Simon Birmingham questions Labor’s communication with Solomon Islands
The shadow international minister, Simon Birmingham, is talking to ABC RN concerning the Solomon Islands’ authorities response.
He says that it was “totally applicable” Australia made the provide to assist with election funding, however questions the way it was communicated.
Chatting with Patricia Karvelas, Birmingham mentioned:
These are fairly damning statements from the Solomon Islands authorities and there may be a lot now to be answered by the Albanese authorities by way of the best way wherein this provide was communicated [and] why it was revealed within the public method it was, when it was revealed.
Key occasions
To be truthful to Sussan Ley, Angus Taylor made a much bigger mash of it, when he spent a couple of minutes telling Sky’s Laura Jayes just a few days in the past that it was a travesty that veterans had been excluded, solely to be advised veterans had been included.
That was greeted with a beat of silence.
Authorities will expedite laws on pension modifications, mentioned Albanese yesterday
For the report, this was what Anthony Albanese introduced 4 days in the past on the letting pensioners work extra plan:
Age and veterans pensioners will be capable to earn an extra $4,000 over this monetary yr with out shedding any of their pension as a result of Albanese Labor authorities offering a one-off revenue credit score designed to provide older Australians the choice to work and maintain extra of their cash.
Following the profitable jobs and expertise summit in Canberra, an instantaneous $4,000 revenue credit score can be added to the revenue banks of age pensioners from December for use this monetary yr.
The non permanent revenue financial institution top-up will improve the quantity pensioners can earn from $7,800 to $11,800 this yr, earlier than their pension is diminished.
The measure is designed to allow pensioners who need to work, to right away enhance the availability of labour to assist meet shortages.
Pensioners can be ready to take action with out shedding their pension, both in brief stints or over the course of a yr.
The $4,000 non permanent credit score can be accessible till June 30, 2023, topic to the passage of laws.
The federal government can even look to strengthen laws to make sure pensioners who’re working don’t get unnecessarily kicked out of the social safety system.
The federal government will expedite laws to make sure pensioners don’t need to reapply for funds for as much as two years if their employment revenue exceeds the revenue restrict. At the moment their connection to social safety is cancelled after 12 weeks of exceeding the revenue restrict.
Ley says Albanese authorities ought to have acted on pensioner plan sooner
So what’s one factor that may very well be performed, Sussan Ley?
Ley:
Value of dwelling, price of dwelling, price of dwelling.
Peter Stefanovic, the host of the Sky present Ley was showing on, tried asking once more:
I imply, Chris Richardson on this system a short while in the past as nicely he says that there’s really not that a lot that may be performed within the brief time period. We’ve acquired the tiger by the tail in relation to inflation. So what’s one factor the federal government may do proper now?
Ley:
Effectively, they may implement our pensioner plan [interrupted].
Stefanovic: “They’ve mentioned they’re doing that.”
Ley:
Effectively, they’ve mentioned they’re doing it, nevertheless it hasn’t occurred. It’s not there in folks’s workplaces now. So this is a sign of a authorities that talks the discuss, however doesn’t stroll the stroll. That pensioner plan may have had folks working in companies already, it may have taken the stress off discovering somebody to truly maintain your doorways open. Of paying somebody greater than you already know you may afford as a result of you may’t discover the proper individual, of closing your doorways. All of these items are pressures on inflation and pressures on the financial system. That’s one good concept that the federal government determined to not implement however await its jobs and expertise union discuss fest so as to type of have an enormous reveal on the finish of it about all these items which are taking place. However similar to the announcement that was made this morning, that aren’t taking place now.
I come again to my level, I’m not within the cupboard. We’re not the federal government, however that expenditure evaluate committee ought to have proposals earlier than it and it needs to be fascinated by the right here and now.
Sussan Ley compares Anthony Albanese to Kermit the frog
Sussan Ley actually likes Kermit the Frog.
This was the deputy Liberal chief’s contribution to the talk yesterday:
And he or she has continued in that vein in the present day.
