Category Archives: Australian economy

Albanese government poised to increase jobseeker for people over 55

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The $50 daily rate will rise at first only for people over 55 as ministers target cost of living relief at women and long-term unemployed

The Albanese government is poised to increase jobseeker for people aged over 55, citing the need to target cost of living relief at women and the long-term unemployed.

On Monday Channel Seven first reported, and Guardian Australia independently confirmed, that the $50 a day rate of jobseeker will be increased at first only for those 55 and over with reconsideration of a broader raise in later budgets.

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Small businesses offered tax breaks for going green in federal budget – as it happened

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Marles on Australians caught in Sudan conflict

Asked about Australians caught in Sudan and the conflict there, Richard Marles says “there are still options out of Port Sudan which is on the Red Sea, which is, I think it’s about 800km out of Khartoum” to leave “what is obviously a deteriorating situation”:

There are ferries there and there may be other options coming out of that. I mean, the important thing is this – Australians in Sudan, and there do remain a number of Australians in Sudan, really need to make sure that they register.

We will continue to work with friends and allies and do everything that we can within our power to provide options for Australians who want to leave. Because we understand how difficult this situation is now.

Ultimately, our ambition is to establish a production line with companies in this country which would provide for the manufacture of those long-range strike missiles and doing as much of that as possible in the next couple of years. We hope that we can begin with the assembly of the strike missiles that go in the Himars system. But we want to build on that so that we’re actually manufacturing the full suite of these weapons in Australia.

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Australia news live: Daniel Duggan’s family protest outside US embassy; watchdog finds 81% of influencer posts misleading

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ACCC says social media companies not doing enough to prevent users falling victim to scams on the sites. Follow live

‘Gamble responsibly’ to be replaced with ‘You win some you lose more’

Rishworth is also flagging further gambling reform to sports betting ads and other areas to come.

In addition to this credit card ban, to implementing a number of new measures, the government is very much looking forward to the House of Representatives inquiry into online wagering.

It is looking at a whole range of areas, including advertising. We look forward to those recommendations and certainly there is an appetite for a discussion about what comes next with my state and territory colleagues.

By using a credit card, you’re going into debt and if you are using that for online wagering, you can get yourself into trouble.

When it comes to things like casinos, pokies, you are not able to use a credit card for that, so we are wanting to bring in line online wagering and ban the use of credit cards.

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News live: clock ticking as US coast guard scours ocean for missing Australian cruise passenger

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Coast guard say passenger went overboard 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) from Hawaii’s Big Island. Follow live

The US coast guard has confirmed that an Australian man fell overboard on the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship, which was travelling from Brisbane to Hawaii.

The coast guard said the passenger went overboard 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) from Hawaii’s Big Island.

500 nautical miles south of Hawaii’s Big Island a man fell overboard on Quantum of the Seas cruise ship. He is an Australian national.

A Hercules airplane is on scene conducting a search. At the moment it is the only asset that’s on scene searching.

We’ve been on scene since 9am. And with the crew’s endurance and the fuel constraints of the vessel they should be there for about six hours since arriving on scene.

What I can confirm is the budget will have a cost of living package that is targeted to the most vulnerable. We’ve been clear about that. Obviously some of that is the assistance and support on energy relief. We’ve had the announcements around medicines in the last day.

We are focused on making sure we can do the right thing for those that are doing it tough, but within an environment where there are a lot of demands on the budget in a lot of areas.

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Australia news live: student debt ‘avalanche’ a sign loan system is broken, Faruqi says; drowning death at Victoria beach

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The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is this morning committing to $260m to Australia’s national parks to address problems after “a decade of neglect”.

Plibersek is telling ABC News some parks have become unsafe:

What we’ve seen in our national parks, feral animals, invasive weeds, despite the best efforts of our rangers and staff, they just haven’t been able to keep up with the demand in our parks.

They’ve actually become unsafe. One of the worst examples I heard was broken and missing crocodile signs in Kakadu national park.

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Jim Chalmers promises cost-of-living relief in budget but won’t commit to raising jobseeker

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Treasurer says government’s focus remains on jobs as CEO of Acoss says increasing unemployment benefit still a ‘live debate’

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says there will be cost-of-living relief in the budget and the government will “prioritise the most vulnerable” but has still refused to commit to raising the jobseeker rate.

Labor backbenchers have broken ranks to publicly call on the government to adopt the first priority recommendation of the economic inclusion advisory committee and “substantially” raise the unemployment benefit.

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Calls to reform Australia’s student debt scheme as loan holders face ‘deeply unjust’ 7.1% rise

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Millions of Australians face a hike in their Help and Hecs loans when indexation is added on 1 June, the highest increase in decades

Australians with student debt face the highest increase in decades from 1 June, leading to calls from a growing group of MPs and advocates for the government to urgently reform the repayment system amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The March quarterly figures, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday, revealed the consumer price index (CPI) for the first three months of 2023 was at an annual rate of 7%, down from the 32-year high in December of 7.8%, but up on last March’s 5.1%.

