Albo in line for a frosty reception – The West Australian

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Since being elected Prime Minister just over 18 months ago, Labor leader Anthony Albanese has tried hard to make a virtue of his visits to WA. Despite WA’s sweltering summers, when he touches down for his first visit in 2024, he should come prepared for a frosty reception. Having had a bitter taste of Labor, WA voters will now be looking for a “please explain” for his broken promises. Above all else, West Australians will want to know why Anthony Albanese and Labor have failed on their pre-election pledge to change Australia “for the better” by delivering cost-of-living relief, cheaper housing and mortgages, and wages growth. Far from making things better, WA families are ending 2023 in more financial pain than a year ago. Since Anthony Albanese made his pledge in Perth in May 2022, interest rates have risen on 12 occasions and are now higher than they have been for more than a decade. For WA families with an average mortgage of $493,000, that means having to find $3434 a month, or $41,208 a year, to meet their mortgage repayments. The monthly challenge of meeting these rising mortgage costs has been made even more difficult because of Labor’s failure to tackle inflation. Just this month the Western Australian Council of Social Service identified the “harsh realities” and “skyrocketing living costs” being experienced by families in its 2023 Cost of Living Report. The report found costs for a single-parent family had increased by $67.20 a week and exceeded basic living costs by just $1.40, making it more difficult for families to save or meet unexpected expenses, such as a car repair or replacing a washing machine or fridge. Two-parent families were now having to find an extra $84.94 a week, and age-pensioner incomes fell short of basic living costs with many experiencing a “substantial decline” in their financial wellbeing. Many WA families say they are now turning to the generosity of local charities for the first time to help make ends meet. Tragically, this cost-of-living stress is forcing some to take drastic steps. Fresh data has revealed shoplifting rates are the highest on record — in WA there were 7733 offences from July to September this year, an increase of 2306, or 42 per cent over the same period last year. Labor has also failed WA first-homebuyers. Data released by CoreLogic show that since January this year the median house price in Perth has surged by 11.1 per cent to $669,609, with further increases of up to 10 per cent predicted in 2024. The combination of rising interest rates and property prices is now putting first-home ownership beyond the reach of many young West Australians. And Labor has no good news for WA renters. Over the 12 months to September, Perth rents increased by almost 20 per cent and are expected to rise further in 2024, according to the Real Estate Institute of WA. For WA’s first-homebuyers and renters, the problem is exacerbated by Labor’s failure to properly plan and model a population policy that will benefit WA at a time when our population is growing faster than anywhere in Australia. And while costs have risen, the outlook for wages is bleak. The Reserve Bank of Australia recently updated estimates for wages growth to reveal that by December 2024, real wages will be 5.4 per cent lower than they were three years ago. Labor’s failure to tackle rising costs, coupled with sluggish wages growth, means Anthony Albanese’s economic leadership has made West Australians poorer. In May 2022, West Australians put their trust in Anthony Albanese’s pledge that life would be better for WA families under Labor. With a Federal election due after August, now is the time for WA voters to ask themselves how long they’ll be willing to pay the price of Labor’s cost-of-living crisis.

Nuclear resistance a COP out – The West Australian

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Every COP begins with a small degree of scepticism. For many critics, COP28 in Dubai was yet another UN talkfest, beginning with worldwide media coverage, conspicuous in its largesse, likely to fizzle out in disagreement and a sense of futility. Adding fuel to the scepticism was the fact that year’s host nation, the United Arab Emirates, a member of OPEC, and one of the world’s biggest petrostates. And this was the 28th COP since its inception in Berlin in 1995, and global emissions have never been higher than they are today. But those who disregarded the Dubai COP risked missing something important – indeed there is good reason to think that the most recent climate talks might yet be the most consequential in the quest for net zero. That’s because, in the words of Coalition energy spokesperson Ted O’Brien, COP28 was quickly becoming known as the “nuclear COP”. For proponents of nuclear, an emissions-free, reliable and cheap source of energy, the re-education of the world on the benefits of this technology has been a long and arduous process. It’s been made ever more difficult by the hysteria and disinformation propagated by organisations such as the Australian Greens. The symbol of the nuclear COP was the signing of an international pledge, which committed to trebling the supply of nuclear energy by 2050. The signatories to the pledge are among Australia’s closest allies, and include the US, the UK, Japan, and France. It should have been fantastic news for Australia. We’re already the world’s third biggest supplier of uranium and, on most estimates, still have more than any other country on earth beneath our feet. We’re a responsible international citizen and believe in reducing our carbon footprint. And while the world, as it stands, is not on track to meet the 1.5C limit established by the Paris Agreement, the international community is beginning to realise that nuclear energy could well be the solution. There are already 440 nuclear reactors across the globe, supplying 10 per cent of the world’s electricity. In 2022, nuclear energy was the biggest source of non-emitting electricity in the OECD. In the UAE, myself and a number of Coalition colleagues were lucky enough to visit the impressive Barakah nuclear power plant. Standing on what was previously a large swath of sand, there are now four nuclear reactors that supply 25 per cent of the country’s electricity. But most importantly, embracing nuclear could provide a path through the increasingly dark and confusing woods that is the Labor Government’s energy policy. Labor has talked a big game on energy, from “Rewiring the Nation”, “Powering the Nation” or, – wait for it – “Driving the Nation”. They’ve also dedicated about $25 billion to these dubious projects in the most recent Budget. The result? Power prices have risen more than 25 per cent in some east coast States in a year, record numbers of West Australians are on hardship plans to pay their energy bills, and frustrated farmers are discovering they don’t want their properties laden with thousands of kilometres of new transmission lines. Just this week, Sydney residents were told to avoid using essential appliances in order to avoid a blackout. All the while, Australia’s dependence on coal and gas, which still provides more than two-thirds of the country’s energy, remains relatively unchanged. Labor’s ideological fixation with wind, solar, and hydro, at the expense of any other technology, is harming Australian households and businesses, for little to no overall environmental benefit. The wider economy is beginning to sit up and take notice of this unsatisfactory state of affairs. Big business, which we discovered this year Labor has a soft spot for when it comes to public relations opportunities, is now beginning to embrace nuclear. This week, 70 of Australia’s most senior chief executives called for less ideology and more pragmatism in Australia’s energy transition. Like Ted O’Brien and the Coalition, they called for all technology options to be on the table, including nuclear. My message to Labor is that there is no shame in changing your position when the facts change. And the facts, overwhelmingly, show that developing countries that are serious about tackling emissions without harming their economy, are running towards nuclear energy.

