CFMEU bill nearly there, but donations still a hurdle
Senator Gallagher said she expected the CFMEU administration bill could pass as early as Monday after weekend negotiations between minister Murray Watt and the Coalition.
The government has provided a list of 10 amendments it is willing to support, including extending the administrator's tenure from three years to five years.
But a sticking point remains the Coalition's request that the bill ban political donations from the CFMEU, which the government says would "clearly" be unconstitutional because of the constitution's implied right to free political communication.
On Sunday morning, Senator Watt accused his Coalition counterpart Michaelia Cash of "moving the goal posts."
"We have been willing to agree in principle to all of her demands," he said.
A similar deal on aged care is also progressing but may not be finalised until September.
"It's an area where both the opposition and the government are working in the national interest," Senator Gallagher said, accusing the Greens of taking a "luxurious" approach to government spending by contrast.
"Those parties that are in government or would like to be in government recognise the significant budget impacts of failing to deliver reform in those areas," she said.
Coalition and Greens yet to budge on key bills
But on several other fronts, neither the Coalition nor the Greens present ways forward, resulting in a legislative logjam.
Two housing measures are stuck in the Senate with little hope of passage.
One is the Help to Buy scheme, which would see the government co-purchase homes with 40,000 first homebuyers, but which stalled in negotiations with the Greens months ago.
The other is the Build to Rent scheme, which would offer tax enticements for foreign investors to develop complexes designed for long-term renters.
The Coalition and the Greens voted together in July to send that to a committee and both have substantive concerns.
A bill to restructure the RBA by splitting its board in two is also stuck. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said last week he expected to reach agreement with the Coalition soon, but Senator Gallagher said on Sunday "the ball is really in the Coalition's court on that one."
Coalition sources told the ABC it had received little indication the government had addressed its concerns.
Elsewhere, the government is yet to win support for its plan to lift the tax rate for earnings on super balances above $3 million or its changes to offshore petroleum tax.
Its bid to establish a new environmental protection agency also remains friendless, with business and green groups frustrated that the promised overhaul of environmental laws has not yet materialised.
Also added to the backlog last week was a bill to give shape to the government's flagship industry investment scheme, the Future Made in Australia, which again lacks either Greens or Coalition support.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-18/government-backed-up-for-weeks/104239908my apology for the cut n paste but Crowley write much better than I could.
I'll post my views as the discussion progresses.