She advised Sky Information:
All the things that pertains to price of dwelling needs to be a precedence. Now as a cupboard, and naturally, I’m not in cupboard, I’m not a member of the expenditure evaluate committee, that committee could be receiving many proposals at this time limit, all directed, I hope to decreasing the cost-of-living pressures much like the one which we applied virtually instantly, about decreasing the gas excise halving it for six months. The place is the indication that this authorities is even contemplating measures that assist with the price of dwelling now
It is a authorities that likes to take credit score for thus many issues, nevertheless it’s simply not taking motion.
This week we noticed them taking credit score for the truth that pension funds are going up. Effectively pension funds are linked to inflation. Inflation is at a 30-year excessive. The identical improve to pensions would have occurred if Kermit the Frog was prime minister.
And but we see the federal government taking credit score. What we have to see is a authorities that takes actual motion. Your earlier authorities speaker was sitting there virtually wringing his fingers in your program speaking about this ‘unhealthy scenario’. That’s not giving Australians confidence that they want.
Invoice to incentivise pensioners to downsize launched to parliament
The “allow us to enable you to child boomers promote your empty nest house” laws, also called the Social Companies and Different Laws Modification (Incentivising Pensioners to Downsize) Invoice 2022 has simply been launched to the parliament.
What does it do? Listed here are the explanatory notes:
This Invoice amends the Social Safety Act 1991 and the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 to raised assist pensioners (or different eligible revenue assist recipients) through the sale and buy of a brand new principal house, by:
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Extending the prevailing property take a look at exemption for principal house sale proceeds which an individual intends to make use of to purchase a brand new principal house from 12 months to 24 months.
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Making use of solely the decrease under threshold deeming charge to those asset take a look at exempt principal house sale proceeds when calculating deemed revenue.
These modifications cut back the affect of promoting and shopping for a brand new principal house on an revenue assist recipient’s charge of cost.
China should ‘do higher’ on Cheng Lei, Albanese says
The Chinese language ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, spoke to ABC’s 7.30 program final evening and mentioned he has been attempting to get Australian journalist Cheng Lei entry to her household. Right here’s some extra on this from the prime minister’s press convention.
Anthony Albanese mentioned:
Effectively, that is one thing that ought to occur. Cheng Lei ought to have entry to her household. Australia continues to make illustration and we’ve got a really robust view about her therapy, and we’ll proceed to make illustration. There’s been no transparency in any of those processes in any respect. And the Chinese language authorities must do higher.
Q: “Prime Minister, the ambassador has additionally flagged diplomatic analysis, he prompt that he’s attempting to create an environment to permit a sideline dialogue for you and the Chinese language premier on the G20 in Indonesia, is that one thing you’re open to?”
Albanese:
I’m open to dialogue with anybody at any time, significantly with leaders of different nations. It’s a superb factor if there may be dialogue, and positively, if such a gathering passed off I might welcome it as I welcome dialogue with leaders all through the area and all through the globe.
Q: “Have you learnt of any approaches between his workplace and the international ministry or your workplace?”
Albanese:
No.
Albanese says price range constraints imply ‘we are able to’t do all the things’
And on these ‘troublesome selections’ within the price range?
Q: “Is it cuts or is it the top of measures just like the gas excise pause or is it one thing else?”
Anthony Albanese:
Effectively, it’s what it’s, I used to be simply being straight with the partyroom as I’ve been straight with the folks of Australia. We’ve inherited a trillion {dollars} of Liberal celebration debt. When rate of interest rises, so do the reimbursement prices of that Liberal celebration debt. What meaning is that we are able to’t do all the things that we wish to do. We’ve already foreshadowed as nicely, that can be going by means of line by line, on the lookout for the waste which was there from the previous authorities, on the lookout for their largess and these funds that had been established only for political functions, not for the nationwide curiosity. So we can be doing that. I stay up for Jim Chalmers delivering the price range subsequent month.
Q: “Ought to Australians be getting ready for robust selections to give you troublesome cuts like that?”
