In a recent phone call, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discussed the impact of U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs with President Donald Trump. While Trump initially stated there would be no exemptions, he later expressed willingness to give 'great consideration' to Australia's case. This news comes alongside significant developments in Australian healthcare and politics, including a proposed plan for expanded GP access, heated debates surrounding antisemitism, and calls for increased funding for community housing.
Donald Trump has called Anthony Albanese a 'very fine man' and promised to give 'great consideration' to Australia 's case for an exemption to his universal tariffs on steel and aluminium. The Australia n PM had earlier described a 'constructive and warm' phone call with the US president where the tariffs were discussed. Trump's reference to Australia came just seconds after he had said there would be 'no exemptions'.
\Australians under 35 would have greater access to free GP visits, bulk billing rates would be lifted and out-of-pocket costs slashed under a bold plan championed by the nation's doctors, as the major parties finalise their election pitches before voters head to the polls. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is calling on the major parties to commit to a wide-range of changes including training more doctors, cutting out-of-pocket costs for longer consults and expanding the eligibility of the so-called bulk-billing incentive. 'If our plan is implemented, it will immediately improve access to affordable GP care and ease cost-of-living pressures,' RACGP President Dr. Karen Price said. \Health will be a major focal point of this federal election, with Labor trying to highlight its focus on Medicare and seeking to contrast with the Coalition's record, noting Chris Bowen was health minister when the then-Abbott government sought to introduce a highly controversial and politically costly mandatory fee for GP visits, a policy it later backed away from. Bowen has pointed to bulk billing stats showing there had already been an additional 6 million bulk-billed GP visits between November 2023 and December 2024, on the back of its $3.5 billion move to triple the bulk billing incentive. \Donald Trump's rationale for why Australia might deserve an exemption from the steel and aluminium tariffs seems to rest on the purchase of planes to overcome the tyranny of distance. He says America has a surplus with Australia because 'They buy a lot of airplane. They are rather far away and they need lots of airplanes'. While it is true that Australia spent more about $US2.4B on 'Aircraft, spacecraft & parts' in the 2023/24 year, that's not the reason America has a trade surplus. U.S. goods and services trade with Australia totaled an estimated $77.1 billion in 2022 (latest data available). Exports were $52.1 billion; imports were $25.0 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade surplus with Australia was $27.1 billion in 2022. Perhaps the PM used planes as a simple example to POTUS to explain how advantageous the trade relationship between the two countries is eg 'We sell you aluminium and steel and you sell us back full jets'. \The government is not backing down over the furore that erupted during yesterday's question time, where the Coalition attempted to gag the Jewish MP. Dreyfus was just minutes into his answer about Labor's response to antisemitism and was speaking about his recent trip to Auschwitz to mark 80 years since its liberation when the Coalition moved the gag motion. As the vote was taking place, Dreyfus accused the Coalition of politicising antisemitism. The opposition demanded he withdraw the statement. He didn't. Today, Peter Dutton told reporters the remark was a 'disgraceful slur'. He also claimed the A-G had apologised to the PM for the remark. 'Peter Dutton’s claims are a complete fabrication,' Dreyfus said in a statement. 'I never thought I’d see the day when a Liberal leader would try to silence a Jew for speaking about antisemitism in the Australian parliament. 'We need to put an end to the wave of antisemitism in this country which is exactly what the government I am a part of has worked tirelessly to do.' \Community housing providers have come to Parliament House today to lobby politicians for more money — armed with some new polling from Redbridge Group. The polling shows 73 per cent of voters in 24 key federal electorates say housing policy will influence how they vote. Redbridge surveyed more than 1,500 people, at the request of the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA), and also found the majority of Greens, Labor and Coalition voters believe Australia needs more social housing. CHIA will point to this data in its campaign for Labor to put more money into the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) — an investment vehicle for building new social and affordable homes. CHIA says the government's action on affordable housing has been commendable, but argues it should quadruple funding in the HAFF to make a real difference. 'Firstly, we need a significant increase in the number of social and affordable homes ... And two, we need an ongoing program of social and affordable housing. And not just in my head (I swear, I'm not crazy). The bells signal it is time for MPs and senators to get it together and head to the chamber because the day is about to begin. With all the drama of the morning, you'd be forgiven if you forgot we're in the middle of a parliamentary sitting week. The good news (at least for this blogger) is that it's Tuesday, which means parliament doesn't kick off until midday. Why? Because each of the parties need time to gather and chat about their plans for the week ahead
Donald Trump Anthony Albanese Australia Tariffs Steel Aluminum Health Care Antisemitism Housing Australian Politics
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