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Australia news live: defence strategic review ‘a cannibalisation of army mobility’, Hastie says; Victorian jockey dies after race fall

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Review calls for ADF to develop ability to precisely strike targets at longer range and to develop stronger network. Follow the day’s news live

Plibersek v Joyce on Newspoll

In their regular spot on Sunrise, environment minister Tanya Plibersek and Coalition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce weighed in on those Newspoll results.

They’re very strong support numbers, and I tell you the reason is not based on polling but what people tell me when I’m out around the country.

People tell me that they’re pleased to see a government that is just getting on with the job, doing what we promised and they’re impressed that the prime minister is just sticking with what he said he’d do.

We don’t have an election tomorrow and that’s a good thing.

A lot of people are starting to focus now on issues such as the voice and saying, “I don’t feel comfortable with this.”

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RBA review has ‘opened the door’ to moving away from inflation focus, panellist says

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Renee Fry-McKibbin says panel considered ‘a lot of alternative frameworks’ but decision on shift would fall to future reviews

The review of the Reserve Bank of Australia has “opened the door” for a potential shift away from targeting inflation using interest rates, one of the review panellists says.

Renee Fry-McKibbin told an event on Monday that the panellists had examined “a lot of alternative frameworks” but it would fall to future reviews to discuss ditching the bank’s current goal of aiming to keep inflation between 2% and 3%.

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Barry Humphries’ family discussing state funeral; young carers to get study funding boost – as it happened

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Gallagher on the NDIS and RBA appointments

On the NDIS, Gallagher refers to a speech given by Bill Shorten at the Press Club last week on the future of the scheme.

I think the challenge in the NDIS is actually about making sure that every dollar going in there – and it’s a substantial amount of dollars now, is actually delivering the outcomes we want in supporting people with a disability to live a dignified life, and, you know, some of that might involve changes within the scheme.

The [RBA] governor and Treasury were involved in that. That’s the first time that’s happened. I note the governor in his press conference welcomed those appointments to the board. From our point of view, apart from them having incredible careers of substance, both of those appointees, we absolutely think that people with experience about working people’s lives and about wages and wages’ role in the economy is absolutely important to reflect on the board.

I think from other point of view, we want to make sure, that you know, taxpayers are getting the right sort of return through that measure. And, you know, that’s the work that Treasury has done. They think there are some changes that could be made. There are a number of different recommendations, or views, put through that, and we’ll conclude our discussions on that in the short term.

We’re actually having to deal with that. And you’ll see a reasonable part of the budget is actually addressing these terminating measures, which is essentially the dishonesty of the previous government about the state the budget was in.

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ACCC to probe whether banks use saver’s profession to determine interest rate

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As part of inquiry into pricing practices, consumer regulator will assess the criteria banks use when making rate decisions

The competition regulator will test whether banks and other lenders use a person’s profession, or other demographic information, to determine what savings rate they receive, amid growing concerns over pricing practices.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has opened its inquiry into retail deposits for submissions, and will assess the criteria banks use when making rate decisions.

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Advice on voice a ‘cynical political tactic’ to confuse voters, Coalition claims – as it happened

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Ed Husic says board appointments alone won’t guarantee RBA diversity

The ministry for industry, Ed Husic, says he believes new appointments to the RBA board alone isn’t enough to bring diversity to the central bank – he says there need to be “deeper structures” put in place.

As a government, I can give you this assurance. We do like to take into account people’s views from different vantage points. I do think it is important that where decisions have an impact – not just in terms of investors or industry but the people that work in them or the broader community – I think it’s a healthier decision …

Some people will fix on ‘well, someone should have a seat at the board’ for that to occur and I understand why they’ll make those arguments. I’m not necessarily convinced that that specifically guarantees that will occur, just having one person on the board. There need to be a lot deeper structures for people to have that sense that they’ve had a say and that they can have an ability to influence and inform decision making.

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A singular focus on interest rates, fresher board, fewer meetings – but what else could change at the RBA?

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The Reserve Bank overhaul won’t fix mistakes of the past, but that’s not the point, analysts say

The most far-reaching overhaul of the Reserve Bank of Australia in decades will send a culture shock pulsing through the central bank, but its impact on interest rates for average borrowers and depositors alike will probably be marginal at best.

Because that’s not really the point, analysts say.

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ACTU will not push for spot on RBA board as review released – as it happened

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Bandt: if budget can afford stage-three tax cuts it can afford to lift Australians out of poverty.

Bandt is also highly critical of the government as it appears set to reject a call from its very own expert advisory panel to raise the jobseeker rate. He says if the budget can afford to keep stage-three tax cuts, it can afford to lift Australians out of poverty:

Everyday people are not causing inflation. They are the victims of inflation. Now, Labor has found over a quarter of a trillion dollars for tax cuts for billionaires and politicians that can’t lift people out of poverty.

Labor’s not making hard choices in this budget, they’re making everyone else make hard choices, like whether to pay for the rent or whether to put food on the table.

We’ll have a look at all of the recommendations of the review, and the government’s response when it’s released fully but a major party stitch up isn’t going to fix the inflation problem.

