Australian news and politics live: Angus Taylor open to working with One Nation to ‘defeat Labor’

Labor is an economic junkie that is in denial about its addiction to income tax revenue.

Since Budget night, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been claiming he wants to be less reliant on taxing workers.

He’s told anyone who will listen that he’s been returning bracket creep.

This is despite personal income tax receipts making up an even bigger share of revenue since Labor came to power - with the dependence expected to get even worse in coming years.

Like an addict who can’t admit there’s a problem, Dr Chalmers tried to deflect attention to something else, in this case a new 30 per cent tax on family trusts from July 2028.

“Overall, this is about better aligning the tax system for workers and people who earn their income from assets and that’s why we’re making this difficult change,” he told reporters in Brisbane on Monday.

The Treasurer has also tried to position himself as the friend of the income earner, with a $250 Working Australians Tax Offset, coming into effect in July 2027, forming the centrepiece of his fifth Budget on Tuesday.

Read Stephen Johnson’s full analysis.

Treasury officials have confirmed their department was tasked with modelling specifics of Labor’s changes to negative gearing and Capital Gains Tax as far back as Christmas.

It comes as the Treasurer Jim Chalmers had cited the Iran war, which started after US-Israel led strikes on February 28, among a raft of issues for his broken promises Budget.

Fronting a parliamentary inquiry on Monday, Treasury officials revealed the major changes in the Federal Budget had been worked on for months across “summer and autumn”.

Bureaucrats Diane Brown and Shane Johnson, who were among several to appear at the Greens-led select committee on intergenerational housing inequity, confirmed the timeline following questions from Liberal Senator Maria Kovačić.

“The Treasurer outlined, in his speech to the National Press Club, the timing of these decisions,” Ms Brown said, who is the department’s deputy secretary for revenue, small business and law group.

Read the full story.

Australia has been told to “earnestly respect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese investors” after the Albanese government forced several Beijing-linked companies and individuals to sell their stake in a critical minerals project.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Monday ordered six investors based in China, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands to divest millions of shares that they hold in WA-based Northern Minerals after previous formal directions were ignored.

Hong Kong Ying Tak Ltd, Real International Resources Ltd, Qogir Trading & Service Co Ltd, Chuanyou Cong, Vastness Investment Group Ltd and Zhongxiong Lin — have been directed to divest their holdings within 14 days.

The Prime Minister says a decision to remove a group of Chinese investors from one of the country’s most significant critical mineral deposits is about protecting Australia’s national interest and sovereignty.

On Monday, six companies and individuals based in China, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands were issued orders by the Treasurer to divest millions of shares that they hold in Northern Minerals after previous formal directions were ignored.

Read the full story.

Donald Trump says a “full, large-scale assault on Iran” was planned for Tuesday, but the US President says the attack has now been paused at the request of key leaders in the Middle East.

The US President revealed plans for the imminent attack on Monday, but warned that although that had been paused, the US was now on standby to strike at his command.

Taking to Truth Social, Mr Trump said that the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, requested he “hold off” on a planned attack due to “serious negotiations taking place”.

However, his pause came with a warning to Iran over a brutal new attack.

“(I) have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large-scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached,” he said.

Read the full story.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says he will “work with whoever” he can to “stop Labor” and defeat Anthony Albanese at the next election.

“Our overriding objective as a Coalition - Liberal and National Party - is to beat Labor at the next election, to restore our standard of living, as I said, and to protect our way of life, and that means we have to do whatever we can,” he said Monday night on Sky News.

“Even before that, though, there are a lot of things that this government is trying to do which we need to try to stop and we will do everything - we will fight like hell, as I said in my budget in reply - to stop them from doing that.

“I will work with whoever I can work with to stop Labor getting those taxes through and I will work with whoever I can work with to defeat Labor at the next election.”

Mr Taylor said he hoped “One Nation will vote with us on axing those taxes and, as I say, we will do whatever we can to beat Labor.”

The statement leaves the door wide open for the Coalition and One Nation to establish a powerful working relationship, something both parties may need to secure the numbers.