Australian news and politics live updates: Liberals label Chalmers tax bill ‘flawed’ as bill introduced

The Greens have finally made comments about what they’ll do with their Senate balance of power when it comes to the Government’s tax bill: send it to a committee, but don’t give the Liberals the lengthy roadshow they want.

Even though the Senate isn’t sitting this week, the legislation just introduced to the lower house this morning will be sent off for examination by one of its committees.

But the reporting date for the inquiry is June 22, just three weeks away and at the start of the next sitting fortnight.

The minor party isn’t closing the door to getting this passed before politicians flee Canberra for the winter break. But it won’t be waving it through either.

Economics spokesman Nick McKim said the bill was a missed opportunity and that the “extremely generous grandparenting provisions” left a lot of money on the table.

“We will use this inquiry to examine how and why Labor decided to leave in place the vast majority of tax handouts for the ultra wealthy,” he said.

The Commonwealth is suing chemical giant 3M for damages relating to PFAS contamination at 28 Defence bases around the country.

The so-called forever chemicals, per- and poly-fluoroaklyl substances, were used in legacy firefighting foams.

They’re no longer used in Australia due to concerns about environmental contamination.

They’ve also been linked to health problems and cancer clusters.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the Commonwealth’s case alleges that 3M withheld information, including what it knew about the environmental risks, and misrepresented the effects of its aqueous film-forming foam, and that it gave assurances about disposal and environmental safety that were inconsistent with what the company knew at the time.

“The Government is committed to holding 3M to account for the economic and environmental harms associated with PFAS contamination,” Ms Rowland said.

“The Commonwealth has commenced this legal action to pursue appropriate accountability through the Federal Court and to seek recovery of costs borne by the Commonwealth in responding to PFAS contamination at Defence bases.”

Defence is seeking more than $2 billion in damages from the company.

Another ISIS bride who returned to Australia this month from Syria has been charged with terrorism offences.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed the arrest on Thursday, just days after a group of 19 women and children touched down in Sydney and Melbourne from Damascus.

Unlike the previous cohort, which arrived on May 7, when three of four women were charged, none of the second group had been arrested upon arrival at the airport. However, their devices were seized and examined.

AFP Deputy Commissioner National Security Investigations Hilda Sirec is expected to provide further details on the fresh charges on Thursday afternoon.

ABC has been accused of breaching impartiality standards after hiring a content creator who provides paid training for aspiring Labor candidates.

ABC managing director Hugh Marks was tight-lipped about the engagement of Youtuber Cameron Mitchell, who goes by the user name “Mr M History”, who was paid to take part in a “Creator Program”.

The program had profiled Mr Mitchell, who also runs the “Barcaldine Academy”, which is a Labor-focused coaching program.

“It doesn’t pass the pub test,” Senator Bridget McKenzie said, accusing the ABC of breaching editorial standard four regarding impartiality.

Mr Marks couldn’t answer whether the ABC had undertaken appropriate vetting of each creator’s “political or reputational” background before prompting them.

Mr Marks described the program as a “working development program”, which allowed creators to “develop their skills” to see whether they could continue to other roles.

While he didn’t rule out payment for their contribution, Mr Marks insisted they “wouldn’t necessarily be full-time working for the ABC”.

“People joining the ABC should be coming from a diversity of backgrounds. But that diversity should not be relevant to their work. Their work should be judged by the editorial standard by which they operate,” Mr Marks said.

After the moderated explanation of the technical aspects of the tax changes, Jim Chalmers switched gear into political attack mode, raising his voice amid heckling from the Opposition and acknowledging that the changes are contentious.

“We have seen dishonest scare campaigns already, and deliberate distortions of the truth,” he said.

The Treasurer says the Government is not introducing a tax on inheritances or inherited assets (although the grandfathering of negative gearing won’t survive a property being passed on to heirs), that the capital gains tax will still be reduced, albeit with a different formula, and that the “vast majority” of small businesses remain eligible for further capital gains tax concessions.

“These are the facts, Mr Speaker, but it’s also a fact that this bill presents a choice, a choice between cutting income taxes for Australian workers or keeping them higher,” he thundered.

“Most of all, this legislation is about cutting taxes for workers. It’s about making it easier to buy a first home.”

