15/05/2013 - David Bradbury has questions to answerAssistant Treasurer David Bradbury must come clean today about exactly what budget detail he shared with whom before the Treasurer's Budget speech last night. (more..)
09/05/2013 - Shorten the Minister for more committeesBill Shorten has today announced yet another Committee, to advise him on setting up another Committee after that, to stop future governments from doing the bad things Labor has done to superannuation taxation over the past five years.. (more..)
26/04/2013 - Shorten slow and undercooked on TrioThe lack of urgency in Bill Shorten's inadequate response to the findings of a parliamentary
inquiry into the Trio fraud is very disappointing. (more..)
02/04/2013 - Shorten must come out of hiding on superEvery Labor Galah in the country is telling us what they think about the Gillard government's misguided plans to hit super with more Labor Party taxes - except the Minister responsible. (more..)
28/03/2013 - Shorten must step up on superAustralians saving for their retirement expect Bill Shorten to use his power over the Prime Minister to put a stop to further Labor tax attacks on super in the next budget. (more..)
27/03/2013 - Labor in chaos over superWhile Simon Crean and Joel Fitzgibbon are doing the heavy lifting for Labor, by supporting our efforts to protect people's super from a Prime Minister, a Treasurer and a Finance Minister desperate for more cash, Bill Shorten is missing in action. (more..)
25/03/2013 - Gray must help scrap Mining TaxIf Gary Gray is truly committed to the resources industry, to Western Australia and to a strong Australian economy, he must join the Coalition in our efforts to scrap the mining tax.(more..)
21/03/2013 - Crean supports Coalition's super policyJulia Gillard and Wayne Swan should listen to their senior Minister Simon Crean and stop the class warfare attack on hardworking Australians saving for their retirement. (more..)
12/02/2013 - What is Wong trying to hide?It now appears that Finance Minister Penny Wong is deliberately delaying the release of the Commonwealth's latest monthly financial statements in order to dodge parliamentary scrutiny of the current state of the books. (more..)
11/02/2013 - PBO confirms election costings can't be finalised until after PEFO releasedToday’s Senate Estimates hearings with the newly established Parliamentary Budget Office confirmed that they are unable to accurately finalise the costing of election policies until after the release of the Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO), published by the Departments of Treasury and Finance.(more..)
08/02/2013 - Wayne Swan to blame for Mining Tax fiscal trainwreckWayne Swan has run out of places to hide. After months of hiding the truth, Wayne Swan has been forced to admit that his handcrafted mining tax has raised only a fraction of the revenue promised in the Budget and MYEFO. (more..)
07/02/2013 - Labor cannot be trusted on SuperJulia Gillard's promise that there will be no tax on super payments for the over 60s under a government she leads cannot be trusted. (more..)
06/02/2013 - Super Savers deserve say about more Labor Super TaxesAny Labor proposal to increase taxes on Australians saving for their retirement to plug the Treasurer’s budget black holes must be put to the Australian people at the election before they are legislated by the Parliament. (more...)
05/02/2013 - Mining Tax Revenue detail to be releasedThe Coalition welcomes indications from the Greens that they will now support our longstanding efforts to force the release of how much revenue Labor's Minerals Resource Rent Tax has actually raised so far. (more...)
29/01/2013 - Mining Tax Secrecy Must StopThe Coalition welcomes indications that the Greens plan to support our Senate motion to force the Tax Commissioner to reveal how much or how little the MRRT has raised so far. (more...)
22/01/2013 - Shorten to blame for 78 per cent super taxThe reason a director of Dymocks was hit with a 78 per cent tax on inadvertent excess super contributions is because Bill Shorten has been asleep at the wheel on this issue for the past two and a half years instead of acting on Coalition calls to fix it. (more...)
18/12/2012 - Labor fails to fix dividend issue to prop up budgetCompanies and investors are joining many others across Australia who are paying a high price for Labor’s fiscal mismanagement and wasteful spending this time through the government's ongoing failure to resolve the confusion over the application of franking credits to dividends. (more...)
28/11/2012 - Coalition protects choice in superannuationThe Coalition has scored a significant policy victory for Australians planning for their retirement who were at risk of having their savings transferred automatically without their prior approval to a government legislated MySuper account. (more...)
15/11/2012 - Super governance reform debate welcomeThe proposals released today by the Industry Super Network to improve corporate governance in superannuation will add to the debate on how to ensure superannuation savings are best managed and protected. (more...)
02/11/2012 - Bill Shorten short on credibility when it comes to super governanceToday’s announcement of funding for the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) to encourage more women onto superannuation boards looks very much like another handout to the Minister’s Union mates, rather than a genuine attempt to encourage diversity. (more...)
22/10/2012 - Labor's rush to pull veil over budget black hole a conjuring trickThe rumours were true. The Gillard government has decided to release its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook today, before it could factor in the latest information about the first mining tax revenue collection, which is also due today. (more...)
10/10/2012 - Come clean on your $30 billion secret super tax plan MinisterSuperannuation Minister Bill Shorten should tell Australian super savers who will have to pay the $30 billion in increased super taxes he has in store for them to help pay for Labor's $120 billion budget black hole. (more...)
09/10/2012 - Release Default Super Report MinisterThe Minister for Superannuation Bill Shorten must immediately release the Productivity Commission report into default super in modern awards which was handed to him last Friday. (more...)
