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Anthony Albanese has called a snap press conference in Canberra at 8.30am. We’ll have coverage of this for you soon.
A man has died in Melbourne’s south after being struck by a truck on a major highway near Frankston.
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Chalmers: we can have cost-of-living relief and wage growth
Here is how Jim Chalmers was selling the wage submission (at least on ABC TV this morning). The treasurer said it wasn’t a binary choice between cost of living relief and wages growth:
We don’t see cost of living relief as ‘instead of’ decent wages growth. We want to see wages growth on top of the billions of dollars of cost of living relief that the Albanese government is rolling out.
… The tax cuts we’re rolling out for everyone, or cheaper childhood education or cheaper medicines - none of those are a substitute for getting wages growing in the economy once again.
I think if you’ve followed Tasmanian laws, and they’ve worked very well down there and actually your bill is based on that, you might have … a good good bit of airing out there and actually be able to settle this once and for all.
I think there’s a very fine line between having choices … and running … a business or a school or anything else.
People send their kids to faith based schools with expectations and I think we’ve got a walk a very, very fine line with all of that.
Continue reading...Wage growth from higher employment and hours worked without output gains could fan inflation, Productivity Commission warns
A surge in employment combined with scant investment by firms to improve output triggered a sharp drop in worker productivity, limiting prospects for income growth without fanning inflation, the Productivity Commission said in its annual report.
Across the economy, productivity fell 3.7% in 2022-23, as output growth failed to keep pace with a record 6.9% increase in hours worked, the commission said. A rush by employers to hire new staff was much higher than in previous bursts – the nearest comparison was the 4.3% rise in hours worked in 1988-89.
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The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.
Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.
We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.
Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.
Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.
Continue reading...Shadow home affairs minister calls for extra checks ‘at the very least for MPs who work on sensitive committees’. Follow today’s live news updates
Ley defends pharmacists’ opposition to 60-day dispensing rule for prescriptions
The interview then gets to the issue of pharmacists and the change the government made to allow for 60-day dispensing (two-for-one prescriptions) which will save chronically ill patients up to $180 a year (as well as money on less trips to the doctor, travel etc.) but will cost pharmacists up to $150,000 a year (from the fourth year of the change) in lost dispensing fees (plus people buying fewer ‘incidentals’ such as jelly beans).
I’ve been in contact with many pharmacists over recent weeks, including those who left their businesses and assembled here a couple of weeks ago and I really am concerned about the impact this policy change is going to have.
I’m hearing [about] pharmacies who are already laying off staff. They’re already letting people go and most importantly, they can’t continue to provide the previously free support services that they used to …
Because they’ve told me.
Because if the government has changed the contract it has with pharmacy and is paying them less, they have to change their business in response. It’s as simple as that.
I would like to absolutely recognise the contribution she has made. She has been a trailblazer for our party. She has changed national politics and I have seen the work that she’s done over many years, much of it very modest, very behind the scenes, very in community.
So people often think of her as a defence and foreign affairs minister. I’ve seen her as a local champion for Western Sydney, and disadvantaged people across this country, and I have yeah, I mean, I’ll be really sad to see her go.
Always standing up for Australia’s national interest and a safer, stronger region. It’s as simple as that.
I think we did extremely good work with the Solomon Islands and, indeed, with the Pacific and people are looking at this through the lens of Covid and suggesting that we could have done more when, in fact, travel was an impossibility. I think that issue is well and truly being put to bed.
Continue reading...The Reserve Bank governor says rates will keep being lifted if necessary, despite 'significant financial pressure’ for some
Philip Lowe concedes interest rate pain is being felt “unevenly” across Australia but he says that is not a reason to avoid using the one tool the Reserve Bank has to tame inflation and raise rates further.
The RBA governor has also warned against the idea that all workers should be compensated for inflation, saying “we have to make sure that higher inflation doesn’t translate into higher wages for everybody”.
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Continue reading...Legislation will be introduced to state parliament on Tuesday freezing the salaries of MPs and executives from July
Promised pay rises for New South Wales frontline workers will be funded by a two-year freeze on the wages of state politicians and public service senior executives.
Legislation will be introduced to state parliament on Tuesday freezing the salaries of MPs and executives from July and redirecting the millions of dollars in savings to nurses, paramedics, teachers and other frontline workers.
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Continue reading...Australians will find out at 2.30pm AEST whether the Reserve Bank will pause its interest rates hikes after 10 consecutive rises. Follow the day’s news live
Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, says becoming a republic is “inevitable” even if Australians are proud to have the British monarch as their head of state.
In his first interview since taking up the post, Smith told the Times newspaper that most British people would be “indifferent” to Australia getting rid of the monarchy and it would not damage the countries’ relationship.
There is a lot of affection and respect for the monarchy in Australia.
That affection and respect hasn’t gone away because of Australia contemplating from time to time what it should do about its constitutional arrangements.
My personal view is it’s inevitable. But how that’s progressed is entirely a matter for the Australian government of the day.
Our public-sector workers do a great job serving their fellow Victorians and we’re proud to support them. In addition to wage increases, workers will be able to obtain a sign-on bonus while productivity improvements will bring the potential for further advancement of conditions.
