Albanese gives differing accounts of how tax payment ban was delayed

Anthony Albanese described his role in delaying an Australian Taxation Office ban on credit card payments differently at a business event and in Parliament. The contrast has prompted criticism over whether he personally secured the delay or acted through the government’s collective decision-making process.

At an Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event, Albanese said he had responded to a message from chief executive Andrew McKellar and promised to get the issue resolved. The following day in Question Time, he said he and Treasurer Jim Chalmers discussed it, then took it to the expenditure review committee and obtained agreement from the government’s leadership group. The article says the delay temporarily eased businesses’ concerns about paying tax after a policy change, and criticises the government for debating credit for addressing a problem it had created.