Matt Kean is wrong. Iran war proves fossil fuels still matter

Topic World Health Organisation Australian Financial Review

As largely expected, the 2026 Federal Budget has delivered a twin tax blow to landlords and property investors in a bid to make it easier for Australians to buy their own homes. See how the government plans to help younger Australians into the housing market, increase taxes on Baby Boomers and rein in NDIS spending. The warning from the Australian Institute of Company Directors came despite concerns Australia is “cherry-picking” global sustainability reporting standards. Look at the companies whose shares have hit all-time highs this week and what do you see? The review needs to give investors a greater say in how the regime is tied to company profits, Sandon Capital founder Gabriel Radzyminski says. Former competition watchdog chief Graeme Samuel says executives would learn more about governance reading APRA’s report on CBA than doing the company directors course.

The government is still hanging its hopes on global oil prices declining by mid-way through the year, and stabilisation by the same time in 2027. It is one of few jurisdictions that has agreed to apply new reporting standards only partially, says former super fund chief David Atkin. Major lenders had promised to send bosses to meet traditional owners near Santos’ Barossa gas project. The Swiss-based commodities giant had proposed spinning off the fossil fuel into a separate company but has decided to retain the division. Institutional investors see natural capital as the next force in corporate governance, with big implications for companies growing and selling food. The big investor says it was drawn to the miner’s shift to metallurgical coal and remains committed to net zero by 2050 after buying shares last week.

The new devices allow punters to place live bets during major sporting events inside Tabcorp’s venues. The Mark Zuckerberg-founded company plans to cut its global workforce by 10 per cent and will cancel around 6000 open positions as Meta offsets its AI spend in a ruthless pursuit of “efficiency”. Bishop reportedly tendered her resignation to the university and Albanese government last night seven months before her tenure was due to expire in December.

The government will make changes to its selection process to target more educated, higher-skilled and younger migrants. The minimum tax rate rips a key tool of wealth building used by millions of richer Australians and has a particular sting for so-called bucket companies. Changes to negative gearing and tax increases on trusts and capital gains have heralded the end of preferential treatment of asset wealth. Its runaway success has helped change global streaming. Brandon Riegg convinced Netflix and Formula 1 to take a risk on a documentary series on the sport.

The pub king’s latest venue is winning patrons, but has also drawn the attention of the local council and NSW government. The Queensland government has been briefed on the cost to run a gun buyback scheme but is expected to oppose a joint-funding arrangement. Ichthys LNG’s Japanese backers moved the project to the Northern Territory almost two decades ago to escape a similar scheme that captures supply for local use. South of the border, this luxury jungle property thrums with mysterious spirits – and we’re not talking about the 3500-bottle tequila collection. Now some are shifting focus and teaching people how to feel good.

If the SERD report did nothing other than highlight the precarious state of Australia’s hard-won prosperity, it would still have performed a valuable service. Indigenous groups are achieving legal victories over new offshore gas developments, creating delays the gas industry didn’t see coming. Beijing’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian says Chinese port owner Landbridge shouldn’t be punished by having its lease ended on security grounds. The former prime minister said that when he approved the lease with a Chinese company a decade ago, security agencies had no concerns about the deal. Anthony Albanese has doubled down on an election promise to force the Chinese owners to sell Darwin Port despite warnings Beijing may hit back. A regulator dismissed allegations of a cover-up as “sensationalist rubbish” but the episode has opened the floodgates for multiple attacks against the industry.

Matt Kean is wrong. Iran war proves fossil fuels still matter

But his tax hit isn’t backed with big-bang reform to expand the economy. The Albanese government’s planned new restrictions mean people could opt out of gambling ads on their favourite podcasts or platforms like YouTube and Spotify. In an excoriating report, the state’s audit office has provided a window into the relationship between the NSW government and the powerful sporting body.

The Dutch trading giant’s local offshoot grew profits by 50 per cent in 2025 as high volatility across financial markets offered ample trading opportunities. No major investment house has recommended clients sell positions in the embattled health stock despite repeated disappointments and executive departures. A government with a massive parliamentary majority, an opposition in disarray and no election imminent. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government’s broken promises on tax reform involves an element of political risk. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the changes will make the system fairer and help young people get into the property market.

