The Point Live: Australia missing emissions targets, Nationals pretend to care Barnaby Joyce's has left the Nationals. As it happened.

Finance minister Katy Gallagher has just spoken to ABC News Breakfast where she was asked about the environment laws and said:

We’ve made significant progress this week. Obviously, Murray Watt has been working on this since May. It’s been a key priority for the Prime Minister and the team to get these bills done. You know, they’ve been five years in the making, five years since Graeme Samuels, business and environment groups, and everyone acknowledge that is we need better fit for purpose environment laws. We’ve made substantial progress, including progress overnight and there will be more to say about that later this morning. We’re very keen to get these bills done and make sure that we’ve got them in place and got the right time to get them up and started.

Which is pretty much confirms what we have been reporting – the deal has been done with the Greens and will be announced very soon.

Keep an eye out for what is still in the fast track approval lane – and what isn’t.

The Greens are one of the only groups in the parliament against the social media ban for under-16s. It will come into effect next month and Sarah Hanson-Young says it is going to have a pretty major impact on young people’s lives:

Look, I understand that governments wanting to do something. But this, I think, what will end up see something that it will work for some families, and parents will empowered to be able to say – no, you’re not allowed to have Snapchat or Instagram until you’re a bit older. But for a lot of kids, they will be able to get around those systems. They can have a fake account. They could use and access all of the information in a log out mode, use somebody else’s account. And for those kids, now, there’s going to be no way of keeping track of what they’re seeing and how dangerous that is. Because there’s no requirement on those platforms to keep their platforms in any way safe for young people. So I do think that we need restrictions and regulations – absolutely. But what I’m concerned about is prohibition in this way doesn’t look after the vulnerable at the very least, and I think certainly, there’s going to a lot of kids who are going to get around this pretty quickly. The other issue is, of course, we that school holidays is starting very soon. For some young people, this week is the last week, and others, it will be over the next couple. Kids are going to be school. They’re going to be going home, being out of that environment. And disconnected from their friends and I’m worried that over summer, without a requirement on these platforms to provide safe spaces for our children and young people, we are going to see Australian kids falling through the cracks and finding themselves in some pretty dark places over summer.

The Victorian Government has conceded that part of the state’s political donation laws is unconstitutional, but is defending the bulk of the scheme – despite its unfair treatment of independents and minor parties.

Annika Smethurst at The Age has acquired the Government’s submission in a High Court case.

The case was brought by two state independent candidates at the state level (Paul Hopper and Melissa Lowe), who argue that Victoria’s donation cap laws give the major parties an unfair advantage. The major parties are allowed “nominated entities” that can make contributions of any size. Everyone else is limited to about $4,850 over an electoral cycle.

The Victorian Government’s admission that the state’s laws are unconstitutional is damning.

There has already been one state election under those laws, and the next is exactly one year and one day away.

South Australia and the federal parliament have also adopted donation restrictions with a nominated entity loophole – raising concerns that their schemes are unconstitutional too.

Neither the Albanese Government federally nor the Malinauskas Government in South Australia allowed a parliamentary inquiry before rushing donation restrictions through – despite 35,000 Australians saying any major change to election law should go to a parliamentary inquiry.

A parliamentary inquiry could have made these laws fairer, instead of leaving it to expensive litigation in the courts.

What is a nominated entity?

A nominated entity is an organisation with a special relationship with a political party, that is allowed to donate to that party beyond the donation cap that applies to everyone else.

Three jurisdictions brought in nominated entities at the same time they brought in donation caps: Victoria (where they began), South Australia and the Commonwealth. So far, only Victoria’s have been challenged in court.

Victorian nominated entities contribute millions of dollars to Labor, the Liberal and the Nationals, while Victorian voters are capped at $4,850 each. 

Nominated entities are not the only problem with donation restrictions

Australia Institute research shows that nominated entities are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unfair donation restrictions – whether in Victoria, South Australia or federally.

