In news just in, online gambling companies are bad…at paying tax.

We’re still sifting through last week’s ATO corporate tax transparency data, and here’s what we just found for the couple of online gambling companies listed.

Looks like Aussies have lost about $4.5 billion with these two charmers over the last two years and they’ve managed to pay not a cent of company tax.

Could it be time to do something about online gambling in Australia?

BlueScope managing director and CEO Mark Vassella has addressed the national press club on how gas prices are choking Australia’s manufacturing sector (no lies there).

Here is a bit of the Q and A:

Q: I will begin with two words you are probably sick of hearing when it comes to gas prices – bear me – sovereign risk.

The way that you outline it there, to simplify it – is it that when we might be dealing with these companies and countries the message would be, going from getting the deal of a lifetime to still a very good deal. And that’s what should be manageable about sovereign risk? Is that a simplified version of why you think this would be something that we could pull off as a country?

Vassella:

Yeah, I think that we need to be really careful with the term “sovereign risk” or those two words, and I think that it gets used for reasons to justify an argument, of course. But the first thing that I would say is – many LNG producers operate in countries that just naturally have a much greater sovereign risk than Australia does. We have a fabulous economy, law, principles, values, so we’re naturally lower sovereign risk right from the get go.

What also concerns us is – people talk about redirecting supply and the damage that would do to our trading partner, and as I said, that is not from our perspective, something that we think is appropriate.

But there’s enough uncontracted gas to be redirected that we think could occur, make a change for the Australian economy and not create any sovereign risk. The other point I’d make is that right now, we’re facing into a serious sovereign risk when it comes to our manufacturing capacity. We are potentially going to lose that and de-industrialise, and there’s a serious sovereign risk that comes with that.

Bob Katter, the independent MP for Kennedy, which takes in Mt Isa, has welcomed the taxpayer funded bail out of the Glencore smelter. He’s singled out the minister for industry, Tim Ayres for a special thank you, but he also wants more than $600m.

We must put on record our appreciation of the involvement by the Minister. [Queensland KAP leader] Robbie Katter said the [Queensland] Premier too has been helpful, but this game is not over. It is just starting. This proposal is a Band-Aid on a compound fracture. It might staunch the bleeding but it ain’t going to fix your leg.

We must thank all the people who came to our meetings and put shoulder to the wheel here. Thank you to all fighters for their role in achieving this stay of execution, particularly the Mayor of Mount Isa, Peta McRae, Townsville Enterprise Limited, CEO, Claudia Brunne Smith, Paul Farrow from the AWU, Maria James, CEO of MITEZ and all those other fighters who have not slept a wink over the past few months in their effort to save our town and Townsville’s industrial base.

To Glencore I say congratulations for out-negotiating not one government, but two. I take my hat off to them, these two governments have made a $600m bet that Queensland’s minerals economy is going to be much stronger by the time the next election comes around. How convenient.

Another phrase comes to mind. Danegeld. For those that aren’t familiar with this, it was a tax levied by the Anglo-Saxons to pay off Viking invaders of England.

We will eager learn more about this ‘transition authority’ they have proposed.

We are pleased to be fighting another day but are fired up by this decision and it has made us more aggressively and relentless on pursuing a reserve resource policy for gas.

A $600 million Band-Aid is helpful, but we need an outcome that solves the source of the problem.”

Here is a bit of how Mike Bowers has seen the day

Thanks to our friends at AAP we have an update from Agriculture estimates:

The former head of Australia’s agriculture department was paid out nearly $900,000 upon his sudden departure, as the government insists he left on amicable terms.

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins announced department secretary Adam Fennessy would leave his role in September, two years into a five-year term.

“I wish Mr Fennessy all the best with his future endeavours,” Ms Collins said on September 4, crediting him for stabilising the department during a transitional period.

During a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Wednesday, acting secretary Justine Saunders said Mr Fennessy was paid out $899,620, or one year’s salary minus superannuation.

