Speaker investigates after rowdy pharmacists disrupt question time in Canberra

Independent MP Zali Steggall claims opposition members encouraged protesters and calls for ‘disorderly conduct’ to be addressed

A rowdy group of pharmacists has disrupted question time and allegedly verbally abused parliamentary staff, prompting an investigation by the Speaker into who signed them into the building.

The Community and Pharmacy Support group (Caps) protested against the Albanese government’s 60-day medicine dispensing changes at Parliament House on Monday, calling on the health minister, Mark Butler, to resign.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Uproar in parliament as pharmacists jeer ministers – as it happened

Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley is told to leave the chamber during chaotic question time. This blog is now closed

Liddle says ‘we don’t have the detail’ on how voice would work

When it is pointed out that what Liddle is describing sounds like the voice, the Liberal senator says:

No, because we don’t have the detail about who is going to be on that voice and how that’s going to work.

When you actually consider that funds for health, housing, jobs and actually come from Canberra and are sent to the states and territories, there is a lot more accountability that [doesn’t just sit] at the commonwealth level, but also in the states and territories and in those very organisations that are actually charged to deliver change, not just putting a grant application and deliver the same same, but deliver the change.

So that’s why I support that proposition much more and I want to make sure that people who are experts in the particular area of focus are actually the right people at the table.

Continue reading...

Albanese government accused of ‘blatant hypocrisy’ as more than 2,000 Senate questions go unanswered

Opposition and Greens say government promised greater transparency but is failing to live up to integrity mandate

The Albanese government has been accused of “blatant hypocrisy” by its political opponents as more than 2,000 requests for answers remain unanswered in the Senate.

Both the opposition and the Greens are calling on the government to lift its game on transparency and live up to the integrity mandate it promised voters at the last federal election.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian government to close labour hire loophole to help 67,000 workers being ‘ripped off’ by employers

Workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, says move will be ‘life changing’ for workers it is intended to protect

The federal government will move to close a loophole allowing employers to undercut workers with cheaper labour hire as part of what it calls a “life-changing” tranche of workplace reforms to be introduced to parliament this week.

Under the proposed laws to be introduced to parliament on Monday, companies with more than 15 workers will be forced to pay labour hire staff the same wages as those engaged under enterprise agreements.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Littleproud says ‘there’ll be no victory lap’ if voice fails – as it happened

Nationals leader backs Peter Dutton’s call to hold a referendum on Indigenous recognition if the voice to parliament vote fails in October. This blog is now closed

Reforms ensure basic standards around pay and working conditions: Burke

Burke has also flagged reforms to ensure gig workers have some basic minimum standards around pay and conditions. Burke says the government reforms are not designed to “break the technology”.

There is no doubt that when people are ultimately receiving really low wages then making ends meet is tougher, and that puts extra pressure on you to take risks.

Riders have spoken to me about it and they say quite specifically that part of the desperation is you are just not earning enough to make ends meet.

We’re talking about the crime being for intentional wage theft, that’s where someone knows the rules. They know exactly what they’re doing. It is the cases where somebody knows that someone is meant to be paid more and they don’t care because they think they can get away with it, and they know that up until now the worse they will have to do is just pay the money back at a later point in time. So wage theft has nothing to do with complexity. It is about theft.

Continue reading...

‘Trumpian era’ of disinformation makes voice yes campaign job more difficult, Megan Davis says

Architect of the Uluru statement criticises some media outlets for highlighting misinformation being shared on social media platforms

Key yes campaigner and architect of the Uluru statement from the heart, Prof Megan Davis, has accused the no campaign of relying on Trumpian disinformation, conceding it has made the job of persuading Australians more difficult.

During an event to launch a new television ad featuring John Farnham’s song, You’re the Voice, Davis also criticised some media outlets for highlighting disinformation being shared on social media platforms, particularly Facebook.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Indigenous leaders dismiss Peter Dutton’s vow to hold recognition referendum if voice vote fails

Opposition leader says constitutional recognition is ‘the right thing to do’ but Indigenous leader accuses him of ‘not listening’

Indigenous leaders have dismissed opposition leader Peter Dutton’s promise to hold another referendum on constitutional recognition if the voice vote fails and the Coalition win the next election.

Dutton told Sky News on Sunday that, if elected, his party would send Australians back to the ballot box to vote on constitutional recognition, instead of a voice to parliament, saying it is “the right thing to do” and that he supported “regional voices”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian employers who deliberately underpay workers to face million-dollar fines or up to 10 years in jail

Workplace relations minister Tony Burke says he is ‘surprised’ move to close loopholes has been controversial

Workplace relations minister Tony Burke has said sending employers to jail for wage theft is a loophole that needs to close, adding he is surprised it has been controversial.

The minister also has hit back again at industry critics warning the laws promising to improve conditions for gig workers will make services more expensive.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Atagi recommends additional Covid vaccine booster for people over 75 – as it happened

Health minister’s office confirms government has accepted expert body’s advice. This blog is now closed

AMA says Coalition should ‘get out of the way’ of 60-day dispensing changes

The Australian Medical Association has welcomed the start of 60-day dispensing and urged the Coalition against reversing the decision. The opposition is expected to attempt to overturn the decision with a disallowance motion when parliament resumes next week.

Patients have waited for five years to get the hip pocket savings this policy delivers due to hardline opposition from pharmacy owners. It’s time for patients to get a fair go and for the Coalition to get out of the way of this long overdue health reform and to stop defending pharmacy owner profits.

Continue reading...

Labor running a ‘protection racket’ for Qantas with Qatar decision, federal opposition says

Coalition to pursue Albanese government when parliament resumes next week, with shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie arguing it should ‘come clean’

The Coalition will use next week’s sitting of federal parliament to “vigorously pursue” the Albanese government over its decision to reject the bid by Qatar Airways to fly more services into Australia.