Albanese:
I’ve answered the query.
Anthony Albanese sells Canberra property
At his press convention earlier, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, revealed he had just lately bought his property in Canberra.
A journalist requested: “Two questions. In relation, you’ve acquired a coverage out in the present day that’s in relation to encouraging Child Boomers to maneuver out and have a greater system for his or her pension mainly in relation to deeming charges. Now you personal three properties your self, nothing fallacious with that, however they’re listed as residential in Canberra, you then’ve acquired investments in Sydney and the household house, given the talk about housing affordability, are any of these properties empty? Are they tenanted? Are you getting rental revenue for these properties?”
Albanese mentioned:
I’ve bought my Canberra property. I’ve a house in Sydney that I’m within the strategy of shifting issues out of, I haven’t decided about that but, and I’ve a rental property in Sydney.
It was bought at public sale a few weeks in the past, he mentioned.
Given Canberra property costs are INSANE, chances are high he obtained a superb worth too.
Victoria information 11 Covid deaths
In Victoria, 11 extra folks have misplaced their lives to Covid, and 222 individuals are in hospital within the state being handled for the virus. There have been 2,237 instances reported yesterday.
NSW information 21 Covid deaths
New South Wales has reported 21 lives misplaced to Covid within the final day, and 1,581 individuals are in hospital being handled for the virus.
Pharmacy Guild welcomes modifications to PBS
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is fairly pleased with the federal government this morning.
The federal government is rising the subsidy for medicine, slicing the utmost PBS co-payment from $42.50 to $30 a prescription.
From its assertion:
The nationwide president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Prof Trent Twomey, mentioned this was the one most vital change to the price of and entry to medicines for the reason that PBS was launched 75 years in the past.
As major healthcare employees, neighborhood pharmacists have more and more been listening to sufferers say they merely can’t afford their medicines, usually confronted with deciding who within the household will go with out so as to put meals on the desk or pay their payments.
The guild and neighborhood pharmacies have advocated strongly on behalf of sufferers for a discount of the price of medicines and in the present day we thank the federal authorities for taking motion.
The discount within the co-payment is a 30% saving on the price of every prescription. It means a person will save $150 a yr for one month-to-month script, or $300 to $450 a yr for 2 to 3 scripts a month. That is an annual saving of just about $200m which can be put again into the pockets of Australians.
‘We wish good relations with our Pacific neighbours’, PM says
Josh Butler
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has declined to interact with criticisms from Solomon Islands chief, Manasseh Sogavare, who accused Australia of “an assault on our parliamentary democracy” in providing to assist fund the nation’s elections.
Sogavare, who will go to Australia subsequent month, has proposed to delay the election by a number of months. Australian international minister Penny Wong mentioned yesterday the federal government had supplied funding to subsidise the price of an election.
At a press convention this morning in Canberra, Albanese was requested concerning the feedback from Australia’s neighbour. He didn’t instantly reply to the criticisms.
We wish good relations with our Pacific neighbours and I’m very a lot trying ahead to internet hosting Prime Minister Sogavare, I’ll be internet hosting him on the Lodge for dinner in just some weeks time in October.
Responding to the Chinese language ambassador’s interview on the ABC final evening, when Xiao Qian mentioned he was in search of to permit detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei entry to her household, Albanese was extra forthcoming:
That is one thing that ought to occur, Cheng Lei ought to have entry to her household. Australia continues to make illustration and we’ve got a really robust view about her therapy.
There’s been no transparency in any of those processes in any respect, the Chinese language authorities must do higher.
Albanese mentioned he was “open to dialogue” with the Chinese language president, Xi Jinping, after the ambassador prompt there may very well be a long-awaited assembly between the leaders – doubtlessly at an upcoming worldwide summit.
I’m open to dialogue with anybody at any time, significantly with leaders of different nations. It’s a superb factor if there’s dialogue and if such a gathering passed off I might welcome it.
