What we learned, Monday 7 April
Many thanks for joining us on the election blog, as the second week of campaigning kicked off. Here are all the main takeaways from today:
Both leaders visited electorates they each need to hold – with Anthony Albanese in McEwan, Victoria today and Peter Dutton in Sturt, South Australia.
The Coalition announced it would “enshrine” workplace flexibility as it back flipped on its previous policy to force more public servants to return to the office. Dutton apologised and said the party had “made a mistake”.
The government repeatedly took aim at the Coalition over the backflip, with the PM saying they had “gone from defending to pretending that they weren’t”.
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, ruled out any changes to the Coalition’s nuclear policy, amid the WFH backflip.
The Australian share market recorded its biggest one-day fall in almost five years, wiping $100bn of value from local stocks.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said Australia is “uniquely placed” and well prepared to deal with any fallout. Treasury also isn’t expecting a recession in Australia.
The deputy PM, Richard Marles, said the government was looking for a commercial option to get the Port of Darwin back into Australian hands – but “we do have powers here and if need be we will exercise them”.
Business and industry leaders have lashed the Coalition’s proposal to cut at least 80,000 new international students from Australian higher education institutions.
Krishani Dhanji will be back with you first thing tomorrow morning. In the meantime, take care and enjoy your evening.
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Research paper warns of growing risks to Australia’s food security
A new research paper warns Australia must take urgent action to address growing risks to its food security from geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and climate-related shocks.
As AAP reports, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute paper says the issue has been “taken for granted” and must be elevated to the same strategic importance as national defence.
If national security and defence organisations are preparing for potential conflict, then Australia’s agriculture sector and food system stakeholders should also be preparing for this period of strategic uncertainty.
The paper, written by strategic policy specialist Andrew Henderson and ASPI’s John Coyne, calls for a co-ordinated, whole-of-government, and industry-led approach to strengthening resilience and securing Australia’s food future.
More than 30% of households experienced moderate to severe food insecurity in 2024, the report said, with a system-wide approach needed to address inefficiencies in the food supply chain – particularly food loss and waste mitigation.
If not addressed, such challenges will lead to more hunger, particularly at times when natural disasters or other crises are affecting a city or state.
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Marles on tumbling Australian dollar, tariff discussions with US
Richard Marles has also reiterated that Australia is in a “resilient position” economically, as the value of the Australian dollar tumbled today.
When we look at the global economic environment we are still confident about our economy growing. We have been able to keep it growing while we have been in government, something that cannot be said for many other developed economies, but we’re really confident we can keep it growing in the future.
Marles said the government would continue to make its case regarding tariffs to the Trump administration, in “the most sensible way possible and the most forceful way possible”.
We will continue to make the case that this is not good, not just for Australia but for America and American jobs, and that will continue to be the case going forward in terms of the way in which we advocate to the Trump administration.
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Marles takes questions on Labor’s plan for the Port of Darwin
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, was also up on ABC Afternoon Briefing this afternoon – where he was asked for Labor’s plan on the Port of Darwin.
Marles said Labor would “work through processes” if re-elected to bring the port back into Australian hands, and that it wants to see a commercial option.
We would prefer, clearly, a commercial option but ultimately, we do have powers here and if need be we will exercise them.
He was asked about comments from the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, that the decision was taken at a political level – does that mean the security advice on this has not changed?
Marles said he wouldn’t “go into all of the advice that we get”.
Clearly, we have had a dialogue with those agencies that do provide us advice. What’s been really clear, though, is our consistent position over a decade.
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ASX records worst trading day since the early pandemic
The Australian share market has recorded its biggest one-day fall in almost five years, wiping $100bn of value from local stocks.
While Donald Trump’s new tariff regime sparked an initial sell-off across global share markets last week, plans to hit the US with retaliatory imposts from major economies, including China and the EU, have heightened risks of a global recession.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 sank more than 4% to close at 7,343 points, sending it back to levels not seen since December 2023.
It represents the steepest drop since the pandemic roiled financial markets in 2020.
The benchmark was down more than 6% early in the day, before losses were trimmed.
But the bounce was tepid, with fund managers warning that investors would likely need to see signs of an emerging truce in the trade war before a sustained recovery could take place.
CAANZ warns of ‘negative flow on effects’ from Coalition’s plan to cut international student numbers
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand has warned the Coalition’s proposed plan to reduce international student numbers would have a negative impact on business and the economy.
The Coalition has announced that if elected, it would cut international student visas by 80,000, increase student visa application fees by up to $5,000 and introduce a new student charge of $2,500 for changing education providers.
CAANZ education, skills and migration policy leader Sarah Davidson expressed concern this could “increase pressure on the graduate pipeline, exacerbate the accountant shortage, and have negative flow on effects”.
The international education sector plays an important role in developing global accounting talent, but caps like this risk damaging Australia’s global reputation.
We made these same points to Labor last year as part of consultations on the Draft International Education and Skills Strategic Framework which proposed caps on international student enrolments.
