The Wrap with Amy Remeikis

In amongst the gestures, *everything* happening in the world this week, the Albanese government delivered two lessons in power.

The first came through Anthony Albanese’s latest intervention in the fight to save the Maugean skate from extinction.

For those unaware, the Maugean skate, also known as the ‘dinosaur fish’ because of its direct lineage to the Gondwana era, is the only known brackish water skate in the world. It only lives in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, one-third of which sits in the state’s Wilderness World Heritage Area.

So far, pretty simple; Australia has a literal dinosaur fish and the only known example in the world.  So we should protect it, right?

Well, yes.  And it would be simple if it wasn’t for vested interests.  Enter the multi-billion foreign owned salmon farming industry, which, through intense lobbying dressed up as a ‘jobs versus the environment’ fight, has some people convinced is on the verge of collapse if environment minister Tanya Plibersek follows the science and winds back marine farming in Macquarie Harbour.

So what are we talking about here? According to the salmon companies’ own documents, there are 109 salmon farmers working on the West Coast, which includes drive in, drive out workers.  So that is about 7% of the 1,500 jobs salmon farming jobs across the state.  And even if we count up every salmon farming job across the whole of Tasmania, it barely makes up 1% of employment in the Apple Isle.  Oh, and bonus!  That ‘multi-billion’ industry?  Well, according to the ATO it’s paid no tax since 2019.  It did sell $4bn worth of fish, yes.  But profits went off-shore.

So you would think that makes it a pretty easy decision right?  It would be possible to help transition salmon workers in the Macquarie Harbour region to another job, AND save one of the world’s most unique creatures, while rehabilitating one of the most beautiful places on earth, protecting it for future generations we are the stewards for.

And yes.  It would be an easy decision.  Except for the politics.

See, our environmental laws, even as weak as they are, are still providing enough of a barrier to extending the marine farming licences that Albanese felt the need to step in and assure the salmon industry he would introduce legislation that would secure its future in Macquarie Harbour.

Even as the skin of diseased dead fish wash up on Tasmanian beaches, as images of rotting decaying fish floating at the edges of their pens are shown across the world, as scientists and the community battle to raise the environmental and moral importance of protecting what is ours only on loan – Albanese has pledged to protect the industry.

And for what?  It’s not about the 109 jobs.  It’s not even about saving seats in Tasmania (although of course that plays a role).

It’s about sending a message to the fossil fuel mining industry and other environmentally destructive sectors that the Australian government will not let environmental laws stand in the way of their business.

It’s a shibboleth, a wink and a nod to the mining industry that the government has its back.  Because that is how power works.  Australia has long been conned that the fossil fuel industry is the reason for its prosperity, and that to threaten any part of it would be to doom the country, so it makes sense that Albanese, on the cusp of a federal election is ensuring it knows he stands with it.  It’s easier to send that message via salmon farming than through a coal mine, but it amounts to the same.  It’s subtle, but once you see it, you’ll recognise it everywhere.

Governments choose priorities.  How they signal them though, is not always obvious.

Which leads us to our next lesson in power; the $2.4bn rescue package for the Whyalla steelworks.

To be clear, the government investing in new greener industries is not a bad thing, and positioning the nation to take advantage of opportunities is what governments should be doing.

But in making the announcement, and committing at least $2.4bn to secure its future, the government once again proved that when its a priority, money isn’t an issue. As the Australia Institute’s Executive Director regularly reminds people, former Morrison government treasurer Josh Frydenberg uttered perhaps the most honest words ever said in Australian politics, in response to whether Australia could afford $360bn for nuclear submarines no one asked for.

“Everything is affordable if it’s a priority.  This is a priority.”

Whyalla again proves that everything is affordable if it’s a priority.  Saving the steelworks was a priority.  Understandable.

But why then, is raising Australians out of poverty through a material increase in Centrelink payments, not?  Why isn’t it a priority to seriously address the housing affordability crisis with substantial impact, not funds?  Why is it the things we need to ‘live within our means on’ are always though which would have a tangible benefit on the nation’s residents as a whole, while the priorities seem to be supporting corporations and their badly run investments?

These priorities are always made clearer as an election approaches.  We are within smelling distance of one now, with rumours it could be called as early as Sunday (23 March) and words and promises are being thrown around like confetti.  Which is why it always pays to look at what messages power is sending capital.  That’s where you’ll find the true priorities.  Always.

With your help, we’ll not only keep watching, we’ll keep pushing back.  Thank you for adding your voice.

