Portfolio — 27 March 2026

The Assistant Treasurer, Dr Daniel Mulino, used two media releases on 27 March to signal portfolio activity across three distinct fronts: regulatory board continuity, fuel supply market oversight, and media bargaining reform.

On the regulatory side, Dr Mulino appointed the Hon David Bradbury as part-time Chair of the Board of Taxation for a three-year term to 31 March 2029, and reappointed Mr Peter de Cure AM as part-time Chair of the Tax Practitioners Board until 28 May 2029 [TA-260327-treasu-708bb6e36ab1]. Mr Bradbury carries significant tax policy credentials — KPMG Australia, the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, and earlier parliamentary service as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer from 2010 to 2013.

Mr de Cure has served on the Tax Practitioners Board since 2017 and brings a long record of director and chair roles dating to 2007. The appointments reinforce institutional continuity in both tax policy advisory and practitioner regulatory functions.

The more contested communication came on fuel supply. Dr Mulino defended the government's response against Opposition calls for a 26-cent excise cut, pointing to a suite of coordinated actions: National Cabinet engagement, the appointment of a National Supply Coordinator, ministerial release of petrol reserves, temporary fuel-standard reductions, and a doubling of ACCC penalties for price collusion from $50 million to $100 million [TA-260327-treasu-d2e1104c52c1].

The framing positions the government's approach as multi-layered market supervision rather than a direct tax-cut mechanism — a deliberate contrast with the Opposition's single-instrument proposal. The ACCC penalty increase is a notable regulatory escalation, shifting the enforcement landscape for fuel-market conduct.

Dr Mulino also flagged forward movement on the News Bargaining Incentive, noting an exposure draft is under development and affirming that any revenue generated by the incentive mechanism would flow to media operators rather than to government [TA-260327-treasu-d2e1104c52c1]. This passthrough commitment addresses a design question that has been central to industry consultation on the mechanism, and the signal of an imminent exposure draft indicates the legislation is approaching public release.

The reform sits at the intersection of the Communications and Treasury portfolios, and Dr Mulino's direct ownership of the messaging underscores the Assistant Treasurer's role as a lead voice on platform accountability.

Across the day's releases, the portfolio's consistent register is institutional capacity and market discipline: bolstering the advisory and regulatory boards that underpin the tax system, deploying coordination tools rather than blunt fiscal instruments on fuel supply, and advancing a legislative framework designed to rebalance bargaining power between digital platforms and news publishers.