We need more than just outsourcing the issue of tackling inflation to the RBA, which is what Liberal and Labor want to do. We know that it is excessive profiteering that is driving higher prices and inflation in this country. It’s not the everyday people.

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Australia news live: Andrew Hastie fires back after Mark McGowan ‘cold war pills’ comment caught on camera

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Coalition’s defence spokesperson calls WA premier ‘a prison guard looking for work’. Follow live

Voice committee heads north to hear traditional owners

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has defended the wording of the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament, dismissing fears of possible high court challenges, AAP reports.

This is a legally sound proposition. It makes it very clear that parliament is in charge.

There’s no obligation and there’s certainly not an obligation on the government to agree to the voice. There is the provision for the voice to be heard, for at least the views to be put.

That will be up to the government as a whole. I don’t know.

The reality is that we know that people are doing it tough, absolutely doing it tough. And what we want to do is where it’s responsible that we can – and affordable – that we can support people doing it tough.

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Australia news live: Labor will not lift jobseeker despite recommendation for ‘substantial increase’ to base rate

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Joyce describes Indigenous voice as ‘a consultative power by selected group’

Joyce says the voice will affect all Australians, not just Indigenous Australians, because a selected rather than elected body will move away from the democratic process.

It is a massive change to how democracy works because we’re now dealing with a consultative power by selected group, not an elected group … and that move away from the democratic process.

What I’m asking you is that you say on one hand that there’s no legislation … But you also make a claim about a model which doesn’t exist, you can’t have it both ways.

In all the narrative from Mr Pearson, to his Ms Langton, to the Calma Langton report, they talk about selection, not election.

So then you do think you’ve got a model?

Then let us see the legislation.

I just don’t believe that we should be inserting a racial clause into our constitution in 2023.

Tick the box that you believe in racial differentiation. You’ve just ticked the box that you believe in racial differentiation.

It’s the form that it comes in. I’ve got no problems with the statement of fact that Indigenous Australians were the first people in Australia.

I’ve got no problems with the constitutional recognition referendum on the premise that we see the details first … I’m talking to about a more proper and pertinent alternative approach, which means that we get all the details not some of the details, we see the legislation before we vote, we don’t get a blank check. And we also make sure that we see the proper legal opinion before we vote not someone’s opinion of the opinion, which is what Mr Albanese is going to give us.

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Australia news live: household assistance on energy bills to be detailed in budget, Chalmers says

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Treasurer says volatility in the global economy to have ‘flow-on effect on budget’. Follow the day’s news live

The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, is chastising the PM for letting there be any doubt whether he will be attending the Nato security summit.

Bangarra Dance Theatre supports voting ‘Yes’ in voice referendum

For over three decades, Bangarra Dance Theatre has been privileged to be entrusted with sharing the powerful voices of the world’s oldest living cultures – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures of this nation.

The stories we tell have awakened a national consciousness to the deep scars of our colonial history, and the legacy of unseen trauma left in its wake. We attend to this knowing that by carrying Story, we also carry a responsibility to give insight into our experiences, promote understanding, and effect change. But is this enough?

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Australians report record $3.1bn losses to scams, with real amount even higher, ACCC says

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Investment fraud amounts for biggest share at $1.5bn, followed by remote access and payment redirection rorts

Australians lost a record amount of more than $3.1bn to scams in 2022, up from the $2bn lost in 2021, a new report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has revealed.

The Targeting Scams report, which compiles data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, major banks and money remitters, was based on an analysis of more than 500,000 reports.

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NSW minister calls frontline workers ‘heroes’ after paramedic killing – as it happened

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Kerrynne Liddle says ‘prove it’s not happening’ on child sexual abuse in Alice

Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle, the first Indigenous senator from South Australia, and a name being touted as a contender for shadow minister for Indigenous Australians after Julian Leeser’s resignation.

I think we have to be really careful about politicising this issue, because matters related to any form of assault are sensitive, but important to understand and respond to.

… I think what’s really important though, is it can’t ignore the issue of sexual abuse, but you must also tackle those issues, alongside other issues which include [service] delivery and decision dysfunction.

Do you encourage your leader to temper his language given we haven’t yet seen evidence to say that there is a widespread phenomenon of this?

I say prove it’s not happening. And then we can have a conversation about the kind of language that we can actually use for this.

… You’ve got you’ve got the statistics, which everyone accepts are underreported and underrepresented. You’ve got to have relationships with communities to enable people to start talking about these safe spaces for young people to raise this issue of need to support people to have housing so that young people and older people are not at risk of this.

It’s possible to be optimistic about Australia’s economic future, and to be realistic about a global slowdown.

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Australia’s trade minister hopeful China bans will end but warns against putting ‘all our eggs in one basket’

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Don Farrell has dismissed talk of any Australian policy shift after breakthrough reached on barley exports

The Australian trade minister says he wants a quick return to normal trade with China but has warned exporters not to put “all of our eggs in one basket”.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, Don Farrell was bullish about the prospect of Australia succeeding in its international challenge against Beijing’s tariffs on Australian barley, saying he thought “we would ultimately win that”.

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