Next election "battle lines" being drawn says Josh Frydenberg Josh Frydenberg, sounding like he is reading from notes, says he sees government as “an enabler” as he speaks to 5AA. Which is exactly what my friends call me, as I’m always on the ‘buy the thing, eat the thing’ bandwagon. Life is short people. But Frydenberg has a different view of enabling, than I do, apparently. His view of enabling is more about ‘do it yourself’. It is clear the role of government and the future role of government will be much debated. The Labor party always want to see government as the big spender. Limitless spending and as the continuous provider of everything across the economy. We see government as an enabler. An enabler to ensure that people can be their best. That businesses can go out there and innovate, hire and grow. That individuals can provide for themselves, but if they need a helping hand, that there is a generous safety net, that is there, that at the same time there for them. I think that battle line will be very clear at the next election. Labor was promising to spend more before the coronavirus, during the coronavirus, and no doubt after the coronavirus. We are very much focussed on ensuring responsible, prudent, economical management, that don’t leave an unnecessarily debt burden for future generations to pay. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. I mean, surely Tina Arena could just call up her number one fan, given how often the prime minister bangs on about her. Josh Frydenberg is continuing the ‘curve is flattening, so, so is the stimulus’ line on Adelaide radio 5AA. Simon Birmingham was also talking the Chinese government warnings to students when on Sydney radio 2GB this morning. He managed to avoid pointing to MasterChef. Ben Fordham: Is there an increase in racist attacks against Chinese students in Australia? Birmingham: No Ben, we don’t believe that there is. Australia is country that holds ourself to an incredibly high standard. Far higher standard than most other nations and where racism occurs, it’s condemned. Where there are incidents, we encourage it to be reported. Where there is any violence that occurs in our community, racist or otherwise, we encourage it to be not only reported, but insist that it be investigated and that people be brought to justice wherever possible. But also we widely report on statistics that are collected around these matters. Now, students in Australia from overseas continue to report that they choose Australia as a study destination, not only because of our high quality education standards, but also because of the safety and security that Australia offers them. Asked if Australia does have a problem with racism, Tudge said there were some “high profile” instances of incidents directed against people of Asian descent but they were the “actions of a tiny minority of cowardly idiots”. He said: The vast majority of Australians would be appalled [by them] and would call it out. Just as the prime minister has, just as I have. 99.99% are as disgusted as I, the prime minister or anyone else is. It’s not the Australian way and I don’t think it is by any stretch of the imagination the Australian norm. The bells are ringing for the start of the parliament session. I now know what the Hound of Baskervilles sounded like. He was one beat away from saying that some of his best friends watch Masterchef. Alan Tudge is on Sky News pointing to Masterchef as an example of how multicultural Australia is, because there are judges AND contestants from multicultural backgrounds You read that right. The Group of Eight universities’ chief executive, Vicki Thomson, has responded to China’s warning for international students to reconsider coming to Australia. She said: Our duty of care extends to all of our students – domestic and international – and never more so at this time whilst we are in the middle of a global pandemic. It is for this reason that it is disappointing to see this statement from the ministry of education which speaks directly to Chinese students and urges caution when considering Australia as a study destination. Australia and our universities remain safe destinations for all of our students. The Go8 is absolutely committed to our international students and to maintaining a positive and collaborative relationship with China, but, statements such as this do make things more difficult at an already difficult time. We know students will do their own research about our health and safety as it relates to them - as they should - and we look forward to being able to welcome them back to our campuses as soon as the Australian government’s health advice indicates that we can.” Minutes are a long time in politics. Via AAP: NRL fans in NSW will have to wait a little longer before they can return to the grandstands with Premier Gladys Berejiklian shutting down a call of a dramatic relaxing of crowd restrictions before this week’s round of matches. It comes as NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says he wants to see fans flocking back to the game – starting with Thursday’s clash between Manly and Brisbane in Gosford. The federal government is considering “decreased capacity” for NRL games, according to deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth. The NSW government has already ticked off on the reopening of corporate boxes from this week at NRL stadiums, for one person per four square metres up to 50 people. On Wednesday morning, Berejiklian told the Nine Network there would be no further change to the restrictions just yet when asked if fans will be permitted to return to the footy. “No, not this weekend, no,” she said on the Today Show. “However, we we’ve said, the use of corporate boxes and the like is the first stage of that engagement.” If you pay pay-as-you-go tax, you might need to pay attention to this: the government will legislate to suspend the indexation of tax instalment amounts for the 2020-21 financial year in response to Covid-19. This change will affect instalments payable to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for an estimated 2.2 million taxpayers paying Pay As You Go (PAYG) income tax instalments, and around 81,000 taxpayers paying Goods and Services Tax (GST) instalments in 2020-21. The decision to suspend the indexation of tax instalments is yet another tangible way the Morrison Government is supporting Australians as we respond to the COVID-19 health crisis. Tax instalments help spread taxpayer obligations over the year and to reduce a taxpayers’ balance on assessment. Historical Gross Domestic Product outcomes are normally used to index a range of instalment amounts annually to reflect anticipated income growth. Given the economic impact of COVID-19, the Government has decided to suspend this indexation for 2020-21. In addition to suspending indexation, taxpayers can still vary their instalment amounts if they believe they will pay too much tax for the year. Other taxpayers who pay instalments based on their current income are not subject to indexation because their instalments already adjust to changes in income. While these taxpayers are not affected by the suspension of indexation, they have the same right to vary their instalments. Taxpayers who do not pay GST by instalments are unaffected. It you require urgent assistance with your tax affairs due to COVID-19 you should contact the ATO’s Emergency Support Infoline 1800 806 218.