12/09/2012 - Labor's Mining Tax mess exposed againThe Federal government is facing another mining tax related budget black hole courtesy of Julia Gillard's and Wayne Swan's dodgy mining tax deal. (more...)
22/08/2012 - Shorten dismisses Productivity Commission on Default Super alreadyBill Shorten is trying to bully the Productivity Commission on its views on how best to ensure genuine transparency and competition in the superannuation default fund market by pre-empting its findings and final recommendations due in October with his announcement today. (more...)
22/08/2012 - Tax War against States won't fix mining tax mess The Treasurer running a tax war against the States and Territories in the face of yet another mining tax budget black hole of the Gillard government's own making is not the answer to this mess. (more...)
15/08/2012 - Coalition says YES to real super governance reformThe Coalition says yes to better super governance, but we say no to yet another Shorten backdoor move designed to inappropriately favour his friends in large union dominated industry super funds. (more...)
14/08/2012 - Another Broken Promise by the Prime Minister?The Coalition has moved in the Senate to force the public release of monthly updates on mining tax revenue collections consistent with a promise made by the Prime Minister back in March this year to secure passage of the mining tax legislation. (more...)
31/07/2012 - Bradbury must protect taxpayers from ATO printing errorAssistant Treasurer David Bradbury must act immediately to protect taxpayers who have been placed
at risk of having tax payments credited to other taxpayers’ accounts by a printing error on ATO
forms. (more...)
30/07/2012 - Labor incompetence to blame for delay of Trust reformThe delay yet again of long promised reform of tax laws for managed investment trusts demonstrates that Labor is not serious about ensuring Australia's international competitiveness as a genuine financial services hub in the region. (more...)
20/07/2012 - Labor back down on Timeshare ban in FOFA welcomeThe Coalition welcomes Bill Shorten's latest FOFA back down carving out longstanding remuneration arrangements in the Timeshare industry from the ban of commission based payments. (more...)
25/06/2012 - Bradbury should stop shooting the messenger and scrap flawed tax grabDavid Bradbury should stop shooting the messenger and scrap Labor's flawed tax grab on Managed Investment Trusts which is placing billions of dollars in investment in critical infrastructure at risk and is yet again increasing Australia's sovereign risk profile. (more...)
23/06/2012 - Shorten clearing his desk after months of inactionBill Shorten seems to be clearing his desk with today's long delayed announcement of new rules allowing accountants to provide a range of general financial advice to their clients and registration requirements for self-managed super fund auditors.(more...)
21/06/2012 - Labor still only part way there on Investment Manager RegimeThe Coalition welcomes Labor's introduction of the interim Investment Manager Regime legislation that would help facilitate Australia's world class financial services industry to grow the export of their services to overseas investors, especially in the Asia Pacific region.(more...)
20/06/2012 - Labor shuts down debate on flawed FOFA changesLabor has arrogantly shut down debate in the Senate and rammed through its flawed Future of Financial Advice legislation without allowing any debate at all on 63 separate amendments. (more...)
18/06/2012 - Coalition would rebuild confidence in super systemA future Coalition government will act decisively to rebuild confidence in our super system after
research showed that only 45% of Australians have confidence in their ability to make informed
decisions about their super. (more...)
16/05/2012 - Government and regulators must act on bipartisan Trio reportThe Coalition welcomes the release of the report on the collapse of Trio Capital by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services and calls on the government and regulators to act on its recommendations. (more...)
02/05/2012 - Get off the fence Tony CrookA report in the Financial Review today that O'Connor MP Tony Crook may support the continuation of the Gillard government shows that he is completely out of touch with his Electorate. (more...)
24/04/2012 - Gillard and Swan must explain their role in dodgy Mining Tax processJulia Gillard and Wayne Swan have some serious explaining to do about the circumstances surrounding their mining tax deal negotiated through a highly improper, exclusive and secretive process with the three biggest mining companies operating in Australia. (more...)
10/04/2012 - Labor delay on Investment Manager Regime costs funds and jobsTreasury has confirmed that Labor’s neglect and delay in implementing the Investment Manager Regime
recommended by the Johnson Report are denying Australian fund managers the opportunity to access
new investment funds from overseas. (more...)
03/04/2012 - Government executive pay blunder must be fixed nowThe government must act immediately to fix the problems it has created in its botched changes to executive remuneration laws, which have left over 100 Australian companies at risk of a Board spill.(more...)
02/04/2012 - Labor confusion and incompetence delays proxy voting changesLabor’s confusion and paralysis have reached new levels with Parliamentary Secretary Bernie Ripoll calling on the Coalition to urgently vote for a Bill which Mr Ripoll himself has previously said should
not be supported in its current form. (more...)
19/03/2012 - Wayne Swan's Mining Tax ConFar from celebrating tonight Wayne Swan should be explaining why Labor’s mining tax will reduce Australia’s international mining competitiveness, and kill the incentive for further investment in the industry. (more...)
16/03/2012 - Labor’s retrospective tax grabs raise sovereign risk threatDavid Bradbury has wasted no time in his new role as Assistant Treasurer continuing Labor’s bad record on retrospective tax changes that are fuelling uncertainty in the business community and risk Australia’s international reputation as a safe investment destination. (more...)
