Taylor unveils plan to block welfare payments for noncitizens
Angus Taylor is presenting a new proposal from the opposition to restrict many welfare payments for noncitizens, as part of the response to the government's budget released on Tuesday.
Taylor stated on earlier this morning that the proposal aims to reduce migration numbers and thereby assist in addressing the housing shortage:
Dishing out billions and billions of dollars to people in this country who are not citizens for welfare. That’s not fair on hard-working Australian citizens, that’s not fair on people who have committed to this country for many years.
The simple principle is this: if you commit to this country, we’ll commit to you. That’s the Australia I grew up in, and it’s the Australia I want to see again.
He indicated that the plan to exclude all but citizens applies to 17 programs, including paid parental leave, which would save the budget “many, many billions”.
And what I will say about this is that hard-working Australians out there now: I think many of them will be surprised to hear that non-citizens, as soon as they arrive here, can get access to family tax benefits.
If you are not an Australian citizen, then you don’t get the privileges of an Australian citizen. And I’d encourage people who are committed to this country to become a citizen.
NDIS among programs targeted by Coalition’s proposed welfare changes
Taylor’s proposal to limit welfare payments exclusively to citizens would include the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), according to AAP reports.
Individuals already receiving benefits would be grandfathered if the proposal were to be enacted.
He criticized the current government for reducing support for private health insurance for older Australians while simultaneously providing billions in welfare payments to non-citizens.
We have got, right now, a government that is slashing support for private health insurance for older Australians, and at the same time dishing out billions and billions of dollars to people in this country who are not citizens for welfare,Taylor told reporters in Canberra earlier.
As previously reported, Taylor said the Coalition’s plans will affect 17 types of welfare support.
Antisemitism present across political spectrum, inquiry told
Returning to the antisemitism royal commission, Dr Dave Rich was questioned about Zionism, anti-Zionism, and antisemitism. He defined Zionism as:
The idea that the Jewish people are a people, that their ancient homeland is the land of Israel, that they have a right to national self-determination, and that the modern state of Israel is the manifestation of that right in the modern world.
He explained that the meaning has evolved to signify support for Israel’s ongoing existence and wellbeing, intertwined with Jewish identity. Zionism now encompasses multiple strands and differs from supporting the Israeli government or its policies.
Anti-Zionism, he said, is the belief that Israel should not exist, that it is not a legitimate nation, and that Jewish people are not real.
He noted that the slogan “from the river to the sea” is anti-Zionist because it implies that Israel should not exist, though many statements labeled anti-Zionist are actually critiques of the Israeli government and its policies.
Taylor’s budget reply speech to include dramatic cuts to number allowed into the country
Opposition leader Angus Taylor will deliver his first budget reply speech on Thursday evening, revealing a significant reduction in the number of people permitted to enter the country, according to AAP.
Taylor will argue that Australia should only admit as many people as it can house, proposing a cap on net overseas migration equivalent to the number of homes built in the previous year.
The budget forecasts net migration at 295,000 for this financial year, declining to 225,000 by 2027/28.
These figures are substantially lower than the post-pandemic peak of over 550,000, when a surge of migrants returned as borders reopened, but still exceed pre-COVID levels.
Last financial year, approximately 175,000 new homes were constructed. If Taylor’s policy were implemented, it would result in a roughly 40% reduction in net migration for this financial year.
Holding Jewish people responsible for Israel a ‘building block’ of racism, inquiry hears
Dr Dave Rich informed the antisemitism royal commission that there will always be “edge cases” involving good faith disagreements on whether certain statements are antisemitic.
He discussed the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which has been adopted by many groups, including in Australia, but has faced criticism for conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Rich described it as a “practical tool” to identify antisemitism and advised against overemphasizing it as a strict definition.
He stated that its imprecision is a strength and that people on both sides often misinterpret it.
He identified the “fundamental building block of racism” as the concept of collective guilt:
Holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel is the justification provided by terrorists who murder Jews around the world, who attack Jews around the world while shouting abuse about Israel, about Gaza.
Housing minister says first home buyers should be on better footing as soon as this weekend’s auctions
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil described the recent budget as a “housing budget” intended to assist first home buyers.
Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, O’Neil said buyers aiming to enter the property market should experience improvements almost immediately. She stated:
I’m not pretending anything is going to get fixed tomorrow or next weekend, but they will be a difference at auctions this weekend. These changes will mean that there will be just a bit fewer investors at every auction and that that younger person who is trying to get into their first home in a better position.
O’Neil clarified that changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount are not intended to eliminate investors entirely, and Australians should still be able to build wealth through the housing market:
We’re not trying to remove investors from the Australian housing market.
We want people to get ahead, and if you are doing well and you are able to do well through investing and property, then good on you. We want you to succeed and build wealth for your family.
All we are saying is that we want to make sure that when people are making those investments that they are actually helping with the biggest national challenge we face on housing, and that is building new homes for the country.
Royal commission investigates how to define antisemitism
The antisemitism royal commission began early this morning with a live connection to Dr Dave Rich in London. Rich is the policy director at the Community Security Trust, a charity dedicated to protecting Jewish people from terrorism, and has authored an expert report on antisemitism.
