Australia news live: Jim Chalmers says he has ‘other priorities’ than a gas tax; Anthony Albanese calls to congratulate Andy Burnham | Australia news
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Chalmers says ‘we have other priorities’ over gas taxes
Luca Ittimani
Jim Chalmers He said the government had “other priorities” on the gas tax, despite Labor members’ growing calls for reform.
The government was given the green light by party members and MPs at the Labor Party conference on Thursday to seek a “fairer return” from Australia’s natural resources. Anthony Albanese Rule out any possibility of a new gas export tax in the foreseeable future, as you can read here:
Chalmers told ABC’s 730 on Thursday night.
I think the language on the platform reflects the balance we are trying to establish. … I recognize that there are people across the country, including within our movement, who want us to go further. However, we have taken some important steps to achieve a more equitable return in this regard.
While he pointed to past reforms to the oil resource lease tax and the government’s plan to bring gas reserves to Australia’s east coast, he said the government wanted to maintain relations with countries dependent on Australian gas. He said:
The reason fuel tax is not on our agenda is because we have other priorities, such as booking, the PRRT changes I made earlier, or making sure we are a reliable international supplier. This is the focus of the government.
Chalmers says ‘anti-worker’ One Nation and Coalition ‘preys’ on economic insecurity
Luca Ittimani
Jim Chalmers He claimed that right-wing political parties would “feed” voters’ distrust of the worsening economy while advocating “anti-worker” policies.
The treasurer previewed his economic attack lines for Labour’s next election campaign in an interview at the party’s national conference in Adelaide at 7.30pm last night. Chalmers claimed One Nation, the Liberal Party and the National Party had no plans to ease the pressure on workers. He said:
We are actually taking action to do something about it… our political opponents seek to feed off of these pressures and the anxieties people are feeling, while their anti-worker agendas will make things worse rather than better.
Real wages have been rising for most of the last two and a half years, the government has cut taxes “five times in three different ways” and unemployment is low, Chalmers said.
But real incomes are set to fall, and high inflation means workers will have less money after paying for basic needs. When asked how to address falling real wages, Chalmers said:
We’ve done a lot of things to raise wages in our economy because we consciously believe that one of the best ways to help with these cost-of-living pressures is to make sure people are paid decent wages. This is our [Labor’s] the reason for its existence for over a hundred years.
You can read about how economic pessimism helped One Nation here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I Martin Farrer With the best late night stories before your average blogger takes the reins.
Jim Chalmers He claimed that right-wing political parties would “feed” voters’ distrust of the worsening economy while advocating “anti-worker” policies. This shows that markets expect a new interest rate increase by the end of the year. He also continues to push back on calls from Labor members for a new tax on gas exports, saying the government has “other priorities” for reform. More is coming.
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Australia said it was concerned that Saudi Arabia could use its uranium enrichment agreement with the United States to make nuclear weapons. More details coming soon.
