4m agoWed 6 Aug 2025 at 9:35pm
Welfare groups join union push for housing tax shake-up ahead of productivity talks
Australia’s peak welfare body wants to see negative gearing phased out and capital gains tax concessions reduced over the next five years as a way of boosting economic activity.
The Australian Council of Social Services wants to see the revenue generated by these changes reinvested into boosting social housing.
Business leaders and community groups are putting forward suggestions to boost Australia’s economy to be discussed at the upcoming economic round table, held at Parliament House from August 19 to 21.
18m agoWed 6 Aug 2025 at 9:21pm
PBS wait times a more urgent issue than Trump’s potential tariffs, peak body warns
Excessive wait times for medicines to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) are a much greater threat to the sector than US President Donald Trump’s far-reaching tariffs, according to the peak industry body.
The Albanese government is working to shield Australia from Trump’s tariffs, with the US president now flagging a possible 250 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals, one of Australia’s largest export products to the US.
But Medicines Australia CEO Liz de Somer said a more pressing concern was the process behind listing new medicines on the PBS, with a median wait time of 22 months for a new medicine to land on the scheme once it is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
“Patients will die waiting for new medicines to be listed,” she said.
“And this will have a far greater effect on the Australian system than anything else.”
The first complete review of the system in 30 years was handed to the federal government last year, making a raft of recommendations to streamline processes so people could access medicines earlier.
Health Minister Mark Butler has yet to formally respond to its findings, instead setting up an advisory group to help guide the government’s next steps.
He says the group’s final report was due early next year, and would help inform future government decisions on reform.
24m agoWed 6 Aug 2025 at 9:15pm
Treasurer urged to ‘be bold’ on productivity and ditch ‘lazy’ AI approach
Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie has accused the government of being “lazy” and looking to artificial intelligence as a way of boosting productivity.
A Productivity Commission report, released yesterday ahead of the government’s upcoming roundtable, warned over-regulation of AI would stifle its economic potential. Treasurer Jim Chalmers told reporters he wants to chart a “middle path”.
Speaking with Nine, McKenzie said it was disappointing the government isn’t using its “huge mandate” to take a look at energy prices, industrial relations and significant tax reform.
“It’s disappointing that the big three, energy prices, industrial relations and significant tax reform, have actually been ruled out, and they seem to be taking a lazy approach of
using artificial intelligence to solve the 60-year low in productivity levels, the living standard drop, and the fact that businesses and jobs are going offshore,” she said.
“I think this is a great opportunity that only comes around every couple of decades.
“This government has got a huge mandate. They have to use it. It might get some people off, particularly their traditional stakeholders, but they’ve got to use it.
“They’ve got to be bold.”
33m agoWed 6 Aug 2025 at 9:06pm
👋 Good morning
Hi friends. Welcome to our politics live blog.
I’m Courtney Gould, logging in from the ABC’s Parliament House bureau in (a very cold) Canberra, ready to bring you all the news as it comes in.
We seem to be continuing our theme this week, with everything being a bit of a mixed bag. So why don’t we just dive right in and see where the morning takes us, hey?
Loading
Source