17/02/2012 - Productivity Commission approach to default super inquiry welcomedThe Coalition welcomes statements by Productivity Commission Chairman Gary Banks that the Commission will consider all relevant issues during its inquiry into default superannuation and not feel constrained by the government's terms of reference. (more...)
14/02/2012 - Shorten fails basic process requirements on FOFAThe government has failed to properly assess the impact of its Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) changes on businesses and consumers according to the Office of Best Practice Regulation. (more...)
13/02/2012 - Labor’s mining tax con The Treasurer’s admission today that his own Mining Tax could be 'adjusted' depending upon 'variable factors’ is a clear Labor plan to increase either the rate or the scope of their mining tax to meet their ever increasing expenditure bill. (more...)
22/01/2012 - Ripoll Inquiry Mark II needs to sort out Shorten FOFA messThe parliamentary inquiry into Labor's FOFA Bills starting tomorrow provides an important opportunity for all stakeholders to expose the many flaws in the current legislation and to help force the government to make some necessary changes before it is passed by the Parliament. (more...)
12/12/2011 - Shorten rewarded despite year of failureBill Shorten has been rewarded despite a track record of failure and indecision in the financial services and superannuation portfolio over the past year and a bit. (more...)
Australians saving for their retirement will pay for Labor’s waste and mismanagement over the past four years with a cut in superannuation co-contribution payments and yet another effective reduction in concessional contributions caps. (more...)
Greens Leader Bob Brown should join the Coalition to help force the government to come clean about its secret mining tax revenue assumptions and the cost of all the promises attached to its mining tax. (more...)
Gillard government secrecy in relation to its mining tax revenue assumptions and the cost of all the related measures must end, Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann has said. (more...)
3/11/2011 - Is Bill Shorten dishonest or just incompetent?Yesterday Bill Shorten misled Parliament when he said that his Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment Bill 2011 abolishes the superannuation guarantee age limit.(more...)
The Gillard government has run out of excuses on why it will not release all of the economic modelling of the carbon tax so it can be subjected to proper independent scrutiny.(more...)
Working families will pay for Labor's increase in compulsory super if it goes ahead not the mining tax as Bill Shorten has dishonestly claimed in a statement today. (more...)
Bill Shorten's Future of Financial Advice changes currently before Parliament breach the government's own best practice regulation requirements. (more...)
Bill Shorten's intra-fund advice changes will slug super fund members with hidden fees for financial advice they may never receive by introducing undisclosed commissions in superannuation. (more...)
In Senate Estimates today it has been revealed that the $10 billion for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is likely to blow a further hole in Labor’s budget bottom line. (more...)
The carbon tax will cost Australia at least $1 trillion or $40,000 for every Australian. It will not reduce emissions but will push up the cost of everything while shifting jobs and emissions overseas.(more...)
21/09/2011 - Shorten super changes fall shortThe Coalition welcomes the announcement of the government’s proposed changes to superannuation, but is disappointed that important recommendations to improve competitiveness and corporate governance in super have been ignored.(more...)
19/09/2011 - Mining tax worse with every draftWith every new draft Labor’s mining tax is becoming more complex and less fair Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann said today.(more...)
Gillard government plans to start raiding the Future Fund to help manufacture its claim of an early surplus in 2012/13 are reckless, fiscally irresponsible and unprecedented.(more...)
The NSW State budget released today has again exposed the deep policy flaws in Labor's mining tax deal inappropriately negotiated exclusively and in secret with the three biggest mining companies. (more...)
The Labor government continues to put sensible reforms of the financial advice industry at risk by sacrificing the genuine need for reform to the vested interests of union-backed industry super funds. (more...)
03/08/11 - Shorten ban of risk commissions short livedThe Coalition has welcomed Bill Shorten's decision to drop his ill considered proposal to ban commissions on risk insurance inside superannuation. (more...)18/07/11 - Carbon tax will hurt Western Australian manufacturingManufacturing businesses across Western Australia will be worse off under the Labor-Green carbon tax Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann said on a visit to the Pacific Industrial Company on the Kwinana industrial strip. (more...)12/07/11 - Carbon tax will hurt Tasmanian manufacturingManufacturing businesses across Tasmania will be worse off under the Labor-Green carbon tax Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann said on a visit to Rio Tinto Alcan in Bell Bay today. (more...)11/07/11 - Carbon Tax a massive hit on Tasmanian small businessTasmania’s 36,000+ small and medium businesses will be severely impacted without any compensation by the Labor-Green Carbon Tax, Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann said today. (more...)29/06/11 - Labor's Mining Tax a fiscal train wreck in the making Recurrent costs of commitments linked to Labor's complex, unfair and ill-conceived mining tax are set to create a giant $19 billion black hole in the federal budget over the next decade, Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann said. (more...)22/06/11 - Shorten's increase in compulsory super will cut take home payBill Shorten's latest statement on superannuation includes no new information and has again failed to make the policy case for Labor's proposed increase in compulsory super from 9 to 12 percent. (more...)17/06/11 - Over 99% of business reject Labor's failed clearing houseOver 99% of Australian businesses have rejected Labor's failed Medicare Superannuation Clearing House which costs Australian Taxpayers $177 for every single transaction processed. (more...)17/06/11 - Shorten wrong on compulsory superShadow Treasurer Joe Hockey and Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann have rejected as desperate and dishonest assertions made by Bill Shorten that the Coalition was divided about Labor plans to increase compulsory super. (more...)10/06/11 - Shorten should act now to ensure default super competitionMore Australians will end up in underperforming superannuation funds as a result of Bill Shorten's decision to delay any action to remove current anti-competitive arrangements in the selection of default funds under Modern Awards until next year. (more...)9/06/11 - Shorten to blame for workers super lossesWorking families losing money because they are channelled into underperforming super funds by Fair Work Australia can blame Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten. (more...)1/06/11 - Swan appointments breach Merit and Transparency GuidelinesWayne Swan has been caught out breaching his own government’s guidelines designed to ensure ‘transparent and merit based selection’ when appointing the new Chairs of ASIC and the ACCC. (more...)28/05/11 - Gillard and Swan must abandon the mining taxThe Gillard Government this week sought to blame a $2 billion hole in its Budget on a decision by the WA Government to remove a royalty concession on iron ore fines. The reality is that Treasurer Wayne Swan has only got himself to blame. (more...)27/05/11 - Shorten must clarify commissions banBill Shorten must stop making policy on the run and clarify exactly how commissions on risk products inside superannuation will be treated as part of his latest version of FoFA proposals. (more...)27/05/11 - Members should have a say in Super Fund mergersThe collapse of the proposed $9 billion merger between Vision Super and Equipsuper highlights the inadequate framework within which super fund trustees currently make decisions about fund mergers. (more...)
