But the housing minister isn't contemplating lowering the goal to something more realistic.

"I'm still focused on trying to get to 1.2 million but I say again this is a target that is shared with the Commonwealth, state and local government, and the private sector," she told ABC Radio National Breakfast.

"We are all going to need to lift. The Commonwealth will need to do more, the states will need to more, local government will need to do more, and so will the private sector.

She rubbished "out-of-touch" criticism from the Coalition that by doing so, children of billionaires will flood the scheme.



O'Neil reiterated the government knew the only way to address housing affordability was to increase supply.

Nuclear Dan Tehan with some words of wisdom for us all after spending some time in the US on a “nuclear fact finding” mission.  "Thank God the Adults are in charge” I think was the saying
                     **********************
"94 seats later, and the Federal Opposition is now deciding what and who were responsible for their 2025 Federal election bloodbath.

While most reasonable people can admit that calling Chinese-Australians spies – and demanding that women get paid less for working from home – isn’t really the best way to win over middle class voters, the Liberals still think that they went into the election with some good policies.

The problem was, just, communication. They didn’t communicate well enough that Nuclear power can be implemented without creating a Fukushima or Chernobyl disaster.

But can it be implemented by the same Australian government that struggled to even roll-out an online census in 2016. The same country where you can sometimes call 000 and the phone won’t even ring? The same country that took ten years to roll out a national broadband network that downgraded from fibre to the node to copper wire half way through.

Yes, it can. According to the Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan, who has just completed a nuclear facilities tour of the United States after nearly losing his regional Victorian electorate to a former Triple J announcer.

Mr Tehan says his US trip convinced him there is a “nuclear renaissance” underway in that country that the Liberal Party made the mistake of trying to emulate in the lead up to the 2025 Federal Election, before having their middle Australian base gutted by Labor – who are now making inroads into the bush as well.

“There is huge investment going into nuclear. There are huge developments that are taking place,” he said.

And the only way to convince Australians to have faith Nuclear is to use buzzwords that generate trust.

“given the use of AI, given the use of quantum, that they will continue to make rapid developments with nuclear technology.” said Tehan.

After briefing his colleagues about what he learned on his overseas jaunt, Mr Tehan said the Coalition would refine the policy it took to the election, and hope to fight the ‘disinformation’ that apparently hijacked their last attempts to pitch this stigmatised this technology that saw them lose so many seats that they now have nameless former backbenchers trying to sell it again.

Memories of Joe Hockey

.. but doesn't include politicians etc, you say?  what are they?  Teacher's pets or something?

Vic - those working from the office simply get a travel and clothing allowance and hazard money for driving the roads or using the trains and such ... no biggie - they actually use those things and it's hardly fair that sheilas are paid more to 'work' from home and do all their other stuff on their 'free time' between work ...... if we keep it up one day everyone will get the same perks as business does.. home base off your tax....travel expenses and vehicles... holidays as research and business trips .... LAFO allowances... what a disaster that would be with everyone on the same playing field... no taxes left to speak of...

So much for the Albo Government's environmental credentials.  



Exclusive by political reporter Jake Evans


Murray Watt says changes will include emergency powers for regulatory agencies. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)



Instead, proponents of major projects will be required to disclose their expected emissions and provide a plan for how they intend to reduce them.

A "climate trigger" that could be used to block coal and gas projects has been formally excluded from the government's overhaul of Australia's environment laws, minister Murray Watt has confirmed.

The decision not to write a "trigger" into the laws that could block projects that would worsen carbon emissions will anger the Greens and likely cut off that pathway for the government to pass its long-awaited rewrite of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The government instead will force major projects to report their carbon emissions under the laws for the first time, as well as provide plans for how they intend to reduce those emissions to net zero by 2050.

"This is an important step forward to provide the community with confidence that proponents are taking their greenhouse gas emissions seriously," Senator Watt said.

"This is [also] officially ruling out, in print, a climate trigger. But at the same time requiring proponents to do something they haven't got to do currently."




Draft laws would require projects expected to emit more than 100,000 tonnes annually to disclose in their project proposals expected emissions, and a plan to reduce them.

