Month: October 2020

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt & Economic Justice Spokesperson Nick McKim have today slammed a deal between the Labor and Liberal parties to ram through tens of billions of dollars in tax cuts and corporate welfare.
Liberal & Labor also opposed Greens amendments that would have excluded millionaires from the tax cuts, and ensured goods purchased with company tax credits were made in Australia.
“Liberal and Labor have put the millionaires ahead of the million unemployed,” said Mr Bandt.
“In the middle of a recession, it is rampantly obscene that Liberal and Labor have fast-tracked tax cuts for millionaires.
“Instead of fighting Tories, Labor is cuddling them.
“Liberal and Labor have rammed through major changes to Australia’s tax system with zero pause or time for scrutiny.
“This budget is a trickle down con-job that spends big, but spends badly, and will prolong the recession. It favours millionaires over the millions, and puts corporate welfare ahead of helping people recover from the pandemic.
“This was a chance for our government to invest in delivering full employment and meaningful work in clean industries, as well as investing in the care economy, education, affordable housing, renewables and sustainable infrastructure. Instead, Liberals and Labor chose a gas-powered future that delivers billions in corporate welfare and tax cuts for millionaires.”
Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Nick McKim said:
“The Government and Labor worked together to block amendments that would have excluded millionaires from the tax cut, and ensure goods purchased with company tax credits were made in Australia,” Senator McKim said.
“Last night Anthony Albanese said the budget didn’t go far enough to boost Australian manufacturing – but today rejected a chance to fix it.
“These tax cuts deliver $2500 for millionaires, $250 for the working poor and a kick in the teeth for the unemployed.”

Flinders University has been awarded the contract to develop the first stage of the Australian Government’s new $34 million Aged Care Centre for Growth and Translation Research.
Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Richard Colbeck, said the centre, would draw on world best practice and examine new ways to deliver care for senior Australians, and training and education for aged care providers.
Stage 1 will establish the model for the centre and set the research priorities for the first year of operation.
“We expect to see improvements in aged care practice, as well as workforce efficiencies and the use of technology to continue to improve aged care,” Minister Colbeck said.
“It will promote workforce reforms based on evidence from research, provide an incubator to fast-track research into practice, and provide a forum to ensure that innovations can be taken up by the sector.”
The centre is one of the strategic actions from Australia’s Aged Care Workforce Strategy – A Matter of Care.
It will be pivotal in enhancing and fast-tracking the reform required to ensure the delivery of quality aged care services.
Minister Colbeck said the centre’s priorities will be informed by the findings from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and lessons learned through the COVID -19 pandemic.
It comes on top of the 2020-21 Budget allocation of $10.3 million over three years for the Aged Care Industry Council to implement an aged care workforce strategy.
The Council will be a significant partner in guiding the operation of the centre and disseminating its work to the sector.
“Older Australians deserve the best care possible, delivered by a skilled and capable workforce, using best-practice models of care and the latest technologies,” Minister Colbeck said.
Following establishment of the model, a request for tender will be released seeking a consortia to establish and operate the Centre from early 2021. Australian Government funding will continue through to 30 June 2024.