Changes in executive roles across government departments were not unusual, Ms Saunders insisted.

“Both the minister and Mr Adam Fennessy, on his departure, made very clear that Mr Fennessy left under amicable circumstances,” she said.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan asked whether Mr Fennessy was fired, given that he was compensated under a particular clause in the Public Service Act that deals with the termination of department heads.

It was the department of prime minister and cabinet that oversaw the end of Mr Fennessy’s role, not the agriculture department, assistant minister Anthony Chisholm said.

“They’re not issues that we were directly involved with,” Senator Chisholm told the hearing.

“I don’t think it’s helpful to speculate, particularly when we are talking about an individual that has been impacted by this.”

Mr Fennessy, who previously led primary industries, environment, water and planning departments for the Victorian government, said he was proud of his work to shake-up the federal portfolio during a Senate hearing in 2024.

“My focus … continues to be leading an efficient and focused department that delivers on Australian government priorities and, importantly, the needs of the Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors,” he said in November.

“Our significant departmental transformation program is continuing. We have engaged staff internally to lift our capabilities across a range of areas, and the department is on a sustainable financial footing.”

Ms Saunders would act in the role for three months, while recruitment for Mr Fennessy’s permanent replacement continued.

The Tasmanian Greens are NOT happy with the Tasmanian government’s response to the stadium review:

Vica Bayley MP, Greens Acting Leader said:

The Liberal Government are utterly delusional in their response to the Tasmanian Planning Commission’s unequivocal recommendation that the stadium should not be built. There is nothing in this response that offers any credible answer to the multiple, profound negative findings of the expert panel that the Premier himself established.

The Liberals’ response, designed to replace the facts with spin, is convincing no one. Their so-called positive impacts were already put to the Planning Commission and have been roundly rejected in their cost-benefit conclusion.

The Planning Commission were clear – the stadium should not proceed. It will be a budget black hole, accumulating $2 billion of debt within the decade.

The Commission found that Tasmanians will be worse off as the government is forced to up taxes or cut services to pay for the stadium.

This Government response does nothing to clarify exactly how Premier Rockliff will pay for this.

With health and housing services already underfunded, Tasmanians simply can’t afford a stadium. The Premier needs to remind himself who he’s working for. Are Labor really going to keep letting the Premier get away with this?

The Australia-Singapore annual leaders’ meeting has resulted in a VERY long agreement which you can find below (if you like scrolling, you’ll enjoy this)

JOINT DECLARATION BY THE PRIME MINISTERS OF AUSTRALIA AND SINGAPORE ON THE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP 2.0

1. On the occasion of the 10^th anniversary of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and the 60^th anniversary of diplomatic relations, we the Prime Ministers of Australia and Singapore announce today the launch of our enhanced bilateral CSP 2.0. This CSP 2.0 will better prepare our economies and societies for challenges and opportunities now and in the future, and extends our cooperation further to engage effectively with our regional partners. It includes strengthened and new initiatives to be implemented over the next ten years under five common objectives.
    
2. Since the launch of the CSP in 2015, we have deepened economic engagement and cooperation and forged new pathways in frontier areas such as the digital and green economies. Our longstanding defence and security cooperation contributes to a stable and peaceful region. The strong ties between our peoples underpin the bilateral relationship and have continued to strengthen through education, research, science, culture and the arts and business ties.
    
3. Australia and Singapore celebrate our longstanding friendship based on deep strategic trust, respect and shared global outlooks. We recognise our common history and future focus as Indo-Pacific nations.

Contributing to Peace and Stability, At Home and In Our Region

1. Australia and Singapore share a vital interest in the peace, stability, economic growth and development of the nations of Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific region. Both our countries recognise and support the central role of ASEAN and the ASEAN-led regional architecture. We underscore the importance of an open, inclusive, resilient and rules-based region, which promotes free trade and open markets, and where differences are resolved peacefully in accordance with international law.
    
