to do is make sure that our superannuation system is fair. That is what we are setting out to do.'
SBS Australia
28-05-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
Evening News Bulletin 28 May 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has announced her opposition frontbench and shadow cabinet, following the reconciliation of the Liberal and National Parties to again form a coalition. The coalition frontbench includes senior Liberals Ted O'Brien as treasury spokesperson, James Paterson as finance spokesperson, and Michaelia Cash as foreign affairs spokesperson. National Party Senator Bridget McKenzie retains the infrastructure portfolio, and deputy Nationals leader Kevin Hogan retains the trade portfolio. Ms Ley is highlighting the diversity of her frontbench. "It includes those who've served in uniform, migrants and the descendants of the oldest continuous culture on earth, there are those who balance the books in small businesses, and those who've made tough calls in corporate boardrooms, our team is one of strivers and optimists, of leaders and listeners." Liberal Senator Jane Hume has been dropped from the shadow cabinet. Former National Party leaders Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack have also missed out on frontbench spots. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has hit back at calls to impose sanctions on Israel after the U-K, Canada and France threatened to impose their own. Mr Albanese says Australia makes its own decisions on the matter. ALBANESE:"What are the sanctions you are suggesting?" ALBANESE: "Exactly. That's the point. You are not sure. And that's not a criticism of you, is just a reflection of the reality." Labor party M-P and former cabinet minister Ed Husic is making calls for specific action, such as ramping up aid into Gaza, calling in Israel's ambassador, and sanctioning the Israeli government. Rank and file Labor members have also made specific suggestions such as sanctioning individuals and groups involved in the forced displacement of Palestinians, targeting of hospitals and schools, and the killing of aid workers and journalists. Officials in Gaza say Israeli soldiers killed at least three people and injured 46 as thousands of Palestinians rushed to a U-S-Israeli operated aid distribution site. After an almost three month total blockade on Gaza, the new and controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began delivering supplies to the famine stricken enclave. The U-N and other humanitarian organisations say the foundation does not abide by humanitarian principles. U-N spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says the footage of the distribution centres is heartbreaking. "As the Secretary-General noted last week, we and our partners have a detailed, principled, operationally sound plan supported by member states to get aid to desperate population. We continue to stress that a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations is essential to stave off famine and meet the needs of all civilians wherever they are."] The Israeli military denies responsibility for the deaths and says soldiers were firing warning shots at Palestinians around the distribution centre. New federal environment minister Murray Watt has given fossil fuel company Woodside approval to extend its controversial North West Shelf project in Western Australia. After years of delays, the contentious gas project has been given the go-ahead to extend the operating life of its project from 2030 to 2070. Research by the Australia Institute shows emissions from the extension are likely to equate to 33 years of Australia's entire emissions. Traditional Owners have also raised serious concerns over the project and the potential impact it will have on sacred Indigenous rock art. Greg Bourne is a former B-P executive and now a member of the Climate Council. He says Woodside is trying to push its emissions problems onto others. "If Woodside are to go ahead with this there's a long stream of emissions which as a percentage of Australia's emissions will be higher and higher and higher. Effectively what Woodside are asking is, that let's put the monkey on everyone else's back the Ag sector can sort it out, or the industrial sector can sort it out, or the transport sector can sort it out, but we're okay. So that's the problem is this is a long stream of emissions going out into the future." The inflation rate has held steady, contrary to the expectations of many economists, who had expected a rise. The monthly Consumer Price Index has remained at 2.4 per cent in the year ending April. A sharp rise in egg prices put upwards pressure on inflation, but this was tempered by falling electricity costs. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is claiming credit for the news. "It shows that the progress that we've made together as Australians on inflation has been substantial and it has been sustained. This is the ninth consecutive month where headline inflation has been in the target band and the fifth consecutive month that underlying inflation has been in the target band." Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has signalled that a ban on carrying machetes could be brought foward as a ban on sale of the weapons is imposed today [[28/05]]. Following a violent brawl at a shopping centre in Melbourne's north, Ms Allan brought forward the initial September deadline to ban sales but stopped short of fast-tracking a ban on carrying the weapon. Now, the premier says the ban on carrying could be brought forward if locked disposal boxes at 40 police stations are ready before the deadline. Ms Allan says she is always open to any measures improving community safety. "We're the first state in the nation to ban machetes, full stop. We're now the first state to ban the sale of machetes, recognising that these dangerous weapons have to be taken off the shelves as quickly as possible to choke the supply of these dangerous weapons before the full machete ban comes into place." Socceroos star Craig Goodwin is returning to his old A-League club, Adelaide United. The 33-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the Reds. He's spent his last two seasons with Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League. Goodwin is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, with 60 in 168 appearances. He says he has unfinished business at the club, saying he wants to win another A-League title, and another Australia Cup.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Australia's opposition coalition reunites a week after split
SYDNEY, May 28 (Reuters) - Australia's conservative opposition coalition said on Wednesday it would reunite, a week after splitting over policy differences following a resounding election defeat. The Liberal and National parties have shared power for decades in state and federal politics, with the Nationals broadly representing the interests of rural communities and the Liberals contesting city seats. "Our parties are at their best when they work together, to fight, right now as a strong opposition for this government," new Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley told a news conference. "I know that we will be a great partnership going forward." In a May federal election dominated by voter backlash against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, the Liberal Party - historically the more dominant of the two parties in the coalition - was reduced to 28 out of 150 seats in the country's lower house of parliament, with the Nationals holding 15 seats. The incumbent Labor Party led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese increased its seats to 94 from 77. The two conservative parties briefly split last week due to differences over policies, including nuclear energy, powers to break up leading supermarket chains and policies relating to regional Australia. Ley, a moderate who took over after the former Liberal leader lost his seat in the election, also announced her shadow cabinet, naming deputy leader Ted O'Brien as shadow Treasurer. Angus Taylor, the former shadow Treasurer from the right of the party who ran against Ley for the leadership, was moved to a shadow defence role. Precursors of both parties have been in alliance for over a century, though they have briefly split several times over that period.