Wayne Swan knew of WA's plans to increase royalties on iron ore fines well before he advised the Prime Minister to sign the MRRT deal with the three big miners. (more...)
Wayne Swan has only got himself to blame for the $2 billion black hole in his Budget as a result of WA's decision to increase iron ore royalties. (more...)
In this Budget Labor has continued to ignore its own pre-election policy and a Senate motion to bring more transparency and competition into the default superannuation fund market. (more...)
Labor has finally answered the Coalition’s call to stop savers from being inappropriately hit by punitive additional tax penalties on their superannuation contributions. (more...)
Investors who receive financial advice will face more red tape, increased costs and reduced choice if Labor's latest version of Future of Financial Advice proposals passed the Parliament in full. (more...)
5/4/2011 - Common definition of flood long overdueThe Coalition supports efforts to develop a single, standard definition for floods across the entire country and across every insurance company as the best way forward. (more...)29/3/2011 - Please explain Prime MinisterDuring her visit to Perth Julia Gillard must explain why she continues to use WA as a cash cow for Labor's wasteful spending out of Canberra. (more...)24/3/2011 - Mining Tax still a bad tax - It should be scrappedThe mining tax remains a bad tax, which makes our tax system more complex, less fair and it should be scrapped Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann said today. (more...)
24/2/2011 - Ken Henry Confirms Mining Tax a National Tax on WAMore than 80 per cent of Gillard mining tax revenue will come out of WA over the current forward estimates according to evidence by Treasury Secretary Ken Henry at Senate Estimates today. (more...)
24/2/2011 - No Tax Summit by 30 June 2011: HenryContrary to promises Labor made to key Independents to gain support for its minority government, there will be no Tax Summit by 30 June 2011.(more...)
18/2/2011 - Gillard mining tax a massive tax on WASecret Treasury modelling which has finally been released under Freedom of Information legislation reveals that the Gillard mining tax is a massive tax on Western Australia. (more...)
16/2/2011 - Scrap the Mining Tax JuliaJulia Gillard should cut her losses and scrap the mining tax now Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann said. (more...)
Working families across Australia will be worse off as a result of Bill Shorten's obsession with putting the vested interests of the union movement ahead of the public interest. (more...)
There is confusion at the highest levels of government about who is responsible for the delivery of the Tax Summit and what it will involve, Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann said. (more...)
The Coalition will support any changes making our superannuation system more efficient, transparent and competitive and which deliver better value to superannuants across Australia. (more...)
In an incredible display of incompetence Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten is creating unnecessary uncertainty for Australian consumers and businesses in the lead-up to Christmas. (more...)
Superannuation Minister Bill Shorten should support moves in the Senate to introduce competition between superannuation funds selected as default funds under modern awards. (more...)
The government has again refused to release information about its $10.5 billion mining tax ignoring demands from the Senate made now for more than a month. (more...)
The Gillard government has again been ordered by the Senate to release information about its $10.5 billion mining tax, which so far has been kept secret. (more...)
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten must explain why he has rejected Henry Review recommendations
on super before pressing ahead with what is effectively a 3% pay cut for working families. (more...)
The Gillard government has been ordered by the Senate to release detailed information about its $10.5 billion mining tax which it has so far tried to keep secret. (more...)
The Gillard government has been ordered by the Senate to release important information about the Henry Tax Review’s recommendations on superannuation. (more...)
Despite billions of dollars wasted on Labor Party spending sprees, youth unemployment continued to go up even when overall unemployment levels started to come down. (more...)
Regardless of recent changes, the Gillard government's new tax on mining remains a threat to our economy and jobs, especially in Western Australia and Queensland. (more...)
If Julia Gillard had nothing to hide about her new tax on mining she would allow Treasury Secretary Ken Henry to answer all the outstanding questions about her tax tomorrow. (more...)
