Australia’s rental market is now “less affordable than ever”, with new analysis showing there are virtually no homes available to people on low wages or income support. Advocates say the crisis reflects years of flawed policy, with Anglicare Australia calling on the Albanese government to axe tax breaks for investors and spend more on building public and community housing.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out applying a gas export tax to existing contracts despite overwhelming public support, as pressure for a fairer return from Australia’s gas exports continues to build ahead of the budget.
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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will visit Australia next week as reports emerge that Anthony Albanese has abandoned plans for a gas export tax as to avoid upsetting key trading partners. The visit comes two weeks after a Senate inquiry examined how Australia taxes gas exports. The Greens argue that the idea that a tax would threaten Australia’s trading relationships was “fundamentally rejected” by the inquiry.
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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.
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.
Shell executives struggled through a combative parliamentary hearing, repeatedly clashing with senators and warning a new export levy or windfall tax would be “spectacularly ill-advised”.
Pressure on the Business Council of Australia (BCA) to reveal which members informed its opposition to a gas export tax sparked a heated exchange on Wednesday, with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young reminding BCA Chief Executive, Bran Black, that he “wasn’t in ASIO”.
Former schoolteacher and Punter’s Politics founder Konrad Benjamin says he is “taking the hits” and doing "Albo’s job for him" on gas tax reform, while his crowdfunded “people’s lobbyist” campaign reflects public frustration with how policy decisions are made and who influences them.
Former Treasury secretary Dr Ken Henry has delivered blunt advice to a Senate inquiry examining the taxation of gas exports. He urged Canberra to overhaul its tax regime, criticising decades of policy settings that have delivered limited public returns. He said a 25 per cent flat tax on gas exports was “a pretty small taxation burden relative to the price increases that have occurred recently.”
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