Any reform to the migration system should focus on skills and qualifications, not quantity – we don’t want to deter high-quality international students.
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Employment minister says Australian economy ‘well-prepared’ amid global economic uncertainty
Murray Watt was also asked about the prospect of a global recession, but said he would leave any predictions to commentators.
But, he did say the government had “done everything we can to manage the economy in an economically responsible way, and that makes us as well-prepared we possibly can be.”
The reality is we are in some uncertain times when it comes to the global economy and I think Australians will look at the government record in the efforts we have made to repay the debt, improve the surpluses, get inflation down and unemployment low, and I think there is a good chance that people will say that is what they want, rather than the reckless and risky processes and decision-making we continue to see from Peter Dutton.
Sukkar defends Coalition WFH backflip as Watt says Dutton is ‘losing all credibility’
The shadow housing minister Michael Sukkar has been speaking to the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing this afternoon about the Coalition’s backflip on its work from home policy.
Sukkar defended the move and said the Coalition was “willing to admit when we get it right and when we don’t”.
This is an important question though in general, that we need a productive public sector, but we know that flexible working arrangements can still maintain that productivity necessary.
The employment minister, Murray Watt, was also on the program and argued that “no one believes” Peter Dutton when he says he now supports working from home.
We’ve heard a valiant effort there from Michael to defend this change of heart from Peter Dutton and the Coalition, but it goes against everything they have been saying for the past few weeks …
[We’ve had] members of the Coalition out there describing working from home as a holiday, as not productive … How is anyone supposed to believe that these people are now telling the truth when they say they support work from home?
[Dutton] is losing all credibility in terms of anything he says and anything he stands for.
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AEC requests Meta take down ads by ‘Your Union Your Choice’
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has requested Meta take down ads by ‘Your Union Your Choice’, over a failure to authorise their paid electoral advertising.
Your Union Your Choice is a campaign set up by some former CFMEU officials who were dumped when the union was forced into administration last year. The union is currently under administration.
The AEC says it’s requested Your Union Your Choice authorise their paid electoral advertising, and has engaged with them on a “number of occasions” and given them “reasonable opportunity to comply”.
Separately, the AEC is still considering whether the campaign has, or will soon have registration and/or disclosure obligations under the Commonwealth Electoral Act.
Registering as a financial disclosure entity is separate to the requirements around authorising electoral spending, the AEC said, with certain entities that incur electoral expenditure having to register with the AEC as a significant third party or associated entity.
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Super Members Council says Australian superannuation well placed to ride out market volatility
The Super Members Council says Australia’s superannuation system is well placed to ride out any market volatility following the US tariffs.
In a statement, SMC said superannuation has “historically performed strongly over the long term” despite experiencing share market falls like those this week.
Most Australians’ super is invested in balanced options with investments across a diverse range of assets and geographies, it said, “moderating the impact on members’ super returns from changes in any one stock market”.
It also said that only one in five dollars of Australians’ super is invested in the US. Matthew Linden, SMC’s executive general manager of strategy and insights, said:
Super is a long-term investment. We expect this week’s market falls will have little impact in 20 years – and beyond – when most of today’s super fund members will be starting to think about retiring …
It’s natural for everyone to want to understand the impact of any market falls on their super balance, but it’s also crucial to remember super is designed as a long-term investment.”
One risk can be when people move their money after a short-term market downturn – and then miss out on a recovery in value when markets cycle upwards again.
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Spender warns against allowing ‘ideology’ to drive economic policy amid Trump tariffs
Independent MP Allegra Spender has warned against allowing “ideology to drive economic policy” amid Donald Trump’s tariff policy – which she labelled a “hammer blow to world trade”.
In a statement this afternoon, the Wentworth MP said Australia “can’t afford to import these culture wars and disregard for evidence” like the US:
While the direct impact of tariffs on Australian goods is relatively small, investors are understandably spooked about the impact on the global economy.
Investors, including most Australians with money in superannuation, are seeing the value of their savings tumble, as the US backs away from evidence-based economic policy.
Spender said the trade war was a “stark warning” of “what can happen if we allow ideology to drive economic policy.”
We need a tax system that doesn’t push the burden on young working Australians, better regulation to drive productivity growth, and an economic system that supports dynamic businesses and innovation.
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Good afternoon! Emily Wind here, I’ll bring you our rolling coverage for the rest of today.
Thank you all for joining me on the blog today! I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of Emily Wind, and will catch you bright (thank you end of daylight saving) and early tomorrow morning.
‘Peter Dutton will axe working from home’, public sector union says
The commonwealth public service union secretary has lambasted the Coalition’s work from home backflip, accusing Peter Dutton of “chaotically inventing and announcing policy on the run”.
Melissa Donnelly says public sector workers “aren’t buying” the policy change, and believe the Coalition will continue to axe flexible working if they win government.
In a statement, Donnelly says the backflip is “too little, too late”.