WA Liberal Senator Mathias Cormann has accused Julia Gillard of using Western Australia as a cash cow to fund Labor's reckless spending in Canberra. (more...)
The Senate Fuel and Energy Committee will reconvene next Tuesday and has recalled Dr Henry to appear and answer questions about the government's mining tax deal. (more...)
At a hearing of the Fuel and Energy Committee this morning Treasury confirmed that the impact on jobs and investment in the mining industry would be worse under the deal negotiated by Julia Gillard than under the RSPT. (more...)
The Coalition welcomes the government’s back-down from its decision to scrap face-to-face interviews between job seekers and Centrelink. “This latest back-down is most welcome, because regular quality contact between job seekers and Centrelink is important,” Shadow Minister for Employment (more...)
Julia Gillard has failed to deliver on technical training and education during her nearly three years as the part-time Minister for Training Shadow Minister for Training Mathias Cormann has said. “After promising 2,650 trades training centres in schools at the last election in 2007, only one of them (more...)
Western Australia is right at the
back of the queue and will miss out on the Rudd Labor
government's reckless broadband scheme for the foreseeable
future, WA Liberal Senator Mathias Cormann said on a visit
to Kalgoorlie today. "This is just another example of the
Eastern
(more...)
Ten days after the Coalition
attacked the government’s watering down of Australia’s
welfare system, junior Labor Minister Mark Arbib has adopted
the Kevin Rudd approach to the situation, talk tough, but do
nothing. “It’s not good enough to talk tough
(more...)
There will be no improvements to
international education services unless the government starts
taking some action Shadow Training Minister Mathias Cormann
said. "The Rudd government has been provided with yet another
review – this time on education services to overseas
(more...)
The rescue package for home
insulation workers announced with much fanfare by the Prime
Minister and Senator Arbib yesterday has no new money in it.
Job seekers not involved in home insulation will miss out on
training and job services because the government needs to
(more...)
For the second
time this week Mark Arbib has refused to answer a direct
question in the Senate about when he first became aware of
safety concerns for workers involved in the failed home
insulation program. "The Prime Minister now says he takes
responsibility for the failed
(more...)
Mark Arbib, the Minister responsible for coordinating the
roll-out of the stimulus package has refused to say when he
first became aware of inadequate training and safety issues
for workers involved in the ill-fated home insulation program.
"When Mark Arbib was promoted by
(more...)
Shadow Minister
for Employment Participation, Apprenticeships and Training
Mathias Cormann
visited the Challenger Institute of Technology in Kwinana this
week. “High quality trades training for young people is so
important, particularly in a growth area like Kwinana,”
Senator
(more...)
Only one single
trades training centre out of 2,650 promised by Kevin Rudd
before the last election is fully operational according to
evidence before Senate Estimates today. Incredibly, government
officials were unable to tell how many full-time students were
actually
(more...)
Employment
Participation Minister Mark Arbib is refusing to put
Australian jobs ahead of Labor's reckless spending according
to evidence before a Senate Estimates Committee. "If Mark
Arbib really cared about jobs he would call on the Prime
Minister and the Treasurer and urge
(more...)
Labor's poorly
thought out changes to skilled migration have created
significant uncertainty for our international education sector
and will put more private training colleges under pressure.
"To abolish the current 'Migration Occupations in Demand List
(MODL)' without replacing it
(more...)
WA Liberal
Senator Mathias Cormann has again called on ABC Managing
Director Mark Scott give a long term commitment to ABC TV
coverage of the Hopman Cup. Questioned at Senate Estimates by
Senator Cormann today, ABC Managing Director Mark Scott
refused to
(more...)
The Rudd Labor
Government doesn’t think that two hours work for a young
person is worth
bothering about, Shadow Minister for Employment Participation,
Apprenticeships and Training
Mathias Cormann said today. “Reports in the media confirm that
young people who
(more...)
The Rudd government should immediately pass important
legislation to improve the quality of education services for
overseas students in Australia through the House of
Representatives.
The Senate this afternoon passed the Education Services for
Overseas Students
(more...)
The collapse of
yet another major private training college comes as the Rudd
Labor Government has been dragging its feet on legislation
currently before Parliament to deal with these issues. Senator
Cormann's statements come after a major English training
centre with about
(more...)
The Rudd Labor Government has given a half hearted and
arrogant response to an important Senate committee report into
the recent job services tender according Shadow Employment
Participation Minister Mathias Cormann. The government today
tabled its largely
(more...)
While the slight
improvement in overall unemployment figures in December 2009
is welcome, the
Rudd government needs to start focusing on some of the hidden
problems in our labour market
Shadow Employment Participation Minister Mathias Cormann said
today. Senator
(more...)
Aged care nurses
in NSW and Queensland will be worse off as a direct result of
Labor's award 'modernisation' scheme Shadow Employment
Participation Minister Mathias Cormann said.
Labor's new scheme will seriously discourage prospective aged
care nurses in NSW and
(more...)
A training
provider in Rural New South Wales has been left in limbo due
to the inaction of the
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Education and
Social Inclusion. “The part-time Minister for Education, Ms
Gillard, doesn’t seem to think the closure of an important
(more...)
The Rudd Labor
government is failing long-term unemployed Australians,
Employment Participation Shadow Minister Mathias Cormann said
today. Despite billions of dollars wasted in so called
stimulus spending the number of long-term unemployed
Australians continues to
(more...)