Other examples include: the way federal parties with multiple branches can benefit from “donation splitting”, where each branch receives a donation just below the cap; the ability of Victorian parties to charge levies on staff and MPs beyond the cap; and the special admin funding in South Australia, some of which can be spent on electoral purposes.

The Victorian Government has only made a limited concession so far

Victoria’s nominated entity law allowed parties to keep benefiting from existing funds, but not establish any new ones. The effect is that only political parties that had special funds in 2020 (Labor, Liberals and Nationals) could set up a nominated entity.

The Victorian Government has so far only made a limited concession: it agrees that it is unconstitutional to stop parties from establishing new nominated entities.

Instead, it proposes:

• Keep the ban on independents setting up nominated entities
• Allow parties to set up new nominated entities, but keep contributions capped at $4,850.

This would be closer to how South Australia and the federal government have set up their nominated entity schemes.

As Annika Smethurst points out in her article:

“any new party would have to build a nominated entity from scratch using only donations subject to the $4850 cap. This means newer entrants start from nothing, while major parties would still have access to decades of accumulated wealth.”

Will the High Court be convinced that this is reasonable?

If not, the South Australian and Commonwealth parliaments may have to revisit their electoral laws too.

It is (maybe) the last sitting day, so Anthony Albanese calling a press conference for 8am could be to just talk about the student debt discount (20% cut by the end of next week) but – it could also be the environment laws because that deal looks done.

It’s unconfirmed at the moment, but it is unconfirmed in the ‘wait and see’ way, not in the ‘nothing to see way’. Which is different.

Last sitting Bob Katter’s official portrait was unveiled in the parliament (he gets one for chalking up 50 years as a parliamentarian) and this sitting it is Malcolm Turnbull’s turn.

Turnbull’s official prime minister portrait will be unveiled at a ceremony a little later today.

Ted O’Brien is taking a leaf out of the Sussan Ley book of posting through a crisis and appearing on any media who will have him. He is speaking to the ABC this morning about all sorts of made up stuff, including that taxes are lower under the Coalition. That’s a furphy – the highest taxing government was the Howard government, followed by the Morrison government.

He is also defying reality by saying that even though the ANU/Griffith university electoral matters survey has found people see Labor as better economic managers for the first time in its 40-year-survey, “others say different things” which is a very Trump response.

Guess you sort of do have to be delulu to get through the days if you are Ted O’Brien

November 27 is AusMusic T-Shirt Day, a day which raises money for SupportAct, because the popularity of Australian music is in such decline that it needs a charity to help

Ausmusic T-shirt Day is 27 November. You might not have heard of it, but the event encourages people to wear their favourite Aussie band tee as a way of showing support for our homegrown music. Last year it raised nearly a million dollars for Support Act, a music industry charity. But that’s the problem: the popularity of Australian music is in such decline that it needs a charity to help not just struggling musicians, but all the people behind the scenes who help make their careers possible.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the huge cost of touring are factors, but the main problem is global streaming services, which are now more likely to recommend American music to Australians. This puts our own songs and stories at a competitive disadvantage, which leaves music workers with an even longer way to the top if they wanna rock’n’roll.

New analysis from The Australia Institute shows that, in the past few years, revenue from Australian music increased by an impressive 25% — from USD$417.5m in 2021 to $534m in 2024. In this sense, it’s never been a better time for Australian music. However, the share going to local artists has shrunk by almost a third, which means it’s never been a worse time to try and make it in music. If you’re Royel Otis and you go viral, you’ve hit the international jackpot. But if you’re a hard-working band touring regionally, you’ll be lucky to break even.

The reality is that Australians are streaming less Australian music. Between 2021 and 2024, the number of Australian artists streamed within Australia has dropped by about 25%, and there’s been a decline of about 30% in the number of times Australians listen to Australian songs. And it’s not just the raw stats that are concerning. A quick look behind the numbers shows that many of Australia’s most streamed artists are ‘heritage’ acts like AC/DC; in 2024 Australia’s most streamed domestic artist was The Wiggles. That might be great for kids who like fruit salad, but not so great for new bands and artists.

