Brian Burke: GST deal in peril as WA's influence in PM's inner circle ebbs
Brian Burke: GST deal in peril as WA's influence in PM's inner circle ebbs
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West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Anthony Albanese's ‘red army' of MPs in Western Australia told to put WA first amid GST fight
Anthony Albanese's WA 'red army' is being told to put their State first, as a massive GST fight, changes to penalty rates and debate over new environmental laws loom large over his Government's second term. But also in focus will be how the confident Prime Minister and his party handle the cut and thrust of Parliament with a slimmed-down Opposition, led by Sussan Ley. Pundits and parliamentary watchers will be keeping a close eye on how Labor's frontbench strongmen line up to attack the Opposition, with suggestions since the election the Government may find it more difficult to attack Ms Ley than her predecessor, Peter Dutton. A record number of WA Labor MPs are heading to Canberra this weekend in preparation for Tuesday's opening of Parliament. Unexpected wins in Moore and Bullwinkel, where Tom French and Trish Cook beat their Liberal opponents, sees Mr Albanese's 94 members in the 150-seat House of Representatives include 11 West Australians. Four Liberals and Curtin Teal MP Kate Chaney will also be part of the WA contingent in Canberra. Fresh from a week-long visit to China, Mr Albanese's top Parliamentary priorities are expected to include legislation to cut student debt by 20 per cent and strengthening the regulation of the childcare industry as key post-election priorities. And it will also be a test for new Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who will likely use one of her first face-offs in Question Time to quiz the Prime Minister about a leaked Treasury report which casts doubt on a Federal target of 1.2 million new homes over five years, and to drill down on mooted tax hikes. The report warned the Budget cannot be repaired with raising taxes and slashing spending, and said Mr Albanese's election promise to build 1.2 million homes across Australia would not be met. Business is also protesting the penalty rate changes, which will have measures to enshrine overtime and other perks to keep them from forming part of overall pay rates. But WA MPs will be faced with big decisions on issues important to the people who voted them into office. A recent survey of nearly 1000 West Australians by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA gives a strong hint as to what Sandgropers believe their MPs need to stand up for this term. With a Productivity Commission review of a 2018 GST deal — which saw WA's GST take raised from 30¢ in the dollar to no less than 75¢ — due in 2026, West Australians are worried billions in GST receipts are at risk. More than three in five West Australians said they were concerned about a potential reduction in the State's GST share. 'Without that deal in 2018, WA would be getting back just 18¢ for every $1 we pay in GST, or around $6 billion less than with the 75¢ floor in this financial year alone,' CCIWA acting co-chief executive Aaron Morey said. 'That would hamstring WA from developing the infrastructure we need to continue to power the national economy.' Premier Roger Cook this week backed the Albanese Government not to dud WA on the GST. 'While eastern state whingers won't stop coming for WA's fair share of the GST, I know Anthony Albanese and his Cabinet has WA's back and will ensure our State receives its fair share of the GST,' Mr Cook said. But concerns remain the Commonwealth's debt-laden budget will put pressure on the Government to re-visit the deal, and in turn put pressure on Labor solidarity — on show last year when WA Senator Fatima Payman publicly spoke out against the party's stance on the Middle East conflict, resulting in her resignation to sit as an independent. Notre Dame Professor of Politics and International Relations Martin Drum said West Australians would expect that 'the representatives they send to Canberra stick up for their State'. 'I'd expect that every time the Prime Minister comes to WA, local MPs are in his ear about the importance of holding the line on this issue,' Professor Drum said. 'That said, it would be politically disastrous of the government to consider any change to the GST, which saw WA disadvantaged.' WA has two representatives in the Albanese Cabinet: Resources Minister Madeleine King and Small Business Minister Anne Aly. Perth MP Patrick Gorman, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, said he and his colleagues were well aware of the importance for WA of maintaining the 2028 GST deal. 'Our WA team are proud members of the Albanese Government and will continue to work together to ensure WA's fair share of GST and the economic policies that will deliver a more productive WA economy,' he told The Sunday Times. 'Western Australians made it clear at the election: they want a party that backs them.' But Senator Michaelia Cash — the most senior WA Liberal in Sussan Ley's shadow cabinet — is not so sure WA Labor MPs will break ranks and fight the government on behalf of their State. She said elected WA Labor members and senators 'should remember who sent them to Canberra'. 'The first test for the Labor WA team will come at the Treasurer's so called reform summit where no doubt WA's fair share of the GST will come under attack,' Senator Cash said. 'They need to make sure WA's hard-fought win on GST under the former Coalition Government is not wound back.' Senator Cash said proposed new environment laws were also vitally important to WA. 'I'll be watching closely where Labor goes with its so-called nature positive laws,' she said. Curtin MP Kate Chaney said she needed no reminders of the need to put the local community first. 'As it was in my first term, my absolute priority will be the concerns and values of the Curtin community,' she said. Ms Chaney said new environmental laws were of vital importance to WA. 'As we transition our economy for future prosperity in a decarbonising world, we urgently need to fix our ineffective, unworkable national environment laws.'