The policy provides fair outcomes for employees while being responsible as we deal with the types of budget challenges faced by families, businesses and governments across the world.
Continue reading...Minimum hourly rate would rise to $22.88 – or $45,337 a year – if the Fair Work Commission grants the increase
Australian unions have called for a pay rise of 7% for the lowest-paid workers, a raise in the national minimum wage of $1.50 an hour to keep pace with inflation.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions made that submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual minimum wage review, which sets the pay of more than 2.6 million employees on the national minimum or award wages.
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Continue reading...December quarter wage index rose from 3.1% to 3.3%, but 7.8% inflation indicates a 4.5% decrease in real wages
Australian salaries increased at a faster pace in the December quarter in a tight labour market, but not enough to prevent the gap with inflation widening to a record level.
The wage price index (WPI) for the final three months of 2022 came in at 3.3%, an increase on the 3.1% pace in the September quarter and the highest since the end of 2012. Economists had forecast a 3.5% increase.
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Coalition is alienating young voters, PM says
Over on ABC radio Melbourne, Anthony Albanese has been asked what he thinks about the Victorian election and the lessons for the Liberal party.
One of the things that we’re seeing, I believe is an alienation from younger voters from the Coalition.
When you have a position where you have senior members of the Coalition [who] can’t say that climate change is real in spite of the floods and bushfires and all of the evidence of the heating of the planet that we’re seeing, let alone any time something is put up to take action on climate change. They dismiss it.
[It] depends where you work. There will be some businesses, for example, which refuse to bargain with their staff where they used to and their staff where they used to and the better-off-overall test became too complex. Getting rid of the red tape we got there will bring some of the businesses back to the table straight away.
Also, any businesses that are concerned, like ... that actually don’t want to be involved in multi-employer bargaining, the simple fix for them is for them to negotiate with their staff now.
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Buy now, pay later review has been coming for a while
The last time the issue was examined, under the previous government, it was decided the industry could regulate itself.
Continue reading...Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the policy change will cost around $55m, and the government will do further costs. This blog is now closed
Tasmanian Tafe needs to be fit for purpose before additional places can make a difference, Lambie says
The government yesterday kicked off the jobs and skills summit with the announcement of 180,000 more free Tafe places.
We certainly would like to do more, but some of these issues, of course, are within the budget constraints, which are there … we have inherited $1tn of debt. Yes, it is a worthy idea and worthy of consideration.
No, that’s not on the agenda. But it is a good thing that people are able to put forward ideas.
Continue reading...The first day of the jobs and skills summit is under way in Canberra. This blog is now closed
Every Australian ‘holds a stake’ in outcome of jobs and skills summit, PM says
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, finishes his opening address at the jobs and skills summit on a note of wanting to promote unity. He says:
Australians have conflict fatigue.
Every Australian holds a stake in the outcome of our discussion.
The work of building a stronger economy should include everyone, should lift everyone up.
Continue reading...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
Continue reading...National Farmers’ Federation wants ‘non-monetary benefits’ such as food and board to be considered in pay deals
The National Farmers’ Federation proposal to take “non-monetary benefits” into account when negotiating pay deals has attracted strong criticism from farmers and immigration experts who claim it could erode workers’ rights.
Chris Kelly, a Victorian grain grower, said the proposal was “appalling” and called it an attempt to “stretch the boundaries” of what was reasonable and fair.
Continue reading...Western Australia’s Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove the top-earning area while five of the lowest are in regional NSW
Australia’s highest and lowest income suburbs have been revealed in new data released by the Australian Taxation Office.
The data, based on nearly 15m tax returns from 2019-20, reveals the median income and super balances of Australians in each postcode across the country.
Continue reading...Workplace relations minister opens door to considering industrial relations changes as he announces gutting of building watchdog
Workplace relations minister Tony Burke has confirmed the current better-off-overall test that ensures workers do not go backwards will be on the table for discussion at the Albanese government’s jobs summit in September.
Burke said on Sunday he had been “sceptical” about having a conversation with employers and unions about the test, known as the Boot, at the September summit because he wanted Australian workers to have higher wages and conditions. The minister told the ABC he would “take some convincing” to overhaul the test.
Continue reading...Nation records 60 Covid deaths; SA records first monkeypox case; Anthony Albanese meets Justin Trudeau at Nato summit. This blog is now closed
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has renewed his calls for China to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Vladimir Putin “has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world”.
Albanese – who has been in Madrid for a Nato summit – spoke to reporters yesterday after having a meeting on the sidelines with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
There we discussed the important focus of this Nato’s summit on the Asia-Pacific region. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has solidified the support amongst democratic countries for the rules-based international order and a determination to continue to provide support to the government and the people of Ukraine who are suffering as a result of this breach of international law and this brutal invasion by Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Vladimir Putin has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world and provide a real determination to make sure that the resilience being shown by the Ukrainian people is backed up by resilience and support from democratic countries, including Nato, but also countries throughout the world.
Well, what we saw is prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we saw a without-limits partnership between Russia and China. We’ve seen a failure of China to condemn any of the Russian aggression that has occurred against Ukraine. China must look at what is happening and look at the resolve that is there from throughout the world and should be condemning Russia’s actions.
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.
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