Gambling lobby attacks Labor over ‘moral judgment’ – as it happened
Key events
What we learned: Wednesday 18 December
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Have a great evening.
Here were today’s major developments:
Caitlin Cassidy
Universities applaud Labor’s $2.5bn pledge
University bodies have welcomed the federal government’s additional $2.5bn commitment in the Myefo to establish a new managed growth funding system and introduce needs-based funding for universities.
Universities Australia’s chief executive, Luke Sheehy, said the commitments recognised the “vital role” the sector played to “drive prosperity and tackle workforce shortages”.
He said:
From helping more Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds access higher education to creating a funding framework that supports long-term sustainability, these investments will strengthen our universities across cities and regions, benefiting the entire nation.
Sheehy also welcomed the establishment of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission to provide independent advice and sector reform, announced in a release by the education minister today. The body will operate permanently from 2026.
The release also hinted at the removal of Ministerial Direction 107, which has been operating as an effective international student cap. Sheehy said certainty and stability were now “urgently needed” to ensure the continued global competitiveness of Australia’s international student sector and stabilise numbers.
The Australian Technology of Universities executive director, Dr Ant Bagshaw, said the body could now see a “path forward” which could support growth ambitions of the sector.
Caitlin Cassidy
Budget update a ‘missed opportunity’ to better fund public schools – union
The Australian Education Union has labelled the federal government’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo) as a “missed opportunity” to fully fund public schools.
The Myefo confirmed there would be no additional funding or agreed school reforms for public schools in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, which remained in a standoff over who would front a 5% gap in school funding.
Data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority shows 98% of public schools are underfunded and the majority of private schools are overfunded.
Union head Correna Haythorpe said the gap would “deeply impact” public schools’ resources and leave them underfunded until at least the end of 2025.
This is money the federal government is quite literally leaving on the table.
The opposition’s education spokesperson, Sarah Henderson, said Labor had failed to deliver “full and fair funding” as the education minister, Jason Clare, had promised. The Coalition, when it was in power, capped commonwealth funding for public schools at 20%, leaving a shortfall of 5%.
Henderson said:
After nearly three years, Jason Clare has shown he is not up to the job of supporting Australian schools including delivering explicit instruction, the Year 1 phonics and numeracy test, performance targets and other evidence-based teaching reforms to ensure every child can reach his or her best potential.
Clare said the government had reached agreements to increase funding to public schools in Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT.
He said:
Our offer to the remaining states remains on the table.
Gambling lobby hits at Labor’s ‘moral judgment’ after $90m tax breaks for research abolished
Henry Belot
The gambling industry’s lobby group has criticised the federal government’s “moral judgment” after confirming bookmakers would no longer receive tax breaks for research on wagering.
The federal government’s mid-year economic update (Myefo) confirmed gambling companies would be stripped of their access to the tax concessions, after Australian Tax Office figures showed they had claimed almost $90m in a single year.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, described the use of the tax breaks by bookies as “problematic” in October.
Today’s Myefo papers said research and development for gambling could “exacerbate addiction and associated harms, while activities related to tobacco can increase health risks”.
The Myefo said:
Excluding these activities will ensure that the government is not subsidising this type of research and development.
Kai Cantwell, the chief executive of Responsible Wagering Australia, attacked the decision and said it “opens the door to tax policies becoming a tool of moral judgment rather than a driver of economic growth”.
He said:
Our industry was not consulted by the government on this decision – this is not how governments should engage with industry and it’s not the way to achieve effective policy outcomes.
The government’s announcement sets a dangerous precedent for how tax policy could be misused in the future – today it’s gambling companies being targeted, but any industry could be next if it’s used as a bargaining chip or horse-traded in future political deals.
If I represented fast food, alcohol, fossil fuels or any other industry that face similar criticisms, I’d be worried. This cherry-picking approach undermines the neutrality of the tax system and leaves businesses guessing who will be targeted next.
Australia ready to help Vanuatu after quake – Marles
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, says Australia stands ready to assist the Vanuatuan government as required.
In the statement announcing a $2m aid package for Vanuatu, Marles said:
Australia’s connection with the government and people of Vanuatu is strong and we will continue to work with them in this time of need.
In the same statement, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, said:
We send our deepest condolences following this dreadful tragedy.
My message to the people of Vanuatu is Australia is here to help. This immediate package of support will ensure those in urgent need receive lifesaving assistance.
The acting minister for for international development and the Pacific, Matt Keogh, said:
Our thoughts are with the people who have lost loved ones and those displaced by yesterday’s devastating earthquake.
We stand ready to provide further assistance to the people of Vanuatu as the extent of damage becomes clear.
Australia working with France and NZ on Vanuatu quake support
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it is aware of a number of Australians in the affected region and is providing consular assistance to those in need.
The department has encouraged Australian citizens and permanent residents in Vanuatu to register with Dfat’s registration online portal, to receive important information and updates, and to read the latest travel advice at www.smartraveller.gov.au.
Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian government 24-hour consular emergency centre (+61 6 261 3305 from overseas or 1300 555 135 in Australia).
The federal government says it is working closely with France and New Zealand under the Franz arrangement to assess the damage from the earthquakes and to coordinate our ongoing assistance and support the Vanuatu government-led response.
The Franz arrangement is a 31-year trilateral cooperation agreement between Australia, France and New Zealand for humanitarian assistance in the Pacific in the event of humanitarian emergencies.
Australia sends $2m aid package to Vanuatu
The federal government says it has sent an initial $2m humanitarian assistance package for Vanuatu to support recovery efforts which will arrive in the Pacific island nation this afternoon.
Fourteen people have reportedly been confirmed dead after Vanuatu was struck by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake yesterday, which prompted a tsunami warning and was followed by a second earthquake today.
In a statement, the government said there had been extensive damage to buildings in and around the capital, Port Vila, and hospitals were under “significant pressure” treating the injured.
It said that in response to requests from the Vanuatuan government, Australia had sent a 64-person disaster assistance response team (Dart) and two dogs to look for people trapped under the rubble and to begin the clean up.
An Australian medical assistance team has been deployed to help local health authorities, which will be followed by a five-person department of foreign affairs and trade (Dfat) crisis response team and a liaison officer from the national emergency management agency.
The government has said nine additional Australian Federal Police members will arrive in Port Vila today, joining the six AFP members already posted there, to assist local police including with setting up emergency communications and identifying victims.
Budget update a missed opportunity to address key issues: Saul Eslake
Peter Hannam
Investors don’t appear to have been very moved by the federal government’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo).
Stocks will probably end the day little changed and the Australian dollar was pretty flat (although it has lately extended its retreat against the US dollar at least).
Bond yields were also little moved, implying little joy in a smaller than expected budget deficit this fiscal year nor little extra concern that the budget deficit will be $23bn-plus worse in the subsequent three years.
Saul Eslake, a seasoned commentator on the economy, isn’t convinced about the government’s claims of additional “unavoidable” spending.
Eslake said:
I’m not saying they are bad decisions – but they aren’t ones that absolutely had to be taken.
Unavoidable isn’t a synonym for politically difficult. What the government has avoided is making any decisions as to how this additional spending should be paid for.
It has been clear for some years now – since before this government came to office in May 2022 – that government spending is permanently on a higher plane of about 26.5% of GDP, which is about 1.75 percentage points of GDP higher than the average between the mid-1970s and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Eslake has said the public wants more spending on health, the NDIS and childcare, but it will get more spending on defence (“whether the public ‘wants’ that or not”), and there’s the increase of $500bn in federal government net debt since the global financial crisis (circa 2008), which brings a big interest cost.
Eslake said:
Neither side of Australian politics has been willing to have an adult
conversation with the Australian people about how all this additional
spending should be paid for.
Pesutto says Deeming’s return to Liberal fold a matter ‘for party room’
Benita Kolovos
Pesutto was also asked about the upcoming vote on Moira Deeming’s return to the Liberal party room, which will take place on Friday.
On Monday night, Liberal MPs Chris Crewther, Renee Heath, Joe McCracken, Richard Riordan and Bill Tilley revealed they had signed a petition to hold a special party room meeting to reinstate Deeming.
Deeming was expelled from the party in 2023 after she attended a rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
A federal court judge last week found Pesutto defamed Deeming by falsely implying in comments he made after the rally that she knowingly associated and sympathised with neo-Nazis. The judge ordered Pesutto pay Deeming $300,000 in damages.
After the judgment, Deeming said it was her expectation to be let back into the party room.
Asked whether he would welcome Deeming back, Pesutto said:
They’re matters for the party room, and they’ll discuss those on Friday morning.
On his leadership, Pesutto said he was getting “positive feedback” from his colleagues but admitted “we’re a broad party room, so not everybody’s going to agree on every issue”.
He said:
I work every day to earn the trust and confidence of my colleagues, and I’ll continue to work every day. I never take my roles and responsibilities for granted.
I know that every day, I get up and I do the very best I can for the people I’m here to serve, and that’s ultimately the Victorian people. But I also need to show my colleagues every single day that I’m worthy of their trust.
Pesutto says Victorian government’s CFMEU report a ‘whitewash’
Benita Kolovos
Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, has responded to the CFMEU report that the state government released earlier this morning, describing it as a “whitewash”.
He said the report’s terms of reference were narrowly set by the Victorian government to “avoid responsibility and accountability”.
Pesutto told reporters at parliament:
This report is pathetic. It is a hopeless attempt to address a very serious problem affecting not only the delivery of major projects but our economic performance as a state and our soaring debt levels, but it’s precisely what premier Jacinta Allan wanted.
This was not a serious report that took evidence, held public hearings, investigated criminal allegations, actually enabled proper submissions to be made that the Victorian people, businesses and households could actually read.
