Former Labor senator speaks on the failure to recognise sovereign rights of Indigenous peoples
Mr Dodson discussed closing the gap for Indigenous people.
'We have sovereignty already, we're citizens of this country,' Mr Mundine told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio.
'In fact, we have benefits from the sovereign rights of this country.'
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Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
'Unfair and regressive': Tradies and frontline workers foot the bill for Labor's $16 billion student debt promise
Australians without a university degree - including tradespeople, aged care workers and hospitality staff - will be forced to fund Labor's $16 billion debt relief promise, but won't benefit from the policy. Australians without a university degree - including tradespeople, aged care workers and hospitality staff - will be forced to help fund billions in debt relief they'll never benefit from. The Albanese government has made its $16 billion promise to cut student debt by 20 per cent the first order of business when parliament resumes on Tuesday. It comes as new research found more than half of the benefits of the debt cut will only benefit the wealthiest 30 per cent of income earners in 10 years' time. Economists have warned that the cost of this reform will be borne by those who never went to university - including builders, labourers, and low-income workers. Meanwhile, those who stand to benefit the most include higher-paid graduates and individuals who recklessly racked up eye-watering loans of more than $250,000. Senior economists labelled the policy 'unfair' and 'regressive', pointing to serious flaws in both its economic impact and its lack of equality. Regressive wealth transfer Non-partisan economic researchers at the e61 Institute have raised alarms over the fairness of the debt cut plan. The institute recently published research which shows more than half of the benefits of the debt cut will assist the wealthiest 30 per cent of income earners in 10 years. Senior Research Economist Matthew Maltman told Sky News that the government's approach failed key measures of equitability. 'On vertical equity, we note that two individuals who graduate under similar circumstances are treated very differently by the debt relief policy,' Mr Maltman said. 'On horizontal equity, we note that over half the benefits of the student debt cut go to individuals who ended up in the top third of all income earners 10 years later. 'In this sense, the policy is a large regressive wealth transfer.' Mr Maltman also noted that those who never went to university, have already paid off their debt, or are yet to study, will still have to pay but receive no benefit. 'These groups will effectively be partially bearing the fiscal cost for the policy for no benefit,' Maltman said. The institute estimated that only 20 per cent of HELP debt holders will repay their loans earlier as a result of the cut. Because repayments are based on income - not debt size - the vast majority will see little to no change in their take-home pay. 'Despite the large fiscal cost of the policy, our research suggests it is unlikely to deliver much of an economic benefit,' Maltman said. — Jason Clare MP (@JasonClareMP) July 17, 2025 'Unfair to taxpayers' Senior Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies Robert Carling told Sky News the policy undermined the 'user pays' principle and will push the cost onto taxpayers. 'The HECS debt relief measure is unfair to the many students who have already paid their debts in full,' Mr Carling said. 'It is also unfair to taxpayers in general … it will mean less money coming back to the government, a real cost to taxpayers, and higher government debt than would otherwise have been the case.' Mr Carling warned that the relief was used as a 'pre-election policy' by the Labor Party rather than a sensible economic policy measure. 'HECS debt relief is rewarding decisions made by people in the past; it does not improve incentives for people taking decisions today,' he said. 'The only incentive it gives is for past students to agitate for more debt relief now that they've been given a taste of it.' Poor timing and policy coherence The Albanese government has cited rising cost-of-living pressures and the impact of HECS indexation as the justification for the cut. 'This is something that we promised … that we would cut the student debt of 3 million Australians by 20 per cent,' Education Minister Jason Clare said last week. 'It's worth something in the order of $16 billion dollars. And for the average Australian with a student debt it will cut their debt by more than $5,500.' New parliamentary library analysis, however, showed the debt cut would amount to less than 10 per cent—rather than the 20 per cent promised, due to indexation years of indexation. According to the analysis, students owing $30,000 in loans when Labor came to power will see their debt cut to $27,619 after indexation and the 20 per cent cut are applied. That amounts to just $2,381 in relief, or a 7.9 per cent reduction on the original debt balance. 'If the government wanted to help younger people, there are better ways to do it than this - such as through housing policy or lower income tax,' Mr Carling said. The e61 Institute also pointed out that aligning the HECS debt relief with the broader Universities Accord reforms would make the policy fairer and more strategic. 'Aligning the HECS cut with future reform objectives would have strengthened its coherence and fairness,' Mr Maltman said. Despite the criticisms, Labor has pushed the legislation to the top of its agenda for the upcoming parliamentary sitting. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared on Monday that 'getting an education shouldn't mean a lifetime of debt'. 