Why reform would weaken WA – The West Australian

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Every few years in Canberra, the topic of electoral reform arises and momentarily grips the attention of certain parliamentarians and public servants. These reforms can usually be distilled into three categories: amending the legal age to vote, ending compulsory voting, and increasing the size of one or both houses of Parliament. It is the last of these — a proposed, whopping expansion of the House of Representatives — that is currently the talk of the capital. First off, don’t be fooled by the promise of better governance, or indeed better outcomes, courtesy of a bigger Federal Parliament. Among its negative effects, and there are many, is that the planned changes will diminish the strength of WA in the Commonwealth. Late last month, a Labor-dominated committee recommended doubling the Senate representation of the ACT and Northern Territory from two to four. More concerningly, the same report produced by the committee raised the prospect of increasing the number of Lower House seats to as many as 200 — the vast majority of which would be in Sydney, Melbourne and, to a lesser extent, Brisbane. At a time when the Albanese Government’s policies are inflicting significant economic harm on WA, plans to further weaken the voice of Australia’s underappreciated economic powerhouse should be fiercely resisted. The committee wants Parliament to explore the idea of a redesigned Lower House, which would see NSW and Victoria gain an extra 28 seats, and Queensland an extra 10. WA would acquire just five extra seats, and be left with a total of 20, compared to a possible 63 for NSW. Regional voices would also be muzzled by the committee’s designs. To reduce what is known as malapportionment, or the uneven number of voters across electorates, seats would be demarcated using arithmetic, rather than the Australian Electoral Commission’s “harmonic” method. This would invariably lead to more seats in dense capital cities and fewer in country Australia. It would mean a Federal Parliament more heavily laden with consultants, lawyers and public relations experts than farmers, small business owners and people on the land. Canberra would become even more insular, a place where the focus of Government is fixed unbendingly on the interests and views of East Coast capital cities. It won’t end well — especially for WA. Indeed, after 18 months of an under-delivering, image over substance Albanese Government, we can already see the consequences of a one-eyed Prime Minister with no interest in backing our State. Record, unmodeled immigration, one of the driving forces of high inflation, has made it all but impossible to rent a home, or indeed build one, in WA. The average rent for a Perth house hit a record $600 a week in November. Labor’s recent $300 million infrastructure cuts on major WA roads will undoubtedly hurt regional communities, as well as risk lives. This slashed infrastructure spend is also a GST cut by stealth — Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers’ way of making us pay for the fairer GST deal the Coalition secured for our State in 2017. Bad Labor policy and increased Labor funding to professional litigators like the Environmental Protection Agency is making life increasingly difficult for the State’s critically important resources sector — royalties from which pay for roads, schools, hospitals, and social securities like the NDIS. And it’s about to get even harder for this sector, with the Albanese Government’s recent industrial relations laws placing unsustainable demands on mining companies regarding labour hire. Investors are already beginning to look elsewhere. This is an unacceptable position, but the reality of life under Labor and its misguided priorities. The takeaway from all this is hard to ignore. Labor’s proposed electoral reforms are the latest in a long line of betrayals of WA. Rather than stand up and be accountable to voters in the West, whose circumstances he is rapidly making worse, Anthony Albanese would rather drown our voices out in Parliament. Then there are the economics of such a plan. Labor has increased the size of Canberra’s public service by 10 per cent since coming to power last year, adding more than $1 billion to the annual public sector wage bill. Economists are already saying this has had an impact on domestic inflation. The financial consequences of adding as many as 50 extra parliamentarians, and the staffing allocation that goes along with it, would be comparable. I’m fortunate to travel around the country frequently because of my work, with much of that travel in regional WA. Constituents, as you would expect, are never shy of sharing whatever criticisms they might have of the politics of the day and I have received many pieces of advice. But making Parliament bigger has never been one of them. Certainly not at the expense of WA’s representation in Canberra. And, if Anthony Albanese visited the Wheatbelt or East Kimberley — or even Perth’s northern suburbs — he’d know it.