The Central West of New South Wales is set to benefit with 37 medical student places to be funded by the Australian Government at Charles Sturt University’s new medical school in Orange.
Minister for Education Dan Tehan said it was important to ensure students and communities shared in the benefit that locally offered medical degrees would bring to the region.
“Regional Australia needs more doctors,” Mr Tehan said.
“Charles Sturt will be able to deliver a fully rural medical program that will allow students who grow up in country Australia to complete their medical degree at a rural university campus.
“This will also bring students from the cities to study and work in regional locations.”
The Orange medical school is one of five new rural medical programs that form the  Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network, and are sharing in $74 million in funding to help attract and retain doctors who understand local issues and concerns.
With building activities underway at Orange, students will be able to take advantage of cutting-edge learning facilities as well as student accommodation.
“As most medical training currently happens in the cities, this will mean students in Orange and the Central West of NSW can train within their local area,” Mr Tehan said.
“These new rural medical schools ‘flip’ the current model of medical training and students can do most of their training in regional Australia.”
Authorised by The Hon Dan Tehan MP, Liberal Party of Australia, Parliament House, Canberra
Minister for Regional Health Mark Coulton said regional Australian communities needed more doctors in the right place, at the right time.
“The Government is investing in the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network to help attract and retain doctors in rural and regional Australia,” Minister Coulton said.
“We know greater exposure to rural training opportunities leads to more doctors and health professionals choosing rural careers.”
Minister for Regional Education and Federal Member for Calare Andrew Gee said he was excited to see Charles Sturt University’s new medical school open next year with 37 medical student places.
“We fought long and hard for this medical school which will train doctors in the bush for practice in the bush,” Mr Gee said.
“It is only fair that country students have the same educational opportunities as their city cousins and that includes training to become a doctor.
“Orange’s new medical school has lasting significance and will be training our country medical workforce for generations to come.”
Once all rural medical schools are operating, around 140 students will begin their medical studies across the Murray-Darling region of New South Wales and Victoria every year.
Charles Sturt University, one of the Network members, is partnering with Western Sydney University to deliver a fully rural medical program at Orange.

Labor is calling on the Morrison Government to create work for thousands of tradies in almost every suburb and town across Australia by investing half a billion dollars to fast-track urgent repairs to social housing.
This is what we would do if we were in Government right now.
Twenty-five per cent of Australia’s social housing needs urgent repair and maintenance. That’s 100,000 homes.
Some of these homes have problems such as mould, leaking roofs and water damage, while others are simply unfit for people to live in.
Repairs could start almost immediately, providing work for local plumbers, chippies, sparkies, plasterers and painters as well as companies that manufacture building supplies and materials. This would also provide opportunities for apprentices.
This should involve an immediate $500 million contribution from the Commonwealth and a partnership with the states, with the expectation they would contribute up to the same amount in new funding.
Housing construction is expected to plummet this financial year from 170,000 to as few as 125,000 new home builds.
This investment would be a win-win. It would provide work for local tradies, and fix homes that need to be fixed.
Data shows women over the age of 55 are the fastest growing demographic facing homelessness. Two-thirds of primary social housing tenants are women on low incomes.
A range of industry experts have called for more investment in social housing, including the Housing Industry Association, Master Builders Association, Property Council of Australia, Equity Economics and Commonwealth Bank.
This work needs to be done now.
Ahead of the next election, Labor will bring forward a comprehensive plan for the repair and construction of social housing.

Women are at the heart of Labor’s plan to kickstart the economy and get Australians back to work.
An Albanese Labor Government will introduce the Working Family Childcare Boost to cut child care fees and put more money into the pockets of working families, straight away.
Child care fees in Australia are some of the highest in the world. Under this plan, Labor will:

• Scrap the $10,560 child care subsidy cap which often sees women losing money from an extra day’s work;
• Lift the maximum child care subsidy rate to 90 per cent; and
• Increase child care subsidy rates and taper them for every family earning less than $530,000.

This means 97 per cent of all families in the system will save between $600 to $2,900 a year. No family will be worse off.
Importantly, Labor will keep working to fix Australia’s broken child care system, which currently locks out more than 100,000 families because they just can’t afford it.
The Productivity Commission will conduct a comprehensive review of the sector with the aim of implementing a universal 90 per cent subsidy for all families.
The ACCC will design a price regulation mechanism to shed light on costs and fees and drive them down for good. The ACCC will examine the relationship between funding, fees, profits and educators’ salaries.
Taxpayer dollars spent on child care should flow directly through to savings for Australian families.
The Coalition’s system has failed parents – particularly women. It has created a financial disincentive for many second wage earners to work full time, or even increase their hours.
On top of that, since this Government was elected in 2013, child care fees have skyrocketed by almost 35 per cent. Now, families pay on average $3,800 more per year.

