Climate statements take centre stage at Midwinter Ball in protest over oil and gas sponsorship

Greens leader Adam Bandt’s wife, Claudia Perkins, and Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wear dresses with slogans calling for end of fossil fuels

Parliament House’s Midwinter Ball was punctuated by climate change demonstrations as protesters outside and Greens politicians inside called on the government to phase out fossil fuels.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wore a dress bearing the phrase “end gas and coal”, while the wife of Greens leader Adam Bandt, Claudia Perkins, arrived in a gown emblazoned with the slogans “coal kills” and “gas kills”. The fashion statements came after criticisms raised by Senator David Pocock and climate groups about fossil fuel companies Woodside and Shell sponsoring the annual press gallery ball.

Continue reading...

Federal Icac legislation to be introduced to parliament next week – as it happened

Gallagher says Labor has not changed position on tax cuts

And on the stage three tax cuts, Katy Gallagher echoed the line the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, started last week and continued yesterday – which is effectively Labor playing dead on the $243bn cuts:

I have been asked this a number of times. You know, we haven’t changed our view on stage three. They don’t come in until 2024.

My sole focus at the moment is putting a budget together for October and what we can do in the short-term to relieve pressure on families. That is what I’m focused on everyday.

Well, the budget we inherited was heaving with a trillion dollars of Liberal party debt. We got deficits as far as the eye can see.

We got some programs that weren’t funded in an ongoing sense that clearly are programs that need ongoing funding.

Continue reading...

Chinese ambassador would ‘love’ to see Anthony Albanese meet Xi Jinping without preconditions

Xiao Qian says Canberra and Beijing have ‘good momentum but we need to keep the momentum’

China’s ambassador to Australia has suggested the leaders of the two countries might meet without “preconditions” in remarks that could help further thaw relations.

Xiao Qian on Tuesday night also offered to help detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei contact her family.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: RBA interest rates decision due; climate bill to pass Senate with Pocock amendments

Labor’s signature climate change legislation will pass the Senate with some minor changes

Delayed rate pain

While the interest rate increases are hitting those already on variable rates, those who are on fixed rates which are about to expire are going to feel a lot of pain, when their repayments jump to include the cumulative increase all at once.

Continue reading...

Guardian Essential poll: about half say Scott Morrison should resign over secret ministries

Poll finds 51% of respondents say the former PM should go, including a third of Coalition voters

About half of voters think Scott Morrison should resign from parliament over his decision to secretly appoint himself to five additional portfolios while prime minister, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, which also finds trust in government in steady decline.

As the former prime minister continues to defend his decision to take on the additional portfolios without informing his colleagues or the public, the survey of 1,070 people found that about half (51%) agreed with the statement that he “should resign from parliament”, including a third of Coalition voters.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Dutton withdraws Albanese ‘liar’ allegation in question time – as it happened

Anthony Albanese insists stage-three tax cuts worth $243bn will go ahead

There has been a lot of talk around the incoming (July 2024) stage-three tax cuts given they will cost the budget $243bn over 10 years (at this point); overwhelmingly benefit men earning over $180,000; and destroy Australia’s progressive tax system (everyone earning between $40,000 and $200,000 will pay the same tax rate).

You make a choice about what you do, your initiatives and the initiatives we are making are positive ones that will make a difference to people, including our childcare policy.

It’s really important that our payments keep up with inflation. That’s why they’re indexed twice a year, and every little bit helps. This indexation will be particularly big this month, because inflation is particularly challenging.

And we know that it won’t solve every problem for everybody, but it’s important that we try and make sure that those payments keep up. That’s what the indexation is about. It will be welcome even as we acknowledge that times will still be tough for a lot of people.

I’ve been really upfront with people before the election, during the election and after the election. I’ve said to you many times over the last six months or so that it would be too expensive to continue that petrol price relief indefinitely. I think Australians understand that we’ve inherited a budget which is heaving with a trillion dollars in Liberal party debt, and that means some difficult decisions including this one.

Continue reading...

Australia live news update: skills minister says worker bargaining system ‘not fit for purpose’; NSW weather warnings

O’Connor defends Burke over letter to Fair Work Commission

O’Connor is asked about allegations that workplace relations minister Tony Burke wrote to the Fair Work Commission flagging the government’s intention to remove the right of employers to terminate agreements at a time when Dominic Perrottet is threatening to tear up an enterprise agreement with rail workers in New South Wales.