Transcript – Interview with Gary Adshead, 6PR Perth

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Topics: Perth Mint Senate Inquiry E&OE Gary Adshead Dean Smith, Liberal Senator for WA, joins me on the line. G’day, Dean. Dean Smith Good morning to you, Gary. Gary Adshead Well, I’ll tell you what, first off, let’s just go back to what AUSTRAC have decided, this enforceable undertaking that Perth Mint have agreed, and Goldcorp have agreed, to go into. Is that a good outcome for the Mint? Dean Smith When the WA Government and Bill Johnson tries to suggest this is a win for West Australians, that is totally delusional, and I think a very powerful example of their attempt to gaslight West Australians. What the AUSTRAC decision says is quite alarming, and it’s there for people to see on the AUSTRAC website. It talks about a variety of issues where Gold Corporation has failed to meet a compliance requirement. Let me just read a quick quote for you, Gary, and for your listeners. From page two of the documents. It says that the AUSTRAC CEO is concerned that the Gold Corporation needs to take specific actions. Page three of the same document talks about the fact that Gold Corporation lists from point 8 through to point 12, a whole variety of compliance issues that it fears have not been met. And then at page four of that same document, and I’m quoting now, it says that Gold Corporation has failed to comply and may remain non-compliant with provisions of the anti-money laundering laws in our country. And let me just make one point – it’s not yet true that AUSTRAC will not fine Gold Corp and by extension West Australian taxpayers. That document says this enforceable undertaking does not affect AUSTRAC’s right to take any action, so future action in relation to any contraventions of the anti-money laundering laws, or the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act. This is gaslighting at its extreme by Bill Johnson and the WA Government. Gary Adshead Okay. Now, one of the other things that the Minister said was that, you know, when they came to government in 2017, they started to identify the fact that there were not the sort of processes and rigid processes that need to be in place in order to prevent money laundering, et cetera, through Perth Mint, given that they deal in gold bullion. He went on to say that they were starting to work on that. And then along came COVID. And, I think, to quote him, he said that the West Australian Premier at the time, Mark McGowan, was too busy saving lives, to take up what was required in relation to fixing the Perth Mint. And that’s why the job was handed to Bill Johnston. What do you make of that? Dean Smith That’s Bill Johnson’s account of things. And I’ve got a slightly different interpretation. I suspect that people in the WA Government started to appreciate just how serious some of these, non-compliance or failure to comply issues were with the anti-money laundering laws. And the then Premier Mark McGowan decides to offload it to Bill Johnson. That’s not an excuse. And that was on the public record when we had our inquiry in Perth on the 3rd of November. That is what Bill Johnson said to the Senate inquiry. That’s not an explanation that I’m prepared to accept, but we’ll have an opportunity to explore these matters again, because the Senate only in the last two weeks agreed to extend the Senate inquiry reporting date until the 30th of March. And that’s why I think AUSTRAC’s enforceable undertaking that was released early this week has come at the perfect time for the Senate inquiry, because I think it leaves many questions still unanswered. What Bill Johnson is attempting to do here, I’m hoping that West Australians will see through it, is create his own narrative. A narrative that’s in contrast to what has been brought forward as evidence in the Senate inquiry thus far. Gary Adshead But he’s right when he says there’s no actual evidence of money laundering taking place. Dean Smith This is an example of Bill creating his own narrative. What we are examining here is the failure of the Gold Corporation to meet its’s very clear legislative requirements in regard to anti-money laundering laws. And if they haven’t been doing that, then it does open the door for clients to act criminally. So, what Bill is trying to say is actually not what we’re talking about here. What we are talking about here is that the Gold Corporation has not been compliant with its very clearly stated obligations under Federal law to ensure that it doesn’t leave itself and its client’s open to any anti-money laundering. This enforceable undertaking is there for people to see, eight pages of it. I think it is damning and the decision of AUSTRAC to require an independent auditor to oversee Gold Corp’s implementation of the remediation program that it has in place, I think speaks volumes. It suggests that AUSTRAC isn’t completely comfortable with the work that the Gold Corp is doing now. That is my opinion at the moment, but I can test that opinion when AUSTRAC comes before the inquiry in the next few weeks. Gary Adshead Can I just ask you that specific claim that Bill Johnson made about you where he says that you’re touting sort of allegations around two banks that just don’t stack up? What do you say? Dean Smith Bill is absolutely wrong. There were numerous media articles in 2020 that identified HSBC and JP Morgan as having ceased purchasing gold from the Perth Mint. These were articles written by very reputable journalists, including a Walkley Award winner. Nonetheless, it was a matter I put directly to Mr Walsh. When he was at the Senate inquiry on the 3rd of November, I said to the Chairman, in 2020 the Australian Financial Report Financial Review reported that HSBC and JP Morgan stopped buying gold from the Perth Mint. Has the…

