What’s making news today
Hello and welcome to our national news live blog for Friday, May 22. Here’s what is making news today.
- The Iran war, the surge in inflation and the Reserve Bank’s interest rate increases are starting to hit the jobs market. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday that the nation’s jobless rate lifted to 4.5 per cent from 4.3 per cent in April. It’s the highest unemployment rate since November 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Foreign Minister Penny Wong yesterday ordered the Israeli ambassador to Australia be hauled before the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to “reinforce” the government’s displeasure in a video posted by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir taunting flotilla activists.
- The government announced a $7.2 million diphtheria support package yesterday, that Health Minister Mark Butler said would combat the biggest outbreak of the disease in Australia in decades.
- The prime minister has been repeatedly pressed on what his government is doing to support victims of domestic violence, after he was accused of dismissing women’s concerns in a radio interview earlier this week.
- Another group of Australian IS-linked women and children have departed a camp in north-eastern Syria, according to reporting by the ABC, and are believed to be on the way back to Australia.
- And abroad, an outbreak of a rare strain of the Ebola virus continues to spread through the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Trump says he’s sending 5000 more troops to Poland
President Donald Trump said the US will send an additional 5000 troops to Poland, stirring confusion following weeks of changing statements from him and his administration about reducing – not increasing – the American military footprint in Europe.
The Trump administration said previously that it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5000 troops, and US officials confirmed about 4000 service members were no longer deploying to Poland.
Trump’s social media announcement raises more uncertainty for European allies that have been blindsided by the changes as the administration has complained about NATO members not shouldering enough of the burden of their own defence and failing to do more to support the Iran war.
“Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5000 Troops to Poland,” Trump said on Truth Social.
‘He’s a good Australian’: Canavan backs podcaster who said Australia flooded with migrants
Nationals leader Matt Canavan has said he doesn’t agree with podcast host Sam Bamford’s views but said “good on” him for expressing them, after Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price appeared on his 2 Worlds Collide podcast where he said the country was being flooded with “hundreds of thousands of Indians, Chinese, Africans, Middle Easterns, and Gazans”.
“I’m sick of this faux outrage that we see from time to time. I mean, I think the people are sick of it. Maybe the Labor Party should focus on getting its tax policies and budgets right, and stop watching Sam Bamford, Sam Bamford on 2 Worlds Collide,” Canavan said.
“I’ve been on that podcast, I don’t agree with everything Sam says, but he’s a good Australian, he’s served our country in war, he’s entitled to his views,” he told Sky News.
In the podcast featuring Price as guest, Bamford raised the idea of a remigration program – an extremist concept for deporting non-white migrants – and later admitted he sounded “heaps racist” as he pushed Price on his complaints that people with Anglo-Celtic and European backgrounds were losing majority status in Australia.
“Just because you go on someone’s podcast doesn’t mean you agree with everything they have to say, but we should have Australian politicians who are fearless to go on such new media. It is new media, it’s a new world,” Canavan said.
“Good on people like Sam for expressing the views that he has, and he’s got lots of followers, he’s very, very popular. So, why doesn’t the Labor Party go on Sam’s podcast and tell him where he’s all wrong. You know, I think people would watch that, so don’t be afraid, guys.”
Budget in ‘chaos’ amid trust tax rethink, claims Canavan
Nationals leader Matt Canavan claims the government’s budget is in “complete chaos” after reports in this masthead that Labor may be reconsidering taxation on discretionary testamentary trusts.
“It’s less than a fortnight since they released the budget, and they’re desperately now trying to plug holes in a budget that proved leaky on the night itself,” Canavan told Sky News this morning.
“They haven’t been able to justify exactly why they are making these changes. They’ve clearly done them either with an ill intent, a hidden agenda, or they just were totally ignorant of why these or how these changes would affect people’s wills and testaments,” he said.
In last week’s budget, the government announced that a 30 per cent rate would soon apply to all discretionary trusts to better align earnings from investments with income tax. Caught in that are discretionary testamentary trusts, a type of trust that is embedded in a will so the will-writer can have control over the flow of assets and the income derived from them after they pass away. The Coalition has labelled the change a “death tax”.
In the most recent data from the Australian Taxation Office, which covered financial year 2022-23, there were 10,516 testamentary trusts in the country, including fixed and discretionary trusts. All existing discretionary trusts will not be caught up in the tax changes.
“What we need is a government that’s focused on bringing those costs down, on bringing inflation down, so interest rates don’t have to keep going up, and I just think the government’s totally missed the mark,” Canavan said.
Charlton says concerns over CGT are ‘valid’
Cabinet secretary Andrew Charlton has acknowledged that the government’s new CGT arrangements may not “interact well” with some small businesses that started small, as the government continues to fight online backlash over the changes announced in last week’s budget.
“I think there are real concerns, and startups and some small businesses are a real concern … we’ve got this new type of capital gains discount, which is based on inflation, and the point that many startup founders, the point that many small businesses have been making is valid,” Charlton told Nine’s Today this morning.
“It’s a valid point, because that new regime doesn’t interact well if you have a really low capital base, because you’ve got nothing to inflate off, so there are real concerns out there,” he said.