Senators will also consider whether to recall Qantas for more questioning before parliamentary committees.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Makarrata commission has so far spent barely half the $900,000 allocated by Labor, documents show

Exclusive: First look at the truth-telling and treaty-making body’s work comes amid heavy Coalition scrutiny

The federal Makarrata commission for truth-telling and treaty-making has so far spent just a small amount of the funds it was allocated by the government, newly released documents show, with the body focusing on research and talking with state governments about treaty processes already under way.

It is the first look at the work of the Makarrata commission, a body requested by the Uluru statement from the heart and funded by the federal Labor government in its first budget last year, to oversee processes around treaty and truth-telling.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Consultancy firm used ‘power maps’ of Australian officials to help win government contracts

Accenture’s Peter Burns tells Senate the documents identifying key decision-makers and influence leaders have been used to tender for work

A consultancy firm that secured $528m of taxpayer money last year has admitted to maintaining hundreds of “power maps” that categorise federal officials based on influence, personality type and relationships with competitors.

Accenture has told the Senate the maps are restricted and only supplied to staff on a “need to know” basis, but acknowledged they were used in the process of bidding for government work.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: ‘maintain the love’, Noel Pearson says, rebutting John Howard’s no campaign message

Prominent yes campaigner and Cape York leader ‘surprised’ by former PM’s message to ‘maintain the rage’. Follow the latest updates live

Jane Hume to vote no despite anticipated home state yes

Liberal senator Jane Hume appeared on the Today show earlier this morning, saying she would be voting no in the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament, however she conceded her home state of Victoria will likely vote yes.

My home state is probably where there’ll be a Yes. But the yes vote is very well resourced from corporates and individuals and that’ll be ramping up. I don’t think the No campaign can take anything for granted in these last few weeks.

That describes both the yes and the no case. They can make up their own mind.

Continue reading...

Australia will not force adult websites to bring in age verification due to privacy and security concerns

The eSafety commissioner is to work with industry on a new code to educate parents about how to access filtering software and limit children’s access

The federal government will not force adult websites to bring in age verification following concerns about privacy and the lack of maturity of the technology.

On Wednesday, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, released the eSafety commissioner’s long-awaited roadmap for age verification for online pornographic material, which has been sitting with the government since March 2023.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia’s gig economy workers set to benefit from minimum pay and protection against ‘unfair deactivation’

Labor bill gives Fair Work Commission power to set minimum standards for hundreds of thousands of ‘employee-like workers’ on digital platforms

Gig economy workers in Australia including ride-share drivers and food delivery riders could soon benefit from minimum pay and protection against “unfair deactivation”.

Under a bill to be introduced by the Albanese government next week, the Fair Work Commission will be given the power to set minimum standards for hundreds of thousands of “employee-like workers” on digital platforms from 1 July 2024.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: ‘no downside, only upside’, PM says, confirming Indigenous voice to parliament referendum date as 14 October

The formal announcement of a voice referendum date triggers a campaign from both the yes and no camps, before Australians eventually head to the polls. Follow today’s live news updates

Report points to Snowy 2.0 project costs blowing out to $12bn

Nine’s Sydney Morning Herald and the Age are this morning reporting that the cost of Snowy Hydro’s 2.0 giant pumped hydro project has doubled in six months to $12bn.

Continue reading...

Deloitte joins RBA in tipping 4.5% Australian jobless rate thanks to slow consumer spending

Slowdown in household spending is finally flowing through to Australia’s jobs market, according to the latest forecasts from Deloitte Access Economics

Australia’s dream run with near record low unemployment is tipped to end due to weaker household consumption, with the jobless rate expected to increase from 3.7% to 4.5% by mid next year.

That is the conclusion of the latest Deloitte Access Economics employment forecasts, which attribute economic slowdown in part to the delayed effect of faster-than-expected rate rises by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Two future Australias’: PM to address community rally in Adelaide ahead of voice poll announcement

South Australia and Tasmania expected to decide future of voice to parliament as Anthony Albanese confirms date at Adelaide rally

The Indigenous voice referendum date will be announced at a large community rally in Adelaide’s outer suburbs on Wednesday, kickstarting a campaign to change Australia’s constitution for the first time in nearly half a century.

Albanese will join South Australia’s premier, Peter Malinauskas, in Elizabeth in Adelaide’s north, to confirm the referendum date. If held on 14 October, as widely anticipated, it would kickstart a 45-day campaign.

Continue reading...

Qantas flight credits: Albanese says customers should get another flight or their money back

PM weighs in on expiring credits but government defends blocking Qatar airways from increasing its flights to Australia

The Australian government has defended its decision to block Qatar airways from almost doubling its flights to Australia, but has distanced itself from Qantas by insisting the national airline should compensate customers for pandemic flight credits.

On Tuesday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded to consumer anger about $470m of unclaimed Qantas and Jetstar flight credits, and the assistant minister for competition, Andrew Leigh, called for the introduction of more low-cost carriers to bring prices down.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Climate crisis to create ‘acute’ challenges for Australia’s economy, incoming RBA governor says

Michele Bullock uses speech to detail how central bank is preparing for increased risk of extreme weather events

Global heating will present the Reserve Bank with “acute” challenges, including heightened uncertainty around how the climate will change and the resulting impacts on the economy and financial system, the incoming governor, Michele Bullock, has said.

Bullock, now deputy RBA governor before her elevation to the top post on 18 September, used her Sir Leslie Melville lecture at the Australian National University on Tuesday – after a brief disruption from protesters – to detail how the central bank was preparing for a warming world and the increased risk of extreme weather events.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...