The problem is that the algorithms that determine what music you hear on a streaming service filter for language, but not for geography or culture. This can work one of two ways. Research shows that bigger European countries like Italy, Germany, and France have each seen more domestic artists reach the top of the charts because of streaming. This is because algorithms give people listening to music in a particular language more of the same, and since most German speakers are in Germany, more German artists get heard. But Aussie artists get clumped together with everyone else who sings in English, which means they have to compete for an audience with the huge number of Americans listening to American artists.

There are things individual listeners can do to help, like following and sharing the content of Australian artists or, better yet, going to their gigs and buying their merch. But structural problems require structural solutions.

In March, a Commonwealth Government inquiry into live music in Australia recommended that streaming services increase the proportion of Australian content that algorithms and automated playlists generate for Australian users. The inquiry said that, if this doesn’t happen, the Commonwealth should consider a ‘mandate’ to ‘enforce’ Australian content requirements for music streaming services.

In contrast, if Australian radio stations don’t meet local content requirements they risk losing their broadcasting licence. It’s because of a goal to play 40% Australian music that Triple J, which turned 50 this year, has done more to foster the popularity of Australian music than just about anything else. But it’s easy to forget that Triple J would never have existed, save for the initiative of the Whitlam Government.

As former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says in the foreword to the Australia Institute’s new paper, “creativity is a strategic asset. Just as we invest in technology, energy, and defence, we must invest in culture — because identity is the foundation of confidence. The streaming age does not have to erase national character; it can amplify it, and it should.” Australia is much wealthier than it was in the 1970s, when Whitlam first funded Triple J, yet we spend little on the arts, and do little to regulate online markets.

A handful of enormous multinational companies now decide the fate of Australian music. If a lack of regulation allows that to continue no one should be surprised when the only band left touring Australia is The Wiggles on their Tumbly Wumbly Wheely Walkers Tour 2050.

Hello and welcome to the Thursday The Point Live. We are still waiting for confirmation we will be sitting tomorrow as well – once it is clear whether the environment legislation is yay or nay, we will know for sure, but just prepare yourself. We may have another day.

It’s still all about how far the government will bend on its mining friendly environment laws – so far we know there is no climate trigger – that’s the red line that had the negotiations with the Greens scuttled by Anthony Albanese last time – but there are a few things on the table with the potential to make the mining industry sad and that hasn’t been something the government has wanted to do. So let’s see shall we?

And in the Nationals everyone is pretending to care about Barnaby Joyce’s potential defection to One Nation. ‘Ohhh nawwrrrr, don’t goooooo’ is the vibe, and Joyce is enjoying the ‘will he or won’t he game’ but there are whispers about that he is realising that with his defection comes the strong potential for irrelevancy. A lot of Joyce’s media roles come because he is part of the mainstream, and One Nation while it is up and down in the polls (and currently up) isn’t what you would call mainstream. Still, he can’t stand David Littleproud, Littleproud can’t stand him and there is no future for him in the Nationals, whereas he can become Pauline Hanson’s successor. And he started in the senate, so defecting and ending back there is probably quite attractive at this point in his career – he wouldn’t have to do much senate work (Hanson doesn’t) and could just travel around Australia speaking to people who agree with him – his favourite thing.

Does it matter to the nation? Ultimately, no. But we will all pretend it does.

So you’ve got me, Amy Remeikis with you for most of the day and also the incomparable Mike Bowers who is already up and about and making noises about finding a coffee. It is EASILY a four coffee morning. Andrew, if you are reading, all the chocolate is gone – and thank you. Like a truffle pig, I will need to hunt down more.

Ready?

Let’s get into it. Ax