Latest news with #OneNation
The Print
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Print
JPC meeting on ‘One Nation, One Election' commences at Parliament House
Noted economist NK Singh is set to depose before the panel. Singh is a former Rajya Sabha Member, Chairman of the Fifteenth Finance Commission of India, former Member of the Planning Commission, former Revenue Secretary, and Secretary to the former Prime Minister. New Delhi: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on 'One Nation One Election' was convened on Wednesday at the Parliament House. He will be assisted by Dr Prachi Mishra, Professor of Economics and Head and Director of the Isaac Centre for Public Policy, Ashoka University, during the deposition. Earlier, the JPC had met on July 11 and held interactions with legal experts, including former Chief Justices of India, Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud. Following the meeting, Committee Chairman P P Chaudhary had described the initiative as a golden opportunity for the panel to contribute to nation-building, with all members focused on preparing robust legislation. 'Today, a meeting was held for the 'One Nation, One Election'… Former CJIs Justice Khehar and Justice Chandrachud…were present before us, and we had an interaction. This is a golden opportunity for this committee for nation-building… All the members of the committee are above the party politics and are focused on preparing a good 'One Nation, One Election' Bill,' Chaudhary told ANI. He also stated that both committee members and the experts agreed on the significance of the initiative. In addition to the CJIs, the panel had heard views from former MP and ex-chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, E M S Natchiappan. Members present during the previous meeting included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Tewari, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Saket Gokhale, Shambhavi Choudhary, and Bhartruhari Mahtab. Responding to media queries, Chaudhary noted that the panel was consulting judges as they are constitutional experts who remain impartial and are concerned solely with the legal framework. PP Chaudhary, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, said the committee was examining possible amendments to ensure that the Bill stands judicial scrutiny and facilitates the implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'One Nation, One Election'.The JPC chief also discussed the panel's visit to five states and a union territory, noting that they received valuable inputs. He said that many political leaders, civil society members, and officials backed the proposal. The JPC is currently examining the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. These bills propose aligning the election cycles of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies to enable simultaneous elections. In September 2024, the Union Cabinet had accepted recommendations of the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind. The Committee had recommended a two-step approach to lead to simultaneous elections. It said that as the first step, simultaneous elections will be held for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. It said that in the second step, elections to the Municipalities and the Panchayats will be synchronised with Lok Sabha and assemblies in such a way that these are held within a hundred days of holding elections to the House of the People and the state legislative assemblies. The Committee had also recommended that there should be a single electoral roll and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) for use in elections to all three tiers of government. The Committee had said that its recommendations will significantly enhance transparency, inclusivity, ease and confidence of the voters. (ANI) This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Billions to be slashed from student debts, as Labor's key election promise passes parliament
Labor's key election promise to slash student debts by 20 per cent has passed parliament. More than 3 million Australians are set to see their debt reduced, with the average debt of about $27,600 receiving about $5520 in relief. The debts will be reduced automatically by the Australian Taxation Office over the coming months, with calculations backdated to the amount owed on June 1, 2025. The Opposition benches were notably empty as the Bill passed parliament on Thursday morning, with Labor, Greens and crossbench senators, David Pocock, Tammy Tyrell, and Fatima Payman supporting the motion. Education Minister Jason Clare said the promise was important to 'young Australians' who 'don't always see something for them on the ballot paper'. However he urged patience with the ATO now required to 'write about 50,000 lines of code to implement' the policy and 'make sure that they get it right'. 'But this is now going to happen. It's guaranteed and it will be backdated to 1 June this year, before indexation happened,' he told reporters. 'We're doing that for a reason – to make sure that we honour the promise we made to the Australian people in full, that we would cut their student debt by 20 per cent and today the parliament has acted and I'm glad to see that they have.' One Nation senators Malcolm Roberts, Warwick Stacey and Tyron Whitten opposed the Bill. Standing up to speak after the Bill passed, Greens senator Sarah Hanson lashed the lack of Coalition presence in the Chamber, however was admonished by Senate president Sue Lines. 