Mutual obligations system will require people to complete an expanded range of activities to keep their payments
Welfare advocates have warned job seekers may have their payments suspended under a new points-based mutual obligations system because of “unnecessarily onerous” requirements.
The “points-based activation system”, to be introduced from 1 July, replaces the rigid 20 job applications a month requirement that has frustrated job seekers and employers for many years.
Continue reading...Industry advocates push for eastern states to establish gas reserves as soaring energy costs put pressure on companies
One of Australia’s largest regional food processors says energy costs are “out of control”, with already elevated gas prices tripling since the company signed new contracts in early 2022.
Consumers will inevitably cop higher prices on their products with other costs also on the rise, including a jump of as much as 40% for raw materials such as tomatoes, carrots and apples in the past year, Jason Fritsch, the chief executive of Kagome, said.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Labor government recommends minimum wage be increased in line with inflation; Anthony Albanese says stopping new gas projects ‘doesn’t reflect the needs’ of economy; new monkeypox cases reported in NSW and Victoria; nation records at least 50 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed
‘Pick up the phone and call your energy retailer’
The CEO of the Australian Energy Council, Sarah McNamara, appeared on ABC News Breakfast this morning to discuss the perfect storm the market is currently facing.
It is not a systemic market failure under way but there is a coincidence of factors occurring in the market, putting pressure on the wholesale price and that will put pressure on retail bills as well.
Most consumers won’t experience the kind of wholesale market price spikes we are seeing at the moment. That is because their retailers have hedging contracts to ensure their supply costs are smoothed out over time. However, because there is general upward pressure on prices, people are going to experience higher bills over the coming year.
Continue reading...Tanya Plibersek seeks ‘urgent briefing’ over Coalition scrapping of recovery plans; NSW man diagnosed with monkeypox; nation records 57 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news
Treasurer questioned on staff shortages in hospitality
Amid his media blitz, treasurer Jim Chalmers appeared on Sunrise this morning discussing energy woes.
What are we going to do to alleviate those staff issues and how long is it going to take for that to happen?
Obviously there is a role for cheaper childcare so that if people want to work more and earn more we can tap [into] that really big workforce of parents that find it too hard because they get priced out of work by the childcare system. And we are up for ... conversation with business about migration settings to make sure that they are appropriate so that they are not a substitute for doing those other things at home.
Continue reading...Treasury inquiry told ‘crypto is high-risk and unsophisticated investors are at high risk of losing significant funds’
Consumer groups have called for strong financial regulation of cryptocurrency markets and investments in Australia, saying crypto assets are “complex, volatile and high-risk products that can cause harm to Australian consumers.”
In a submission to the federal treasury’s consultation paper on cryptocurrency, consumer group Choice has urged the federal government to “strongly consider regulating all crypto assets under the existing financial product regulatory regime for better outcomes for consumers and the community”.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Prime minister says he will treat Peter Dutton with respect: ‘I never underestimate my opponents’
Anthony Albanese has vowed to form a constructive relationship with parliament’s expanded crossbench and has warned against underestimating Peter Dutton as opposition leader.
In a wide-ranging interview on Sky News, Albanese reflected on the “great responsibility” of serving as prime minister but said he would try to “keep it real”.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Bushmaster reportedly destroyed in fighting in Ukraine; nation records 30 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed
Finance minister Katy Gallagher is speaking now to ABC Insiders host David Speers. She says Labor faces “a very serious set of economic and budget challenges, and we don’t want to pretend it is anything but that”.
Q: Are you saying that the figures that were produced showing deficits totalling $224bn over the next four years – were they accurate or not?
Well, they are certainly the numbers that the finance department and the Treasury signed off on in the election campaign, but I think the point we are making is that there is a range of spending that we are having a look at in the budget and there is also clearly some huge budget pressures coming.