Don’t fall for Mint gaslighting – The West Australian

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Whenever a history of Western Australia is written, you can be certain one word will loom heavy among the pages. That word is gold. Before the discovery of this precious metal in the 1890s, WA was a struggling outpost. The State’s sparse European population, for the most part, toiled thanklessly on the ancient lands they were ill-equipped to live and work on. Inspired by rumours of vast fortunes, more than 100,000 people migrated to the State in a decade at the end of the 19th century, iconic country towns like Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie exploded into life and the population of Perth tripled. Gold put WA on the prosperous trajectory it has enjoyed, apart from inevitable fluctuations, ever since. It’s no surprise the Perth Mint quickly grew in stature and significance to become an icon. Not only is it a beautiful and distinctively West Australian building that has been in the heart of the city for 120 years, it’s Australia’s official bullion mint and trades with central banks, sovereign wealth funds and private investors globally. It turns over more than $20 billion annually and employs more than 700 locals. One other thing. As the world’s only government-owned precious metals producer, it’s underwritten by you and I – the WA taxpayer. Given this unique arrangement, anything that affects the Mint affects us too, leaving us in a potentially vulnerable situation. That is why we should be deeply disturbed that the Mint could be facing fines totalling hundreds of millions, even a billion dollars from AUSTRAC for its failure to comply with anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws. As has been widely reported, the Mint has also been beset by gold doping issues, which, despite what the chair of the board said last week, has damaged its reputation. So much so, in fact, that international banks HSBC and JPMorgan stopped buying its gold. It was obvious that matters at the Mint, especially those concerning regulatory compliance with Commonwealth legislation, required investigation. That’s why a bipartisan group of colleagues and I established a Senate inquiry into compliance matters at the Mint – made all the more necessary after the minister responsible for the Mint, Bill Johnston, former premier Mark McGowan, and WA Labor used their parliamentary majority to stifle any investigation at State level. The Senate inquiry held its third public hearing last Friday. It was the first in Perth, and what we heard should be of concern to all West Australians. We were told that, despite holding multiple internal audits between 2018 and 2020, the Mint failed to detect the Euro Pacific Bank as a major client. Multiple media reports have established that this bank was under investigation in five different jurisdictions, including Australia, for its ties to money laundering. But it was allowed to hold more than $100 million in gold at the Mint. The head of the Mint’s audit and risk committee insisted he had no regrets over how internal audits had been conducted – despite admitting there were “inconsistencies” in their customer identification requirements – and the fact they failed to identify Euro Pacific Bank as a customer. Equally troubling was the seeming lack of due diligence shown by the chair of the board, Sam Walsh, who was appointed at the beginning of 2019 by Mark McGowan specifically to improve governance and compliance standards. It was surprising that, in light of this directive, Mr Walsh failed to familiarise himself with any of the Mint’s biggest international clients. Here it is worth noting that, according to AUSTRAC’s evidence on Friday, know-your-customer requirements are the “cornerstone” of Australia’s anti-money laundering laws. AUSTRAC also told the inquiry it was “incredibly important that any reporting entity knows and understands the customer” and has “ongoing due diligence” of their customers. Mr Johnston also appeared before the inquiry. He insisted we had accused the Mint of money laundering “without a shred of evidence”. To be very clear, the inquiry’s focus is on the Mint’s compliance with Commonwealth legislation – with no suggestion at any point the Mint had engaged in this activity. The reality is that suits Mr Johnson to focus on money laundering as a distraction from the genuine concern, which is that, for a time, the Mint was not in regulatory compliance. Whenever the State Opposition tried to get a parliamentary inquiry up into the Mint, Mark McGowan and Bill Johnston have dismissed their concerns as irrelevant and baseless. Mr Johnston said so again last Friday. But we know from their own actions, in Mark McGowan’s case as far back as 2019, that they held grave concerns over the conduct of the Mint. Why else did the former premier appoint Mr Walsh to clean up the Mint’s act in the first place? There’s a word for this kind of behaviour, assuring WA it’s business as usual, and it’s called gaslighting. That includes shrugging off any shortcomings – past or present. WA Labor could, and should, hold a parliamentary inquiry into this immediately, as the State Opposition has been calling for. We owe it to our history, our modern-day gold producers, our international reputation and the hundreds of West Australians it employs, to make sure the Mint is the very best it can be. Until it does, the Senate inquiry will continue to do its work and ask the questions the Cook Government won’t.