Minister Arbib
still has a lot of explaining to do in the wake of allegations
that funding from the Rudd Labor government's 'jobs fund'
significantly favoured Labor electorates. "I note the
Minister's statement through a spokeswomen that he was
apparently not involved in the decision
(more...)
Employment
Participation Minister Mark Arbib needs to shift his focus
away from finding jobs for failed NSW Labor politicians and
prioritise the needs of job seekers around Australia. Newly
appointed Shadow Minister for Employment Participation Mathias
Cormann has called on
(more...)
The Rudd Government had the wrong
priorities by planning to publish average premium increases
for each private health fund while allowing poorly performing
hospitals and surgeons to "float under the radar". The
criticism came from the peak private health insurance body
after Health
(more...)
I n the field of medical
procedures, there are two operations that are considered truly
liberating - cataract removal and hip replacement. Both have
the capacity to rejuvenate and liberate the most disadvantaged
people in our community - the elderly - and both are under
siege by
(more...)
Senate estimates is the time when
instead of Budget night slogans and headlines we get to check
out the fine print. It is the invaluable and robust part of
our democratic process when any hidden Budget nasties will
come to the surface. One of these - yes it is unbelievable -
is a
(more...)
TREASURY has confirmed the
coalition's proposal to increase the tax on tobacco would save
$300 million more than means testing the private health
insurance rebate. The coalition has put forward a plan to
raise the excise on tobacco by 12.5 per cent. Treasury
officials were
(more...)
State Health Minister Kim Hames
has distanced himself from his own department's harsh
criticism of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate,
declaring he does not want to see
it scrapped. Dr Hames was forced to defend the rebate after
The West Australian
(more...)
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd faces a
$1.6 billion Budget hangover after anti-binge drinking
campaigner Steve Fielding joined with the coalition in the
Senate yesterday to sink the big tax increase on alcopops.
Top-selling brands such as Vodka Cruisers and Bacardi Breezers
(more...)
The private health insurance
rebate should be scrapped or reassessed, critics said
yesterday. Treasury reportedly advised the Rudd Government the
30 per cent rebate was "very poor policy" and should be
scrapped in the aftermath of the last federal election. And
the $3.5 billion
(more...)
Health funds have defied their own
predictions of a membership exodus because of changes to the
Medicare Levy Surcharge, with latest figures revealing
coverage still growing and hitting new peaks. Health Minister
Nicola Roxon yesterday used the results to claim victory in
her
(more...)
New figures defy dire predictions
that changes to the Medicare levy surcharge would lead to an
exodus from private health funds, according to the Federal
Government. The Private Health Insurance Administration
Council reported yesterday more than 11 million Australians
had
(more...)
CANBERRA has a multi-milliondollar
battle on its hands to contain health fund premium rises, with
any increase cutting into $380 million of Medicare surcharge
savings. Health Minister Nicola Roxon pushed through the
controversial changes to the surcharge last year, lifting the
(more...)
Kevin Rudd could run out of time
to make his alcopops tax grab permanent with the Opposition
threatening to stall legislation in the Senate unless he
proves the tax rise has cut binge drinking. The Opposition is
furious the Government has ignored requests for information on
how
(more...)
ONLY a fraction of the thousands
of health training places promised for 2008 have been
released, sabotaging Canberra's attempts to shore up
Australia's under-staffed hospitals. Kevin Rudd's vow to end
the blame game on health has fallen foul of state
bureaucracies, with all but one
(more...)
The Federal Government will try to
push its revised emissions trading scheme through Parliament
in the winter session, according to Climate Change Minister
Penny Wong. And in a swipe at Opposition Leader Malcolm
Turnbull, Senator Wong said the Liberal Leader was "running
(more...)
Thank you very much for joining
Senator Fifield and myself for the release today of the Select
Committee on Fuel and Energy Report: ‘The CPRS: Economic cost
without environmental benefit’. After an inquiry that lasted
nearly a year, investigating the impact of the various
(more...)
Now first of all though, of course
we have just heard that Colin Barnett, the Premier of Western
Australia, and the Kimberley Land Council and have just held a
press conference announcing that they haven’t reached an
agreement. Does this surprise you?
(more...)
Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst has
landed bandmate Peter Garrett in hot water by suggesting
yesterday the Federal Environment Minister would veto the
preferred Kimberley site for a gas processing plant He made
the remarks in Broome, where he was performing at a concert
(more...)
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd plans to
ignore a Senate inquiry into emissions trading by pressing
ahead with his proposed scheme without changes. The Australian
Greens yesterday backed an Opposition move to resurrect the
inquiry the Government axed in the House of
(more...)
The Federal Government's plan to reduce Australia's carbon
emissions will be re-examined after Treasurer Wayne Swan
referred the emissions trading scheme to the House economics
committee. It will examine whether carbon trading is the best
way to reduce emissions
(more...)
The Government White Paper released last month confirmed the
scheme would begin in 18 months with a 2020 greenhouse
reduction target of between 5 and 15 per cent, depending on
the outcome of global climate treaty talks this year. But WA
Liberal senator Mathias Cormann
(more...)
On October 29, Vice Chairwoman of the HCM City People’s
Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Ha received a delegation of the
Australian Political Exchange Council led by Mr. Mathias
Cormann, Liberal Senator for Western Australia and Shadow
Parliamentary Secretary for Health
(more...)
