It means the government will not have to ask the Parliament for permission whenever it wants to borrow money above a certain limit.

“We have agreed to repeal the current legislative limit on the total face value of stock and securities on issue set out in the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911,” the letter says.

Mr Hockey has promised the Greens that the debt statement included in the budget, MYEFO and PEFO will include details on the amount of money the government is spending on climate change, and the extent to which that spending is contributing to government debt.

He has also promised that as part of all future Intergenerational Reports the government will have a dedicated section on the environment, including climate change and the effect of these policies and their impact on the Australian economy.

The deal means the government will not have to ask the Parliament for permission to borrow more money on December 12 when the debt surpasses the $300 billion limit.

Despite criticising the former Labor government for cutting a deal with the Greens to remain in power, the Abbott government needs help from the Greens to remove the debt ceiling.

The government had previously said it wanted raise the debt ceiling from 300 billion to $500 billion, but Labor had put a political stumbling block in the way by saying it would only support an increase to $400 billion.

In the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten asked Mr Abbott why he was considering cutting a deal with the Greens, whom he had previously described as "economic fringe dwellers".

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/joe-hockey-cuts-deal-with-greens-to-scrap-debt-ceiling-20131204-2yqph.html#ixzz2mUjAOJQT

The original terms of reference asked for recommendations on establishing “a conducive regulatory and economic environment” in northern Australia. Macdonald’s amendment makes clear that taxation should be part of this examination.

Before the election, the Coalition promised to develop within 12 months a white paper on policy options, including building on existing key urban zones such as Darwin, Cairns, Townsville and Karratha.

“To this end, the efficacy and targeting of current relocation incentives and personal and business tax incentives could be reviewed,” Abbott said in a statement before the election. Kevin Rudd subsequently proposed cutting company tax in the Northern Territory but faced criticism over the lack of detail accompanying the campaign pledge.

Also added to the committee’s terms of reference is a specific requirement for advice on a white paper to detail government action needed to make the proposals a reality, including funding sources and a timeline for implementation.

Most elements of the terms of reference put to the lower house on 21 November will remain the same. The committee will consider policies for developing parts of Australia that lie north of the Tropic of Capricorn spanning Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

It will look at opportunities in the mineral, energy, agricultural, tourism, defence and other industries, trade and investment links with the Asia-Pacific, critical economic and social infrastructure, “impediments to growth” and ways to encourage private investment and innovation.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/tony-abbotts-office-has-obsessive-centralised-control-phobia

Not a single mention of environmental protection... NONE. WAIT FOR THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT TO BE DESTROYED AND SPECIES BECOMING "EXTINCTED"... GIVING JOE'S BROTHEL A BLANK CHEQUE IS NOT THE WAY TO GO...

Treasurer Joe Hockey has denied being "married to the Greens" after the Federal Government brokered a new deal to scrap the debt ceiling.

After failing to get enough support to increase the debt limit to $500 billion, the Government announces yesterday that it had clinched a deal with the Greens to scrap the cap altogether.

In exchange for the Greens' support, the Coalition has agreed to provide detailed statements to Parliament each time debt rises by $50 billion.

Labor has criticised the Greens for having no credibility when it comes to the economy, but Mr Hockey told ABC Radio National this morning that Labor's reaction is "absolutely bizarre".

"The Labor Party formed a coalition with the Greens," he said.

"It's like a husband being upset that their ex-wife went off and had a cup of coffee with some other man.

"The Labor Party has made itself entirely irrelevant in economic policy.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-05/opposition-criticises-greens-government-deal-scrap-debt-ceiling/5135682

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Good on old Joe for doing the opposite of whatever he ever said in opposition... Backflip? Somersault? Pimping?... I suppose that's what the Libs do in opposition... They say the opposite of what they'll do, then make a few floosy promises to smooth the corners, then they say they never did make the promises... though whatever they end up doing is to the detriment of this fair country... And then claim the other mob was blah blah blah... 

Meanwhile the Greens made a stupid deal if you ask me... It's not going to have a cup of coffee with some other "man"... It's the future of this country that is at stake and it looks the greens were actually searching for a new pimp and Joe obliged.

From Mungo MacCallum

The Greens might have lost their political innocence when it entered an alliance with Labor, but offering support to the conservatives is another matter entirely, writes Mungo MacCallum.

The Abbott Government has no shame. This is hardly news but it is good to see it confirmed, yet again, by the deal with the Greens to abolish the debt ceiling in exchange for some largely meaningless and easily avoided undertakings about transparency.

This time last year dealing with the Greens in any form was akin to selling your political soul. Julia Gillard's alliance, first with Bob Brown and then less comfortably with his successor Christine Milne, was excoriated, anathematised by Abbott and his colleagues; no sane or decent person could associate with these fanatical destroyers of Australia's wealth and freedom.