'I'd just like to draw attention to the state of the Opposition benches in the last 15 minutes. They seem to be invisible, missing,' said Senator Hanson-Young before she was cut off by Senator Lines. In response, the President said: 'This is not a time for a statement. It's not appropriate for a quorum because there are senators in here and the practice in this place is that we don't comment on whether senators are in the chamber or not'. Speaking broadly about Coalition co-operation, Mr Clare thanked Sussan Ley, and said 'this is a different Parliament and a different Opposition Leader'. While the Coalition didn't directly support the legislation passing, they also didn't vote to overturn it, like it did on Labor's $5-a-week tax cut legislation, which passed just before Anthony Albanese called the May election. 'Australians, I think, want us to work together on the big things that matter to help Australians, and particularly on the childcare matter where it could have been very different,' he said. 'The decision of Susan and Jonno (Duniam), the Shadow Minister, to work constructively with us, I take my hat off to them. This is what Australians want of us.' The Bill also contained measures which will increase the minimum income repayment threshold before Australians begin to pay back their student loans from $54,000 to $67,000.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
$5,520 cash boost coming for millions for Aussies: 'Backdated to June 1'
The federal government's legislation to wipe 20 per cent off everyone's student debt has passed parliament. Labor submitted it only last week, and it was quickly approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate. The proposal was one of the party's big election promises, and it received enough support across the political spectrum to get the tick of approval. A poll of more than 3,000 Yahoo Finance readers found 51 per cent of people felt they would never fully pay off their HECS debts by themselves or without government support. A person with an average loan of $27,600 will have around $5,520 taken off their total loan balance. The measure is estimated to cost $16 billion and will affect around three million people. RELATED Aussie with $60,000 HECS debt reveals why he isn't paying it off faster with extra payments Australia's 'ancient enemy' returns sparking major Centrelink warning Age Pension warning for 4.3 million Aussies facing superannuation nightmare Education minister Jason Clare thanked those who supported the proposal. 'Australians, I think, want us to work together on the big things that matter to help Australians, and particularly on the childcare matter where it could have been very different,' he said. 'The decision of [opposition leader] Susan [Ley] and Jonno [Duniam], the Shadow Minister, to work constructively with us, I take my hat off to them. This is what Australians want of us.' One Nation senators Malcolm Roberts, Warwick Stacey and Tyron Whitten voiced their opposition to the bill after it was submitted and voted against will the 20 per cent HECS debt reduction work? It won't just apply to someone with a HECS debt. The government revealed the legislation will also target those with Vocational Education and Training (VET) Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans, Student Startup Loans, and other student loans. The reduction will be backdated to June 1, and it will apply to what your debt level was before this year's indexation was applied. The 2025 indexation rate was 3.2 per cent, and this added about $882 to a $27,600 loan. Clare said the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will now have to 'write about 50,000 lines of code" to usher in this huge change. You won't have to do anything to access the savings, and it will eventually show on your account over the coming months once the system can be updated. Legislation will also increase HECS repayment threshold The government has also included a measure within the legislation that will provide further cost-of-living relief for thousands of Aussies. It has proposed to raise the current threshold for HECS repayments by nearly $10,000. At the moment, once you start earning $56,156 or more, you have to start paying off your student loan. If you earn between $56,156 and $64,837 per year, 1 per cent of your wage will be directed to your HECS debt. That percentage goes up in 0.5 per cent intervals, with the maximum being 10 per cent if you earn over $164,712 per year. But the government has proposed to raise the minimum salary threshold from $56,156 to $67,000. For someone earning $70,000, this change will reduce a person's minimum repayments by $1,300 a year. 'That's real help with the cost of living. It means more money in your pocket, not the government's," Clare said.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Billions to be slashed from student debt