I guess in those areas – health, aged care, the NDIS, defence, national security – where there are all of them growing faster than GDP and going to play significant pressure on the budget going forward …
I haven’t had many moments to reflect, I’ve got to say ... it’s been a busy time. But I do understand the great responsibility that I have – I’m humbled by it. It says a lot about our great country that the son of a single mum, who was an invalid pensioner living in council housing, can rise to lead the country as prime minister and I’ll never take it for granted. I’ll honour it every day and I’ll do my best. That’s not to say I’ll be perfect, because none of us are, but I’ll try to keep it real on the way through and continue to keep my feet on the ground, because I think that is really important as well.
Australians are generous people and I think that they’ll give us a go. I get the sense out there that they want us to succeed. And I had people who didn’t vote for us as well, who said to me, we really want you to succeed for the sake of the country. So we’ll do our best.
Continue reading...Expert says collective bargaining is a ‘minefield’ for employers and simplifying it should be a focus of the forum
More immigration, improved skills policy and simplifying collective bargaining have emerged as three top demands from employers for the new Labor government’s jobs summit.
Experts suggest the forum could also pave the way for reforms including wage theft legislation, which was dropped from the Coalition’s industrial relations bill, and action on union demands about insecure work.
The better off overall test so hypothetical patterns of work don’t prevent pay deals being approved;
The requirements for the FWC to be satisfied that genuine agreement has been reached;
The requirement for employers to explain the terms of a proposed pay deal to employees prior to the vote.
Continue reading...AEC concedes some Covid-positive Australians ‘may not be able to vote’: prime minister responds after Labor announces policy costings; Covid and illness lead to drop in working hours; nation records at least 52 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s developments live
Scott and Jenny Morrison are visiting Whitemore in the Labor-held electorate of Lyons in Tasmania this morning.
Brian Mitchell holds Lyons on a margin of 5.2%, although his buffer was inflated by the disendorsement of his Liberal opponent mid-campaign in 2019 for anti-Islamic social media posts. Morrison is still on the offence, seeking gains to offset expected losses elsewhere.
Katy Gallagher disputes prime minister’s claims on real wage growth; nation records at least 53 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed
National party deputy leader, David Littleproud was feeling upbeat this morning while speaking to ABC Breakfast TV:
We have achieved a lot together, in fact we have done more than any other nation in the world if you look at an economic and health front. We should be proud but we need to shift gears and make sure we look after those cost of living inflation pressures and who is best to handle that and to drive the economy and to guide the economy. I think that’s where the Australian people are looking at it when the opposition won’t tell them how much of their money they’re going to spend, they’re taking them as mugs. We got to be open and honest and transparent.
We think an upward surprise of 1% q/q growth in [today’s] WPI could be enough to get the RBA over the line for 40 basis points, though if it comes in at our forecast of 0.8% q/q that prospect will recede.
Continue reading...Labor says figures released by the ABS show gap between wage growth and cost of living increases in Australia is now the largest in more than two decades
Australian wage growth barely budged in the March quarter, with salaries increasing at less than half the headline inflation rate, stoking concerns pay packets continue to shrink in real terms.
During the first three months of 2022, the seasonally adjusted wage price index (WPI) rose 0.7% from the December quarter to be 2.4% higher than a year earlier. Economists had tipped a quarterly and yearly rise of 0.7-0.8% and 2.5%, respectively.
Continue reading...Prime minister tells Tracy Grimshaw ‘I could have been more sensitive at times’; nation records 66 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed
Ita Buttrose:
We will retain an internal system of editorial complaint handling. We accept the recommendations, but we have amended one already. The review recommends that the ombudsman should report directly to the board. We should report to the board and the managing director, but the directors felt that this would simply be continuing the system we already have and we wanted a different more independent approach. So the ombudsman will report directly to the board and the process will be separate from editorial management.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese labels Coalition housing scheme ‘an attack on future savings’; AEC says Advance Australia ‘Greens’ signs in breach of electoral act; home price increases will be ‘marginal’ under new plan, Scott Morrison says; PM says Labor was informed about Aukus when they ‘needed to be’; NSW records four Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news live
Labor campaign spokesperson Jason Clare has a new line.