News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Lunch Wrap: ASX smashes 8700 for first time as BHP crushes records, Mesoblast soars
ASX smashes through 8700 as Wall Street rally lifts all boats
 BHP belts out record copper and iron ore Mesoblast soars after booking first Ryoncil sales in US At lunchtime in the east, the ASX 200 was up over 1% and trading above 8700 for the first time, with all 11 sectors in the green. Wall Street laid the groundwork overnight, notching up fresh records across the board. The rally came off stronger-than-expected US retail sales and a fifth straight week of falling jobless claims. Nvidia added more than 1%, pushing its market cap towards a gobsmacking US$4.25 trillion. "Right now, as long as the markets don't have a reason to sell off, they're going to go up," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. Asian markets caught the Wall Street wave this morning, with TSMC jumping 2% in Taiwan on bullish AI vibes. Back home, this is where things stood at around 1pm AEST: BHP (ASX:BHP) was the main headline after reporting a massive annual ops review. Record copper. Record iron ore. And some of the best numbers BHP's ever put on the board. Iron ore out of WA smashed records, with South Flank running above nameplate in its first full year. Even the coal division chipped in, lifting output 5% despite getting slapped by wet weather and moody geology at Broadmeadow. Over in copper, BHP pumped out over 2 million tonnes group-wide, a record haul in a metal that's fast becoming the lifeblood of the clean energy boom. Escondida in Chile hit its highest production in 17 years, Spence broke records, and Copper SA wrapped the year with a strong June quarter. On the downside, costs and timelines have blown out at BHP's next growth project, the Jansen potash mine in Canada. BHP's shares were up 2%. Meanwhile another large cap, Mesoblast (ASX:MSB), was off the leash, up a scorching 29% after reporting its first quarter of revenue from the US launch of Ryoncil. The stem cell therapy, approved by the FDA in March for kids with steroid-resistant graft-versus-host disease, pulled in US$13.2 million in sales. Another US$1.6 million rolled in from royalties in Japan. Elsewhere, Fletcher Building (ASX:FBU) jumped up 3% despite warning that the construction market won't bounce back until at least 2027. ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 18 : Security Description Last % Volume MktCap TR2 Tali Resources Ltd 0.430 115% 766,597 $7,501,000 AS2 Askari Metals 0.013 63% 32,662,215 $3,233,365 AUH Austchina Holdings 0.002 50% 250,100 $3,025,384 FAU First Au Ltd 0.004 33% 1,052,057 $6,228,874 HLX Helix Resources 0.002 33% 1,760,084 $5,046,291 SHP South Harz Potash 0.004 33% 741,773 $3,849,186 DTZ Dotz Nano Ltd 0.039 30% 957,221 $17,761,929 MSB Mesoblast Limited 2.305 29% 13,728,960 $2,291,141,265 KNG Kingsland Minerals 0.150 25% 296,220 $8,707,309 CTN Catalina Resources 0.005 25% 10,061,003 $9,704,076 PXX Polarx Limited 0.010 25% 3,526,872 $19,004,008 CNQ Clean Teq Water 0.255 24% 95,867 $14,809,672 PEC Perpetual Res Ltd 0.021 24% 8,903,926 $14,844,880 LSR Lodestar Minerals 0.018 20% 3,356,635 $5,963,857 CYP Cynata Therapeutics 0.180 20% 1,043,773 $33,893,155 TRI Trivarx Ltd 0.012 20% 2,843,773 $6,198,263 AI1 Adisyn Ltd 0.075 19% 5,838,920 $45,619,913 NVQ Noviqtech Limited 0.038 19% 351,275 $8,049,170 NVX Novonix Limited 0.555 18% 14,512,926 $299,013,652 MLS Metals Australia 0.020 18% 3,815,865 $12,388,232 SYR Syrah Resources 0.340 17% 13,844,584 $302,250,996 CDE Codeifai Limited 0.021 17% 2,945,529 $8,494,218 NAE New Age Exploration 0.004 17% 1,045,751 $8,117,734 MCP McPherson's Ltd 0.305 15% 627,213 $38,146,522 Askari Metals (ASX:AS2) has uncovered high-grade copper hits at its newly acquired Nejo Gold Project in Ethiopia, with historic drilling at the Katta Target returning standout intercepts like 14.3m at 3.2% copper. It's sitting on a district-scale 1,174km2 landholding in the heart of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, surrounded by multi-million-ounce gold deposits and barely scratched by modern exploration. Novonix (ASX:NVX) has welcomed a US move to slap 93.5% antidumping tariffs on Chinese graphite, lifting the total effective tariff rate to a whopping 160% when you stack on earlier duties and Trump's blanket tariffs. The decision backs Novonix's push to build a North American supply chain, with its Chattanooga site set to become the first large-scale synthetic graphite hub on the continent. Metals Australia (ASX:MLS) wrapped up a major drilling program at its Lac Carheil graphite project in Quebec, with assays confirming a 595% jump in graphite intercepts. now feeding into an updated mineral resource due this quarter. Over 9,500m of drilling was completed, with more than half delivering graphite, including standout grades of 12.4% TGC in the newly confirmed SE extension zone. ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 18 : Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap VFX Visionflex Group Ltd 0.002 -33% 777,230 $10,103,581 EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.002 -25% 20,495,001 $6,507,557 BDM Burgundy D Mines Ltd 0.031 -21% 3,577,961 $55,431,959 BUY Bounty Oil & Gas NL 0.002 -20% 200,000 $3,903,680 MEL Metgasco Ltd 0.002 -20% 120,000 $4,581,467 SRI Sipa Resources Ltd 0.016 -20% 3,924,274 $8,327,966 TON Triton Min Ltd 0.004 -20% 82,000 $7,841,944 ICG Inca Minerals Ltd 0.013 -19% 9,013,545 $26,157,778 ADG Adelong Gold Limited 0.005 -17% 11,258,929 $13,492,060 HCD Hydrocarbon Dynamics 0.003 -17% 129,152 $3,234,328 PRM Prominence Energy 0.003 -17% 485,016 $1,459,411 MDI Middle Island Res 0.017 -15% 227,772 $5,864,679 FRM Farm Pride Foods 0.295 -14% 147,823 $79,622,983 ECT Env Clean Tech Ltd. 0.003 -14% 200,000 $14,054,024 GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.003 -14% 9,000 $12,981,292 TMS Tennant Minerals Ltd 0.006 -14% 30,000 $7,461,233 TNY Tinybeans Group Ltd 0.120 -14% 39,935 $20,707,461 TYX Tyranna Res Ltd 0.003 -14% 79,120 $11,509,489 ATS Australis Oil & Gas 0.007 -13% 1,629,539 $10,544,500 AUZ Australian Mines Ltd 0.007 -13% 2,052,254 $13,688,097 CCO The Calmer Co Int 0.004 -13% 200,767 $12,045,413 EMT Emetals Limited 0.004 -13% 133,277 $3,400,000 M4M Macro Metals Limited 0.007 -13% 6,591,552 $31,819,340 OVT Ovanti Limited 0.007 -13% 2,109,831 $34,194,589 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Pitt Street Research sees strong upside in Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) as one of the most advanced oncology companies on the ASX as it kicks off a phase 2a trial. Prospect Resources' (ASX:PSC) test results from Nyungu Central and Kabikupa samples indicate that Mumbezhi features a conventional copper processing profile suitable for low-cost treatment. It's been a promising start for Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) at 8 Mile target within the Gidji JV, with the first drill hole hitting high-grade gold and ending in mineralisation. LAST ORDERS Axel REE (ASX:AXL) has dual listed to the Frankfurt exchange under the ticker The company also intends to list to the OTC markets in North America in a bid to capitalise on growing interest in REEs following deals between MP Materials, Apple and the US Department of Defense. Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7) has acquired New Age Minerals in a move the company calls 'transformational', gaining an exclusive licencing agreement with Macquarie University for a patented photovoltaic solar panel recycling technology known as Microwave Joule Heating Technology. Sipa Resources (ASX:SRI) has closed out a $1.61m placement at 1.4 cents each, having received strong support from both existing major shareholders and new investors. All four directors participated, with funds to go to a suite of drilling programs across Sipa's gold projects. At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Axel REE, Lithium Universe and Sipa Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
St John WA ambulance service announces job losses in 'targeted reset'
St John WA says economic pressures have led to it axing 90 staff from its ranks, but has confirmed no paramedic roles have been cut. In a memo sent to staff on Thursday, St John WA CEO Kevin Brown said redeployment was being offered to staff where possible and the losses were part of a "targeted reset." "Like many organisations, we are operating in a more constrained economic environment and have had to make some tough choices to ensure the sustainability of our services into the future," he said. "This change represents a potential reduction of 2 per cent of our paid team. "That doesn't lessen the human impact, but I share it to provide perspective. "We are continuing to invest in frontline resourcing, critical systems, and commercial services that underpin our charitable programs." According to its website, St John WA employs more than 2,800 people, but also relies on the volunteer work of 6,000 people and almost 48,000 community responders. A St John WA spokesperson said the cuts would not impact paramedics. "Our focus remains on delivering safe, high-quality frontline services and maintaining the systems and infrastructure that support them," they said in a statement. Mr Brown said he would address staff on Monday to provide more detail. "We know this change brings disruption, particularly in support and enabling teams," he said. "We're working closely with leaders to understand the flow-on effects and will keep listening as we assess impacts and next steps."