The Government is trying to goad the Opposition into opposing the tax cuts because they are combined here with the CGT and negative gearing changes, which the Coalition opposes.

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Jim Chalmers has now turned to explaining the more controversial aspects of his tax package: the changes to the capital gains tax discount.

The focus in public debate over the past fortnight has been on how this affects small businesses, especially those who grow quickly such as tech start-ups.

But the Treasurer and colleagues are keen to steer debate back onto the housing affordability aspect, which has landed far better with the public once they get past the small business complaints.

Dr Chalmers says housing supply is still the government’s primary focus, but it had become clear that wasn’t the whole solution.

“Following the policy mistakes made a quarter of a century ago, home ownership has been pushed further and further out of reach, and especially for young Australians,” he tells Parliament.

“We hear a lot about helping people get on the property ladder, but there’s no point having a ladder if the first few rungs are missing.

“For too long, governments have turned a blind eye to a broken status quo, a status quo that is unfair for people and unfair for our economy.”

The Treasurer describes his legislation as “the first step in the most ambitious tax reform package for a quarter of a century”.

“This is a bill for workers, for first home buyers, and for future generations,” Jim Chalmers tells Parliament.

He speaks first about the tax cut elements of the package, the working Australian tax offset and the standard tax deduction.

The latter starts from the 26-27 financial year, meaning people can claim the $1000 deduction when they file their taxes after the end of June 2027.

The WATO comes into effect the following year – so no one will receive it until after the next election, because it also is claimed when filing a tax return.

Jim Chalmers has now introduced the legislation for the Budget’s suite of tax changes to parliament.

Under the Treasurer’s plans, the 50 per cent discount on capital gains tax will be replaced with an inflation-based discount, with a 30 per cent minimum payable on the taxable portion.

Negative gearing of investment properties will be limited to newly built homes only.

The Government is also setting up a new $250 annual working Australians tax offset (WATO) and a $1000 standard deduction.

Dr Chalmers has previously said the WATO sets up a new architecture that governments can use for tax cuts targeted at people earning wages down the track – hinting at but not yet promising further relief from income taxes close to the next election.

The capital gains tax changes have proven the most controversial because they cover all asset classes, not just housing as was anticipated before the Budget.

Business groups have warned it will stifle investment and are urging the Government to significantly narrow the changes so they’re limited to housing only.

Senator Sarah Henderson has criticised ABC chairman Kim Williams for skipping a Senate Estimates session on Thursday to answer questions about Benjamin Netanyahu

Mr Williams had previously labelled the Israeli Prime Minister as “frankly an aberrant creature”.

“I had great hope for the ABC when Mr Williams started. He made some very significant comments that he did not want to see activism in the ABC,” Senator Henderson said.

“He wanted the highest standards of journalism not activism. And yet, he engages in this sort of behaviour.

“You’ve got the chair setting that sort of appalling example.”

ABC managing director Hugh Marks said Mr William had already publicly stated that he regretted marking the comments.

“I acknowledge that those comments were less than less than desired or ideal,” Mr Marks said.

“I think Mr Williams regrets making them. It’s not an indicator to our staff. In any way to change their behaviour in compliance with the codes and standards that we abide to in the work that we do.”

Senator Henderson indicated to the ABC executives she may seek an order through parliament to compel Mr Williams to appear.

Outgoing ABC’s director of news Justin Stevens hasn’t appeared before a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra after his sudden resignation yesterday.

Mr Stevens’ announced his exit less than 24 hours before the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was scheduled to face questions at 9am in Parliament House.

ABC managing director Hugh Marks told the session that his departure after four years at the helm gave the broadcaster an opportunity for “refreshed and rejuvenated output”.

“It’s a difficult role. The head of news at the ABC. I think after four years, and with obviously intense scrutiny, not only from externally,” he said.

“It’s inappropriate for me to go into detail and specific staff matters.

“I think Mr Stevens felt it was the right time for him to move on and pursue other careers, and I think it’s an opportunity obviously, for the ABC to enter into a new phase of operations where we look to refresh and rejuvenate our output.”

Senator Sarah Henderson also ​​

​​ ABC chairman Kim Williams for skipping the session and indicated she may seek an order through parliament to compel him to appear.