(SMH.com.au) Australia has become the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16 after the Albanese government’s legislation passed the Senate late last night. The government will take up to a year to run trials and finalise the regulations before they come into effect. While Labor’s bill enjoyed support from most of the opposition, it found critics on the crossbench and among tech giants, and garnered mixed reviews from mental health experts and privacy advocates.
31 bills passed: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared he was turning “promises into progress” as the final sitting of parliament for the year ended in a flurry of legislation passed despite an intervention from suspended senator Lidia Thorpe. The Help to Buy scheme will offer federal funds to 10,000 home buyers each year in return for equity, while the Build to Rent scheme will reduce tax for foreign investors who build major housing projects.
The government gained the Greens’ support with pledges such as $500 million to cut energy bills in social housing. They then voted to gag debate in a so-called guillotine, clearing the path for the speedy approval of bills including on aged care, student debt, and local manufacturing. The government also secured a last-minute deal with the Coalition to toughen migration laws.
The government jettisoned key parts of its agenda after being attacked by the Coalition and the Greens regarding some of its plans. It was forced to shelve changes to political donations and its election pledge to set up a national environment protection agency, which has angered some Labor MPs. The government also postponed a law to raise revenue by increasing tax on superannuation balances of more than $3 million.
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