Peter Dutton is now onto his third working from home policy in three days. He’s chaotically inventing and announcing policy on the run in a desperate attempt to manage the fallout from his attacks on workplace rights. This is all too little, too late.
The public sector workers I’ve spoken with today aren’t buying it. In fact, it’s been a pretty unanimous verdict – Peter Dutton will axe working from home if he’s given the chance.
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How to (enrol to) vote
It’s 7 April and I’d love to remind you all that today is the last day you have to enrol for the election on 3 May!
The roll closes at 8pm tonight, and Matilda Boseley can tell you everything you need to know below:
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Star in deal with US casino giant Bally’s
Star Entertainment has reportedly struck a $300m deal with a US casino giant to stave off financial collapse after teetering on the brink for months, AAP reports.
The embattled casino operator’s board has agreed to hand control of the group to Bally’s Corporation to avoid going belly up, the Australian Financial Review reports.
Bally’s operates 19 casinos across the US and online sports betting operations.
The American giant is expected to inject $250m into the business and Star’s largest shareholder, Bruce Mathieson, will provide $50m under the deal.
Star Entertainment was contacted for comment.
The group had been on the verge of folding for months but kept its head above water by offloading its 50% stake in a new Brisbane precinct, and a $250m short-term bridging loan.
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ASX ‘bloodbath’
So what actually happened to the stock market this morning, and how has it fared throughout the day?
The ASX 200 sank 6% within minutes of opening, back to levels not seen since late 2023, before bouncing back slightly.
Jonathan Barrett and Luca Ittimani have all the lows (and lows) of the market “bloodbath” today:
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Treasury does not predict recession in Australia despite slowing growth, Chalmers says
Treasury isn’t expecting a recession in Australia, with growth to continue despite growth predicted to slow or go backwards elsewhere.
Chalmers says there will be “substantial” implications for growth and inflation in the US and elsewhere, but the Australian economy is not expected to go backwards:
The damage being done by the tariffs decision is now very clear for all to see. Now, you can see in the forecasts in the pre-election outlook that our Treasury is not expecting the Australian economy to go backwards. In fact, what we are forecasting or what they’re forecasting our economy is for growth to continue to gather pace, but it acknowledges there’s much more substantial risks to that outlook.
The government last week announced additional support for Australian industry to find new markets away from the US in response to the tariffs. It also announced funding to strengthen anti-dumping laws and the establishment of a strategic reserve for critical minerals.
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Chalmers says focus currently on working with regulators and industry for updates on super hack – not compensation
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) has written to superannuation funds, reportedly telling funds to come clean on whether they’ve also been affected by the cyber hacks that took place on two major funds on Friday.
Chalmers says the government and agencies, including the national office of cyber security, are coordinating between industry, regulators and stakeholders to deal with the breach. He says super members should all check their accounts.
Apra and Asic are engaging with all of the potential impacted super funds to support safe outcomes for members. On Friday, we convened the council of financial regulator agencies to get an update on their ongoing response to this incident as well. That’s working around the clock in response to the incident and it’s all about protecting fund members and improving security measures.
Chalmers is asked whether the members should be compensated, but he says that’s not something that’s being currently contemplated.
He later clarifies that comment to say “Don’t read too much into my answer before, which was to say our focus right now is working with the authorities and with the regulators. That’s our focus.”
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Chalmers: Coalition policy a ‘bin fire of cuts and chaos’
Katy Gallagher, who is also the minister for the public service and a senator for the ACT, is also weighing in on the Coalition’s work from home and public service backflip which she calls a “shambles”.
Gallagher warns that there’s a much higher turnover amongst frontline staff (ie that natural attrition won’t work because all those frontline staff will need to be rehired).
He [Dutton] tells us that 41,000 jobs will be cut by natural attrition, but frontline services will be protected. The reality is where those high turnover departments, where we see turnover in public service, they’re in frontline public service agencies. It’s simply not believable.
Jim Chalmers then takes back the mic and describes the Coalition’s platform more broadly as “an absolute bin fire of cuts and chaos”:
There could not be a worse time to risk wages and tax cuts and secret cuts in a world which is this uncertain. Peter Dutton represents an unacceptable risk to our economy and to household budgets at the same time.
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Chalmers says he has spoken with RBA Governor Bullock on best response to Trump tariffs
Chalmers says the modelling by Treasury has already been updated three times, and while forecasting is “difficult enough in more stable times, [it’s] especially so in uncertain times”.
As we brought you earlier, Chalmers confirms the modelling shows there will be big hits to growth in the US and China. But Australian GDP will also be impacted and inflation will be higher than otherwise in the short term.
Chalmers says he spoke with Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock this morning on how to respond to the situation.
Both of us… are working out how to ensure that we can best calibrated for this economic uncertainty. As I said before, Australia is really well placed and we’re well prepared to deal with this global economic uncertainty
What we’re seeing around the world vindicates the strategy we have taken to fight inflation without ignoring the risks to growth.
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Chalmers says Australia ‘uniquely placed’ to weather Trump tariff storm
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, are speaking in Sydney on all things economic: the stock markets going, the pre-election fiscal outlook and that modelling below of the impact of Trump’s tariffs.
