NATS STAND PROUD
Nationals Chief David Littleproud has damaged ranks with Opposition Chief Peter Dutton in saying he doesn’t help the latter’s declare the Voice to Parliament would “re-racialise” the nation, the SMH ($) studies. Littleproud says the declare could be excluded from the official No Voice referendum pamphlet, which might go to 12 million households earlier than the vote, and mentioned — fairly fastidiously — that the Nats wish to guarantee “the tone of the pamphlet is respectful”. Dutton’s remark made a bunch of Coalition MPs uneasy, the paper says, and yesterday the opposition appeared to tone down his rhetoric by saying there needs to be “respectful debate on either side of the argument”.
It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australians received’t fall for “Rooster Little” scare campaigns concerning the Voice — Dutton was outraged, calling the feedback “utterly and totally unacceptable” and claimed Albanese mainly mentioned No voters are racist, The Each day Telegraph ($) studies. Learn the PM’s speech for your self and determine whether or not he did, however this Worm author didn’t discover squat. In the meantime it seems like Dutton will wave via aged care reform, the AFR ($) studies, which goals to make the sector extra sustainable via a means-tested system. “The Albanese authorities introduced a taskforce would assessment the system with a view to creating these with important property pay extra,” the paper explains, and Dutton mentioned the Coalition would get behind it so long as there was no dying tax.
RENT THROUGH THE ROOF
Lease affordability is at its worst stage in practically a decade, The New Each day studies. We spend practically a 3rd of our revenue (30.8%) on lease in cities, the best since 2014, and in regional areas it’s 33.1%. About three-quarters of renters have had the heart-sinking feeling of a lease enhance discover previously yr, a report by the Reserve Financial institution and the Australian Bureau of Statistics discovered, up from 1 / 4 earlier than the pandemic. And the lease rises are larger now too — about 60% of renters pay 10% or greater than the final tenant, The Age ($) says. Why? Fluctuations in migration, inflation, rising rates of interest and constraints on housing provide, one skilled mentioned — there are about 50,000 fewer leases in the marketplace than common proper now.
No surprise 60% of us desire a lease enhance freeze, based on a ballot Guardian Australia studies on this morning. Half or extra of voters say the housing system is unhealthy for renters (63%), future generations (58%) and Australia as an entire (58%). In Melbourne, median marketed rents in Melbourne’s CBD, West Melbourne, Southbank and Docklands went up $125-$150 every week previously yr to between $520 and $575 every week, the Herald Solar ($) studies. But it surely’s manner worse in Sydney, the place the median lease has surged by greater than 13% over the previous yr to $711 every week, explainer from Guardian Australia says. Dismal.
QUICK OFF THE MARK
The opposite states are coming for WA’s GST slice after Premier Mark McGowan’s shock exit from politics, The West ($) studies. That’s based on ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr anyway, who tweeted: “WA’s GST deal is definitely up for grabs now.” So what’s the deal? When the GST was launched in 2000, it was divvied up between the states and territories utilizing a components referred to as the horizontal fiscal equalisation that allotted based mostly on want. Then WA had an unprecedented mining growth, WA at this time ($) explains, that noticed its share of GST plummeting from $1 an individual to 30 cents an individual. However mining is risky — so then-treasurer Scott Morrison up to date the components in 2018 so each state would get a minimum of 70 cents of each greenback of GST income. It additionally noticed WA (and the NT) get hundreds of thousands in top-up funds.
Quick-forward to now and iron ore has been surging, WA Immediately ($) continues, making for a fairly good price range surplus out west annually. This yr it’s predicted to be a whopping $6.6 billion from GST grants, with tens of billions pouring in from iron ore royalties. Evidently, premiers have lengthy been pissed about WA getting this 70 cent flooring. NSW Premier Chris Minns and Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews say we should always rethink the GST carve-up, The Australian ($) studies, however Treasurer Jim Chalmers has already promised WA it might not occur, information.com.au ($) studies. He says it’s as a result of “the WA financial system usually retains the wheels of the nationwide financial system turning”, however it’s most likely additionally as a result of WA voters have been a giant purpose Labor received the federal election final Might. Mockingly, luring voters was additionally partly why Morrison and the Liberals launched the coverage within the first place forward of the 2019 election.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
A whole bunch of opponents are standing on the high of a near-vertical hill close to Gloucester, within the UK. Some are laughing and joking whereas others quietly give attention to the duty forward. They’ve travelled from throughout: the US, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, and so they’re all right here to do one factor: chase a three-kilogram Double Gloucester wheel of cheese right down to the underside of the hill. It’s a “cheese-rolling excessive sporting occasion”, the BBC studies significantly. The gun sounds and the blokes are off — many falling, fairly than operating, or else combining the 2 in a kind of bounding tumble. However no-one is as quick as Manchester man Matt Crolla, who reaches the underside first. The rowdy crowd goes completely bonkers. “I’ve not acquired many severe accidents!” he says triumphantly, the cheese wheel in his arms.
Then it’s time for the gals to race and so they’re off, a big jumble of limbs barrelling down the hill in scorching pursuit of that tasty native cheese wheel — and glory. Among the many opponents is Delaney Irving, a 19-year-old who travelled all the best way from Vancouver Island — she bumps her noggin on the best way down, and her unconscious physique tumbles throughout the grassy end line first. She’s declared the champion and the gang roars in delight. When Irving comes round within the medical tent, she’s elated. Requested how she felt the race went, she responds: “Good… now that I keep in mind it.” Discuss us via the bodily and psychological preparation required to win the Coopers Hill cheese chase, a BBC reporter says to Crolla. He considers the query, then responds earnestly: “I don’t assume you possibly can practice for it, are you able to? It’s simply being an fool.”
