Labor supersizes renewables subsidy scheme
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen will on Tuesday announce a 25 per cent increase to the size of the Capacity Investment Scheme, Labor's program to boost private investment in renewables by providing minimum revenue guarantees for new clean energy projects.
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The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
YouTube to be captured by social media ban
YouTube will be captured by Labor's world-leading social media ban for under 16s, the Albanese government has confirmed. The videostreaming giant was initially set to be exempt, with the Albanese government arguing it could be educational. But the online safety watchdog has since advised YouTube should be included, warning it causes the most harm to kids. 'Our government is making it clear – we stand on the side of families,' Anthony Albanese said in a joint statement with Communications Minister Anika Wells. 'Social media has a social responsibility and there is no doubt that Australian kids are being negatively impacted by online platforms so I'm calling time on it. 'Social media is doing social harm to our children, and I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says social media firms 'social responsibility'. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire Echoing the Prime Minister, Ms Wells said it would give 'kids a reprieve from the persuasive and pervasive pull of social media while giving parents peace of mind'. 'We want kids to know who they are before platforms assume who they are,' she said. 'There is no one perfect solution when it comes to keeping young Australians safer online – but the social media minimum age will make a significantly positive difference to their wellbeing. 'The rules are not a set and forget, they are a set and support.' Last month, the brains tasked with finding a way to enforce the ban said it is possible but that there is no 'silver bullet' and firms would need to use a range of measures. One option, according to the project's chief, is successive validation – a series of tests designed to firm up a user's age. With the advice saying enforcement is possible, Ms Wells noted in the joint statement that there are 'heavy penalties for companies who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent underage account holders onto their services'. Communications Minister Anika Wells says 'there's not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children'. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire Those penalties include a fine of up to $49.5m. 'There's a place for social media, but there's not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children,' Ms Wells said. The decision to include YouTube in the ban comes after eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant warned kids were using YouTube more than any other social media platform. 'It's almost ubiquitous that kids are on social media,' she said last month, speaking to the ABC. 'By far the most prevalent social media site they're on is YouTube. 'And when we asked where they were experiencing harm and the kinds of harms they were experiencing, the most prevalent place where young Australians experienced harm was on YouTube – almost 37 per cent. 'This ranges from misogynistic content to hateful material, to violent fighting videos, online challenges, disordered eating, suicidal ideation.' The Albanese government has confirmed YouTube will be captured by its social media ban. Picture: Aaron Francis / NewsWire The decision to include YouTube in the ban comes after eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant warned kids were using YouTube more than any other social media platform. 'It's almost ubiquitous that kids are on social media,' she said last month, speaking to the ABC. 'By far the most prevalent social media site they're on is YouTube. 'And when we asked where they were experiencing harm and the kinds of harms they were experiencing, the most prevalent place where young Australians experienced harm was on YouTube – almost 37 per cent. 'This ranges from misogynistic content to hateful material, to violent fighting videos, online challenges, disordered eating, suicidal ideation.' The Coalition also called for YouTube's inclusion, with opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh saying it is 'a logical thing to do'. The social media ban is set to come into force in December. While other countries have mulled similar actions, Australia is the first to make the leap, receiving both praise and criticism.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
The strategies Australians are using to avoid Jim Chalmers' new super tax
The Australian Business Network While the federal government hopes to add $2.3bn per year to its coffers from the incoming super tax, savvy Australians are preparing to implement strategies via self managed super funds (SMSFs) to circumvent its impact. It may leave the government well short of its $40bn collection target over the next decade. When federal parliament resumes later this month Labor will welcome three extra senators, boosting their numbers to 29. And with 10 green senators and a further 10 crossbenchers, the government will have multiple pathways to get the required 39 votes needed to pass the contentious Div 296 superannuation tax on super balances above $3m. With the commencement of this new tax on unrealised gains looking more like a case of 'when' rather than 'if', Sydney-based accountant Timothy Ricardo from Accounting Advisor Group says that the key to overcoming Div 296 tax is to bring forward family succession planning arrangements. 'Rather than wait until death to transfer wealth to the next generation, a retiree with over $3m in a self managed super fund might consider adding their children to the fund and start to build their member balance now,' Ricardo says. The way this would work is that the retiree would withdraw a tax-free lump sum from their account-based pension and gift it to the child. The child would then contribute the amount back to the SMSF as a non-concessional contribution. By utilising bring forward rules, the maximum a child could contribute to super is $360,000 in one financial year. 