Tag: federal government
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Cigarette company Philip Morris to pay millions
Cigarette company Philip Morris has been ordered to pay millions of dollars in legal fees to the Federal Government. The decision follows the six-year long legal battle over the plain packaging laws implemented by the Gillard government in 2o11. Phillip Morris, the manufacturer of Marlboro and Longbeach cigarettes, argued that the laws should be invalidated…
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Netflix may be forced to feature more Australian content
Popular streaming services like Netflix, Stan, and Amazon Prime could be forced to feature a certain amount of Australian-made content. An inquiry was made by the Department of Communications to instigate a review which will ensure that homegrown entertainment gets the support and the audience it requires. Currently Australian free-to-air television networks are required by legislation to…
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Opposition to challenge Government on citizenship
The Opposition party is being put under pressure to oppose the Federal Government’s bill to tighten requirements for Australian citizenship, with claims that the bill will foster xenophobia. Federal Labor MPs have put pressure on party leadership, who have not yet declared their intentions, to oppose the bill that was tabled yesterday. The bill proposes a…
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MPs accused of ‘squabbling’ in face of global security crisis
A new report by a defence industry has accused Australian MPs of wasting time by “squabbling” over defence industry jobs while “the world is going to hell”. Dr Mark Thomson, an analyst for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says that Australia is employing the wrong attitude towards defence policy in the face of a deteriorating…
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Australian economy a “walking dead of debt”
Australia’s economy is on a crash course with a major downturn in fortunes due to mounting unsupported debt. Professor Steve Keen has branded the country a “walking dead of debt” as a result of government interventions to artificially prop up the housing market and mounting household debt. Professor Keen’s remarks come as tensions continue to rise…
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Turnbull government defends action on gas prices
The Federal Government has defended its move to place export restrictions on domestic gas supplies, after the Opposition questioned the claim that gas prices could be reduced by half under the new measures. The government has moved to remedy the current situation, wherein the vast majority of Australia’s domestic gas is shipped overseas, by placing restrictions…
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Government announces code of conduct to resolve sugar dispute
The Federal Government has outlined plans to implement a code of conduct for the Australian sugar industry in an attempt to curb the dispute between cane-growers and refiners in North Queensland. Sugar refiners Wilmar have been locked in a dispute with industry marketers Queensland Sugar Limited (QSL) over mill access and sugar prices, leaving cane-growers…
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Turnbull rejects calls to bail out Hazelwood
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has emphatically turned down a call from Tony Abbott to stay the closure of Hazelwood power station in order to prevent the worsening of the impending energy crisis. Former Prime Minister Abbott has publicly urged current Prime Minister Turnbull to rethink the planned closure of the Gippsland-based power station in Victoria, warning that…
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Victoria criticises Federal Government on home ownership
The Victorian government has today launched an attack on the federal government, accusing them of not acting sufficiently to arrest the decline in home ownership levels. With a meeting of the nation’s treasurers scheduled to take place today in Canberra, the home ownership problem is set to dominate the agenda. The Victorian Treasurer, Tim Pallas,…
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Centrelink overpayment errors ‘not counted’
The Senate inquiry into Centrelink’s automated debt recovery system has found that the system has not kept track of how many overpayment errors were caused by the agency itself. Greens senator Rachel Siewert has called for greater clarity from the government service on the functionality and reliability of the new automated system. “I think it…