The escalating trade tensions are “casting a dark shadow” over the global economy, Chalmers says, but claims Australia is “uniquely placed” and well prepared to deal with any fallout.
Chalmers says the markets are increasingly predicting that the situation could lead to the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates in May by up to 50 basis points, but he won’t “preempt those decisions”.
We are seeing very substantial volatility now in global stock markets and in our own markets as well. Today in Australia the market lost about 4% of value on Friday, the US about 6%.
What we’re seeing here is the impact of a series of bad decisions taken about tariffs. And the whole world is trying to get their head around the impacts on their own economies and the global economy as well.
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Fuel me once, shame on you … fuel me four times, shame on me?
It took Peter Dutton almost a week to get himself to a petrol bowser for a picture opportunity (after announcing the policy during his budget reply), but he’s now gone four times in the last four days.
No doubt the opposition leader is trying to pump up some interest in his policy.
Dutton has struggled to get much traction so far in the campaign and polls are showing voters are driving their support back towards Labor. The opposition leader will need plenty more fuel in his own tank to try to turn that around in the next four weeks.
Treasury releases modelling of impact of Trump tariffs
Jim Chalmers has released modelling by the Treasury department on the impact of Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs.
Treasury estimates US GDP will decline “significantly” due to the cost of imports being much higher and expects the impact on China and other countries facing higher US tariffs to also be “significant”.
Australia, it says, will be impacted in a more “modest way” and will face higher inflation and lower GDP growth in the short term.
Australia’s real GDP is estimated to decline by 0.1% and inflation to increase by 0.2 percentage points in 2025 relative to a baseline scenario with no tariffs.
Over the medium term, Australia’s GDP will be permanently lower, while the effect on inflation will be temporary.
Treasury says 80% of the total impact on Australia will come indirectly from the effects of US tariffs on Chinese demand. Australia will also be impacted by a reduction in demand for Australian goods from other major trading partners like Japan and South Korea.
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Labor announces additional $1.1bn in spending
Labor has announced an extra $1.1bn spending in the barely two weeks since the budget, according to Treasury’s pre-election update.
The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook, or PEFO, showed a slightly worse underlying deficit of $300m in this financial year and $100m over the next, before slight improvements in following years left total deficits over the forward estimates periods only very slightly larger.
Almost all of the recently announced extra spending had been provisioned for, and mostly reflected infrastructure announcements, such as the $881m “Building a Better Future Through Considered Infrastructure Investment” policy.
There is also the $80m committed towards the establishment of the Queensland Academy for Health Sciences in Rockhampton, Queensland and $120m towards the construction of facilities for maternity services at the Rouse Hill hospital in New South Wales.
PEFO also showed a growing uneasiness among Treasury officials that Donald Trump’s recently unveiled “reciprocal tariffs” will shock global trade and growth. The documents state:
The increase in tariffs announced over the past few days have been more significant than expected. The potential magnitude and persistence of the economic effects of these announcements has resulted in greater-than-usual uncertainty around the outlook.
Despite this, the direct impact on Australia would remain limited, Treasury said, and the top line economic forecasts were unchanged from the March 25 budget.
Jim Chalmers last week said he would release updated Treasury announcements that factor in the recent tariff escalation when it becomes available.
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ASX enjoys lunch time reprieve after steep falls
After a tumultuous opening on the ASX, the market has recorded a modest reprieve with some of the losses pared.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 sank well over 6% to trade below the 7,180 point mark within minutes of the market opening this morning, equating to about $160bn in value eroded from stocks.
At lunchtime, it was trading at the 7,380 point mark, down about 4%, reducing the losses recorded today to about $100bn.
While Donald Trump’s new tariff regime sparked an initial selldown across global sharemarkets last week, plans to hit the US with retaliatory imposts from major economies, including China and the EU, have heightened risks of a global recession.
The ASX is following the lead from Wall Street where the futures market has also bounced back in the last few hours.
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PM sidesteps issue of Victorian premier’s popularity
Anthony Albanese stood alongside Victorian premier Jacinta Allan today, but dodged questions on Allan’s popularity in the state, and whether that was a “drag” on his electoral chances.
Albanese has done three press conferences so far in Melbourne, but this is the first time Allan has been with him. The last time, he said she wasn’t there because the Victorian parliament was sitting.
He sidestepped questions today saying, “we’ll partner with state and territory governments right around the country. That’s what we do”.
Albanese was also asked to comment on the state of Victoria’s budget under Allan, which unsurprisingly, he wouldn’t do.
I’m responsible for my budget, I’m happy to answer questions about my budget. The premier’s right here. If you want to ask her a question about Victoria, I’m happy for her to do that.
But the question of whether Allan could have an impact on federal Labor’s chances is a very real one.
