Greens back medical defence road reforms in NSW By Emily Kaine Greens senator David Shoebridge said this morning it was “about time” road laws were reformed to account for drivers with medicinal cannabis prescriptions, following a major change that will see NSW introduce a medical defence model. Drivers with lawful cannabis prescriptions will be offered a medical defence and subjected to a three-strike impairment test under the new laws. “I mean, about bloody time. People have been getting prescription cannabis, just like they get other prescription drugs. And now, and the law, as it currently stands, is if you have the tiniest amount of prescription cannabis in your system, not impairing your driving, just the tiniest amount, you might have had some prescription cannabis the day before, or two days before, you lose your licence,” Shoebridge told Sky News. “Now, I can’t believe that getting these reforms has taken years. I’ve been campaigning for this, my party, the Greens, have been campaigning for this for years and years. This is like a tiny little commonsense reform, no doubt.” Under the scheme, people with a valid cannabis prescription will register with Transport for NSW. The defence will only apply to unrestricted licences. Learners, provisional and commercial drivers will be excluded. Treasury secretary says department supportive of tax changes By Shane Wright Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson said the government’s tax changes will encourage people to invest in more productive parts of the economy. Pressed by Nationals’ leader Matt Canavan on the reforms and their impact on productivity, Wilkinson said her department’s view was that they would change financial incentives across the economy. Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson at Senate estimates today. Alex Ellinghausen Wilkinson noted that apart from the areas which have attracted the most attention, such as capital gains and trusts, the budget also contained reforms in areas such as research and development and loss carry-back that would assist the business sector. She said in total, the changes would improve productivity. Canavan slams Trump tariffs after backing them at home By Mike Foley Nationals leader Matt Canavan has called on the Albanese government to oppose US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, just months after calling for a similar regime of taxes on imports to Australia. Trump has proposed new 12.5 per cent tariff on Australia and other countries for allegedly failing to take action to prevent slavery. Nationals leader Matt Canavan at Parliament House. Dominic Lorrimer Canavan said today that the new tariffs would be a breach of the spirit of the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. “I hope the Australian government pushes back on this decision,” he said. Pocock calls for Senate to split tax bill By Brittany Busch Independent senator David Pocock has called for the Senate to split the government’s tax package and send the most contentious parts of the bill to a thorough inquiry. “We’ve seen huge changes introduced by the government, and they are actively avoiding scrutiny. I think the Senate should do its job and actually split this bill,” Pocock told reporters in Canberra. He said the changes to housing tax arrangements and the $250 Working Australian Tax Offset should be passed, but the Senate “should take more time to look at the rest of it, to look at the broad changes to CGT across all asset classes.” Independent senator David Pocock. Alex Ellinghausen “The case hasn’t been made, and the details haven’t been sorted out, and it’s not good enough for a government to basically say let’s ram this through parliament and the treasurer will just make rules down the track and sort things out – the senators elected to actually make sure that we get it right.” Pocock said he would work with any of his Senate colleagues. The Greens would need to join with the Coalition and independents to block the passage of the bill in the upper house. Greens economic justice spokesman Nick McKim has raised concerns over the discretionary powers afforded to the treasurer in the reforms, telling The Australian they were a concern that would be examined in the upcoming two-day inquiry. ‘I just don’t understand’: Hockey stunned by fresh Trump tariffs By Nick Newling Former treasurer and ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey has lamented the Trump administration’s decision to continue seeking a tariff agenda, saying he has personally argued with the US leader over the topic. “The president of the United States is absolutely convinced that tariffs are great. I’ve argued personally with him on the issue, and he’s just not moving,” Hockey told ABC radio this morning. “He just can’t see the inflationary impact and the negative impact on American consumers, and it just goes to show how the world’s on its head when a left-wing Labor prime minister is trying to convince a right-wing Republican president that free trade is actually the right way to go.” Joe Hockey at the National Press Club of Australia last month. Alex Ellinghausen Yesterday evening Trump announced a 12.5 per cent tariff on Australia and 53 other nations on the basis that countries had not acted to prevent slavery and introduce import prohibitions on products produced through forced labour. Hockey said Trump misunderstood the way tariff’s work, saying: “America is running out of money, and they need to get it from somewhere, and the president of the United States is convinced that foreigners pay tariffs