Online Press review 14 April 2015
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FRONT PAGE
Split opens in indigenous recognition push (AUS) Martin, King Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten says debate about the constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians is veering out of control and the Prime Minister is to blame. Joe Hockey’s tough budget job is becoming tougher by the day (AUS) Uren Fresh signs of weakening in China, lower global growth projections by the World Bank and warnings by the IMF have cast new shadows over the formation of Joe Hockey’s budget. Spain and France lodge East West Link cancellation protest (AUS) Wallace The governments of France and Spain have confirmed they have made direct complaints to the Victorian government over its treatment of the tenderers — Bouygues and Acciona — for the state’s East West Link toll road project. New jobs deal to tackle big dry (AUS) Kelly The government will provide a special economic stimulus package aimed at driving employment, growth and population stability in drought-ravaged com•munities in Queensland and NSW. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto dividends mean investment cuts at $US35 iron ore price (AFR) Ingram BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto may be forced to slash capital investment or borrow more to maintain dividend payments if the iron ore price hits the $US35-a-tonne price being contemplated by Treasurer Joe Hockey. Tony Shepherd says delay in audit report caused 'confusion' (AFR) Hewett The business leader chosen by a newly elected Prime Minister Tony Abbott to make the case for tough decisions on spending believes the government released his report too late to help condition voters to accept the Coalition's ill-fated first budget. States threaten to bring back old taxes as new GST war erupts (AFR) Coorey At least one state is threatening to reintroduce a long-abolished tax on financial transactions instead of raising the GST, as part of a revenue war with the federal government over health funding.
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
POLITICS Colin Barnett saddles up to ride all the way with Asian Tiger (AUS) Burrel Colin Barnett has backed Western Australia’s massive exposure to the slowing Chinese economy and the weakening resources industry, telling a Singapore audience that “riding the Asian tiger is the bumpy ride that we have to take”. Labor’s tax package will reap $7bn: Bill Shorten (AUS) Maher Labor claims its package to get more tax from multinational corp•orations could raise $7.2 billion over the next decade.
Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : information.canberra[email protected]
Poll proves Bill Shorten not up to the job: Liberals (AUS) Maher Coalition ministers have seized on a Newspoll showing Bill Shorten posting his worst ratings as Labor leader to declare him not ready to govern and claim the public wants to see his policies. Here’s a good idea, Bill Shorten, bring on some policies (AUS/Comment) van Onselen Bill Shorten has a problem. While his party continues to lead the Coa•lition on the two-party vote (just), Labor’s primary vote is slipping away, according to Newspoll. Fairfax-Ipsos poll: Voters show politicians how to lead (CAN+SMH/Analysis) Kenny Our politicians think there is no appetite in the community for tough reforms, but our latest poll shows they are underestimating voters.
TAX AVOIDANCE Shut the tax havens down for good (AFR/Opinion) Emerson Avoiding tax Companies cannot use all legal means to avoid tax in places like Singapore, then complain that tax laws are getting too complex. The budget black hole means multinationals aren't going to win this tax battle (CAN/Opinion) Stuart Shift a rock in the garden and the insects underneath will scurry away to cover. Only the foolish or desperate stand their ground, ready to take you on. So when a Senate committee decided to probe the tax arrangements of some multinationals last week, and they fought back, it was difficult not to conclude that there was more than a touch of stupidity involved – even if the companies are desperate.
GST Premier Colin Barnett told to hold out on GST deals (AUS) Taylor Western Australia’s highest-profile secession advocate, the state Liberal Party president Norman Moore, has urged Premier Colin Barnett to carry out his threat to abstain from commonwealth- state agreements until WA’s dwindling share of GST is resolved. MPs urge Tony Abbott to find GST compromise (AUS) Maher Tony Abbott faces mounting internal pressure to find a political solution to the GST carve-up row with Western Australia as some MPs urge him to use Joe Hockey’s GST integrity crackdown as a •circuit-breaker to forge a compromise. Distribution of the GST to the states must be fair (AUS/Opinion) Sloan For anyone suffering from insomnia, forget the double dose of Stilnox and instead consider reading a report of the Commonwealth Grants Commission — any report. The good thing is that most of these reports can also come in handy as door stops. WA move over GST shortfall could clog up federalism: expert (CAN+SMH) Kenny, Hutchens, Gordon Western Australia could cause major problems for the Commonwealth if its Liberal Premier Colin Barnett goes through with a threat of so-called "disengagement" over his state's GST shortfall, according one of Australia's most respected constitutional experts.
BUDGET 2015 I'll still shrink the deficit; Joe Hockey (AFR) Coorey The budget deficit will continue to shrink despite steep revenue losses caused by a plunging iron ore price and a promise to not introduce any more new taxes at the May 12 budget, Treasurer Joe Hockey says.
SA NUCLEAR ROYAL COMMISSION Australia is split on uranium industry, says SA Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis (AFR) Evans, Kerin A split between the east and west in Australia over the advantages of having a nuclear industry is symptomatic of a shift in the national mood increasingly evident in national politics, says South Australian Labor Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis.
Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]
ECONOMY Backlash on halal a ‘threat to jobs’ (AUS) Owens Beef prices could increase threefold or thousands of meat•workers could be sacked unless protesters stopped their campaign against halal certification, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said yesterday.
CLIMATE CHANGE Auction price key to success for Coalition’s Direct Action plan (AUS) Lloyd A key test of the Abbott government’s $2.5 billion Direct Action climate change plan has arrived with the first auction of carbon abatement permits to be held •tomorrow as the French government builds diplomatic pressure on Australia to do more.