You can read more about that in Benita Kolovos’ piece here:
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Coalition accused of ‘scapegoating’ over plans to cut international student numbers
The National Tertiary Education Union has warned the Coalition’s international student cap of 240,000 international student enrolments a year would threaten thousands of jobs in the public education sector and undermine research capabilities.
NTEU national president, Dr Alison Barnes, said the “reckless policy” would “potentially lead to thousands of job losses across the sector”, based on previous impacts during the pandemic.
Peter Dutton’s Coalition has adopted rhetoric that demonises international students, using extreme Trumpist language that evokes harmful stereotypes rather than addressing real policy issues. Last year, he referred to international students as ‘modern-day boat arrivals’ – rhetoric that damages Australia’s reputation as a welcoming destination for global talent.
The Greens deputy leader and spokesperson for higher education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, similarly accused the Coalition of “racist dog-whistling” and “scapegoating”.
Dutton and his Trump-mirroring Liberals have no solutions to offer on housing or higher education, so as usual they take the divisive, racist route.
In a joint statement, the Coalition said it believed in a “sensible and managed migration program that is in line with our capacity to adequately provide for infrastructure and housing”.
We will not allow high migration settings to erode living standards, overburden our infrastructure and exacerbate housing shortages in our communities.
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Industry leaders react to Coalition’s proposed international student cut
Business and industry leaders have come out swinging at the Coalition over their proposal to cut at least 80,000 new international students from Australian higher education institutions.
CEO of the International Education Association of Australia, Phil Honeywood, said there had been no consultation with the sector on the proposed enrolment caps or drastic increases to student visa charges, including $5,000 at Group of Eight institutions.
While it must be tempting for Peter Dutton to play the Donald Trump anti-migration card to voters in this election, he would do well to be better advised on a few key facts. According to the ABS, international education provides a $50bn per annum injection into our national economy. It is currently the biggest industry in the states of Victoria and South Australia.
Universities Australia CEO, Luke Sheehy, said the proposed cuts would “take a sledgehammer” to one of Australia’s biggest income generators, estimating a $5bn hit in the short term.
We urge all parties to base policy on facts, not finger pointing. We’re ready to work constructively on real solutions, but cuts like these will only harm the nation’s prosperity at a time we can least afford it.
Liberals Against Nuclear urges rethink of energy policy amid WFH backflip
Liberals Against Nuclear is urging the Coalition to dump its nuclear energy policy, after this morning’s backflip on working from home.
Spokesperson Andrew Gregson said this shows opposition leader Peter Dutton can “listen to voters and change course when a policy is proving unpopular”.
His willingness to say ‘we have listened’ on the public service issue is commendable. We now urge him to apply that same political flexibility to the $600bn nuclear power plan that’s alienating voters across the country.
Gregson said the Coalition is “struggling to connect with voters, especially women, and nuclear is a major factor in this disconnect”.
If the Coalition can show flexibility on work arrangements for existing public servants, surely it can reconsider a policy that would add thousands more public servants to regulate and operate nuclear plants, while adding $665 to the average household’s annual power bill during a cost-of-living crisis.
Earlier this morning, the shadow treasurer Angus Taylor seemingly ruled out any change to the Coalition’s policy on nuclear.
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Australian dollar collapses to Covid levels
The Australian dollar has fallen to its lowest level since Covid against the US dollar as global markets sell off against the prospects of a global recession.
One dollar was buying just 60 US cents on Monday morning after falling to a low of 59.64, its lowest point since April 2020. It was worth 64 US cents on Wednesday, hours before US president Donald Trump set markets reeling with his tariff announcement.
The Australian dollar also reached pandemic-era lows in Europe, with one dollar buying just 54.4 Euro cents or 46.2 British pence at its lowest point on Monday morning.
Markets were even selling off the Australian dollar in Asia. It was worth less than 15,500 Vietnamese dong on Monday, when it had been buying almost 16,500 dong on Wednesday. The dollar slumped in India, Indonesia and New Zealand as well.
The Australian economy and therefore the dollar is heavily engaged in global trade, with investors buying big when they expect a global boom and selling off when they fear a crash, according to AMP economist My Bui:
When there is concern about a global slowdown, and particularly from the tariff and global trade war, then there is less demand for our commodity.
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Last day to enrol to vote!
Folks, I’m sure you’re absolutely on top of it – but a reminder that today is 7 April and that means that it’s the last day to enrol to vote!
So if you haven’t already, take a look at our handy explainer which has all you need to know about enrolling:
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ASX rout follows China-US tariff fight
There are few places to hide on the ASX this morning, with everything from banking to mining and energy stocks all down sharply.
Shares in Australia’s two biggest listed companies, Commonwealth Bank and BHP, are both down more than 8% in early trading.
The ASX sell-off follows a sharp fall on Wall Street on Friday, weighed down by China’s retaliatory tariffs to Donald Trump’s new trade regime.
Traders view Australia’s economy as closely tied to China through their significant trading relationship.
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Election campaign day 10, through the lens
There’s been plenty of action on the campaign trail this morning, with both leaders visiting electorates they each need to hold – with the PM in McEwan, Victoria and Peter Dutton in Sturt, South Australia.