FINALLY ACTION ON AVIATION COMPETITION, NOW LET THE ACCC DO ITS JOB

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SENATOR THE HON BRIDGET MCKENZIE SHADOW MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEADER OF THE NATIONALS IN THE SENATE SENATOR FOR VICTORIA SENATOR DEAN SMITH SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA 8 November 2023 Media Release FINALLY ACTION ON AVIATION COMPETITION, NOW LET THE ACCC DO ITS JOB The Albanese Government has been dragged kicking and screaming to reinstall ACCC monitoring of the aviation sector. In response to a Private Senators Bill tabled by Coalition Senators Bridget McKenzie and Dean Smith, the Senate has been informed the Government will today, finally, send a letter of direction to the ACCC to reinstate the monitoring, 23 days after it was announced it would. Since the Albanese Government backflipped on its decision to scrap the ACCC monitoring 3 weeks ago there has been crickets with no direction given by the Treasurer to the ACCC to hit go on the monitoring despite the ACCC Chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, telling a recent Senate committee it’s ready and waiting. Senator McKenzie said the Albanese Government chose to forgo competition monitoring into what is one of the most consolidated industries in Australia, which was admitted to in the Government’s Green Paper. “Only after the aviation Senate inquiry made the recommendation to reinstate the monitoring did the Government decide to backflip on its decision,” Senator McKenzie said. “But making an announcement is one thing and taking action is another and this is where the Government continues to fail. “The ACCC is on record that it is ready to re-establish the monitoring so there is no excuse for the Albanese Government to continue dragging their feet on the matter.” Senator Smith said Labor’s delay on restoring ACCC monitoring, at a time when Australians are struggling with a dramatic rise in the cost of living, has been unconscionable. “Air travel in Australia isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. There can be no justification stifling oversight in an industry which is uniquely central to economic and social life in Australia,” Senator Smith said. “While it’s clear that the Albanese Government prefers symbolism over substance, the Coalition had at least hoped that sending a small note to the ACCC was within the competence of Jim Chalmers. “Like the Year 12’s studying for their exams across Australia, my advice is for the Treasurer to put his phone on silent, focus on the task at hand, and ignore the calls and texts from friends – in his case, the government relations team at Qantas, whose messages Labor has found so impossible to ignore in the past.” Senator McKenzie said the ACCC monitoring needs to recommence immediately, especially given the Qantas group, including Jetstar, cancelled over 1,000 flights in September and a further 7,084 flights were delayed by more than 15 minutes, inconveniencing tens of thousands of Australians. “The fact flight cancellations and delays remain at excessive levels show the Albanese Government is not willing to tackle Qantas to fix the problems in the aviation sector. “The Government is more interested in blocking a Senate inquiry from asking questions to former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce than it is in keeping airfares down for Australian families and business,” Senator McKenzie said. “Given Qantas’ appalling Annual General Meeting last week there’s much more work to do on the behalf of Australian travellers. “If the Minister continues to delay implanting recommendations from the aviation select inquiry the coalition will continue to do the work for her so Australians can have a more competitive, reliable, and safe aviation industry. “The Albanese Government needs to stop running a protection racket for one airline and start listening to the needs of the travelling public,” Senator McKenzie said.

Transcript – Doorstop Interview with Senator the Honourable Bridget McKenzie, Canberra

