Category Archives: Australia news

Stage-three tax cuts: richest 1% of Australians will save as much as poorest 65% combined, analysis shows

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Adam Bandt says changes will ‘turbocharge’ inequality as parliamentary budget office analysis finds men will benefit the most

The richest 1% of Australians will get as much benefit from the stage-three tax cuts as the poorest 65% combined, new parliamentary budget office analysis has projected, heaping more pressure on the Albanese government to rethink its commitment to the controversial $243bn reform plan.

After the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, reaffirmed Labor stood by the tax changes on Monday, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, again called for the Coalition-legislated tax cuts to be discussed at this week’s jobs and skills summit, warning the reforms would “turbocharge” inequality.

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Free degrees for Victorian nurses could cause workforce shortages elsewhere, unions warn

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Australian nursing and midwifery groups say Victoria’s scheme could see aspiring nurses leave their home states

Free university degrees for budding nurses in Victoria could exacerbate nationwide workforce shortages and pit states against each other, unions and peak bodies have warned.

The Victorian government on Sunday announced plans to pay the entire HECS debt of more than 10,000 nursing and midwifery graduates. Under the $270m scheme, all new domestic students enrolling in undergraduate nursing and midwifery courses in 2023 and 2024 will receive up to $16,500.

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Increasing paid parental leave to 52 weeks would give billion-dollar boost to economy, unions say

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In the lead-up to Labor’s jobs and skills summit, unions have also called for payments to match actual wages and the inclusion of superannuation

Unions have called for a massive expansion of paid parental leave by extending it to 52 weeks, paying parents their actual wage and including superannuation.

A report released by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) on Monday night has suggested halving the gap in women’s pay and participation would boost the economy by $111bn.

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Business cuts to on-the-job training have made Australia increasingly reliant on migrants, experts say

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Academic says companies ‘squealing’ to government about worker skill shortage are contributing to it

Businesses have demanded governments invest more in skills training even as they reduce such spending themselves, leaving Australia reliant on skilled migrants to avoid falling further behind comparable nations, academics and unions say.

The assessment, made public days before the jobs and skills summit in Canberra, comes as the federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, released draft legislation on Monday that would give $1.5bn in tax incentives for small businesses to lift the skills of employees.

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Penny Wong visits PNG and Timor-Leste as expert warns neighbours are ‘playing the China card’

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Foreign affairs minister met PNG leaders on Monday in Port Moresby and will continue to Timor-Leste on Wednesday

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says Australian aid in the Pacific comes with “no strings attached”, in a veiled reference to China’s expanding power in the region.

Visiting Port Moresby on Monday, Wong said Australia wanted the “closest possible relationship” with Papua New Guinea and would work with, and listen to, its government and people.

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Australia news live updates: Albanese says government will ‘stand by’ stage three tax cuts at press club speech

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The PM says his government made the decision in 2019 ‘that we would stand by that legislation rather than re-litigate it’. Follow all the day’s news

Pocock pushes for scrapping of stage-three tax cuts

Independent senator David Pocock was on RN speaking about the stage-three tax cuts, which he says should be “resisted” – no matter what was promised before the election.

What I’ve said is that they should be revisited … [Anthony Albanese] has a really strong case to relook at these these tax cuts and see what what else that could actually be spent on, given the you know the huge amount of money that they represent.

Things have changed a lot since these were where they decided. We’ve had bushfires, a global pandemic. We’ve had flooding and stagnant wages, and now people are in a cost-of-living crisis across the country. And so I just don’t think that we can justify handing out $240bn over the next 10 years to the wealthiest Australians.

Ultimately, when we hit the budget in October – which is where these issues get reviewed every year – when you look at the budget, there will be things that we want to do that we can’t do. And that’s the reality of a trillion dollars of Liberal debt, particularly as inflation goes up. That debt now costs a lot more than it costs even a year ago.