The ABC understands the minister met again with his Coalition counterpart, Angie Bell, on Tuesday and negotiations have been progressing quickly.

Shadow Environment Minister Angie Bell said the Coalition was yet to see the full draft bill, but welcomed the government's decision to rule out a climate trigger "after sustained pressure".

She indicated that the government had also conceded to demands to ensure the environment minister had the final say over decision-making.

"Other critical Coalition-commissioned Graeme Samuel review recommendations that the Coalition has successfully fought for is ensuring decision making powers remain with the minister, along with an [Environment Protection Agency] limited to assurance, compliance and audit only — meaning the minister will be fully accountable," Ms Bell said.

"By removing duplication, limiting climate reporting that is already included in other legislation and pushing for a Commonwealth offset, the Coalition has held this government to account when negotiating the right balance for the industry and environment."



"We need environment laws that protect our forests and the climate; these laws do neither, they are not worth the paper they’re printed on," Greens Environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"The Greens have been very clear from the start. We will not rubber stamp laws that fail to protect our native forests, wildlife and climate.

"While industry will no doubt say they haven’t got enough, their grubby fingerprints are all over it. These laws are written to help big business and the mining companies, at the expense of nature."


Sarah Hanson-Young claimed the proposed laws had been compromised by business interests. (ABC News: Stuart Carnegie)


...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-22/climate-trigger-formally-ruled-out-of-env...

Was it an "uptick" in inflation minister?




Stocks have fallen after

It’s far cheaper than the conalition paid for the 4 in Cambodia.  Well negotiated

Exclusive by national health reporter Stephanie Dalzell


Anthony Albanese has written to state premiers to say they must cut growth if they want a public hospital funding commitment implemented. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)

In short

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to the states and territories in September saying they must rein in public hospital spending if they wanted a deal honoured.

States have reacted angrily, declaring the request "almost beyond belief".

The federal government says it has made "significant commitments" for public hospitals and will continue negotiations to get a deal done.


The states and territories are on a collision course with the Commonwealth over public hospital funding, with health ministers expressing white-hot anger over a letter from the prime minister demanding they rein in spending if they want a funding deal honoured.

Anthony Albanese made the request in September, writing to state and territory leaders saying they must slash growth if they want a public hospital funding commitment implemented.

"For states and territories to realise a Commonwealth contribution of 42.5 per cent of public hospital costs by 2030-31, under the capped glide path model, it will be necessary for your government to work to reduce growth in hospital activity and costs to more sustainable levels," the letter states, according to two separate sources.

The intervention has prompted an angry response from states including Queensland, which said the prime minister was trying to "pass the buck".

"Upon reading the letter, my immediate response was that it was almost beyond belief that the prime minister would write to us saying we have to work to reduce growth in hospital activity," Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls told the ABC.



"Demand is growing with an older and growing population with more severe acuity and presentations, it's just unrealistic to expect the states to say, 'oh, well, we can control demand.''"

Other health ministers, who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution, said the letter went down like a lead balloon.

  one said.

In 2023, national cabinet agreed to a new funding deal for public hospitals, which are run by the states and territories but partly funded by the Commonwealth.

The deal promised the federal government would increase its share of funding to 42.5 per cent by 2030, and 45 per cent by 2035.

In exchange, the states and territories would co-fund some new disability services outside the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to ease some of the pressure on the rapidly growing scheme.

But negotiations have stalled, with state and territory leaders last month releasing a scathing statement suggesting the government had walked back its initial commitment.

The federal government has repeatedly insisted it wants a deal done by the end of the year, but federal Health Minister Mark Butler now faces an uphill battle to get the agreement over the line, as tensions with the states and territories continue to rise.

Tasmanian Health Minister Bridget Archer said for an agreement to happen soon, the Commonwealth would need to "come to the party".

"If there's to be a deal by the end of the year, the federal government is really going to have to step up their negotiations and have to sharpen their pencil … is the bottom line," she said.

"We have been collectively very loud and clear that we want a new hospital agreement, but we want one that does what the federal government says they want it to do, too."

South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton said while the states wanted certainty around public hospital funding, the "devil was in the detail" of the negotiations.