We’ve got some great pics of what the two have been up to.
Dutton avoids offering clarity on modelling on job cut policy
The Coalition won’t reveal what modelling they have done on their work from home policy and won’t say when he decided to focus on attrition and hiring freezes instead of redundancies.
Dutton says again the Parliamentary Budget Office has run some numbers on how their policy will work (but again won’t provide more clarity.)
He’s also asked what that means for the Department of Defence or the education department – which Dutton singled out for having a lot of public servants working in Canberra, despite the federal department not running a school.
If we’ve got a hiring freeze, natural attrition and we’ll address the positions that are surplus to the need. So I want to make sure that we get frontline services properly invested in, and that’s exactly the point we’ve made from day one. I want to make sure that Australians seek value for money when they’re working harder than ever for every dollar they earn.
Another reporter also highlights Dutton’s previous comments singling out diversity and inclusion roles in the public service that he had said “do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians”.
Dutton doesn’t exactly answer that question, and just says households want to know their money is being spent efficiently, and mentions the Coalition’s stance against the voice referendum and how Labor’s spending on that referendum was a “waste”.
What we need to do is act in Australia’s best interests, and we do that by having an efficient public service that delivers the services that are important, that are important to Australians …
We believe very strongly that when the prime minister stood up and spent the first 16 months of his government talking about the voice and spending $425m, that that was a waste.
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ASX 200 loses $160bn in 15 minutes at opening as Trump tariff trade war fears intensify
More than $160bn has been wiped off the Australian share market this morning as fears of a full-blown trade war grip investors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 sank more than 6% to trade below the 7200 point mark within 15 minutes after the market opened on Monday.
The sell-off follows a sharp fall on Wall Street on Friday, weighed down by China’s retaliatory tariffs to Donald Trump’s new trade regime .
The Australian dollar has also fallen sharply to trade below 60 US cents.
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Dutton defends shadow cabinet gender numbers after work from home policy turnabout
The work from home backflip questions keep coming, forcing Dutton to continue apologising – while continuing to blame Labor for creating a “scare campaign” around the issue.
Dutton is asked whether the policy would have gotten off the ground if the Coalition had more women in its shadow cabinet in the first place.
He says they have the same number of women in their shadow cabinet as Labor has in their cabinet.
We have the same amount, same number of women in the shadow cabinet as Labor does, exactly the same number. And I have some incredible colleagues, not just sitting around that table, but behind me and in our party room as well. And we have, I think, demonstrated in our policies that we want to help families, we want to help women, young women, and we want to make sure that we can do that in a vibrant economy.
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Dutton says job cut savings modelling done with the Parliamentary Budget Office will be released
Earlier this morning, the employment minister, Murray Watt, said any government would struggle to bring down public service numbers by 41,000 through natural attrition and hiring freezes over the space of five years. (That’s the Coalition’s current job cuts policy, as it has ditched its forced redundancies policy).
Dutton is asked if he’s confident that 41,000 people will be willing to quit and how exactly the Coalition would be able to raise the billions of dollars it had previously promised through the policy. He hints that there’s been some sort of modelling done on that.
We have worked with the Parliamentary Budget Office to achieve that profiling. That’s the work we’ve done with the PBO. And we’ll have more to say about that.
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Dutton blames Labor for ‘scare campaign’ over work from home
Back to Peter Dutton fronting the media, and we’re on to questions – no surprises here: the first one is on work from home.
He’s asked just how bad the polling was to make a decision like this in the middle of the election campaign. Dutton says he now strongly supports flexible arrangements, and has blamed Labor for creating a scare campaign on the policy.
I have apologised for the decision we took in relation to work from home. It only applied to Canberra. Labor’s run this scare campaign and I think we bring an end to that today. And we strongly support flexible workplace arrangements.
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Investors brace for ASX plunge
The Australian sharemarket is positioned for a major sell-off on Monday morning as investors brace for a full-blown global trade war sparked by Donald Trump’s new tariff regime.
Australia’s share price index futures are pointing down more than 5%, which would shift the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to its lowest level in more than a year.
This would represent well over $100bn being wiped off the value of the share market, diminishing the value of most investment and superannuation portfolios.
The anticipated move follows sharp falls on Wall Street on Friday, weighed down by China’s retaliatory tariffs.
The Australian dollar has also fallen sharply.
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Dutton spruiks fuel excise and roads investments in South Australia
Peter Dutton is standing up in the ultra-marginal seat of Sturt in South Australia, which the party is trying to hold on to (and both Labor and the Greens have been eyeing).
He’s staring on a more local announcement about the greater Adelaide freight bypass, saying a Coalition government would promise 80% of the cost.
Speaking of roads, he’s also plugging the Coalition’s promise to cut the fuel excise.
If you support our candidates here in South Australia, if you support a coalition government, we’ll slash the price of petrol and diesel by 25 cents a litre.