Most individuals in parliament would recognise this pharmacy (it is among the closest to the parliament constructing).
Anthony Albanese’s group selected it for an announcement on cheaper medicines – a Labor election promise, with laws to be launched into the home in the present day.
Greens MP continues push for nationwide lease freeze
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather is attempting to push the federal government to enact a coverage to freeze private and non-private rents for 2 years, in addition to placing a ban on evictions (one thing states did through the starting of the pandemic).
Chandler-Mather says the Scottish authorities has performed it – so why can’t Australia?
“Memo to Anthony Albanese, Scotland froze rents within the personal rental market with out ‘nationalising all property’ so perhaps he can now drop the feigned ignorance act,” he mentioned.
There’s a cause Scotland is freezing rents, as a result of it really works and it’s precisely the way you defend renters from unfair and large lease will increase.
We’ve acquired 2.7 million folks in rental stress after rents have elevated seven occasions quicker than wages and it’s solely going to worsen. Now that Scotland has proven the best way it’s time for the federal authorities to lastly begin treating this as soon as in a technology housing disaster severely.”
The Victorian authorities has performed it previously, the Australian federal authorities froze rents in WWII and now Scotland is freezing rents, it’s time the Australian Authorities froze rents and gave renters some a lot wanted reduction.
On Tuesday the prime minister mentioned the federal government’s answer to the rental disaster was constructing 30,000 social and inexpensive houses over 5 years, and my query is what’s the authorities going to do concerning the hundreds of thousands of renters his authorities’s coverage will depart behind, to not point out the half 1,000,000 in want of social housing?
Shrinking childcare workforce impacts all industries, advocate says
The Parenthood, an advocacy group for early childhood training, youngsters and parental coverage, are (not surprisingly) in assist of the nationwide day of motion for early childhood training.
Georgie Dent mentioned:
It’s estimated that Australia wants an extra 39,000 early educators by 2023. To grasp the total elevated productiveness advantages of the Labor authorities’s deliberate cheaper childcare package deal, we are going to want the equal of 9,650 full-time educators.
However as an alternative of rising, this workforce is shrinking. It is a drawback for each different employer or organisation within the nation. If a guardian can’t entry care, they’ll’t entry work. We have to act now to stem the lack of early educators and do all the things we are able to to draw Australians again into this career. That’s why we’re supporting in the present day’s shut-down and calls from early educators for higher pay and situations.
There is no such thing as a doubt that youngsters and oldsters not with the ability to entry early studying and care can be disruptive. But when early educators don’t get the respect, assist and respectable pay they deserve, they’re going to proceed to depart the career and that can be way more disruptive than a day-long shut down.
The group outlines what fixing the workforce disaster in early studying will imply:
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Extra educators will be securely employed within the sector.
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Extra locations accessible for kids so that folks can select to return to work and ease different workforce shortages in instructing, nursing, aged care and extra.
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Extra studying alternatives for kids within the first 5 years.
Bargaining system key to making sure greater pay for care employees – Gallagher
And on the nationwide day of motion for early childhood training employees, Katy Gallagher mentioned:
This is a matter I’m trying very intently with my minister for girls’s hat, predominantly overrepresented ladies – within the workforce and in addition it acts as a handbrake on ladies working extra hours.
I feel the difficulty within the care financial system is admittedly substantial and once more I don’t have the one reply for methods to repair all of it, however we’ve got acquired the problems with aged care employees, incapacity care employees, and early training and care employees, and the way we handle that.
That is a part of why we’re being speaking about multi-employer bargaining as a result of within the feminised sector, bargaining is damaged, it doesn’t work, and so they haven’t been getting the pay rises that they need to be getting and so we’ve got to take a look at how that system is working for female-dominated industries and the early training and care sector is a vital a part of that. It’s a rising a part of that as is the care financial system extra broadly and we’ve got started working out a method by means of it.
So we acknowledge – we would like early youngster care educators to be well-paid and we expect the reply to a point lies with ensuring the bargaining system works for girls.