“Chúng tôi rất ấn tượng trước những hoạt động của phong trào
thanh niên t́nh nguyện tại VN.Việc Đoàn TNCS Hồ Chí Minh có
thể thu hút được số lượng đoàn viên lên tới hơn 5 triệu người
là điều chúng tôi rất muốn được chia sẻ kinh nghiệm” - thượng
nghị sĩ
(more...)
Chiều 29-10, Phó Chủ tịch UBND TP HCM Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà đă
tiếp xă giao đoàn đại biểu Hội đồng giao lưu chính trị
Australia do ông Mathias Cormann, Thượng nghị sĩ đại diện Tây
Australia, dẫn đầu nhân dịp đoàn đến thăm TP HCM.
(more...)
Đoàn đại biểu gồm các chính khách trẻ tuổi của Úc (thượng nghị
sĩ của 2 đảng: Công đảng - đảng cầm quyền và Tự do) hôm qua đă
đến thăm và làm việc với Báo Thanh Niên tại TP.HCM (ảnh). Qua
tiếp xúc, các thành viên trong đoàn rất ấn tượng trước sự đa
dạng về sản
(more...)
Belgian born WA Liberal senator Mathias Cormann has been asked
to help facilitate the friendship group. Senator Cormann said
he was keen to discuss the ...
(more...)
...When Senator Mathias Cormann (Liberal, WA) asked, "who made
the decision on how to structure the exgratia payment", the
response was that it had been "very much a collegiate affair"
(more...)
Department of Veterans Affairs secretary Mark Sullivan is to
take on a new job as chief executive for Canberra water
utility company ACTEW. Mr Sullivan, who has headed DVA for the
past four years, said he informed the board of ACTEW he would
take the job on Friday evening
(more...)
QUICK
passage of the Government's legislation to deregulate bulk
wheat exports should be assured after Liberals on the Senate
inquiry yesterday backed it, with amendments.
(more...)
Australia’s defence chief has admitted the new training role
for Australian troops in Afghanistan will be more dangerous
than the work being done by the reconstruction team. Air chief
marshal Angus Houston has been facing questions from a Senate
Estimates Committee
(more...)
WA Liberal Senator Mathias Cormann said the decision would
deny access to fast broadband internet for hundreds of
thousands of Western Australians and Premier Alan Carpenter
should demand the program is reinstated.
(more...)
Senator Mathias
Cormann says the Federal Government s decision not to go ahead
with the OPEL broadband network to regional Australia is
scandalous. Mr Cormann has criticised the Federal Government s
plan to roll out its own broadband network as a poor choice
for
(more...)
Now you’re
watching ABC News Breakfast. The Government has launched an
unprecedented
attack on the Coalition, calling it the most obstructionist
opposition in thirty years. Prominent
government ministers fronted the media yesterday to demand
cooperation saying
(more...)
We’re going to be
joined shortly by Shadow Employment Participation Minister
Mathias Cormann. There is some chance early in this bulletin
that we may be interrupted by a news
conference that Julia Gillard is giving where she will no
doubt be talking about
(more...)
Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd says he’s disappointed in himself for not paying
closer attention to the roll out of the Government’s home
insulation programme. That will get him a few votes, by the
way. By taking that tact, which is the one they should have
taken in the first place saying
(more...)
The Federal Opposition is preparing to block key aspects of
the Government's proposed industrial relations changes, saying
they go much further than Labor promised before the election
and could lift unemployment. Opposition Leader Malcolm
Turnbull, who has said that Labor had a
(more...)
Coalition senators will use this week's hearings of the Senate
Industrial Relations Committee
to press for extending the life of the Labor Government's
replacement for Australian Workplace
Agreements.
(more...)
The Federal Opposition has proposed a compromise with the
Government over Australian Workplace Agreements, vowing to
accept the abolition of the controversial agreements if
Labor lets workers stay permanently on transitional individual
contracts that it has
(more...)
THE Federal
Government has moved towards establishing an Australian
Technical College in Brand ahead of this weekend's Federal
election. Labor is opposed to ATCs and signalled it would
merge them into the State's TAFE system if it won office.
(more...)
STUDENTS and staff at Kings College (formerly El Shaddai
College) in Wellard are set to benefit from three Australian
Government grants totalling $129,400 under the Federal
Government's Investing in Our School Program
(more...)
University of WA
Albany opened its doors to the local community last Thursday,
marking its first decade in the Great Southern. More than 300
visitors, including school groups, teachers, carers, advisers,
families and members of the public came to the event to find
out more about the
(more...)
WA's main
aged-care providers are backing the Catholic Church's call for
means-tested accommodation bonds for high-care residents to
ensure the ailing sector survives. Catholic Health Australia
has reversed its 1997 stand against accommodation bonds paid
(more...)
Senior Rudd
Government minister Chris Evans has suggested that Troy
Buswell might have been excluded from a meeting of fellow
State treasurers because of their revulsion at his "personal
characteristics" - a veiled reference to the chair-sniffing
and bra-snapping antics which
(more...)
Alan Carpenter
and Energy Minister Fran Logan will be asked to front a
special Senate inquiry to be grilled over the Varanus Island
gas explosion in a move by the Federal Liberal Party to
embarrass the State Government ahead of next week's election.