He defined antisemitism as “prejudice, discrimination, hostility or hatred towards Jewish people, Jewish organisations, Jewish institutions, or people perceived to be Jewish” that can manifest in both violent and non-violent forms.
Broadly speaking, it’s built on a set of negative stereotypes, attitudes and tropes about Jews.
Rich guided the commissioner through the long history of antisemitism, highlighting the development of these tropes, particularly the stereotype of Jews as greedy and stingy moneylenders.
He noted that for a thousand years, until the Second Vatican Council declared that Jews were not permanently responsible for the death of Jesus Christ, Jews were frequently accused of being Christ killers.
He also discussed the blood libel, entirely false and “bizarre” accusations that Jewish people committed infanticide against Christian children, which have persisted since the Holocaust, as well as the “ridiculous”, fraudulent and debunked Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
A more recent trope, he said, is the portrayal of Jews as modern-day Nazis, illustrating how antisemitism has adapted after the Holocaust.
Rich emphasized that governments must define antisemitism to develop effective policies against it.
Court to rule on ACCC case against Coles
Australians who shop at Coles are about to learn whether the federal court agrees that the supermarket intended to deceive customers with “illusory” and “utterly misleading” discounts on many everyday products.
Federal Court Justice Michael O’Bryan is scheduled to deliver his judgment this morning in the case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against Coles.
The ACCC accused Coles and rival Woolworths of temporarily increasing prices, then advertising products as “on sale” at prices higher than their previous long-term shelf price.
The ACCC alleges the supermarkets misled shoppers by using their “Down Down” and “Prices Dropped” promotions to conceal price increases on hundreds of products between 2021 and 2023.
The Coles case, heard in the Federal Court in Melbourne in February, focused on a sample of about a dozen products, including Rexona deodorant, Arnott’s Shapes, and 2L bottles of Coca-Cola.
During the trial, Coles admitted that by the time it raised the price of an item from the original to the “was” price, the supermarket had already planned and agreed with the supplier on the third “Down Down” price.
Legal counsel for Coles argued that the promotional prices were genuine discounts offered after an increase in wholesale costs charged by suppliers during a period of rising inflation.
Justice O’Bryan is expected to deliver his judgment at 9:30 am. Further updates will follow.
Angus Taylor says Coalition will ‘fight like hell’ to oppose budget tax changes
Opposition leader Angus Taylor stated that his budget reply later tonight will focus on prioritizing Australians rather than responding to a surge in support for the Greens.
Speaking to Channel Seven’s Sunrise, Taylor said he plans to fight “every day” until the budget legislation reaches parliament to “stop this from happening in the first place.” He said:
We’ll be working with small businesses, with those who are trying to save a nest egg, because they’re going to get punished under this, those trying to grow a business, for those who are trying to buy a home or get ahead owning a home.
We’re going to be working with them to fight against this rotten legislation, a toxic set of taxes that are going to hurt aspirational Aussies and are an assault on aspiration.
Taylor affirmed that the Coalition would “absolutely” seek to repeal the changes to the capital gains tax discount if elected.
Frankly, we’re going to fight like hell [against] this because this is an assault on aspiration,Taylor said.
PM expects productivity gains from CGT reforms
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also expressed expectations of productivity gains from the capital gains tax changes, arguing that the current system “distorted the market towards housing away from equities.”
He stated that investment would not be distorted by the tax system’s operation.
Albanese noted that some negative reactions from the investor community have not been “based upon the policy” and committed to consulting on the change.
PM denies housing and investment changes linked to new Gen Z voters
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denied that the addition of 700,000 Gen Z voters to the electoral roll by the next federal election influenced the decision to implement negative gearing and capital gains tax changes in Tuesday’s federal budget.
Asked by Sarah Ferguson on ABC’s 7.30 about the additional voters, Albanese said he focused solely on the merits of the policy change.
If you concentrate on good policy, the politics will look after itself.
What we’re concentrating on here is good policy in the interest of young Australians, but also in the interest of that social cohesion. In the national interest as well.
He added that the government could not “sit back and continue to watch” income from labor treated differently than income from assets.
Regarding the decision to grandfather existing negative gearing arrangements, Albanese was asked how he would explain to a young person that negative gearing advantages are “locked in” for older generations.
He responded that negative gearing remains available for new builds, and the average duration of negative gearing is a little over five years because people either sell the property or it becomes positively geared.
He emphasized that the government is ensuring “we don’t change the basis of people who have gone into investing in a property, on the basis of arrangements that were made available to them.”
Live politics blog introduction
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. Martin Farrer begins with the top overnight stories, followed by Nick Visser, with Krishani Dhanji ready to take over this afternoon ahead of Angus Taylor’s budget reply speech tonight.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied that the addition of 700,000 Gen Z voters to the electoral roll by the next federal election influenced the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes in Tuesday’s federal budget. More details will follow.
Australians who shop at Coles are awaiting the federal court’s decision on whether the supermarket intended to mislead customers with “illusory” and “utterly misleading” discounts on many everyday products. Further information will be provided.