'We promised cutting student debt would be the first thing we did back in parliament … We're introducing the legislation to make it happen,' Mr Albanese said. The opposition has left the door open to passing the bill through the parliament, despite previously criticising it as 'populist' and 'economically irresponsible'. Shadow Education Minister Jonno Duniam acknowledged that there were 'criticisms' of the proposal, but did not outwardly oppose the measure. 'I mean this is a one-off hit to a cohort of the community funded by everyone in the community,' he said on Sunday. 'At the end of the day though the government want to pass this legislation urgently to pass on this relief from HECS debts.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Sky News host Peta Credlin accuses Anthony Albanese of being 'scared of a face-off' with US President Donald Trump
Sky News host Peta Credlin has accused Anthony Albanese of being "scared of a face-off" with President Donald Trump, as the Prime Minister flags he will seek to secure talks with the United States leader on the sidelines of an upcoming leaders' summit. Mr Albanese has returned to Canberra ahead of the official opening of the 48th parliament this week following his six-day visit to China where met with President Xi Jinping. The Prime Minister has told The Australian he now has his sights set on nailing down a long-awaited face-to-face talk with President Trump, amid claims the US-Australia relationship is on rocky ground. Mr Albanese hinted a meeting with President Trump would likely take place an at upcoming leaders' forum - such as the Quad meeting in India later this year. "There'll be multiple meetings between now and the end of the year. Australia and the US are both members of a range of international gatherings," Mr Albanese told the publication. During her editorial on Monday night, Credlin savaged the idea of a meeting with the US President taking place on the periphery of an international event rather than in Washington DC. "The PM is still insisting that he'll meet Donald Trump on the sidelines of some other meeting rather than meet him at the White House," the Sky News host said. "So after, what, a six-day visit to China he's hoping for ... six minutes in a corridor or in the bathroom at some international talk fest? "Honestly, that shows a weak PM who's scared of a face-off with a US President accustomed to speaking his mind. "A PM who hopes if he does it this way, he perhaps can avoid media scrutiny of what's said in the room." Mr Albanese is set to travel to various high-level summits in 2025 including the UN General Assembly in New York in September, which has been perceived as another opportunity for the Prime Minister to meet with President Trump. The two leaders had planned to hold talks at the G7 Summit in Canada in June, but the President abruptly left the forum to return to Washington amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Mr Albanese copped heat for his move to prioritise a second official visit to China before he books in a face-to-face meeting with President Trump in the United States. Former home affairs boss Mike Pezzullo recently suggested Mr Albanese should have even cut his China visit short to fly past the US to see the President on his journey back to Australia. Mr Albanese was also accused of indulging in the optics of his China trip, which included visiting a panda breeding centre and hiking The Great Wall, rather than pressing President Xi on more serious foreign policy issues. However, the Prime Minister told The Australian his decision to walk The Great Wall of China and tour a panda centre came down to him wanting to show "respect". Regarding his US counterpart, Mr Albanese said he would demonstrate his respect in other ways such as by "engaging in a clear, forward manner, saying what we can do, what we can't do". "It's the way that I engage and build relationships," he said. The Prime Minister stressed the United States is Australia's "most important alliance", but noted the Trump administration's "America First" policy has led to a different position on tariffs. "So part of engaging is recognising that and dealing with it in our national interest, in the best way we can," Mr Albanese said. However, Credlin claimed the issues around the Australia-US alliance have been triggered by the Albanese government's "obvious discomfort with the Trump administration". "Plainly, Anthony Albanese, full of his Beijing bravado, thinks he can remake the US alliance despite what the ANZUS Treaty might say on the matter," she said. The Sky News host continued: "If that includes that we can't increase defence spending much beyond two per cent of GDP, well then our alliance with the US is on life-support at best." Earlier this year, the United States called on Australia to boost defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, with the level currently sitting at two per cent. In 1951, Australia also signed the ANZUS Treaty, a security pact with New Zealand and the United States, which focuses on the Pacific region. In terms of the AUKUS submarine deal, there are concerns the pact could be under threat as it undergoes a under review by the Pentagon. Credlin called on Liberal Party to step up and press the government on national security, as well as other domestic issues including the childcare crisis and debate on net zero. "The best way for the Libs to regain their standing with voters is for them to give the Australian people that they're not getting from the current government," she said.
Sky News AU
7 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Lefties Losing It: Democrat congresswoman horrified by existence of bathrooms
Sky News host Rita Panahi has reacted to a Democrat congresswoman who is horrified by the existence of bathrooms.