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Le on who she might support in a hung parliament: ‘I’ve got to win this election first’
Le also weighs in on the work from home backflip and says workers that need flexible and family-friendly arrangements should be supported. But for her community, the majority of workers are operating in factories or are teachers, nurses and retail workers who can’t work from home.
On who she might support in the event of a hung parliament, she says:
I got chucked out by the Liberal party, so I’m glad to be an independent… I’m there to represent, in making sure my community gets the resources and infrastructure they need. Let’s wait till the results of the election. I don’t want to be presumptuous, I’ve got to win this election first.
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Dai Le: cost of living help could be ‘too little, too late’
Independent MP Dai Le, who sensationally beat Labor’s parachuted candidate Kristina Keneally at the last election, says she’s glad to see the focus on cost of living, but wonders if it’s a bit too late.
Le says both the tax cuts legislated by Labor and the fuel excise cut promised by the Coalition will go some way to help her constituents living in Western Sydney. The excise cut is something she’s also previously called for.
It’s great to see the major parties are now campaigning on those issues. I wonder though, it’s a bit too little, too late for our community.
I think [the] stage-three tax cuts revised was very good, Hecs reduction was great … any kind of help, people will appreciate it. ...I think [the] petrol fuel excise, obviously that has been something I have been asking for as well ...people are still feeling the pain and choosing between heating and eating.
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Sukkar says ‘huge number of our homes are being occupied by international students’ as Coalition proposes caps
A little earlier this morning, the shadow housing minister, Michael Sukkar, was on ABC RN Breakfast, talking about the Coalition’s policy announcement over the weekend that they’ll cut international student numbers to help fix the housing crisis.
Labor had tried to legislate a cap on international students last year, but the Coalition had refused to give their support (and so had the crossbench).
While experts and industry groups have said international students only make up around 4% to 6% of rentals in Australia, Sukkar says he think Australians would be “utterly startled” by that figure:
I think they [Australians] would be utterly startled to find that 6% of our rental stock in this in the entire nation is taken up by international students… 6% of our entire rental stock is being occupied by foreign students. I don’t think that makes the point that those are suggesting, I think it makes the exact point we’re making. A huge number of our homes are being occupied by international students.
Sukkar says the Coalition’s policy would cut around 80,000 international students, but that there will still be a “very significant” number of the cohort in Australia, by international standards.
Is that all true? Here’s our factcheck:
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Albanese: Labor’s ‘position clear’ on Port of Darwin
Albanese is asked to pinpoint when exactly he made the decision to retake control of the port of Darwin.
The Australian newspaper reports the Northern Territory government explicitly ruled out the prospect of a forced sale as recently as a month ago. Albanese said federal Labor has always opposed the sale of the lease to Landbridge – a Chinese-owned company.
There have been discussions… NT government officials have had discussions with our federal departments. That has been under way.
Albanese said Luke Gosling, in his role as the envoy for Northern Australia, has visited the port and met with the company.
He’s [Gosling] made our position clear. There have been discussions as well between private sector, including superannuation funds, with the company over a period of time.
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Albanese optimistic about plucking Victorian seats off the Coalition
Victoria will no doubt be a battleground state this election – which is why we’ve seen both Albanese and Dutton spend a fair bit of time across Melbourne so far.
And while a lot of the commentary is around Labor trying to fend off the Coalition from key seats, Albanese says he’s still positive about plucking more from the opposition.
I want to win seats like Menzies and Deakin. That’s why I was in Deakin last week. I hope Michael Sukkar [the current Liberal member for Deakin] is door knocking… because I think that his whole way that he conducts himself is not what we need in 2025, what we need is effective local members who stand up for their communities.
Menzies and Deakin, in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne are both on razor-thin margins.
Following redistributions in the seat, Menzies – currently held by Liberal MP Keith Wolahan – is now notionally Labor with a 0.4% margin. Deakin, held by shadow cabinet minister Sukkar, is one of the closest seats in the country with a 0.02% margin in the Liberal’s favour.
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PM says some Coalition candidates are ‘part of the takeover of the Liberal party by the hard right’
Albanese weighs in on Ben Britton being dumped by the Liberal party, and asks how the Coalition could have endorsed him in the first place.
If you missed it – here’s what went down yesterday afternoon:
Albanese also points to South Australian senator Alex Antic getting the No 1 spot on the Senate ticket for the Liberal party, over his more senior colleague, the shadow health minister, Anne Ruston.
I think the women of Australia will be asking themselves: what is going on when Peter Dutton can endorse a bloke who has the views that he put forward over a long period of time [and] was a former candidate for the UAP[?]
This is a part of … the takeover of the Liberal party by the hard right. When you look at Alex Antic being number one on the ticket, he’s got his shadow health minister at number two, a woman, Anne Ruston… She’s been a senior minister in the government, dumped for Alex Antic.
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Albanese defends cyber security moves after super fund hack
You might have seen reports over the last couple of days about superannuation funds being targeted by hackers.
