Guardian AU
Coal companies to reap billions more in taxpayer diesel subsidies as Labor approves new mining
Australia's coal sector stands to collect an additional $6.2 billion in diesel fuel tax credits if the Albanese government approves half of the mine developments currently under consideration, according to analysis by Lock the Gate. The findings intensify pressure on Labor to reform or scrap the fuel tax credit scheme, which effectively subsidizes multinational mining companies using public money. Critics argue the policy is increasingly difficult to justify as the government simultaneously pursues climate commitments.
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Child safety changes risk separating Australia’s First Nations children from their culture – and causing even more harm
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are warning that proposed child safety reforms in Queensland and the Northern Territory could sever the critical connection between First Nations children and their culture. Indigenous advocates argue that cultural belonging is not peripheral to child welfare — it is central to it, and weakening that link risks compounding the very harm these systems are meant to prevent. The proposals come despite longstanding evidence that removing Indigenous children from their communities and kin has caused generational trauma.
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Sydney Morning Herald
Pauline Hanson’s defence spending boost would cost extra $225b, budget office says
Australia's Parliamentary Budget Office has costed Pauline Hanson's defence spending proposal at an additional $225 billion, adding significant fiscal weight to a policy debate that has gained traction on the conservative flank. The figure puts pressure on One Nation as it competes for right-leaning voters disillusioned with the Liberal Party. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor's appeal for Coalition unity signals growing alarm within Liberal ranks about electoral haemorrhaging to Hanson's party.
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A Melbourne woman lost $646,035 to a romance scam. Should banks and dating apps be forced to refund victims like her?
Australia's proposed anti-scam legislation is under scrutiny as romance fraud claims another devastating victim — a Melbourne woman who lost over $646,000 after being targeted through the dating app Hinge. While the Albanese government has pledged to introduce the world's toughest anti-scam laws, consumer advocates argue the framework falls short of holding banks and platforms financially accountable. The debate raises a pointed question: if companies profit from the infrastructure scammers exploit, should they share the liability when it fails?
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Angus Taylor dismisses Labor’s ‘half-arsed’ tweaks to CGT reform – as it happened
Angus Taylor took aim at Labor's proposed capital gains tax adjustments, branding them a half-measures approach that fails to address the underlying issues. Meanwhile, shadow minister Ted O'Brien broke from Pauline Hanson's hardline stance on Pacific aid, arguing that conditioning assistance on countries cutting ties with China would damage Australia's regional relationships. O'Brien acknowledged concerns about Chinese influence in the Pacific but insisted coercive diplomacy was neither effective nor in Australia's national interest.
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