'For someone with $3.5m in super and two children, withdrawing two lots of $360,000 and having the children contribute it back to the SMSF, this would reduce the member balance out of the danger zone of Div 296 to $2.78m while the overall fund balance would remain at $3.5m' Ricardo says. Although the children would be in the accumulation phase and their member balance taxed at up to 15 per cent on income and gains, it sidesteps the annual taxing of unrealised capital gains under Div 296 tax. It was only in 2021 that the Morrison government increased the maximum number of SMSF members from 4 to 6, which conveniently allows more children and family members to participate in this strategy. What you need to know to beat Div 296 The first is that you must have reached a condition of release to be able to withdraw lump sum amounts from super. This usually means reaching age 60 and having retired. For people aged between 60 to 64 who are still working, a transition to retirement pension can be established and up to 10 per cent of the balance withdrawn each financial year as a pension payment. You also need to have a high level of trust that your child or family member will contribute the funds you gift them back to the SMSF rather than take the money and run. And to state the obvious, even when contributed back to the SMSF by the child, it forms part of their members balance, which may be inaccessible for decades if the child is aged in their 30's or 40's. Administratively, as each member of a SMSF must also be a trustee, the operation of the fund becomes more complex. All trustees will be required to sign off on documents such as the investment strategy review, minutes, resolutions, financial statements and tax return. The final challenge is having sufficient liquidity within the super fund to make withdrawals to give to your children. Although this may seem like a deal breaker for those with lumpy assets in the SMSF such as the 17,000 farmers with primary production land inside of SMSF, a recycling strategy can be executed which achieves the goal of transitioning super out of the higher balance parent's name into the lower balance child's name. Ricardo explains the circular nature of the strategy: 'Say a 65 year old retired farmer with a $4m farm in their SMSF only has $100,000 in the fund bank account. To build the member balance of the children, the farmer can withdraw the $100,000 cash from the fund, give it to the child who then contributes it back in the fund, replenishing the $100,000 SMSF bank account balance. This process can then be repeated over and over again until either contribution caps are reached for the child or the desired level of dilution of the parents member balance has been achieved.' It is important to remember that although much has been spoken about the new super tax and its adverse consequences for people with more than $3m in super, its wording has yet to be finalised. Labor does not have a majority in the senate and they may need to compromise with the Greens or crossbenchers, which could see amendments to the final bill. As such, the advice coming from tax, legal and financial advisors is to prepare strategies to mitigate the Div 296 tax, however keep them on ice until the final legislation is passed and comes into effect. James Gerrard is principal and director of financial planning firm Read related topics: Wealth James Gerrard Wealth Columnist
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Opposition to back Labor's student debt bill
The Albanese government's signature student debt-slashing Bill has passed through the House of Representatives, bringing touted relief for millions of graduates one step closer. While Labor could have passed the Bill with its massive 94-seat majority, the Coalition also backed it after Sussan Ley confirmed the opposition would not stand in the way. But the Coalition's guarantee is crucial to getting it through the Senate, where Labor does not hold a majority and the Greens have threatened to stall it in a bid to attach amendments. Fronting media before the vote, the Opposition Leader said she still had concerns over the Albanese government's broader response to the cost-of-living crisis, but that 'we will not oppose the government's proposal'. 'And I want to say this to students today – remember this moment,' Ms Ley told reporters. 'Because Anthony Albanese says life will be easier under him, costs will come down, everything will get cheaper. 'Remember this moment because, when I have spoken to young people across the country, they have talked about escalating costs, in rent, electricity, any groceries, in everything a student needs to spend money on. 'It has been really tough.' Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says the Coalition will back Labor's signature student debt-slashing Bill. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire She said added that 'underpinning this student debt relief Bill has been a massive cost-of-living crisis for Australia's students' and vowed to hold the government to account. 'But today, we agreed to not oppose the Bill as it makes its way through the parliament,' Ms Ley said. 'We do care about students who are struggling with the cost of living and said we would be positive where we can be and critical where we need to be.' Labor's Bill was central to its youth-focused re-election pitch. It would cut student debts by 20 per cent for some three million graduates or wipe off about $5500 from the average debt. The changes would also raise the repayment threshold for student loans from $54,000 to $67,000. Earlier, Education Minister Jason Clare told his Labor colleagues that he hoped the Bill would pass before question time.
