NSW Liberals consider adopting US style primaries for elections
The Daily Telegraph reported that members of the public will be able to vote on who should represent the major party under the proposed system.
The plan is gaining increasing popularity from senior Liberal figures, such as Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor.
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ABC News
36 minutes ago
- ABC News
Productivity Commission urges Australia to remove tariffs as Donald Trump extends US deadline
The federal government's economic think tank says Australia will likely be a winner from Donald Trump's tariffs if it does not retaliate and that we would be better off by removing more of the nation's remaining tariffs. In its annual trade and assistance review, modelling by the Productivity Commission finds that Donald Trump's "liberation day" tariffs — as well as sector-specific tariffs on aluminium, steel and automobiles and parts — could lead to a 0.37 per cent increase in Australia's economic output, as measured by real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "What happens is that there's capital outflow from the United States that's got to go somewhere. It comes to Australia as well as other countries," explained Productivity Commission deputy chair Alex Robson on Radio National Breakfast. Professor Robson said that Australia would benefit in part because it was at the lower end of tariff rates being proposed by the US government. "Australia, we have a 10 per cent tariff imposed on us by the United States. But other countries, it's much higher than that. And so, that tends to benefit us in a relative sense," he said. Overnight, US President Trump signed an executive order further delaying the implementation of his so-called "liberation day" tariffs, which were due to commence at 12:01am US Eastern Standard Time on July 9. The tariffs, originally announced on April 2, will now not take effect until August 1, while negotiations continue with affected countries. Mr Trump has been publishing on his Truth Social platform the letters he has sent to global leaders flagging his proposed tariff rates that would kick in on August 1, unless negotiations see the US strike a trade deal with the nominated countries in the meantime. In most cases, these tariffs are the same or similar to those announced on "liberation day" in April, with two of Australia's major trading partners, Japan and South Korea, threatened with 25 per cent tariffs and another, Indonesia, facing a 32 per cent tax on its exports to the US. Paul Ashworth, the chief North America economist with Capital Economics, says he does not anticipate major economic fallout within the US, even if these threatened tariffs are implemented on August 1. "If none of these 14 countries manage to seal a preliminary trade deal (and assuming Trump doesn't delay implementation for another month) then the effective tariff rate on US imports would rise from 15.5 per cent to 17.3 per cent," he wrote in a note. "That would push it even further above 20th-century norms — it was 2.5 per cent last year — but given the very muted impact of tariffs on US consumer prices up to now and that the tariff revenues are now being recycled thanks to the Republican mega-bill that Congress just passed, the fallout should be manageable," he wrote. However, Professor Robson warned that the possibility of widespread retaliation against the US tariffs posed a bigger risk to the global, and Australian, economy. "The main concern in all of this is the uncertainty that the different announcements create in the global trading environment and the risk of escalation and retaliation around the world," he told Radio National Breakfast. "If there was more broad escalation, even with countries imposing tariffs on each other and not only the United States, that would be very bad for Australia," he said. Rather than retaliating, which Professor Robson said would be economically counterproductive, the Productivity Commission has urged Australia's government to unilaterally remove more tariffs. It says there are still too many "nuisance tariffs" in place that generate little revenue and impose high costs on businesses. "We estimate that, in 2023-24, the tariff regime imposed compliance costs of between $1.3 billion and $4 billion, while collecting $2 billion in revenue," its report says. Professor Robson said last year, the government abolished 457 nuisance tariffs that had compliance costs that far outweighed the revenue collected, and it could eliminate hundreds more. He said those tariffs cost Australia's economy roughly twice as much to collect as they raised in revenue. "Currently, 90 per cent of imports into Australia are tariff-free and the remaining have about a 5 per cent tariff imposed on them," he said. "They raise revenue of about $2 billion, but the compliance costs are up to $4 billion, and also they're not protecting any industries." The Productivity Commission has also urged caution about the Albanese government's signature "Future Made in Australia" industry support program. It said budgetary assistance remained the main form of industry assistance in Australia, and the government's Future Made in Australia agenda was cementing that growing role. "This mirrors international practice seen in the European Green Deal, the Made-in-Canada plan, China's industrial subsidy programs and the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States," its report said. It said well-designed industry policy could offer benefits, but when it was poorly designed, it could be costly for governments, act as a form of trade protection and distort the allocation of Australia's resources. "This underscores the critical need for transparency, as is delivered through the Trade and Assistance Review, ongoing evaluation and review and clear exit strategies," its report said. Professor Robson said the Albanese government had legitimate policy objectives around supply chain resilience and transitioning to net zero, but it also had to make sure that the benefits of its spending on those Future Made in Australia programs would outweigh the costs. "The government's put a framework around that. We think that's good," he told Radio National. "But it remains to be seen whether that spending will produce the benefits that the government says it will."