Even after Milne formally dissolved the alliance, the attacks continued: the Greens had invaded the Gillard government like a malign, alien parasite and were still controlling their hapless and gullible hosts. The Greens were the enemy of all the Australian way of life; it was as simple as that. Any contact, however fleeting and superficial, risked contamination.

And dealing with them was invariably and irrevocably lethal. But only, apparently, for a Labor government. The hardy conservatives are immune. And anyway, it is all about outcomes, the end justifies the means. So our dauntless Treasurer Joe Hockey had no real hesitation in following the Faustian example.

And the pact he made was almost entirely one-sided; it did not even require his signature in blood. The debt ceiling was no more; never again would he have to go begging to Parliament for a rise, or endure the taunting and posturing of an understandably cynical opposition which had endured three years of thundering about the horrors of debt and deficit.

The economic crisis was officially over, and so was the political one which had accompanied it. It was the first real win for the Government since its election, and Jockey and Abbott had every right to feel smug about it. Hypocrisy, shmypocrisy. Whatever it takes. There will be no sleepless nights on the government benches.

But for the Greens, and for their leader in particular, it may not be quite so simple. Debt in itself has never been a real issue for them; the concept is fine, even desirable, if it is used for long-term projects and worthwhile purposes like improving infrastructure - sustainable infrastructure, that is - and the promises of reporting to Parliament and justifying government decisions look, at first glance at least, like a decent sort of quid pro quo. And by sitting down with Hockey, they have thrown off the label of being economic fringe dwellers; they have entered the political mainstream. But that may be exactly the problem; there is, after all, a terrible precedent.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-09/maccallum-greens-debt-deal/5143486

Gus: The Greens have turned a shade of brown while rotting in the shade... They might have gained some "political relevance", but they have lost total relevance with the electorate to keep the bastards honest... Sleeping with the bunch of idiots is not the way to do this...

Australian taxpayers will lend $US100 million ($110.6 million) to a mining joint-venture run by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto in Chile, under the latest funding deal by Australia's controversial Export Finance and Insurance Corporation.

The loan to two of Australia's largest and most profitable companies comes despite recent criticism of EFIC from the Productivity Commission, which advised the corporation to focus more on small exporters unable to secure finance, rather than big multinationals.

It also comes at a sensitive time for the Abbott government, which has denied financial aid to Holden and others amid its campaign to ''end the age of entitlement''.

Minera Escondida is the joint venture through which the miners operate the Escondida copper mine in Chile, and the money is designed to help Australian companies win work on a multibillion expansion of what is already the world's biggest copper mine.

When Joe Hockey made a deal with the Greens (who got conned) about the removal of the credit ceiling, I knew at the time it was a ruse to hide the incoming budget horrors... We (not me) were led to believe that Tony and Joe would "further the deficit" and "honour" their commitments in regard to health, education and the like. Now we can see it was a ruse to divert our attention. But here on this site we don't stop taking our eyes of the buggers... And now I can smell there are a few more coming our way from this lot of Abbott regime liars.

So anyone prepared to compromise or negotiate should be advise that whatever they do, they WILL BE SHAFTED. Tony Detritus and his fibmeisters have a few more trick in their bag to make you lose your balance and sign something you don't want. REJECT, REJECT REJECT. The only option left is to have fresh election NOW.

I have panned the greens a few times... Once for not going with Rudd's ETS when they had the opportunity. Despite this concoction made with Turnbull being quite diluted, there was room from improvement and the Greens should have gone with it nonetheless. Then the Greens made this ghastly agreement (see toon at top) with Joe Hockey for a bottomless pit of debt with basically no controls.

Of course Joe is more or less irrelevant in the landscape but, with his mate Cormann, he made a lot of damage to the Australian economy, including destroying the Aussie car industry to sell more offal to Japan... Idiots. These morons do not know anything about the art of politics except lying through their teeth and bashing up the poor.

But as I have canned the Greens on these two issues — the ETS and Joe's bottomless pit — they should at least get some kudos for other things. This is where the Australia Institute gets it wrong: it praises Palmer for making a deal with Tony Turdy and blast the Greens for not doing so. 

We all know, Malcolm included, that the "direct action" of Tony Turdy presented to us by a confident Greg Hunt, is a way to make their polluting mates recoup some of their payment of the Carbon Pricing. It's a crock. It has no potential of abating Australia's emissions. Our Turdy PM does not believe in global warming and has made enormous vainglorious efforts and pumped gallons of hot air to disband anything that has proper science in it. Everything in regard to Turdy is a lie. Giant lies wrapped up in candy foils. Tony Abbott is an idiot and the Australia Institute stinks for praising Palmer. 

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/03/the-australia-institute-is-out-to-get-christine-milne-thats-a-fools-strategy