"Over many, many years, we've seen the federal government's share of funding those public hospitals going down and states and territories just can't agree to a deal which would see that continue to decline, particularly as we face increasing demands and increasing aging of the population," he said.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said while he was determined to negotiate with the federal government, it was imperative the Commonwealth paid "its fair share".

"The Commonwealth has deeper pockets than the states," he said.

"Unless the Commonwealth honours its commitments, hospitals will be left underfunded and overstretched. Families in NSW deserve timely, quality health care, and that requires both levels of government pulling their weight."



The states and territories have an agreement with the Commonwealth in which public hospitals are funded based on how many and what type of patients they treat, which is then adjusted for cost increases.

But to put the brakes on spending, the Commonwealth caps annual funding growth at 6.5 per cent on the previous year.

As part of the 2023 deal, national cabinet agreed to replace that cap on funding growth with a more "generous approach"

... ABC

Wells spent almost $100k of taxpayers’ money on flights to New York for her and two staff, Senate estimates has revealed, as the triple-zero crisis unfolded back in Australia.

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/wells-billed-taxpayers-3681-for-trip-that-i...

“ Wells billed taxpayers $3681 for trip that included friend’s birthday”

She needs to explain herself  and pay the money she has stolen from taxpayers back!

Daves2017 wrote on Dec 5^th, 2025 at 2:30pm:



Nice work if you can get it – all taxpayers hard earned money.

They should be sent economy class, stay in 3 star hotels and
take Uber taxis.

In 2022 and 2024, Wells flew McCarthy from Brisbane to Melbourne under family reunion entitlements to attend the December 26 Test match, while enjoying the corporate hospitality of the sport’s governing body.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/wells-billed-taxpayers-to-fly-husband...


These "guidelines" simply aren't cricket!   

Zaftig

Minister under fire for Oasis, AFL Grand Final freebie controversy

Embattled Sports Minister Anika Wells has breached parliamentary rules by failing to declare free tickets she and her husband were given to sporting and music events.

The optics! Possibly breaking the rules now too.

Someone within the parliamentary Labor Party has it in for Anika. These leaks are an inside job.

A factional war perhaps?

...

On top of that, he said the spread of "free" electricity periods during the middle of the day to help soak up excess solar power was creating another risk.

"People get the big battery and then they run them absolutely full throttle for three hours a day to charge them from the free electricity," he said.

"What we're seeing is that it's really stressing these batteries to the extent you've had a recall already."

Ultimately, Mr Peacock said the scheme risked creating a "boom and bust" scenario for Australia's solar and battery installation industry.

He said the generous nature of the policy had generated real interest from consumers, but he argued much of this demand was likely "pulled forward" from future years.



Mr Peacock urged the government to implement what he said were sensible changes to the scheme, such as reducing the maximum size of a battery that was eligible for the rebate or tapering its value for bigger systems.



https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-13/battery-subsidy-scheme-faces-urgent-overh...

A huge miscalculation of the cost of popular electric-car tax breaks – now – has been exposed in new data.

The Federal Government has grossly underestimated the cost of a popular tax break for electric and plug-in hybrid cars in novated leases – which is estimated to have found more than 100,000 takers in three years – new data reveals.

Treasury figures released in recent weeks estimate the tax revenue lost through the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for electric vehicles at $1.35 billion for the current 2025-26 financial year.

That is a staggering 18 times higher than the original forecast of $70 million, when the policy – now under a federal review – was proposed in the lead-up to the 2022 Federal Election.

But the latest government estimates have also brought a dramatic increase in cost projections – for current and prior years – over similar figures issued 12 months ago.

Data released at the end of 2024 forecast lost tax revenue of $60 million for the 2022-23 financial year, rising to $145 million for 2023-24, $220 million for 2024-25, and $335 million for 2025-26.

The most recent estimates have increased figures by between 300 and 390 per cent, to $290 million, $710 million, $1 billion, and $1.35 billion, respectively.

It means the combined loss in tax revenue from the FBT exemption between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2028, is now forecast to be $7.3 billion, rather than $1.795 billion compared to late 2024 estimates

, or $409 million ahead of the 2022 election.





https://www.drive.com.au/news/fbt-exemption-for-electric-cars-to-cost-18-times-m...