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
NSW Liberals lobby party to implement US-style primary system to choose candidates as re-build continues
High ranking NSW Liberals are calling on Sussan Ley to consider imposing a US-style primary system to pre-select candidates in significant structural overhaul of the party's long-standing practices. The NSW Liberals were all but decimated at the recent federal election which has led to internal debate about how to bolster the party's appeal and revitalise aging local branches. Gender quotas have become a point of contention within the party, with proponents and critics engaging in a bitter public dispute including in a leaked group chat titled 'quotas v merit' where senior Libs debated the policies validity. However, top NSW Liberals have touted a separate route, urging the party to revamp its pre-selection process through the use of US-style open primary elections. Shadow attorney general and federal member for Berowra Julian Leeser has said opening up pre-selection to non-members and the wider public would expand the Liberal Party's scope and bring in a new wave of members. 'The best way to ensure that our members reflect the communities that they represent is to have the largest number of members of the general community choose them,' Mr Leeser told the Telegraph. Mr Leeser, who is one of the last Liberal members occupying an outer-metropolitan seat nationwide said the plan would increase 'diversity' and 'overcome the challenge of a declining membership an supporter base.' Liberal Party pre-selection, which currently involves local party members and state delegates voting to choose a candidate, would be scrapped, with all eligible voters in the relevant electorate given the chance to have their say under the proposed model. Mr Leeser, who narrowly fended of a challenge from local publisher turned Teal candidate Tina Brown said holding US-primary style elections would bring ideological vigour to local branches and allow the community to actively immerse themselves in the inner workings of the Party. He insisted it would 'demonstrate to the general public that we are a broad, open welcoming party that is seeking the best talent available.' Mr Leeser has been a long-time advocate of parachuting the concept of US primary elections down under, with the move also receiving the support of numerous party elders including former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet. The method was previously considered a fringe idea in Liberal ranks. Shadow defence minister and former Liberal leadership contender Angus Taylor backed Mr Leeser's proposal and said open primaries could aid in rebuilding the party's 'grassroots movement.' 'One pathway to do that would be by bringing in primaries,' Mr Taylor told The Daily Telegraph. 'The objective here has to be to rebuild the grassroots political movement that stands for our values, and to do that we're going to have to involve and engage people in ways we haven't before.' Mr Taylor's staunch NSW Right factional ally Anthony Roberts also endorsed primary elections and said it would prevent powerbrokers from hand selecting their candidate of choice in a given electorate. 'The days of captain's picks have got to be over, they are proven not to work,' Mr Roberts said. Mr Leeser said the party should work to commence a trial to gauge the efficacy of primary elections, and that the method should be piloted in a Teal, regional and western Sydney seat.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Labor not given Australia ‘best chance' of tariff carve out, opposition says, as Trump sends letters
Australian goods may not be getting slugged with higher US tariffs, but that does not mean the country is getting the best deal possible, the opposition says. Donald Trump has begun sending out letters to countries that failed to lock in new trading terms with the US. The letters informed them their exports to the US would be hit with new tariff rates from August 1. The countries included close allies Japan and South Korea, which both face 25 per cent imposts. For others, the new rate is as high as 40 per cent. Australia was not named among those facing 'reciprocal tariffs' announced in April but was instead subjected to the universal 10 per cent taxes on all foreign imports – a position Anthony Albanese has said he did not expect to change. Opposition finance spokesman James Paterson said on Tuesday any tariffs on Australia were unacceptable but the Prime Minister had not given Australia the 'best chance' of getting a carve out. 'The only fair tariff on Australia would be 0 per cent, and I hope that's what we get,' Senator Paterson told Nine's Today. 'But we haven't given ourselves the best chance of securing that from the Trump administration because the Prime Minister has not even met President Trump now, seven months after he was elected. 'In stark contrast to other world leaders, like the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer who did secure an exemption from steel and aluminium tariffs for the UK because of the personal relationship that he formed with President Trump. 'I really hope the Prime Minister doesn't leave it any longer before he forms that relationship and argues for the best case possible for our country.' The UK and Vietnam are the only countries to secure deals with the Trump administration. Though, neither have escaped the US President's levies altogether, with Vietnam still subject to 20 per cent duties. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his efforts to build a strong personal relationship with Mr Trump helped secure tariff leniency, particularly on automakers. British cars were facing a 25 per cent rate, but that was dropped to 10 per cent. Similarly, British steel and aluminium have remained at the initial 25 per cent rate, while Australian steel and aluminium have been swept up in the 50 per cent rate. But speaking to Sky News, Assistant Treasurer Dan Mulino insisted the Albanese government was 'clearly continuing to argue for the best possible deal'. 'My understanding is that we are still at the position of having a 10 per cent tariff imposed, but the good news is that that is the lowest rate that any country has been able to secure,' he said. 'So we'll continue to argue for the best possible deal, and we'll continue to argue for it to be lower than that.' Mr Mulino went on to cite Productivity Commission analysis that suggested Australia could have an advantage over other countries because 'if we're lower than other countries, that might present opportunities for us to increase our trade with the US'. 'In some situations, the tariffs the US imposing might also offer opportunities for us to secure goods from other countries that might be redirecting their trade to other parts of the world,' he said.
