- Chris Minns has become premier of New South Wales after the Labor party’s election win last weekend, although Labor looks set to govern from minority after falling short of the required 47 seats. For the new government, falling short of a majority will mean it needs to work with the crossbench to pass legislation, which may have an impact on its delivery of key election promises.
- Federal parliament has concluded its latest session and will not resume until early May, when the government will hand down its first full budget. The next month will typically see “leaks” of budget measures as the government tests the air on policies and adjusts accordingly. There is likely to be more detail around funding for defence, given the government now has the Defence Strategic Review and the report from the AUKUS submarine task force.
- Inflation has fallen to 6.8 per cent, leading to expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will keep interest rates at 3.6 per cent at its board meeting next Tuesday. February’s consumer price index came in below market expectations and is well south of the December quarter’s peak of 8.4 per cent. It was the last of four data points RBA Governor Philip Lowe wanted to see before making a call on whether interest rates should rise for an 11th consecutive time.
- After weeks of negotiations with the Greens, the federal government has secured the passage of its industrial and resources emissions reduction plan through the Senate. At the centre of the agreement between Labor and the Greens is a cap on participants’ emissions of 1,233 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, or about 140 million tonnes a year. Under the arrangement, the Climate Change Authority will report on whether expanded or new projects will exceed the carbon budget.
- The federal government has introduced legislation making the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) responsible for issuing, maintaining and revoking positive vetting security clearances, to “reduce the risk of compromise of trusted insiders”. It will replace the function currently carried out by a number of agencies, including the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA), the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the Australian Federal Police and the Office of National Intelligence (ONI).
- While the newly elected Labor government in New South Wales has promised to lift the wages of essential workers, a new study has found that such workers are being forced to move further away from their inner-city jobs due to rising rents and housing costs. A study led by the University of Sydney’s school of architecture, design and planning, along with HOPE Housing, has found a lack of access to appropriate and affordable housing is a growing problem in Sydney and Melbourne.
For more on these and other developments, see today’s edition of CMAX Advisory’s?Australian Weekly Report.