As always, keep doing good and take care of you. Amy x

— Amy Remeikis is the Chief Political Strategist at the Australia Institute

The Big Stories

Secrecy, Prime Ministerial promises, now mass deaths – time to clean up Tasmania’s salmon industry

Australia’s Administrative Review Tribunal has ordered the federal government to release a ministerial brief on the prospective extinction of the Maugean skate, recognised for its World Heritage value, in a win for government transparency over a culture of secrecy.

Even as thousands of dead and diseased salmon are washing up on Tasmania’s beaches, the Prime Minister intends to introduce special legislation to protect polluting, foreign-owned salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour, effectively bypassing national environmental laws and pre-empting a review by the department.

Read more >

The Climate Integrity Summit 2025

In the midst of geopolitical disorder and increasingly apocalyptic climate forecasts, our Climate Integrity Summit 2025 was a potent reminder that all of us, as individuals, as communities, possess power to do something about it.

As Richard Denniss said, in his closing remarks;

“If protest didn’t work, they wouldn’t try to ban it.

If information weren’t so valuable, they wouldn’t try to hide it.

Don’t think for a minute you don’t have power.

Don’t think for a minute you can’t make change.”

You can watch the speeches from our incredible program of experts, international leaders, and local heroes, right here.

Watch >

When Right is wrong. Fighting the good fight | Stephen Long

“My father, Dan Long, died in January, a few days shy of his 105th birthday. His remarkable life was shaped early by the Great Depression & World War II,” writes Stephen Long.

“Watching Musk, I thought of my father’s words: “Fascism must never again be allowed to rear its ugly head.”

Stephen Long writes in The Politics, on his late father’s fight to stop fascism in WWII, and the lessons we must take for today.

Read more >

The Win

Rate relief…will the RBA cut again?

Like all borrowers, The Australia Institute welcomes the 0.25% cut in the official cash rate. It should have happened months ago. And the RBA should cut again.

“Even after this rate cut, interest rates are still restrictive. With the economy stalling and inflation now in the target band, the RBA needs to continue to cut rates, so they are no longer slowing the economy.

“To suggest there should be no cut in April because it would appear political is absurd,” said Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute.

“Treasurer Jim Chalmers constantly reminds us the Reserve Bank is independent of government. A rate cut in April would have nothing to do with politics. In fact, it would be political not to cut just because we are in an election campaign.”

Read more >

The Bin

“Stitch up” Labor and Coalition Deal on Electoral Reform

Last week, Labor made a dirty deal with the Coalition, significantly worsening it’s electoral laws, and rushed it through Parliament without proper scrutiny.

The Australia Institute’s detailed analysis of the bill identifies several loopholes the major parties could exploit; unfair treatment of new entrants and independent candidates; and the danger that tens of millions of dollars of new taxpayer funding are spent on misleading advertising.

The laws do not come into effect until the election after next, around 2028. That means there is still a chance for the next parliament to address the transparency gaps and major party loopholes.

Read more >

The Quote

“We have political leaders who insist that mining & forestry underwrite Australian prosperity.”

Those who believe this nonsense cannot be trusted with the wellbeing of future generations.

“Mining & native forest logging industries, collectively, employ only ~2% of the labour force.”

– Ken Henry, former Treasury Secretary

Read more >

Podcasts

A soft landing? What the rate cut means for the Australian economy | Follow the Money x Dollars & Sense

The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates for the first time since November 2020 – so is the Australian economy out of the woods?

On this crossover episode, Greg Jericho and Ebony Bennett discuss what’s going on with inflation, the performance of the Reserve Bank and whether the Government deserves the credit for setting the economy on a better course.

Listen now:

With friends like these | After America

The Trump administration is chatting with Putin and telling European leaders that they’re the problem. So what does this mean for Australia?

Senator David Shoebridge, the Australian Greens Spokesperson for Defence and Veterans Affairs, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss cultural cringe, the Australian Government’s response to Trump’s tariffs and why the AUKUS submarine deal makes Australia less safe.

Listen now:

What’s On

Policy School: Climate change and the living standards crisis | 11am AEDT, Thursday 27 February

Join Richard Denniss, Executive Director, and, Leanne Minshull, Strategy Director to discuss climate change and the living standards crisis.

Free, RSVP >

Australia’s Biggest Book Club: Juice with Tim Winton | 11am AEDT, Friday 28 February

Join legendary Australian author, Tim Winton, for Australia’s Biggest Book Club.

His latest book, Juice, is a searing, propulsive journey through a life whose central challenge is not simply a matter of survival, but of how to maintain human decency as everyone around you falls ever further into barbarism.

Free, RSVP >