Politics Live: Australia expels Russian officials, joining global diplomatic action
Government says expulsion of two 'undeclared intelligence officers' reflects the 'shocking nature of the attack'.
Shorten backs the government on the expulsion of Russian officials, saying he has been briefed by Malcolm Turnbull and security agencies.
"I am very supportive of this measure. There is no doubt that the actions that the Russians had taken in England has caused international outrage and that Australia along with many of its is taking commensurate responses to it," he says.
"It's also the fact that these are undeclared agents and so therefore it isn't appropriate that they be in Australia so I'm very supportive of the actions today."
Shorten and Turnbull during their press conference.
Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Bowen says 94 per cent of the dollar value of the original announcement is preserved under this change.
The original package was valued at $59 billion over a decade. This one, according to the shadow treasurer, is worth $55.7 billion.
He says this is achieved despite protecting 25 per cent of the people originally impacted.
Moving to dividend imputation, Shorten says Labor will always protect pensioners.
"Today I'm pleased to announce that Labor will protect all pensioners from the changes to dividend imputation policy. We are calling this our 'pensioner guarantee'," he says.
Bowen says the announcement "takes a progressive tax policy and makes it even more progressive".
He notes analysis showing 80 per cent of cash refunds from dividend imputation flow to the top 20 per cent of wealthiest households.
"Today our policy makes it even clearer – even more progressive – that the benefit of the policy will come from Australia's wealthiest households," Bowen says.
He says 300,000 people with shares will be protected, including people receiving the following:
Aged pensions
Disability support pensions
Carer payment
Parenting payment
Newstart allowance
Sickness allowance
"That's 232,000 part pensioners, 45,000 full-rate pensioners and 29,000 other income support recipients," Bowen says.
"In addition, self-managed super funds with at least one pensioner or allowance recipient before the 28th of March, 2018 will be exempt from the changes. that's 13,000 self managed super funds, 11,000 part pensioner and 2000 other income support recipients."
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen and social services spokeswoman Jenny Macklin have just held a press conference on the changes to their dividend imputation policy and other matters.
Shorten has confirmed a Labor government would repeal the tax cuts for companies with turnover larger than $50 million.
"Regardless of what legislation has passed this week, Labor will repeal this corporate tax giveaway of $65 billion to the biggest companies in Australia, the banks and the multinationals," he said.
"In terms of the earlier corporate tax legislation, which has already been passed prior to this week, Labor will consider its final position on that in the context of the information we receive in the budget."
A reminder that the first tax cut bill passed the Parliament last year. It gradually lowers the tax rate for companies with a turnover under $50 million.
Shorten explicitly pointed to the Financial Review story about the secret BCA survey showing fewer than one in five leading Australian business executives intended to boost wages and employment.
Full statement from Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop on expulsion of 'undeclared intelligence officers'
"Together with the United Kingdom and other allies and partners, Australia is taking action in response to the recent nerve agent attack in Salisbury, UK.
Two Russian diplomats identified as undeclared intelligence officers will be expelled by the Australian Government for actions inconsistent with their status, pursuant to the Vienna Conventions. The two officials will be directed to depart Australia within seven days.
This decision reflects the shocking nature of the attack – the first offensive use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II, involving a highly lethal substance in a populated area, endangering countless other members of the community.
It takes into account advice from the UK Government that the substance used on 4 March was a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia. Such an attack cannot be tolerated by any sovereign nation. We strongly support the call on Russia to disclose the full extent of its chemical weapons program in accordance with international law.
This attack is part of a pattern of reckless and deliberate conduct by the Russian state that constitutes a growing threat to international security, global non-proliferation rules against the use of chemical weapons, the rights of other sovereign nations and the international rules-based order that underpins them.
Australia has had strong sanctions in place since 2014 in response to Russia's threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We also continue to support international efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the downing of MH17, and we have called out unacceptable Russian action in cyberspace. In the same way, we will vigorously back the UK's full investigation of the nerve agent attack.
Australia remains committed to acting with its allies and partners to deter Russia's actions where they are a threat to international security.
This is why the Government is overhauling offences for espionage, secrecy and treason, and for the first time establishing powerful new foreign interference offences in legislation currently before the Parliament."
We have just learnt the government is set to join the global diplomatic response to the alleged Russian attack on a former spy on British soil.
Apart from that, it looks set to be another day focused on company tax cuts and dividend imputation.
The big stories in politics today:
1. The government is set to eject Russian diplomatic officials from Australia, joining the "largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history" after the poisoning of SergeiSkripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury earlier this month. Our story here.
2. Labor to exclude all pensioners from its dividend imputation policy, responding to concerns about the impacts on the approximately 300,000 on full or part pensions, chief political correspondent David Crowe reports.
3. A secret Business Council of Australia survey shows that fewer than one in five leading executives intend to use the company tax cuts to directly increase wages or employ more staff, The Australian Financial Reviews reports. More than 80 per cent of the respondents said they would prefer to boost returns to shareholders or invest in the company. This revelation damages the government's argument that its policy will boost wages.
4. A Chinese conglomerate has approached the government to express an interest in buying the Hunter Valley's Liddell coal-fired power plant, set to shut down under current owners AGL, The Australian reports.
5. The unions are looking to put school funding front and centre in the next election with a campaign targeting vulnerable Coalition MPs, education reporter Michael Koziol reports. They have polling showing a preference among voters for more school funding instead of company tax cuts.
6. The country's chief infrastructure adviser has urged the NSW and Turnbull governments to create a 300-kilometre Sydney bicycle path network, prioritise parts of Parramatta and Victoria roads for public transport and transform Newcastle and Wollongong into true satellite cities through high-speed rail. Economics reporter Eryk Bagshaw has the story.
My name is Fergus Hunter – you can find me on Facebook and Twitter. Photos from Alex Ellinghausen, who is also on Twitter.
Feel free to email me your hot tips and feedback at fergus.hunter@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