Labor's key election promise to slash student debts by 20 per cent has passed parliament. More than 3 million Australians are set to see their debt reduced, with the average debt of about $27,600 receiving about $5520 in relief. The debts will be reduced automatically by the Australian Taxation Office over the coming months, with calculations backdated to the amount owed on June 1, 2025. The Opposition benches were notably empty as the Bill passed parliament on Thursday morning, with Labor, Greens and crossbench senators, David Pocock, Tammy Tyrell, and Fatima Payman supporting the motion. Education Minister Jason Clare said the promise was important to 'young Australians' who 'don't always see something for them on the ballot paper'. However he urged patience with the ATO now required to 'write about 50,000 lines of code to implement' the policy and 'make sure that they get it right'. 'But this is now going to happen. It's guaranteed and it will be backdated to 1 June this year, before indexation happened,' he told reporters. 'We're doing that for a reason – to make sure that we honour the promise we made to the Australian people in full, that we would cut their student debt by 20 per cent and today the parliament has acted and I'm glad to see that they have.' One Nation senators Malcolm Roberts, Warwick Stacey and Tyron Whitten opposed the Bill. Standing up to speak after the Bill passed, Greens senator Sarah Hanson lashed the lack of Coalition presence in the Chamber, however was admonished by Senate president Sue Lines. 'I'd just like to draw attention to the state of the Opposition benches in the last 15 minutes. They seem to be invisible, missing,' said Senator Hanson-Young before she was cut off by Senator Lines. In response, the President said: 'This is not a time for a statement. It's not appropriate for a quorum because there are senators in here and the practice in this place is that we don't comment on whether senators are in the chamber or not'. The Bill also contained measures which will increase the minimum income repayment threshold before Australians begin to pay back their student loans from $54,000 to $67,000. Rates of repayments will also be lowered. More to come Sign in to access your portfolio
The Australian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Australian
Pauline Hanson shares fiery comeback to Charlotte Walker after Net Zero debate
One Nation senator Pauline Hanson has responded to Australia's youngest senator Charlotte Walker after she was accused of 'completely disregarding' the next generation and farmers by calling for Australia to abandon its net zero target. Senator Hanson, a long-time climate change denier, introduced the motion on Monday following Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce's private members Bill calling for the same thing. The motion failed, with just the four One Nation senators, United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet and coalition senators Matt Canavan and Alex Antic voting in favour. In the debate preceding the vote, Labor's new senator for South Australia Charlotte Walker fired back at the motion. Pauline Hanson has shared a comeback to senator Charlotte Walker. 'All I can say is, are you kidding?' the 21-year-old told the Senate. 'The motion put forward on net zero indicates a severe lack of knowledge and a complete disregard for the future of our generation, the future of our country. 'Without a net zero target, there will be no Australian farmers, businesses or industries to support us. 'Net zero is waking up to a reality that Senator Hanson has not been able to grasp. In fact, Senator Hanson seems to be hellbent on exacerbating all of the consequences of climate change.' However, following Ms Walker's remarks, Hanson shared a fiery comeback on Sky News, accusing Walker of being a hypocrite. 'She said she grew up on the farm – a farm that uses diesel and petroleum products to actually do the farming. I don't think she really understands about what net zero is,' she told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. 'Most of those parliamentarians have no idea about net zero … they can't debate you on the issue, they don't know the facts or figures, and this is why they just come in there and they just vote whatever way the winds blowing.' Charlotte Walker earlier accused Pauline Hanson of disregarding the future of younger generations and farmers. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman Senator Hanson laughed, and added Walker shouldn't come in thinking she's going to 'tell me what I know or what I don't know when I have been dealing with this for many years'. 'She's no sooner out of bloody university and out of her nappies than she's telling me I don't know what the hell I'm talking about when I've been on the floor of parliament for the last nine years,' she said. 'I don't take any notice of her, who's just trying to make her place in this parliament – and congratulations.' 'They're gutless' Earlier, Senator Hanson challenged Coalition opponents of net zero to stand up and support her motion. Senator Hanson said her motion would out opposition 'cowards'. 'They're gutless, you know, they're cowards,' she told Sky News when asked about the prospect of Coalition senators not backing her motion. 'Because a lot of these people on the floor of parliament have no understanding, cannot debate you about climate change. 'They don't even know anything about it. 'They're making decisions and voting on it.' Mr Joyce's Bill proposes to abandon Australia's carbon-neutral target by 2050. The target is in line with goals set by other developed economies, but the task has been complicated by rapid energy demands from emerging economies and global disruptions driven by increased conflicts, such as Russia's war in Ukraine. Among Mr Joyce's supporters gathered outside Parliament House was fellow former Nationals leader Michael McCormack, another hefty voice in the party. Liberal MP Garth Hamilton also joined him, making him the only member of the senior Coalition partner to do so.