Hoping your inside baby makes an look throughout your Tuesday.
SAY WHAT?
Claims have been made that the Voice to Parliament may even affect parking tickets. It’s solely a matter of time earlier than they inform us that the Voice will fade the curtains.
Anthony Albanese
Don’t fall for the scare campaigns in opposition to the Voice to Parliament, the PM urged voters, accusing the No facet of “ludicrous invites to leap at our personal shadows”.
CRIKEY RECAP
“Within the lead-up to the inquiry, Crikey brings you REDACTED, a collection exhibiting readers how FOI requests are used, by whom, and why they matter. The collection additionally compares Australia’s info ecosystem to these in different main democracies, particulars a few of the most extraordinary obstructions Australian journalists can recall, and compiles noteworthy public coverage and political revelations dropped at the nationwide debate via the FOI system lately.
“For shut observers of transparency in Australian democracy, Patrick’s case is an efficient place to begin. A few of the paperwork sought by Patrick embrace particulars associated to ministerial briefs on the stage three tax cuts and fuel reservation coverage, together with baseline schedule and milestone fee particulars for the Snowy 2.0 mission, in addition to additional ministerial briefs on the Nationwide Radioactive Waste Administration Facility.”
“Take, for instance, the au pair controversy that embroiled then-immigration minister Peter Dutton. Dutton dominated headlines for months in 2018 for making random visa interventions to avoid wasting two travellers working as au pairs from deportation on the Australian border, earlier than being discovered responsible by an inquiry for deceptive Parliament over his affiliation with their potential employers.
“The story originated from a collection of freedom of knowledge requests submitted by Lisa Martin, a journalist previously of Australian Related Press and later Guardian Australia, the place she continued to interrupt new particulars because the saga unfolded. Media executives fear that breaking tales like these by way of FOI is changing into more and more tough within the face of a dysfunctional and delayed FOI system.”
“On FOI, there was some departure from the silliness that the nationwide cupboard was a part of the Commonwealth authorities cupboard and thus entitled to a cloak of secrecy, though there are different exemptions out there and relied upon. The Division of the Prime Minister and Cupboard advised Senate estimates final week that it had launched paperwork associated to agenda and data of assembly, however different exemptions could cowl distributed papers.
“Some ministers, together with Dreyfus, have launched their appointments diary, however others, together with the prime minister, haven’t … When Greens Senator David Shoebridge, on March 28, efficiently moved a reference to the Authorized and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for an inquiry into the operation of FOI legal guidelines, all Labor senators voted in opposition to the reference or have been absent from the vote.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu vows reset for ailing financial system (Al Jazeera)
Russia hits navy facility in Ukraine in new wave of strikes (Reuters)
‘Russian spy’ whale noticed off Swedish coast (euronews)
Spain’s PM calls snap election after opposition triumphs in native polls (The Guardian)
Hundreds of houses underneath evacuation order as Halifax-area wildfire burns uncontrolled (CBC)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Swift response wanted to search out Mark McGowan’s substitute as factional horse-trading begins — Keane Bourke (ABC): “Out of the 52 eligible contenders, three names are developing time and time once more. There’s his trusted deputy, Roger Cook dinner, who helped McGowan steer the state via the early days of the pandemic as well being minister. The well being minister who completed the job — Amber-Jade Sanderson — can be thought of a contender for the function. And eventually there’s Transport Minister Rita Saffioti, who has spent the federal government’s time in workplace overseeing billions upon billions of {dollars} spent on infrastructure tasks, steering every via the problems of COVID.
“Whereas there’s nonetheless a lot of mud to settle from Monday’s shock announcement, one factor is for positive — Labor doesn’t need this to pull out for too lengthy, and there’s an actual threat it would. Guidelines launched at a state stage within the wake of the chaotic Rudd–Gillard years imply if two or extra individuals nominate for the highest job, a large course of is kicked off. It could require a vote of all of the social gathering’s rank-and-file members and certain stretch on for weeks. The important thing to avoiding that’s for MPs to decide on one substitute and select them shortly. Parliament sits once more in two weeks’ time with loads of laws to get via, and naturally there’s a state to control within the meantime.”
PwC scandal: Consulting agency must do greater than supply a late apology — Eric Johnston (The Australian) ($): “With its repute in shreds and the general public and politicians circling whereas going through the actual prospect of a police investigation, PricewaterhouseCoopers has buckled. It has lastly tried to take possession of the tax leak debacle via a full public apology and an admission of failure. Nevertheless, the unreserved apology has come months too late and is unlikely to be the circuit breaker that PwC is hoping for. Till now PwC has tried to robust it out with the view it might probably survive the collateral harm till the scandal involving the breach of confidential tax planning info has handed.
“However PwC’s failure has been to refuse to acknowledge the dimensions of the breach from the second it occurred and doing the precise factor to take steps to repair it. The federal government-backed Tax Practitioners Board finalised its investigation final November after which head of worldwide tax Peter Collins was suspended in January with little acknowledgment by PwC. It has solely been with public outcry rising as one after one other of the jaw-dropping claims have come to mild — principally across the behaviour of PwC’s Canberra-based tax enterprise — that the agency has acted. Dogged questioning by Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill has saved the stress on PwC.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
On-line
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ERM’s Matthew Klein, Gilbert + Tobin’s Ilona Millar, Microsoft’s Brett Shoemaker, and Blackmores Group’s Sally Townsend are among the many audio system at a CEDA webinar exploring sustainability in enterprise.
Kulin Nation Nation (also referred to as Melbourne)
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Writer and former Australian chief scientist Alan Finkel will chat about his new ebook, Powering Up: Unleashing the Clear Vitality Provide Chain, on the Wheeler Centre.