imposed by America, whereas in fact it is American consumers that pay higher prices”. “I just don’t understand where the world is heading here in the United States and elsewhere, where people think it’s a great idea to increase taxes on consumers and think that it’s going to improve the economy and create more jobs.” Israel and Lebanon agree to ceasefire, US says, boosting hopes for Iran deal By Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, the Trump administration said, in a boost to hopes for a broader deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran. Tehran, which had conditioned any deal with the US in part on an end to fighting between Israel and Lebanon, earlier struck Kuwait, damaging its airport and injuring dozens while the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz. The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia and the evacuation of all its operatives from the South Litani Sector, a joint statement released by the US State Department said following negotiations in Washington. The two sides had agreed last month to a ceasefire but hostilities had continued. Israel invaded Lebanon in March in pursuit of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which fired across the border in support of Tehran. Reuters Wilkinson pushes back on suggestion CGT changes will lead to fewer homes By Shane Wright Back to Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson: she’s pushed back on suggestions from the Coalition that the government’s changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing will actually lead to fewer homes. Treasury analysis released with the budget showed the changes to property taxes would produce a drop in housing, but this would be more than offset by the government’s $2 billion fund to support housing infrastructure. Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson during Senate estimates in parliament today. Alex Ellinghausen Pressed by the Coalition’s finance spokeswoman, Claire Chandler, that the analysis showed fewer homes from the tax changes, Wilkinson said first home buyers would have a better chance of buying a home. “If those changes were not made, there wouldn’t be a switch of investors out of home ownership which makes more homes available for first home buyers,” she said. “There are two things going on here. There’s a question about supply and there’s a question about the ownership mix, and those two things together will influence whether first home buyers can get into the market.” Wong defends MP travel to Taiwan after China ban By Matthew Knott Foreign Minister Penny Wong has defended politicians travelling to Taiwan after China imposed a year-long travel ban on four New Zealand parliamentarians for visiting the self-governing island. Wong told Senate estimates this morning that “we believe the practice, the long-standing practice of parliamentarians engaging with Taiwan ... is appropriate”. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. Alex Ellinghausen Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials said they did not expect Australian politicians who have travelled to Taiwan to be hit with similar sanctions. Wong said she wanted to consult with her NZ counterpart Winston Peters before commenting further. Inflation pressures caused by Iran war likely to grow, says Treasury boss By Shane Wright Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson has warned inflation pressures caused by the war against Iran are likely to grow in the near term and could extend longer than anticipated. Giving evidence to a parliamentary committee this morning, Wilkinson said the war was the key factor to the economy’s outlook and relief from the recent increase in inflation. Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson. Alex Ellinghausen Overnight, US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz could remain closed until September, prompting concerns about a further spike in oil prices. Wilkinson, who also sits on the interest rate setting committee of the Reserve Bank, said inflation was likely to peak around 5 per cent by the middle of the year before easing through the following 12 months. Meta lashes Labor’s news incentive in fiery blog post By Nick Newling Meta, the parent company of major social media platforms Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, has attacked the government’s pursuit of the News Bargaining Incentive. The incentive, an extension of the former Coalition government’s News Media Bargaining Code, includes a 2.25 per cent charge on the Australian revenue of Meta, Google and TikTok if they refused to strike voluntary deals worth hundreds of millions to pay Australian news companies for article links. Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta, which has once again voiced its opposition to Australia’s News Bargaining Incentive. Bloomberg “Our position is clear: this law is poorly designed, grossly unfair, and will fail to deliver a diverse and sustainable news industry,” Meta wrote, in a blog post first reported by The Australian Financial Review. “Call it what it is: a discriminatory, retroactive tax targeting a handful of foreign companies while competitors offering comparable services face no equivalent obligation.” Asked at the announcement of the incentive about repercussions from the US administration, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “We’re a sovereign nation and my government will make decisions based upon the Australian national interest”.

Source: SMH.com.au

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