So there will be things that that we would want to do that people would like us to do that aren’t going to be possible as an example. It’s basically saying, ‘Yeah, this is just too too expensive.’

We’re only in the second month of that new system. A lot of it was designed before we came to office and the contracts had all been signed before we came into office. So I’m still very mindful of what we can do. But the the challenges of the people who are in the system right now are exactly as you’ve described.

I think to live on $46 a day is incredibly difficult if not impossible.

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Recycled water for drinking should be considered for Sydney, new strategy finds

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NSW government should also consider having additional desalination plants and plan for new ‘rainfall-independent’ water sources, report says

A new water strategy for the Sydney basin says the New South Wales government needs to look urgently at investing in alternative sources of water, including more desalination plants and large-scale recycling of wastewater.

But the state’s minister for water, Kevin Anderson, skirted around the most contentious part of the report: the consideration of large-scale recycling into the drinking-water system.

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Man pleads guilty to harassing ABC’s Mark Willacy over reporting on alleged Afghanistan war crimes

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Thomas Mark Rickard, who served in ADF, avoids conviction but is ordered to pay $1,000 good behaviour bond for leaving reporter abusive and threatening voicemail

A Victorian man who served with the Australian Defence Force has pleaded guilty to harassing the ABC journalist Mark Willacy after he reported on alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan.

Thomas Mark Rickard, from Lara, near Geelong, was arrested late last year after phoning Willacy and leaving an abusive and threatening voicemail.

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NSW introduces seven-star energy standards for new homes

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Renovations valued at more than $50,000 will be subject to the new NSW government planning policy

Tougher energy standards for new homes will be introduced in New South Wales, but small residential blocks and shopping centres won’t have to adhere to them because of developers’ concerns about added complexity and costs.

Under a new policy announced on Monday, new houses and high-rise towers will need to have a seven-star energy rating, while large office buildings must show the ability to become all-electric-powered.

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Comanchero bike boss Tarek Zahed to face murder charge after dramatic arrest in Sydney

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Tactical police fired bean bag rounds into Tarek Zahed’s black BMW on Edgecliff street

Comanchero bikie boss Tarek Zahed will face a Sydney court on a murder charge just months after narrowly surviving an attempt on his own life.

The sergeant-at-arms of the outlaw motorcycle gang was arrested in dramatic scenes on Sunday when tactical police fired bean bag rounds into Zahed’s black BMW on an Edgecliff street.

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Australia’s jobs and skills summit: who’s going and what’s on the agenda?

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Labor hopes together business, unions and the community sector will be able to find ways to lift wages, spur productivity and ease skills shortages

Lifting wages, productivity and easing skills shortages are top of the agenda at Thursday and Friday’s jobs and skills summit.

Here’s everything you need to know about the event.

Maintaining full employment and growing productivity

Equal opportunities and pay for women

Sustainable wage growth and the future of bargaining

Mega-trends driving our current and future skills needs

Workforce opportunities from clean energy and tackling climate change

Skills and training

Migration

Workforce participation

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Victoria paying more than $1m a day to keep unsentenced prisoners in jail

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Despite steep rise in number of prisoners on remand, Andrews government hasn’t reviewed bail reforms

The number of people in Victoria’s prisons who have not been found guilty of a crime has grown more than 140% in just under a decade and now costs taxpayers more than $1m each day.

Despite this, the Andrews government hasn’t reviewed changes to the state’s bail laws that have contributed to the increase, delaying the possibility of reform until after the November state election.

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Pocock urges Labor to scrap tax cuts – as it happened

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Independent senator David Pocock says circumstances have changed ‘so much’ since stage three tax cuts policy was legislated. This blog is now closed

McManus: normal part of bargaining to have industrial action as a last resort

McManus is asked if she wants workers in specific business to regain the right to strike in support of workers in other business (otherwise known as sympathy strikes or solidarity action).

Not in support of workers in another business – together. It is a normal part of bargaining to have … as a last resort, to take industrial action, and that is what happens in countries that have multi-employer bargaining, and there [are] not more strikes, there is more pay rises.