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TOPICS: ACCC AVIATION MONITORING/AGRICULTURE CHINA TRADE/SENATE IR BILLS/OPTUS OUTAGE 8 NOVEMBER 2023 E&OE… BRIDGET MCKENZIE We’re able to confirm that the Treasurer of Australia has finally signed a directive to the ACCC to actually reinstate the monitoring of the aviation industry. Remembering this was recommendation four out of the Senate inquiry that actually sought to reinstate the cancellation and delays monitoring. The only stakeholder who gave evidence that they didn’t want it reinstated was the Qantas group. The only body that lobbied the Albanese Labor Government to not reinstate the ACCC monitoring was the Qantas group. But it has been pressure from the Senate, from the Opposition, that has actually seen, finally, not just the press release that arrived 23 days ago, but the Treasurer be pressured into today signing off on this particular directive. We know that we’ve got one of the most consolidated aviation industries in the world. 95.1% held by two groups, and this Government continues to run a protection racket for the Qantas group, whose appalling behavior was exposed again in its AGM last week. For its staff, for its loyal customers, and its shareholders, have borne the brunt of the reputational damage. And yet you do not find a change in behavior from this Government in seeking to protect this corporate. The ACCC holds a very critical role in our economy, the friend of the Australian consumer and the enemy of big corporates. We know that the ACCC has got a lot of work to do in addressing anti-competitive behavior. And this is the first step. If Catherine King won’t do her job as Transport Minister, we’ll do it for her. This won’t be the first Private Senators Bill to make this Government take action. Whether it be consumer protections, whether it be divestiture powers, whether it be a whole another raft of competition laws that need to be actioned so that Australian travellers have access to an affordable aviation sector that is also reliable. It’ll be the Liberal and the National Party who seek to get the job done. Senator Smith. DEAN SMITH Better late than never is how the Coalition would describe today’s decision to finally put pen to paper. The ACCC direction has been given by Dr Chalmers, but remember it is the 8th of November. The media statement that the Government launched when it said it would recommit to the ACCC monitoring regime was dated the 18th of October. There’s a very legitimate question here. Why did it have to take this long? Secondly, the devil is always in the detail. Dr Chalmers and Dr Leigh, as the Treasurer and the Competition Minister, need to explain why is the first monitoring report to be issued in March 2024? What is the reason? What is the excuse for a 12 month aviation monitoring black hole? I can’t explain it. And indeed the ACCC won’t be able to explain it. At Senate Estimates just recently the ACCC Chair answered, in response to questions from me, that the ACCC was ready to go, the people were in place and there would be no need for any gap in the reporting. So, Dr Chalmers, Dr Leigh, we welcome finally the decision to direct the ACCC. The cop is back on the beat. But why is there a 12 month aviation reporting black hole? Because the ACCC said there did not need to be any gap in the monitoring regime. This is an important step in restoring consumer confidence in Australia’s aviation industry. It’s been a powerful demonstration. How the Senate inquiry into the Qatar and Qantas matters, how a Private Senators Bill brought to the Australian Senate by Senator McKenzie and myself, can force the Government to do what they don’t want to do. So as Senator McKenzie and I said in the Senate chamber today, if it takes Private Senators Bills, if it takes Senate inquiries to get the Government to do what it should be doing in the interests of Australian aviation consumers, then we will bring forward other Private Senators Bills. And the next on the list will be competition law reforms that protect consumers. That give consumers a better say over flight cancellations, flight delays and poor service. BRIDGET MCKENZIE Any questions? JOURNALIST One on ag. BRIDGET MCKENZIE Why not what? JOURNALIST One on ag. So, we’ve just had the Prime Minister return from his trip to China and we’re expecting movement on wine and some other products. Why should Australian businesses go back to China if they could face punitive tariffs? BRIDGET MCKENZIE I think we’ve seen from China changing their behavior, which is a good thing. Let’s not forget who slapped those prohibitive trade restrictions on Australian agriculture in response to legitimate concerns raised by Australia, post COVID. That was the Chinese Government. Returning to normal shouldn’t be cause for celebration. I mean, this is actually what should be happening. Australian producers have found, and sought, and are currently delivering to a diversity of markets now as a result of those trade sanctions by China. And I’m sure that they will continue to do so. I think the issue has highlighted the importance of having a diversity of markets and, as when we were in Government, we sought to assist industry to do that. And that’s actually the right economic strategy for primary producers to be seeking. Can I just, I just wanted to touch on the ACCC. The length that this Government has gone to to restrict competition in aviation. They ruled aviation out of their competition review. They halted the cancellation and delay reporting. They also refused to approve and subsequently review the Qatar Airways decision, that would have allowed for more competition in our aviation sector. Why is this Government continuing to protect the Qantas group from greater competition? If we’ve ever needed the ACCC to be the strong, independent and free body that it is, it is now. The ACCC needs to be protected from political sabotage.…