(more...)
A Senate
Committee has agreed to hold a federal parliamentary inquiry
into Western Australia's gas crisis, but it is unlikely it
will start before the election. The explosion caused
(more...)
THE
multimillion-dollar Lark Hill Sportplex was officially opened
last Saturday. After a Welcome to Country by Noongar elder
Neville Collard, Brand MHR Gary Gray addressed the crowd.
(more...)
ROCKINGHAM'S
reputation as an aquatic playground will be watertight
following a Federal Government grant of $250,000 to divert
stormwater drainage pipes along the beachfront to dissipation
tanks.
(more...)
In another
windfall of pre-election goodies for Rockingham, the Federal
Government has committed $880,000 towards a replacement PCYC
facility in the city. In a project estimated to be worth $7.4
million, the 35-year-old hall in Smythe Street will be
replaced with a
(more...)
A SPORTING and
community facility in Meadow Springs is a step closer to
reality with a $1.1 million contribution from the Federal
Government. The funding announcement for the Meadow Springs
open space project was made last week by new Western
Australian Senator Mathias Cormann.
(more...)
An open space
project at Meadow Springs has received $1.1 million in Federal
Government funding to provide purpose-built sporting and
community facilities with an education and tourism component.
(more...)
WA Liberal
Senator Mathias Cormann said the fees were irrational,
inequitable and unfair. He notified Mr Turnbull who asked the
commission if the fees complied with the National Water
Initiative. But there may be little the commission could do,
fees were a decision of the
(more...)
A
rare coalition between Liberal, National and Green State Upper
House members is set to block the Government's controversial
new water license fee legislation... In his letter to the
Minister, Senator Cormann said farmers who had used
generational strong water management...
(more...)
WA Liberal
Senator Mathias Cormann has been coordinating the meeting so
the groups can voice their concerns over the State Government
s new licensing system. Mr Cormann has already called on the
state to reconsider its fee structure for the licences, saying
it is debilitating to farmers.
(more...)
WA Liberal
Senator Mathias Cormann says the fees are over the top. The
Minister for Water Resources, John Kobelke, has dismissed the
comments and says Senator Cormann wants to pass the burden
from one group to another.
(more...)
THE State Liberal
Party will attempt to reverse legislation surrounding new
water licensing fees following a meeting with farmers and dam
owners in Manjimup on Friday
(more...)
In his first
Senate speech, Mathias Cormann said federalism is crucial to
his state. Mr Cormann is originally from Belgium and thanked
his family there who were watching on the internet.
(more...)
REGIONAL
Partnerships program funding of $18,472 has helped the West
Arthur Shire to incorporate a pharmacy within the West Arthur
Health and Resource Centre. Western Australia Senator Mathias
Cormann officially opened the pharmacy on Friday.
(more...)
Liberal Party powerbroker Mathias Cormann was sworn into
Federal Parliament this week as WA's newest senator, filling
the vacancy created by former minister Ian Campbell. It was a
smoother than expected entry into Federal Parliament for
Senator Cormann
(more...)
Perhaps buoyed by the tiny shift
in the polls, or perhaps just finally accepting that they did
not win the 2007 election, some opposition senators did good
solid work over this past fortnight scrutinising government
departments. Even after receiving what for them must have been
(more...)
The following note from Senator
Cormann regarding his exchanges with Minister Faulkner on
Monday in Senate Estimates is worth a bit more space than the
Comments section allows.
Dear Peter, Thank you for your interest in the recent exchange
between Senator Faulkner
(more...)
Special Minister of State and
Cabinet Secretary John Faulkner has been through the Senate
Estimates Committee processes interminably over the years, and
probably knows more about the subject than anyone other than
soon to retire Clerk Harry Evans. In the Finance and
(more...)
A Western Australian Liberal
Senator is calling on the Federal Government to pressure banks
to pass on interest rate cuts to farmers and small businesses.
Senator Mathias Cormann says since September, the Reserve Bank
of Australia has cut rates by two per cent, but major
(more...)
Some of the more
notable questioners have been Queensland Liberals George
Brandis, Ian Macdonald and Brett Mason, Victorian Liberal
Michael Ronaldson, former minister Eric Abetz, South
Australian Liberals Nick Minchin and Simon Birmigham, ACT
Liberal Gary Humphries and relative newcomer, WA Liberal
Mathias Cormann.
(more...)
Liberal senators
will push for the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission to have a strong role in monitoring third-party
access to port terminals when wheat exports are deregulated
from July.
(more...)
A
third of WA Liberal MHRs snubbed yesterday's apology to the
Stolen Generation, refusing to attend the official
parliamentary ceremony - despite the "sorry" motion being
supported unconditionally by their party.
(more...)
WA Senator Mathias Cormann spoke against the apology at
Wednesday's joint party room meeting. He said he would not
abstain but would speak out if given a chance to address
the Parliament.
(more...)
FEDERAL parliament will unite to apologise to the Stolen
Generations and acknowledge past mistreatment of Aboriginal
Australians after Brendan Nelson yesterday asserted his
leadership and demanded his party back the historic statement.
(more...)
The Liberal
Senator, Mathias Cormann, says the answer lies in reducing
land tax and opening public funding for housing to private
competition. WACOSS says massive increases in public housing
are needed to address the shortage.
(more...)