Essentially when workers have an option to do that, obviously it means the option to have a better outcome, and a better outcome more quickly.

Basically, workers’ bargaining power has been smashed over that period of time That’s why we have a problem, a huge problem, with wages growth and unless we address that issue, that is not going to change.

We think [sector-wide bargaining] should be open to all, but obviously a lot of places … they are getting pay rises at the moment. They can access the bargaining system.

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How would an Indigenous voice work and what are people saying about it?

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In press conference with NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal, PM reveals he has been talking with sporting figures about supporting campaign

The Albanese government has put forward a preferred form of words to insert into the constitution to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament, starting with a simple question for us all to vote on.

“We should consider asking our fellow Australians something as simple as: ‘Do you support an alteration to the constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?’” Anthony Albanese said in July during a landmark speech at the Garma festival in Arnhem Land.

There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

It may make representations to parliament and the executive government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The parliament shall, subject to this constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

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Electric car-ready homes will help firm up the power grid, Ed Husic says

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Governments urged to plan for emerging technologies that will allow bidirectional charging so vehicle batteries can power homes

Australia’s first mandate to make new apartment buildings “electric vehicle-ready” should be extended to all new housing, potentially turning entire suburbs into virtual batteries supporting the power grid, the federal science minister said.

Ed Husic helped helm Friday’s gathering of federal, state and territory building ministers in Sydney, where it was agreed to amend the national construction code to require new apartment blocks to be capable of charging cars in all their parking spots.

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Perrottet government faces challenge from new wave of teals in NSW’s 2023 state election

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Community-based groups are looking for candidates but they may find it harder to gain traction than federal independents

The Perrottet government will face a wave of community-based independent candidates at the next state election running on platforms of integrity in NSW politics, sustainability and local development issues.

Community-based groups, some of which include people who worked on federal campaigns for “teal” candidates, are being set up along the north shore of Sydney and in the east.

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Mystery surrounds cluster of satin bowerbird deaths in the Gold Coast hinterland

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Landowner and bird experts cast doubt on Queensland government’s rat poison theory

In a town perched atop the rainforest hinterland of the Gold Coast, one of Australia’s most charismatic birds is suddenly and mysteriously dying.

Rumours and misinformation are swirling around Tamborine Mountain to explain the spate of satin bowerbirds deaths, with fingers pointed at everything from rat poison to 4G phone towers.

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Australia 25-17 South Africa: Rugby Championship Test – as it happened

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Paul Williams from New Zealand is the man in charge of today’s contest. He was in Australia recently, taking care of the final Test of England’s tour in Sydney.

There was collateral damage in the Wallaby camp after the trip to South America. Defence coach Matt Taylor has been let go with veteran Brumbies forwards coach Laurie Fisher returning to the fold. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience which will only benefit our playing group,” Rennie said.

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Albanese meets with NBA legend in support of Indigenous voice – as it happened

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Greens call for immediate pay rises for minimum wage earners; 86 Covid deaths reported. This blog is now closed

The minister for employment and workplace relations, Tony Burke spoke to Channel Nine this morning, saying there is “a lot” government can do to help close the gender pay gap.

Burke said there is currently a 14% difference between what men and women are paid, which amounts to $250/week.

It’s a really common ploy in workplaces where women are being paid less than men. We want to get rid of those clauses.

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Shaquille O’Neal meets with PM in support of Indigenous voice to parliament

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Anthony Albanese announces the NBA legend will be part of the effort to mobilise support in the lead-up to a referendum

The prime minister is usually a towering figure in the national imagination, but on Saturday Anthony Albanese was quite literally dwarfed by Shaquille O’Neal during an announcement the NBA star would be lending his support to the campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament.

The former LA Lakers centre is in Australia for a speaking tour and reached out to the government to inform himself about the proposal for the First Nations voice, Albanese said.

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