Transcript – Interview with Jo Trilling, ABC Perth Drive

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Topics: Perth Mint Senate Inquiry E&OE JO TRILLING Now, Good afternoon, Senator. DEAN SMITH Good afternoon, Jo. Not quite sure what happened there, but I’m here. JO TRILLING Got you in the end, that is all that matters. Let’s start with those at the top of Perth Mint. You questioned current chair Sam Walsh and CEO Jason Waters about those other investigations. Are you satisfied by their compliance? DEAN SMITH What was important about today was that even though it was the third public hearing of the Inquiry, it was the first hearing here in Western Australia. And it was the first opportunity that anybody had to hear directly from Sam Walsh and Jason Waters, Minister Bill Johnson and the WA Auditor General. I think there was broad agreement that things could have been done better. No question about that. Sam Walsh made a comment to that effect. I think Minister Johnson also, you know, reflected on that. For me, I think there are some still some important issues that remain unanswered. And there was particular evidence that we received from the Perth Mint, from the chair of their Audit and Risk Committee, and I wasn’t satisfied with the answers I was provided in regards to why, between 2018 and 2020, those internal audit processes didn’t pick up something as significant as the Euro Pacific Bank matter. And, your listeners might recall, this is the situation with a dodgy, phoenix bank, situated in a tax haven, under investigation in five different countries. It was only when that matter was revealed in the Australian Financial Review on the 18th of October in 2020 did the Perth Mint take some action. So still some important questions to be answered. But I would say this, Jo. This Inquiry is happening here in Perth because the State Labor Government denied an opportunity for the WA Parliament to do its own inquiry. JO TRILLING Do you think you’ll get those answers, Senator? DEAN SMITH Yes. To be fair, Jo, what was productive about today is the Perth Mint made themselves available. And the reason that we landed on this day for the hearing here in Perth is because we were negotiating behind the scenes to find a date when the Perth Mint could appear in person. When Jason Waters, Mr Walsh, and John O’Connor, the chair of their Risk and Audit Committee could appear in front of Senators like myself and Senators Reynolds and Brockman and others. The Perth Mint have been very obliging in responding to questions that we put on notice to them. So, a constructive first step. JO TRILLING At one point, Mr Walsh said he did not familiarise himself with major clients at the time. Just how concerning is this admission? DEAN SMITH That was an admission Mr Walsh made in response to a question from me, and I was surprised about that because he had been brought on as the chair of the board at the request of the former Premier Mark McGowan specifically to improve governance arrangements. And, by his own admission, he said he would go through or did go through a due diligence process. But when I specifically asked him about what effort he went to to acquaint himself with issues around banks, and particularly foreign banks, that’s when he made that admission. JO TRILLING Yeah. Well, surely that is his role as chair to be over those details. DEAN SMITH It’s the role of any chair, and particularly when the former Premier had asked Mr Walsh to come onto the board for that specific reason. I think that gave us a glimpse, an important and credible glimpse, into why there’s still an opportunity for further questions to be asked. But, like I said, my surprise was in regards to questions I asked the Audit and Risk chair, Mr O’Connor, who had been on the board since 2016, prior to Mr Walsh’s appointment in 2019. We’ve still got some way to go on this and I’ll, when we go back to Canberra next week, be asking my Senate colleagues to agree a schedule that I have. I would like the Perth Mint to come back. I’ve got some questions for the Audit Committee. And I think there’s a case for Richard Hayes, the former CEO, to come before the Committee and explain himself. JO TRILLING You also questioned Bill Johnson, whose portfolio oversees the Mint. He argued that much of what has been reported by the media doesn’t actually relate to Perth Mint’s compliance with Commonwealth legislation. The goal of this Inquiry, are you sure this was the best use of Federal resources? DEAN SMITH Absolutely. What Minister Bill Johnson was doing was drawing a distinction between allegations that some people had been making around money laundering and the regulatory compliance, or the Mint’s compliance with Commonwealth anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. The terms of reference are very, very specific. What this Committee Inquiry is looking at is compliance with those AML and CTF obligations. And that’s why AUSTRAC was required to appoint the independent auditor. That’s why that independent auditor has provided a report back to AUSTRAC, and AUSTRAC is now examining that. So I didn’t take that as a criticism of the work of the Committee, not at all. In fact, I think the evidence today, but also the evidence that we’ve been able to glean over three hearings, means this has been a necessary piece of work. Remembering, Jo, that the former Premier Mr McGowan, the current Premier Mr Cook, Mr Johnson, could have allowed the Parliament to initiate this Inquiry themselves and to keep it wholly within the remit of the WA Parliament. I’m grateful that West Australian Senators got together and said, if the WA Parliament’s not going to step up to its responsibilities, then we will set up a Senate Inquiry into the matter. JO TRILLING Thanks for your time, Senator. DEAN SMITH Always a pleasure. ENDS

LABOR’S HAND FORCED ON COMPETITION TASKFORCE

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SENATOR DEAN SMITH SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA 30 October 2023 Media Release LABOR’S HAND FORCED ON COMPETITION TASKFORCE Coalition pressure has once again left the Albanese Government with no alternative but to finally move on its Competition Taskforce. The Taskforce met for the first time today, two months after it was announced by Labor, with five new appointments to its advisory panel also released. It follows scrutiny by Coalition Senators in last week’s Budget Estimates hearings regarding the lack of meaningful progress since the 23 August announcement. Among them was Coalition competition spokesman Senator Dean Smith, who said this is the latest example of Labor dragging its heels on reform until its slow performance is called out. “This is the ACCC airline monitoring 2.0, where the Private Senators Bill introduced by Senator McKenzie and I forced Labor’s hand on re-instating this important competition initiative,” Senator Smith said. “Jim Chalmers and Andrew Leigh only act when they’re left with no choice – the way they’ve approached the Competition Taskforce is straight out of the Labor playbook.” Senator Smith also noted that, while the Coalition would always support meaningful competition reform, key details of the Competition Taskforce remain unknown. “The Albanese Government has refused to provide timeframes or a work plan explaining how the Taskforce will go about the demanding job ahead of it,” Senator Smith said. “We also have no idea how the Taskforce will prioritise the sectors of the economy it’s expected to focus on.” “Most significantly, there’s no indication when any of competition reforms identified by the Taskforce will be legislated and start providing a benefit to the Australian people.” “To ensure taxpayers are getting efficiency and value for money when it comes to this Taskforce, Labor should map out detailed priorities and deadlines, and make them public immediately.”

AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLERS LEFT EXPOSED AS LABOR STALLS ON AIRLINE MONITORING PROMISE

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SENATOR THE HON BRIDGET MCKENZIE SHADOW MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEADER OF THE NATIONALS IN THE SENATE SENATOR FOR VICTORIA SENATOR DEAN SMITH SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA 27 October 2023 MEDIA RELEASE AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLERS LEFT EXPOSED AS LABOR STALLS ON AIRLINE MONITORING PROMISE So far, the only completed stage of the Albanese Government’s commitment to re-instate ACCC airline monitoring is its media release. During Budget Estimates on Wednesday night, Treasury officials and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher revealed the Treasurer is yet to direct the ACCC to begin the monitoring, advising the direction is “still being worked up”. In contrast, ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb told the same hearing that the ACCC had maintained capacity to run the monitoring and could “pick up where we left off right away.” The Albanese Labor Government backflipped on its refusal to re-commence the monitoring last week under pressure from the Coalition, including a Private Senators Bill introduced by Senators Bridget McKenzie and Dean Smith. Senator Smith said Labor’s slow performance, failure to provide answers on how the new monitoring would be funded, or if it would be backdated to 30 June – when the previous ACCC monitoring regime, introduced under the Coalition in 2020, ended – is unacceptable. “This monitoring is essential to delivering greater competition and transparency, and Labor’s delays leave air travellers exposed as the busy Christmas period approaches,” Senator Smith said. Senator McKenzie said the evidence provided by Treasury officials shows the Government is more interested in blocking a Senate inquiry from asking questions to former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce than it is in keeping airfares down for Australian families and business. “Treasurer Jim Chalmers first asked Treasury to consider reinstating ACCC monitoring on 7 September when Labor were hoping to scuttle the Senate inquiry into Minister King’s protection of Qantas from competition, and again on 12 October in advance of a Senate vote on extending the Senate inquiry to hear from Alan Joyce on his return to Australia,” Senator McKenzie said. Ms Cass-Gottlieb also confirmed the ACCC was able to monitor the sector from 30 June, with no need for any gap. “It’s bad enough that Labor allowed this monitoring to lapse in the first place, but now it must make good on its error and issue the direction immediately – and ensure the monitoring covers the last four months,” Senator Smith said. “The ACCC is on record that it can proceed today and there is no excuse why the Albanese Government should not do the same. “The ACCC monitoring needs to recommence immediately, with the Qantas group, including Jetstar, inconveniencing tens of thousands of Australians in September by cancelling more than 1,000 flights and a further 7,084 flights delayed by more than 15 minutes, Senator McKenzie said. “The fact flight cancellations and delays remain at excessive levels show the Albanese Government is not willing to tackle Qantas to fix the problems in the aviation sector.” “Until the Government issues a direction to the ACCC to reinstate airline monitoring, the Coalition will continue to push for its Private Senators’ Bill to be voted on by the Senate,” END. ACCC Airline Monitoring Timeline 5 June 2023 ACCC delivers final airline competition monitoring report. 5 September 2023 Senate votes to establish Senate Select Committee aviation inquiry. 6 September 2023 Labor tabled motion to hobble Senate aviation inquiry. 12 September 2023 Senators McKenzie and Smith introduce Bill in Senate to re-establish ACCC airline monitoring powers. 7 September 2023 Treasurer Chalmers asks The Treasury to consider re-establishing ACCC monitoring of airlines. 7 September 2023 Labor offer Senator Pocock a ‘deal’ to restore ACCC monitoring of airlines for his vote to hobble Senate aviation inquiry. 7 September 2023 Senate defeats Labor attempt to hobble aviation inquiry. Labor take no action on restoring ACCC airline monitoring power. 9 October 2023 Senate aviation inquiry report tabled. Recommends re-establishing inquiry to compel Mr Alan Joyce and Qantas employees to appear and give evidence. 12 October 2023 Treasurer Jim Chalmers asks The Treasury for draft letter to Prime Minister and media release on re-establishing ACCC airline monitoring power. 14 October 2023 Voice Referendum. 18 October 2023 Labor offer Senator Pocock a ‘deal’ to restore ACCC airline monitoring for his vote to prevent re-establishment of Senate inquiry that would call Mr Alan Joyce and Qantas employees. 18 October 2023 Senate rejects motion to re-establish Senate aviation inquiry, meaning Alan Joyce will not have to give evidence to Senate Committee. 18 October 2023 Labor announce the re-establishment of ACCC airline monitoring powers. 25 October 2023 Treasury officials disclose no direction has been issued to the ACCC to restore airline monitoring powers.