Anthony Albanese says one text message from a business lobby chief prompted the government to delay a ban on credit card payments to the tax office. One message on Thursday morning. An announcement by Friday.
At an Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event, the prime minister described how Andrew McKellar, the chamber's chief executive, contacted him directly. “My door is always open. Andrew did text me last Thursday morning and by Friday morning we had an announcement,” Albanese said. He called it “an example of a relationship that takes time develop as well, that trust.”
The government announced the previous week that it would provide the Australian Taxation Office with extra funding to keep accepting credit card payments until July next year. McKellar publicly thanked the prime minister for acting quickly to “provide vital breathing space” for small businesses affected by the ATO's decision. “Prime minister, to your credit, your door was open, you engaged, you listened,” he said. The chamber, he added, would use the extra time to work with the tax office “to find a sustainable, long-term solution.”
Who Gets Heard
The episode shows how quickly a well-connected industry body can get a response from the top of government. Small businesses were the stated beneficiaries of the delay, and the lobby that requested it welcomed the outcome. But the base reporting doesn't say whether ordinary taxpayers or other groups affected by the ATO's decision got consulted, or whether another organisation asked for the same access.
Parliament's Day Ahead
Political reporting from Parliament House said the government expected to introduce its proposed crackdown on discretionary trusts and a national gas reservation scheme that day. Resources Minister Madeleine King was due to speak at the National Press Club later in the day. Political reporter Courtney Gould of the ABC's Parliament House team wrote the live blog.
Cracks in the Coalition
On the opposition side, Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan broke with his leader over an Australian-led pre-COP event. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and other Coalition backbenchers had branded the event a failure. McLachlan said the event cost taxpayers roughly $20 million and argued such gatherings matter if Australia wants to be a Pacific leader. “I think they're very worthwhile,” he said. “You can't be a Pacific nation and contribute to the life of the Pacific and turn your back on initiatives that seek to solve those issues.” He described himself as “a strong supporter of the COP process and of the government's initiatives.” Asked about Taylor's “pre-COP flop” remark, he said: “I think denigration of acts of good faith in the Pacific are petty.”
McLachlan also warned his party against adopting One Nation's vocabulary, including “mass migration” and “breathing space,” which Taylor used when he launched the Coalition's migration proposal on October 6. One Nation unveiled its own migration policy in mid-September, promising to cut “mass migration” and provide “breathing space.” McLachlan said: “I don't think it's a good idea in any way, shape or form to adopt any language that One Nation is using.” He called “mass migration” a term for extreme circumstances and said his own experience in South Australia was that it caused concern among communities that had recently arrived and settled. He urged colleagues not to outsource “policy development to One Nation,” and to build policy around solving Australians' problems “with a thread of compassion.”
Labor Eyes the Populist Surge
Labor's senior figures said they were confident the party could withstand One Nation's rise, even as they acknowledged economic frustration is pulling voters toward the populist right. Albanese said he wasn't “spooked” by Labor's challenges and denied trying to reassure MPs worried about a mid-term slump. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government couldn't simply hope the far right “goes away or implodes,” and urged progressives not to “mock” or “talk down” to voters drawn to One Nation's message.
Why This Matters:
Access to power is never evenly shared. A business lobby's text message produced a policy reversal in a day, backed by new public funding for the tax office. That may help small businesses, but it raises a fair question about which voices get that kind of fast hearing, and whether workers, consumers and smaller community groups enjoy the same open door. Meanwhile, the trusts crackdown and gas reservation scheme headed to Parliament are regulations that test whether government can steer markets in the public interest. The argument over One Nation shows both major parties wrestling with the same problem: economic frustration is real, and how they respond—with compassion or borrowed rhetoric—will shape public trust in democratic institutions.