An Albanese Labor Government will rebuild the nation’s manufacturing industry with a comprehensive plan to create jobs, boost vital skills, bring industry expertise back onshore and supercharge national productivity.
As part of his budget reply speech in Canberra tonight, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese unveiled A Future Made in Australia ­– Labor’s blueprint for local manufacturing jobs and skills – which includes:

• A National Rail Manufacturing Plan to see more trains built in Australia by local workers and ensure every dollar of federal funding spent on rail projects boosts local jobs and industry;
• A Defence Industry Development Strategy to leverage our $270 billion investment pipeline, develop sovereign industrial and research capabilities and build skills and expertise within the Australian workforce; and
• An Australian Skills Guarantee to give apprentices, trainees and cadets a foot in the door when it comes to work on major Commonwealth projects.

This will build on the jobs that will flow from Labor’s plans for an Australian Centre for Disease Control and a social housing repair program to get tradies back on the tools.
Labor’s National Rail Manufacturing Plan will undertake a national audit of passenger train capacity and condition, develop our rail procurement and manufacturing strategy, assess how we can grow jobs, bolster research and development and collaborate with innovation initiatives and organisations.
Importantly, it will reinstate the important role of the Rail Supplier Advocate cut by the Liberals in 2013 – to help small and medium-sized businesses identify export opportunities and get a foot in the door with government purchasing bodies.
The Defence Industry Development Strategy will put Australian industry, workers and security first with a framework to maximise and publicly disclose local content for all major defence material procurements and local defence contracts.
Finally, an Australian Skills Guarantee will ensure that one in 10 jobs on major federally funded infrastructure projects are given to apprentices, trainees or cadets.
This work will be supported by Jobs and Skills Australia – announced by Mr Albanese last year – an independent body designed to bring together the business community, states and territories, unions, education providers and regional organisations to match skills training with the evolving demands of industry.

Tax cuts for 11 million Australians will flow in the coming weeks after the Morrison Government secured the passage of the legislation through the Federal Parliament today.
The tax relief package, for both individuals and business, is part of our COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan for Australia to create jobs, rebuild our economy and secure Australia’s future.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will update its schedules next week, with software payroll companies to update over the coming weeks, to get more money into the pockets of hard-working Australians as quickly as possible.
Getting money into the pockets of Australians will give them more to spend at their local shops helping to create more jobs.
Our business tax relief measures will also help to keep businesses to stay afloat, to grow and to hire more people.
It is estimated our tax relief package to reduce the personal income tax burden and encourage business investment will create around 100,000 jobs by the end of 2021-22 and boost GDP by around $6 billion in 2020‑21 and $19 billion in 2021-22.
Tax relief for individuals
The package brings forward Stage two of our Personal Income Tax Plan by two years. From 1 July 2020:
The Government is also providing additional targeted support to low-and middle-income Australians.
In 2020‑21, low-and middle-income earners will receive a one-off additional benefit of up to $1,080 from the low and middle income tax offset (LMITO).
Together, bringing forward Stage two and providing the additional LMITO means more than 11 million Australian taxpayers will get a tax cut, with effect from 1 July this year.
Tax relief for business
Businesses with a turnover of up to $5 billion are now able to immediately deduct the full cost of eligible depreciable assets as long as they are first used or installed by 30 June 2022.
This will help to rebuild our economy and create more jobs by kick-starting activity in the private sector.
To complement this, the Government will also temporarily allow companies with a turnover of up to $5 billion to offset tax losses against previous profits on which tax has been paid.
This will provide a targeted cash flow boost to help keep businesses in business and Australians in jobs.
Businesses with an aggregated annual turnover between $10 million and $50 million will, for the first time, be able to access up to ten small business tax concessions.
This will reduce red tape and support around 20,000 businesses to attract workers and retain jobs.
Under the changes passed by the Parliament the Government will also enhance previously announced reforms to invest an additional $2 billion through the Research and Development Tax Incentive.
This will help more than 11,400 companies that invest in research and development to create the jobs of today and tomorrow.
Tax relief for hard-working Australians and businesses is part of the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan to create jobs, rebuild the economy and secure Australia’s future.