2. We value our enduring defence and security partnership which has been strengthened with the 2020 Treaty on Military Training and Training Area Development. Building on the successful joint development of the expanded Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA), we will enhance our respective militaries’ reciprocal access to defence facilities in Australia and Singapore. This will include expanded access for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in Singapore in support of its regional presence and increased access for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to training areas in Australia, including SWBTA. We will further strengthen defence cooperation by:
   
   5.1 Deepening and increasing the complexity of defence science and technology collaboration;
   
   5.2 Expanding professional defence exchanges and collaboration between both militaries; and 
   
   5.3 Enhancing mutual collaboration and strengthening linkages between our defence supply chains and logistics ecosystems.
    
3. In accordance with these lines of effort, our Defence Ministers have signed an MoU concerning Enhanced Defence Cooperation. The signing of the MoU demonstrates our shared commitment to strengthen our close and longstanding defence partnership.
    
4. We value our ongoing security cooperation and policing cooperation on shared areas of interest, including countering terrorism and violent extremism, border and civil maritime security, national resilience, building resilience against foreign interference, disaster and emergency management, and combatting transnational, serious and organised crime. We will further strengthen and broaden our national security cooperation and policing cooperation by:
   
   7.1 Continuing to build and expand cooperation under the newly established Australia-Singapore Security Dialogue;
   
   7.2 Implementing the MoU on Cooperation in Security Matters between the Department of Home Affairs of Australia and the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore; 
   
   7.3 Strengthening collaboration on immigration and border management through the Border of the Future Partnership;
   
   7.4 Implementing the renewed MoU on combating transnational crime and developing police cooperation between the Singapore Police Force and the Australian Federal Police, and the MoU on operational science and technology between the Home Team Science and Technology Agency and the Australian Federal Police; and
   
   7.5 Implementing the MoU between the National Emergency Management Agency of Australia and the Singapore Civil Defence Force for cooperation on emergency management and disaster risk reduction.
    
5. We are committed to supporting the rules-based multilateral system to deliver on its core functions and mandates, and to uphold the rules, norms and institutions that underpin prosperity and security in our region.
    
6. We affirm the importance of working closely with partners in ASEAN to promote a stable, peaceful and prosperous region.
   
   9.1 The Foreign Ministers have signed an MoU on the Singapore-Australia Third Country Training Programme to jointly extend technical assistance to Southeast Asian countries. We will also deepen development policy discussions between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, with a view to regularise discussions at the senior officials’ level.
   
   9.2 We will work together on conflict prevention in the region, including through regular expert-to-expert exchanges, to build our collective capacity to maintain the conditions for peace and stability.
   
   9.3 In this 25^th anniversary year of UNSC resolution 1325, Australia and Singapore underline our shared commitment to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, including through implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on WPS.
    

Connecting Our Economies

1. We affirm our enduring partnership and shared commitment to deepening economic integration in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, especially in the face of growing geoeconomic uncertainty. We underscore the importance of upholding the rules-based trading system and a resilient, inclusive and open multilateral order. We will continue to build on the upgraded Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement, in addition to the various multilateral platforms Singapore and Australia are party to, such as the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. Through enhanced collaboration in sectors of shared importance, we will aim to unlock new opportunities for businesses, while reinforcing a
   rules-based, open and inclusive regional economic order.
    
2. Our Ministers have signed an MoU on Economic Resilience to expand collaboration and strengthen economic resilience. We will work towards negotiating an Arrangement on trade in essential supplies by end 2026, and will explore options for a future legally binding commitment involving bilateral arrangements such as consultation and early notification in case of potential disruptions. We will establish the Australia-Singapore Economic Resilience Dialogue.
    