Firstly, the first time it was raised by the government was in relation to the tugboat dispute. The NSW government was looking to terminate that, which would have reduced wages by 40%. The premier himself called these people heroes. That was the first time I think Minister Burke then raised concerns about that, rightly. I think the letter has just been a foreshadowing of our intent to the Fair Work Commission.

The Fair Work Commission is independent and the president and the commissioners are pursuant to the Fair Work Act. The government, as a protocol, was foreshadowing our intent and we know there may well be employers that may seek to terminate agreements before the legislation.

I think there’s been goodwill and an effort to work it through. What I will say is there are a lot of moving parts is because with rights to take action, either for employers or for employees or unions, there’s the role of the commission in terms of arbitration. That’s been a very important mechanism of any form of multi-employer bargaining. Also constraints on the level of action.

I think you have to look at it all together. The focus is on getting agreements. What happened is we’ve seen collective bargaining halve in a decade and that has led to the lowest wage growth of any decade in living memory. Would it be compulsory or opt-in? All the business groups, even the Council of Small Business Organisations, say it has to be opt in. That will obviously be subject to discussions.

Continue reading...

More than 30 people died due to triple-zero delays in Victoria; Qantas boss warns against IR reforms – as it happened

Alan Joyce says multi-employer bargaining could create problems; western NSW braces for flooding. This blog is now closed

And if you want a more expansive read on where the dispute between the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and the NSW government is at, Michael McGowan’s great analysis is a must-read:

NSW industrial relations minister calls out Labor’s ‘brazen intervention’ in rail dispute

The brazen intervention of Labor into the Fair Work Commission to support the rail unions and their political campaign of rolling strikes is a disgrace.

For Tony Burke to be asking the Fair Work Commission to ­implement his agenda while the summit is still sitting, let alone any consultation occurring on his planed legislation, shows the depth of arrogance and entitlement that the union movement and Labor bring to government.

Continue reading...

Increased migration must come with planning and expanded services, councils say

Fairfield mayor says ‘people are suffering’ due to lack of affordable housing in migrant communities as PM pledges $575m investment

Increasing Australia’s migration intake without improving key services will increase the strain on housing, hospitals and schools as well as inflation, councils in migrant communities have said.

The Albanese government on Friday announced at its jobs and skills summit it would lifting the migrant intake to 195,000 in 2022-23, from the current 160,000 cap, addressing calls from businesses for more skilled workers to be brought in to Australia to meet shortages. A review planned for next February would set intake levels for coming years.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Labor to relax work tests for pensioners following jobs and skills summit – as it happened

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...

Australia news live: PM pays tribute to Gorbachev as ‘one of the true giants of the 20th century’

Anthony Albanese will meet with premiers and chief ministers today for the national cabinet in Sydney

Jobs summit should support apprenticeships in female-dominated trades, independents say

Independents are calling for more investment in female-dominated trades like textiles and floristry ahead of the government’s jobs and skills summit to be held tomorrow.

This jobs summit must not become fixated on getting only the high-vis industries out to work and leave the pink workforce at home yet again … We have women who want to work. We must enable them.

There’s been too narrow a view of what are the apprenticeships and trades, it’s been a very bloke-centric approach.

Continue reading...

Lawyer reveals dementia diagnosis after guilty verdict – as it happened

Independent calls for PM to ‘protect’ potential Icac from government interference

The independent MP Helen Haines, has called on the prime minister to “protect” a potential federal Icac from any future government interference.

We need more detail around how it will be funded to make sure, in subsequent governments, that the powers of this commission can’t be eroded away. And we need to make sure that the broad definition of corruption can really capture anyone who attempts to improperly influence government decisions.

The other part of it that I haven’t seen, and I would like to see, is what the government plans to do to encourage a pro-integrity culture. And I haven’t seen anything about that thus far.

Continue reading...

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

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.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

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

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.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

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

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.

Continue reading...

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

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...

Pocock urges Labor to scrap tax cuts – as it happened

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.

Continue reading...

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

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.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

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

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.

Continue reading...

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

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.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...