She was previously the media and telecommunications reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and covered media at The Australian. Zoe Samios covers wagering and the business of sport from the AFR’s Sydney newsroom. Emergency services responded to reports of a crash shortly after 7.45 am today, with multiple crews, including a helicopter, now at the scene. Treasurer Jim Chalmers today confirmed the tax break will be officially enshrined in law and will come into effect in time for the 2027 tax season next year. Emergency services were called to Karreman Quarries on West Mount Cotton Road in Sheldon about 2.20pm yesterday following reports a man had been critically injured in a forklift incident. “I wanted to take away this dopamine hit that seems to be dished out no matter whether you win or lose.”

The foundations of the Forrest, Ramsay, Snow and Myer families are donating $30 million to support women in leadership and end domestic assaults. Peter Regan found out the hard way how to strike a good public-private partnership for transport. Sydney’s new Western Sydney Airport metro line could use a robot to inspect the cleanliness of trains and check rail tracks for faults. Daniel Salter wanted to find jobs for army veterans on Victoria’s North East Link project, but he couldn’t open the necessary doors – until he coughed up cash. The Wests Tigers’ travail is a property story through and through.

Major super funds, banks and financial bodies hope to meet in March to share information about best practice in identifying and preventing financial abuse. The businessman resigned as chairman of Australian Community Media at the weekend after being charged by Victoria Police with assaulting a woman late last week. The disgraced businessman already resigned as executive chairman of Australian Community Media last week. Jasmin Tarasin pitched a film about coercive control, then had to race to keep up with a “groundswell” of philanthropists wanting to support it.

Banks and super funds collaborate to tackle financial abuse

• The minimum tax rate rips a key tool of wealth building used by millions of richer Australians and has a particular sting for so-called bucket companies.
• A 10-minute set-up for automated deposits and sustainable spending buffers prevent minor financial lapses from derailing long-term prosperity.
• The review needs to give investors a greater say in how the regime is tied to company profits, Sandon Capital founder Gabriel Radzyminski says.
• Bernard Marantelli has for the past few decades outsmarted many in the wagering industry, including US authorities after he won a $95 million lottery jackpot.

Major investors are increasingly worried about the hype around artificial intelligence stocks driving US markets to repeated records as war boosts inflation. DGR Global shareholders hit the jackpot when a Chinese suitor bought SolGold, but will they ever see the money? The $59.3 million valuation of the copyright was based on Deloitte estimates, but tax authorities have claimed it should have been closer to just $4 million. The annual wages and salaries bill for government sector workers are forecast to plateau at about $32.6 billion australian payid pokies in 2030. Energy Minister Chris Bowen will drastically scale back subsidies for green hydrogen programs as the government ploughs funds into its petrol and diesel stocks. The 2026 budget contains taxes on higher education providers and departing Australia, infrastructure cost blowouts, and a crackdown on school disability funding.

The country’s largest pastoral company has told investors four of its properties are affected, but says it will not be as bad as the 2019 devastation. The Gina Rinehart-backed rare earths play has secured $230 million from Export Finance Australia and German bank KfW to develop its Nolans project in the NT. The US president has been weakened by the war with Iran, but China needs a stable global economy so it can keep exporting its goods and boosting growth at home. Queensland’s only pumped hydro project under construction is delayed, adding further pressure to the state government’s energy plans. Our three tax cuts, instant deduction and the new offset are the equivalent of up to $54 back in the average earner’s pocket each week.

The state spending $16,000 per person (and it’s not Victoria)

Sydney Metro has launched an inquiry into allegations of worker exploitation and a corporate cover-up on the Western Sydney Airport metro project. Big international funds have swung behind a resolution to force the gas company to explain how its NT Beetaloo pipeline project aligns with its green targets. Labor and the Coalition went to the federal election promising to end Chinese ownership of the port.

The global confectionary giant currently imports recycled plastics to meet its target for 30 per cent recycled packaging as Australia doesn’t have a facility. As well as dealing with perennial challenges, industry and government are under pressure to figure out how to regulate AI without strangling its potential. The Tesla chairwoman has stepped up her campaign for investors to support the billionaire chief’s pay package ahead of a crucial shareholder vote on November 6.