EDUCATION/SCIENCE Private schools ‘perform no better’ (AUS) Morton Sending children to private or public school makes no difference to their educational development because the things that matter — such as birth weight, parent education and the time mothers spend with their children — have •already been set in stone, a new study says. Science sees a friend in Tony Abbott (AUS) Ross Tony Abbott has contradicted his science-phobic image, chairing a high-powered council of academics, business leaders and cabinet ministers for the second time.
INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS Funding deal delivers certainty for APY communities (AUS) Edwards The federal and South Australian governments will split the financial management of services on indigenous homelands under a $21 million deal, ensuring no communities will close. This is our country too (AUS/Opinion) Pearson A successful referendum on indigenous recognition requires a meeting of minds between indigenous people and constitutional conservatives. Equally, it will succeed only if it is championed by both the Left and Right. Noel Pearson calls for a national competition to recognise Indigenous Australians (CAN+SMH) Gordon Australians would be given the chance to draft a declaration recognising the place of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the nation's history and culture under a bold plan backed by Noel Pearson.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
FOREIGN POLICY Tony Abbott urged to follow Pope’s lead on Armenia ‘genocide’ (AUS) Baxendale Tony Abbott has been urged to follow the lead of the Pope in recognising the Ottoman Turks’ alleged slaughter of up to 1.5 million •Armenians and other Christians in 1915 as the first genocide of the 20th century, opening the way for an uneasy diplomatic •battle in the lead-up to Anzac Day.
BISHOP IN INI High hopes for Julie Bishop’s India uranium deal (AUS) Hodge Australia and India will hammer out details of their civil nuclear supply deal during a three-day visit by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop aimed at consolidating economic and defence agreements made in recent months.
DEFENCE/SECURITY Vietnam: the other war we need to remember (CAN/Opinion) White Sending Australian troops to Vietnam in support of the US defined our politics for a generation.
Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]
CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT Record sea-surface temperatures in Pacific point to record warmth in 2015 and 2016 (CAN+SMH) Hannam Sea temperatures around Australia are posting "amazing" records that climate specialists say signal global records set in 2014 may be broken this year and next.
FRANCE
Jean-Marie Le Pen pulls out of regional elections (AUS) AFP Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s National Front, said he was pulling out of regional elections yesterday after a fierce public spat with his daughter, who now leads the •far-right party.
WORLD
China or US: Who will charm India first? (CAN+SMH/Opinion) Hartcher The United States slapped a visa ban on Narendra Modi and kept it in place for nine years.
EDITORIALS
The Australian States’ fiscal woes demand smaller government Many West Australians will applaud Premier Colin Barnett’s present round of Canberra bashing. It is no coincidence, however, that his hyped-up “Boston Tea Party’’ rhetoric over GST distributions has come just a week after his Labor opponents recorded their first Newspoll lead over his government since 2008. The Commonwealth Grants Commission recommendation that Western Australia’s share of GST revenue should drop from 37c of every dollar of GST collected in the state to 29.99c next year will rankle with the state’s voters. The distribution for next year is based on a boomtime iron ore price of more than $US120 a tonne. The present iron ore price, however, has since sunk to a 10-year low of $US48 a tonne. Vaccination policy a decision for the greater good The Abbott government’s toughening of the “no jab, no welfare benefits’’ policy will likely save children’s lives, which is why it deserves the bipartisan support it has received from the opposition. From January 1 next year, parents who refuse or don’t bother to have their children immunised will lose access to up to $15,000 a year in childcare benefits and rebates and Family Tax Benefit A. More than 90 per cent of Australian families, whose children are fully immunised are likely to agree. As Social Services Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday, it is not fair for taxpayers to subsidise those who leave their children — and those of others — at risk of debilitating and potentially fatal diseases such as diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, tetanus, rotavirus and meningococcal. Parental laziness over such an important issue is inexcusable. The presidential race begins SELDOM has a candidate seeking nomination to run for US president been more experienced than Hillary Clinton. For a quarter of a century she has been at the heart of government in Washington. In Bill Clinton’s White House she played a major role as first lady formulating domestic policy. She later became a US senator for New York, ran for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination against Barack Obama and served as his secretary of state for four years. Polls show she has almost universal voter recognition, something her likely Republican opponents in 2016 can only dream of, as even the most high profile among them languishes on 39 per cent recognition.
The Australian Financial Review Time to get real on budget Mr Hockey is preparing the public to accept another slippage in the federal budget position
Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]
The Sydney Morning Herald It's time for a grown-up approach by the government Ssh! Don't tell anyone, will you? Signs are emerging that Australians want a serious debate about the GST. Politicians – particularly those in Canberra – find the subject so painful they go to silly lengths to avoid it. Look at the Rudd government, which set up the Henry review to examine the taxation system – except, specifically, the GST. Or look at Tony Abbott, who has washed his hands of the issue. GST? All the revenue goes to the states. Sorry – it's not his department.
CAPTIONS & CIRCULATION
AUS = The Australian (News Limited); Circulation WK: 126,901, Sat.: 277,386; Digital WK: 31,240, Digital SAT: 31,381. AFR = The Australian Financial Review (Fairfax Media Ltd); Circulation WK: 68,425, Sat.: 69,012. SMH = The Sydney morning Herald (Fairfax Media Ltd); Circulation WK: 161,169, Sat.: 265,457; Digital WK: 56,559, Digital SAT: 56,113. CAN = The Canberra Times (Fairfax Media Ltd); Circulation WK: 30,420, Sat.: 49,965, Sun.: 31,308.
Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]