He told ABC TV:
The next week is really important. Australians have a big choice to make this weekend. It is a choice between a better future under Labor and more Scott Morrison.
As Australians think about this, they would be thinking “Do you want to wake up on Sunday morning and roll over and see Scott Morrison?”
Continue reading...Party confident of winning at least one seat in Brisbane, where it will launch its campaign on Monday
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, will release a $173bn balance-of-power wishlist at the party’s campaign launch in Brisbane on Monday night, outlining seven key concessions it wants from Labor in the event of a minority government.
The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, has ruled out doing any deals with the Greens to form government, while Bandt has said the party will not support the Liberals under any circumstance.
Continue reading...Allowing access to up to $50,000 of retirement savings ‘like throwing petrol on a bonfire’, industry super group warns
The Coalition has conceded its plan to allow first homebuyers access to superannuation will push up prices, as industry super and progressive thinktanks warned it could add tens of thousands to the cost of a home.
The policy, unveiled at the Coalition launch on Sunday, to allow first homebuyers access to up to $50,000 of retirement savings has prompted warnings that house prices in Sydney could increase by as much as $134,000.
Continue reading...Prime minister says such a move would be ‘incredibly reckless’ but payments such as pensions are already tied to cost-of-living changes
Economists and advocacy groups have seized on the Morrison government’s objection to lifting minimum wages by the inflation rate, noting benefits such as pensions are tied to how consumer prices change.
Prime minister Scott Morrison blasted comments by Labor leader Anthony Albanese on Wednesday that he would “absolutely” support wages keeping pace with prices. That call was “incredibly reckless”, Morrison said, adding that wage increases of 5%-plus were “like throwing fuel on the fire of rising interest rates and rising costs of living”.
Continue reading...Simon Birmingham says Anthony Albanese ‘making it up as he goes along’ on wage rises; Peter Dutton takes swipe at Clive Palmer over seat preferences; at least 53 Covid deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s news
Josh Frydenberg told ABC TV he believed Scott Morrison won last night’s debate.
He also believes moderate Liberals have done enough to influence the party from the inside:
Let me take those issues individually. Firstly, on climate, I was a strong advocate, so was Dave Sharma, Katie Allen, Trent Zimmerman, Tim Wilson and many others about getting Australia to net zero emissions by 2050.
We argued inside the tent for that commitment and it’s in Australia’s best interest that it’s a bipartisan commitment. It’s Australia’s best interest that we have a long-term economic plan to get there.
Continue reading...Australia’s minimum wage is shrinking compared to median pay, bucking global trends
The recent spurt in inflation has little do with workers being paid more, economists say, warning the claim that wage increases could set off inflation is “over-the-top alarmism”.
Debate over how much the lowest-paid workers should receive has flared during the election campaign after the ACTU this week raised its minimum wage claim to the Fair Work Commission to 5.5% from an earlier goal of 5%, after March-quarter consumer prices spiked.
Continue reading...Employers argue that excessive minimum pay increases will fuel inflation as unions call for ‘incredibly reasonable’ boost to meet cost-of-living pressures
Employers have warned against “unaffordable” wage increases after Anthony Albanese backed a 5.1% minimum wage rise to keep up with inflation.
Despite the warnings, the Australian Industry Group has raised its own submission to the Fair Work Commission from 2% to 2.5%, while the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has asked for low-paid workers to get a 3% rise.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Tanya Plibersek says party would look at introducing superannnuation on paid parental leave ‘when we can afford to’
Labor will promise a new measure to close the gender pay gap and attack the government for promoting “the importance of low paid work” in the campaign’s final fortnight.
On Sunday the shadow minister for women, Tanya Plibersek, confirmed another policy push on gender pay inequity, while the shadow industrial relations minister, Tony Burke, signalled a plan to weaponise the Coalition’s submission to the minimum wage review.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...