“The government recognised those concerns, the treasurer recognised them before the budget. There was a statement in the budget recognising them, and we are consulting on them, so we definitely hear those concerns.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is open to changes to proposed taxes on discretionary testamentary trusts, but well-placed sources in the government told this masthead he was not interested in changing the capital gains tax updates.
Taylor backs in Price after appearance on controversial podcast
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has backed Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price after she put distance between herself and a podcaster who said the country should stop being flooded with “hundreds of thousands of Indians, Chinese, Africans, Middle Easterns, and Gazans”.
Price, the Coalition spokesperson for small business, skills and training, did not contest the podcast host’s complaints about an “influx” of migrant groups from India, the Middle East or Africa, during an appearance on the show. Price issued a clarifying statement last night, saying she had not intended to endorse “every point raised across a lengthy monologue”.
“She made it very clear that she agrees with the party position and my position, which is that we shouldn’t discriminate in immigration based on race or ethnicity or religion, but we should, based on values, people who come to this country should share our core values,” Taylor told a Melbourne press conference.
‘Big reforms always need explaining’, says Plibersek
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has continued the government’s defence of its budget as backlash over reforms to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing dominates public debate.
She said she understood there was confusion over the changes, but that it was the government’s responsibility to dispel misinformation and disinformation.
“Big reforms always need explaining, and so we’re in the process now of making sure that people aren’t listening to the misinformation and disinformation that is being peddled by our political opponents, that we’re actually explaining the real impact of this,” she told Sky News today.
Plibersek acknowledged the concerns of start-up owners, and reiterated the government would be “consulting with start-ups to avoid any unintended consequences”.
Labor continuing to fight ‘death tax’ allegations
Cabinet secretary Andrew Charlton has brushed off questions about reporting in this masthead that Labor is reconsidering taxing discretionary testamentary trusts, which has been labelled a “death tax” by the opposition.
Asked on Nine’s Today whether the government was contemplating a backflip on the move, Charlton said: “I don’t think there’s anybody who needs to be paying more tax on an inheritance after these changes than before.”
“First of all, any existing arrangements are grandfathered and unaffected. Secondly, anybody going forward who wants to create a testamentary trust, there are a range of options for them to choose, which will not be affected by these,” he said.
There were approximately 10,500 testamentary trusts in Australia according to the most recent data from the ATO in 2022-23. That includes discretionary and fixed trusts, but a breakdown between the two is not publicly available.
Discretionary testamentary trusts created before budget night will not be subject to tax.
‘Relieved yet angry’: Australians released after three days of Israeli imprisonment
Eleven Australians who were imprisoned by Israeli forces after their Gaza-bound flotilla was intercepted in foreign waters have been released after more than three days.
They were transported on buses to Ramon Airport where they boarded flights to Istanbul.
Two of the Australians spoke outside Istanbul Airport this morning.
They allege abuse and mistreatment of other flotilla participants by Israel, contradicting the ambassador’s repeated claims on 7.30 last night that no one was harmed.
McKim: Israel’s imprisonment of activists ‘illegal’
Greens senator Nick McKim says the actions of Israeli forces who arrested Gaza-bound flotilla activists in international waters before imprisoning them was “illegal” and “a form of torture”.
“They’re having their human rights abused. It is effectively a form of torture, and the simple fact is that Israel is now a rogue state,” he told ABC radio.
“They’re kidnapping people, including Australian citizens, from international waters on the high seas. It’s basically an act of piracy. They are illegally taking them into Israel, and then when they get them into Israel, they are abusing and degrading them. I mean, this demands the strongest possible response from our prime minister and our foreign minister, a far, fare stronger response than they’ve delivered to date.”
Eleven Australians were imprisoned by Israeli forces after their boats were intercepted in foreign waters. They were released yesterday after more than three days.
They were transported on buses to Ramon Airport where they boarded flights to Istanbul.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong yesterday ordered the Israeli ambassador to Australia be hauled before DFAT to “reinforce” the government’s displeasure over a widely condemned video posted by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of him taunting flotilla activists.
McKenzie says ‘death tax’ will affect 1 million. She’s off by a factor of 100
Deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie has incorrectly claimed that one million Australians will be subject to a “death tax” in the government’s budget, when the actual number of affected people would at most be 10,516, according to the latest data.
In last week’s budget, the government announced that a 30 per cent rate would soon apply to all discretionary trusts to better align earnings from investments with income tax. Caught in that are discretionary testamentary trusts, a type of trust that is embedded in a will so the will-writer can have control over the flow of assets and the income derived from them after they pass away.
Appearing on Sky News, McKenzie said: “Over a million Australians use testamentary trusts to protect their children’s inheritance against predators and creditors, so against a future spouse who would be entitled to 50 per cent of that inheritance under usual legal parameters”.
In the most recent data from the Australian Taxation Office, which covered financial year 2022-23, there were 10,516 testamentary trusts in the country. This included both fixed trusts, which face no new taxes under budgetary changes, and discretionary trusts. All discretionary trusts that were created prior to last Tuesday will not be caught up in the tax changes.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