3. We have a long and trusted food partnership and established a Food Pact in 2023 to increase cooperation in food trade, safety, and research innovation. We look forward to strengthening food supply resilience, including through facilitating agri-food investment opportunities between our two countries and the ongoing joint development of the Simplified Transshipment Model for red meat to encourage trade and distribution of Australian food products through Singapore to the wider region.
    
4. We will expand cooperation in trade and investment to support Australia and Singapore’s commercial interests in each other’s economies. We will continue to work together on wider and mutually beneficial cooperation by leveraging Singapore’s strong connectivity and ties with Southeast Asia and Asia, as well as through “Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040” which is deepening two-way trade and investment between Australia and Southeast Asia. We acknowledged the role of Australia’s Investment Deal Team in Singapore and the Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility (SEAIFF), which have facilitated Australia’s AUD175 million investment in the Singapore Government’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P). Similarly, the Future Made in Australia (FMA) agenda will create opportunities to further cooperation with the region in priority sectors.
    
5. Our closer economic relationship has facilitated the establishment of a bilateral Digital Economy Agreement, a first-of-its-kind Agreement globally. We will continue to promote cross-border data flows and to secure a permanent multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. We will review the Singapore-Australia Air Services Agreement that enhances connectivity and business exchanges between the two countries.
    
6. We will unlock new deltas of partnerships between EnterpriseSG and Australia by leveraging the unique strengths of Australian states and territories.
    
7. We will work closely to preserve and strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, to provide meaningful impetus to respond to current trade challenges, take advantage of available opportunities, and ensure the WTO’s proper functioning. This includes continued partnership as co-convenors of the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce, as we proceed towards incorporating the E-Commerce Agreement in the WTO legal framework.
    

Transitioning to Net-Zero

1. We will deepen cooperation to support ambitious action on climate change and achieve our respective commitments under the Paris Agreement. Building on our strong complementarities, we will work closely to take advantage of the enormous economic and industrial opportunities as the region moves to net-zero, and to strengthen regional economic, climate and energy resilience.
    
2. Recalling both countries’ shared commitment to growing renewable energy capacity and the importance of cooperation in trade and investment to accelerate the region’s clean energy transition, we will hold a Ministerial Dialogue on Energy. Recognising the role of LNG in the energy transition and Australia’s role as a reliable energy provider, we will continue cooperation to support the stable supply of natural gas as the region transitions to net-zero.
    
3. We will deepen collaboration under the Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement with new and refreshed initiatives to support energy security and transition to net-zero emissions by 2050. Australia and Singapore will also:
   
   a. Work towards a legally binding bilateral instrument for the cross-border movement of carbon dioxide for offshore geological sequestration, so as to meet Australia’s obligations under the London Protocol;
   
   b. Collaborate on batteries and hydrogen and ammonia certification schemes;
   
   c. Implement the Green and Digital Shipping Corridor; 
   
   d. Expand cooperation on sustainable finance; and
   
   e. Promote bilateral partnerships between businesses to drive trade and commerce in green industry sectors.
    
4. We are pleased today to announce our Cross-Border Electricity Trade Framework between Australia and Singapore. At the regional level, we will endeavour to catalyse regional cross-border electricity trading and advance the ASEAN Power Grid, including through collaboration on standards development and harmonisation, governance, subsea power cables, and Renewable Energy Certificates. We will also explore new avenues for cooperation, including working with the private sector to mobilise the financing required for regional energy connectivity projects.
    
5. As part of our efforts to support energy resilience in Southeast Asia, we will consider establishing an investment roundtable involving the Australian government and the private sector.
    
6. We will expand cooperation on climate and environment, including discussions between our officials on adaptation, risk and resilience, circular economy, negotiations on the internationally legally-binding instrument on plastic pollution and support for the UN Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).
    

Forging New Frontiers

1. We recognise the demonstrated value of, and immense potential for collaboration between Australia and Singapore in frontier domains and public health. Our partnerships in the areas of science and innovation, health, and pandemic preparedness will contribute to regional prosperity and set new benchmarks for international cooperation.
    
