Albanese Government Breaks Record + Reddit User DESTROYS Konrad on Corporate Tax

Konrads Headline of the Week: Albanese Government Breaks Record For Telling Punters To Get Fucked When Asked What They're Up To

THE TLDR: The Albanese government is refusing information requests at an alarming rate, making over three times as many secrecy claims (142) as the Morrison government (47) in a comparable period. This includes record-low compliance with Senate orders and a drastic fall in FOI requests being granted in full.

KEY FACTS:

1️⃣ Research shows the current government has the lowest compliance rate with Senate orders for documents since 2016. Furthermore, the rate of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests being granted in full has collapsed from 59% in 2011 to just 25% now, while outright rejections have doubled.

2️⃣ The government is using political maneuvers used to withhold information. These include: "Secrecy Claims": Officially blocking the release of documents, "Commercial in Confidence": Citing private business contracts to hide details of government deals, and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs): Requiring stakeholders consulted by the government to sign NDAs, a tactic rarely used before.

3️⃣ This trend is the opposite of the promised "transparent government." When information is hidden, it prevents punters from holding power to account, allows mistakes to be buried, and undermines trust in our democracy. It suggests the government is working to hide things rather than serving the public.

Delve deeper with our Punter Citations:
The Guardian - Albanese government worse than Morrison era at producing documents for public scrutiny, report finds
UNSW.edu.au - Governments are becoming increasingly secretive. Here’s how they can be made to be more transparent

Reddit User DESTROYS Konrad on Corporate Tax (And He's Absolutely Right)

THE TLDR: Contrary to the common belief that both major parties are the same, there is clear evidence that the current government has passed specific laws and funded ATO enforcement that have already begun to increase tax collection from large corporations. This has contributed to a 16% increase in tax collections from large corporations and an $11 billion increase in tax paid by the oil and gas sector.

KEY FACTS:

1️⃣ The government has boosted funding for the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) Tax Avoidance Taskforce to $200 million per year. This increased enforcement capability has yielded direct, measurable results: $100+ billion collected from large corporations, a 16% increase in collections from large corporations, an $11 billion increase in tax paid by the oil and gas sector and the percentage of large entities paying no income tax has decreased from 36% to 31%.

2️⃣ Two key legislative changes have been implemented to improve transparency and close loopholes. One, Public Country-by-Country Reporting: This law requires large multinational corporations (with global revenue over $1 billion) to publicly disclose key information—including revenue, tax paid, and employee numbers—for each country they operate in. This makes it harder for companies to hide profits through practices like transfer pricing. Two, implementation of a Global Minimum Tax: The government has taken steps to align with the global OECD agreement aimed at stopping a "race to the bottom" on corporate tax rates and profit shifting to tax havens.

Delve deeper with our Punter Citations:
ato.gov.au - ATO collects $100 billion from large corporates
ato.gov.au - Public country-by-country (CBC) reporting
ato.gov.au - Global and domestic minimum tax