Rumour has it that the Labor Government might close a huge tax loophole that rich people have been using for years to avoid paying tax. Apparently, they will create a minimum tax rate of 30% for trusts. Don’t know what a trust is? Don’t worry, you’re not alone - read on.
The $17 billion in revenue that Australia is foregoing each year by failing to properly tax gas exports is enough to fund many of the essential services Australians rely on. One example is the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which purchases approved medicines from pharmaceutical companies and subsidises their cost for Australian patients.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released its first annual “human rights health check” to track Australia’s progress in protecting human rights and highlight persistent gaps. The 2026 assessment cautioned that “global and local trends are eroding democracy” and said Australia lacks adequate safeguards to respond to the challenges.
Resources Minister Madeleine King recently scored some headlines with her comment to Radio National Breakfast, that free gas “is clearly an absurd proposition. And to be frank, I'm mystified as to how they get away with such tosh.” Except, the claims aren't "tosh" at all.
Advertisement
From $282 billion in tax-credits, questions about who would foot the gas export tax bill (spoiler: the gas companies, not consumers), to Woodside going MAGA
A survey by the ACOSS and UNSW Sydney-led Poverty and Inequality Partnership found overwhelming support for an increase to JobSeeker, with almost nine in 10 respondents (87 per cent) agreeing unemployment benefits should be enough to ensure people don’t have to skip meals.
Protesters highlighted the significant risks posed to Scott Reef and marine ecosystems, as Woodside comes under pressure over the Browse project’s emissions and costs, as well as its appearance at a Senate inquiry into gas taxation.
The South Australian election earlier this year was the first test of the dramatic changes that the Malinauskas Labor Government made to democracy in the state. Under Labor’s electoral changes, to compensate for the ban on most private political donations, established political parties and sitting MPs receive generous taxpayer funding from South Australians (freeing those private donations to go to federal campaigns instead).
There is a surprising similarity between Australia and the Academy Awards (hint: it isn’t Jacob Elordi). The Oscars uses preferential voting, or a ranked-choice ballot, to determine category winners – the same method Australia uses to decide elections.
It isn’t always easy to keep up with what’s happening in the US. “Shorter America” is a series where Dr Emma Shortis loops you in on what’s going on in America and shares news and analysis that you can trust.
Advertisement
The claim that Australia gives away export gas for free has been at the centre of the debate around taxing Australia’s gas exports. And, it's true. Gas companies export approximately 80 million tonnes of LNG from Australia each year, and just over half of this is extracted from offshore areas controlled by the Australian Government. The Australian Government does not make the gas companies pay for this gas, thereby giving it away for free.
Housing and inequality campaigners are urging Treasurer Jim Chalmers to go big in next month’s budget and abolish the full capital gains tax (CGT) discount and negative gearing, arguing partial changes will do little to ease the deepening crisis.
Of the 124,000 Australians enrolled to vote in Farrer, one in five have already cast their ballots. In an election with the potential for huge ramifications in Australian politics, depending on whether the Independent, One Nation, or Liberal candidate wins, are these 25,000 people really seeing the whole picture when they go to vote?
US allies are being forced to rethink their security and economic ties as Donald Trump lashes out at his geopolitical rivals and traditional partners. Speaking on the Australia Institute’s Follow The Money podcast, US political expert Dr Emma Shortis said global leaders are “absolutely appalled” by Trump’s warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran failed to meet his deadline to strike a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