2. We will establish a Cyber and Digital Senior Officials’ Dialogue and advance joint efforts under the MoU on Cooperation on AI and the MoU on Cyber Security Cooperation, including in AI, digital governance and online safety. Our digital partnership will be strengthened through cybersecurity and digital economy cooperation, and collaboration on international standards for AI and advanced communications.
    
3. We welcome the recently signed MoU between our intellectual property offices, IP Australia and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. This MoU will pave the way for Australian innovators to choose Singapore to do their international patent search and examination, providing more options for where such work is done.
    
4. We will continue cooperation on norms and practices on the protection and maintenance of undersea telecommunications cables.
    
5. We will continue collaboration under the Australia-Singapore FinTech Bridge. Building on the longstanding collaboration between A*STAR and CSIRO, including joint research initiatives, talent exchanges, and shared innovation platforms, we will expand our science and innovation partnership, leveraging established institutional links to drive progress in areas of mutual interest.
    
6. We reaffirm our shared commitment to advancing the peaceful, responsible, and sustainable use of outer space. Recognising the transformative potential of space technologies for global prosperity, security, and connectivity, we will establish a regular senior officials’ Space Dialogue to deepen space cooperation and expand collaboration between our space sectors.
    
7. Australia and Singapore will establish the Australia-Singapore Partnership on Innovation and Research (ASPIRE) to facilitate cooperation at the government and institutional levels on research, innovation, and science and technology. We will also deepen research ties between our leading university sectors in priority areas such as climate and energy, global health, and emerging technologies.
    
8. Building on the strong ties between our health officials and close cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will deepen health collaboration through the bilateral Health Policy Dialogue, cooperation on health emergency management, as well as communicable disease surveillance and control. We will also continue to discuss the implementation of refreshed agreements between Health Sciences Authority Singapore and the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia and enhance cooperation on communicable diseases control and prevention between the Communicable Diseases Agency, Singapore, and the Australian Centre for Disease Control once established.
    

Deepening Friendships and Capabilities

1. Education and research are the building blocks of innovative economies. Friendships formed between our peoples while learning and working together underpin our countries’ relationship.
   
   Australia will establish a new, ongoing Australia Awards program in Singapore, which will provide postgraduate scholarships, short courses, and other targeted education opportunities.
    
2. We will expand cooperation in sustainability education, student well-being, teacher exchanges, continuing education and training, and tertiary partnerships. Both sides will explore discussions on transnational education.
    
3. We will establish regular education policy dialogue at the ministerial level to discuss emerging policy challenges and review progress on bilateral education and research cooperation between Singapore’s autonomous universities and Australian universities.
   
   Both countries will increase support to promote student exchanges and deepen people-to-people connections.
   
   We will explore a regular roundtable between our universities to facilitate exchanges and research collaboration.
    
4. We will enhance collaboration in public administration under the renewed MoU on Cooperation between the Australian Public Service Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Public Service Division of the Republic of Singapore.
    
5. We will enhance collaboration in culture and the arts, including through the Australia-Singapore Arts Group.
    
6. We task our Ministers and officials to work closely to implement a Plan of Action for the CSP 2.0. As leaders, we will review implementation and provide further direction as necessary. We agree on the continued importance of the Annual Leaders’ Meeting, the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee meeting and the Public Service Roundtable. We also look forward to regular engagement between our Ministers and officials across the various sectors.
    
7. This Joint Declaration marks the beginning of yet another phase of our longstanding friendship. We are convinced that the CSP 2.0 will benefit our two countries and peoples and contribute to regional stability and prosperity.

The federal government only learned about Optus’ deadly triple-zero outage the day after it happened because the telecommunications provider sent a notification email to the wrong address.

Optus was required by regulation to notify the Department of Communications about the emergency call outage, which was linked to three deaths, on Thursday September 18.

The Singapore-owned telco sent two emails to the department on the day, one at 2.45pm notifying about the outage and another at 2.52pm advising the matter had been resolved, department deputy secretary for communications and media James Chisholm said.

But the emails were sent to a redundant address, meaning the department didn’t learn about the outage until it was called by regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) at 3.30pm on Friday, more than 36 hours after the outage began.

That communication … was sent to the wrong address, which we have told industry a number of times is not to be used as a source for notification,” Mr Chisholm told a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra on Wednesday.

We were not notified of the outage properly, and in this case, it was by the regulator, until the Friday afternoon.”

The outage was caused by a routine firewall upgrade to the Optus network and prevented more than 600 triple-zero calls from connecting in South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and some parts of NSW.

The calls also failed to redirect to another functioning network in the area, even though they are legally required to do so.

On Tuesday, Communications Minister Anika Wells met with Optus chief executive Stephen Rue and introduced legislation ratcheting scrutiny on the sector by enshrining a triple-zero watchdog into law.

As the Senate hearing was ongoing, in the House of Representatives, the opposition launched a push for an inquiry into the outage, arguing a review being conducted by ACMA was insufficient.

Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh said the government had displayed “disgraceful” behaviour in refusing scrutiny on the triple zero network by not calling an independent inquiry.

Praise be to AAP who have been keeping an eye on estimates for us while we have been running around this morning covering the whoosh whoosh of the morning:

The federal government only learned about Optus’ deadly triple-zero outage the day after it happened because the telecommunications provider sent a notification email to the wrong address.

Optus was required by regulation to notify the Department of Communications about the emergency call outage, which was linked to three deaths, on Thursday September 18.

The Singapore-owned telco sent two emails to the department on the day, one at 2.45pm notifying about the outage and another at 2.52pm advising the matter had been resolved, department deputy secretary for communications and media James Chisholm said.

But the emails were sent to a redundant address, meaning the department didn’t learn about the outage until it was called by regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) at 3.30pm on Friday, more than 36 hours after the outage began.

These press conferences with leaders tend to be very carefully managed, with only a few people able to ask questions (the leaders don’t know what the questions are, but do know who will be asking them)

So it’s short and sharp.

Q: In a troubled world, how can Singapore and Australia, what concrete steps can we take to work together, be it together, through multilateral platforms to keep multilateralism alive and effective? For example, will Australia consider joining the FIT partnership?

Wong:

We are taking concrete steps. The CSP we are launching today is an example of this. The upgraded CSP we are launching. Many of the initiatives we with working with one another are not just to benefit our two countries, but potentially can serve as path finders for the wider world, as we have already done, because we had the world’s first digital and green economy agreements and that indeed served as path finders for other countries eventually to think about digital roofs for the global economy, to think about how trade and climate action can come together within the WTO framework. So, when we work together like that, we are not only looking at bilateral initiatives that benefit each but looking with a view to preserve important multilateral frameworks or strengthen them that will enable us to keep the rules based global system going. Besides bilateral initiatives I add that we work closely together in regional and multilateral platforms. That is another way in which we enablings the frameworks to be strengthened, for example through the CTPTP, through our other partnerships and many arrangements.

Albanese:

One of the reasons I was so delighted to welcome Prime Minister Wong including Mrs Wong joining myself and Jodie at the lodge last night, is that when we have discussions, discussions as friends and a trusting, and part of our discussions, informally and formally has been about the world as it is in 2025 and the world as it is is more uncertain, perhaps than it’s been in the past. There is more disruption than in the past. One of the things that makes this relationship so solid is that we know where we’re coming from and we know where we’re going together. We have a common world view about the importance of multilateralism, of free and fair … the institutions where the Prime that will be an important gathering hosted by our friend Anwar Ibrahim. And the APEC, that Australia played a proud role in founding of cop oh co-operation in economic activity in our region and the G20 as well will … who have travelled to be with us here as part of the delegation.