Funds reported a small number of customers losing a combined half a million dollars and some customers’ data being breached:
Albanese is asked if the funds have failed their customers.
He says “businesses need to do better” on cyber security and says his government has been working on these issues.
My government has set up an office of cyber security. We have provided additional funding for the Australian Signals Directorate. We’ve set up a round table, including with the private sector, to deal with these issues. Businesses need to do better. We need to work together on these issues.
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Albanese says Coalition has a lot to apologise for
We don’t often hear politicians apologising, and Albanese is asked if there’s anything he wants to say sorry for.
The answer is basically no, but he says the opposition has a lot to apologise for.
Peter Dutton is pretending. He says as late as last week, his budget reply had the 41,000 job cuts front and center. He never said sorry to the 42,000 veterans who were owed collectively $13bn, men and women who had worn our uniform, some of whom passed away while they were waiting for their entitlements. He never said sorry about that …
Before the last time the Coalition were elected, they said there’d be no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no cuts to infrastructure, no cuts to the ABC, and they ripped the guts out of them in the 2014 budget.
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Albanese on Victorian rail upgrades: ‘We’ll get it done’
Moving to questions – Albanese is asked about a report on Channel 7’s spotlight on nickel and EVs. He says he hasn’t seen the show.
He’s then asked when exactly Victorians will able to ride on a train to the airport?
Albanese says he wants to “get it done as soon as possible”, and is working with the state government and the airport to make it happen.
One of the good things that we have done here is to get not just the Commonwealth and the state government, but get the airport to the party as well, and you would have seen the signing of the agreement. One of the issues that was being holding up this project was the issue over whether the the station at the airport clear above ground or below ground. But we’ll get it done.
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Albanese: Dutton has ‘discovered work rights’
Albanese also takes a dig at the Coalition’s work from home backflip this morning, saying Dutton is “pretending” his policy to cut 41,000 public service doesn’t exist.
The PM says his government’s policies on industrial relations – to make work from home more accessible, introducing same job, same pay laws, the right to disconnect and defining casualisation – have all been opposed by Dutton and the Coalition.
All of these changes have been opposed by Peter Dutton. He’s campaigned against them each and every day, and today he’s pretending. He’s pretending that the policies that he announced, including in the budget reply that was two weeks ago, including the cuts to 41,000 public servants just don’t exist, and everyone will just forget about all that. This is a new Peter Dutton who’s discovered work rights.
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PM says Victorian Sunshine station upgrades essential in contrast with Dutton’s proposed cuts
Anthony Albanese is speaking in Melbourne – this time with state premier Jacinta Allan (who was absent at the last press conference the PM did in the state). He’s talking about upgrading Sunshine station, and the government’s support for the suburban rail loop.
Last week Dutton had promised to cut $2bn from the Sunshine station upgrades, but Albanese says the work is essential.
My Government will partner with the Allan government to deliver for Victorians. That’s what this $7bn commitment is about because unless you fix Sunshine rail, you can’t do the airport rail link. It’s a necessary precondition.
Here’s some detail from our Victorian state reporter, Benita Kolovos:
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Taylor says Liberals ‘absolutely not’ moving away from nuclear after WFH policy retreat
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor is up next fronting up on the work from home policy change – the senior ministers have been out to answer questions on the backflip (as awkward as it’s been!)
Taylor also admits the policy was a “mistake”, and says it’s “tough” to get the balance right.
News Breakfast host James Glenday asks whether the Coalition could also back down on other major policies – like nuclear, which it’s been quiet on recently.
Taylor says he’s “absolutely not” moving away from the nuclear plan.
We absolutely not backing down on that, I can assure you, James and we’re not backing down to making sure we drive down prices of electricity.
Glenday asks how exactly the Coalition will pay for it. Taylor says:
Taylor: Nuclear power is through to 2050, and it’s substantially lower than the cost of Labor’s policies.
Glenday: It’s hundreds of billions of dollars no matter which way you twist it.
Taylor: Well that’s the energy system. The energy system much of which is paid for by a combination of the private sector and state governments. The piece we will finance, of course, is the nuclear generators which will deliver a return and that’s how we have modelled it, James.
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The history of a backflip: what has the Coalition been saying about job cuts up until now?
There’d been a fair bit of back and forth on the details of the Coalition’s public service cuts – and that was before we even got to today’s backflip. Different shadow ministers have been saying somewhat different things about how those roles would be cut or where the freezes would be placed.
My colleague Sarah Basford-Canales took a look through the evolution of the policy a little earlier:
It’s also important to note that one of the other big new details we’ve got this morning is that the staff numbers will be brought down by 41,000 over five years.
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Albanese reiterates that ‘social media companies have a social responsibility’, but details on ban not forthcoming
Last week a Time magazine article about Albanese’s social media reforms and the ban on social media for under 16s described the PM as having “undeniable everyman charisma”.
The Nova hosts – Michael “Wippa” Wipfli among them – ask Albanese about those reforms, who gives kudos to Wippa for his advocacy on the issue and says the crackdown on the “social harm” that these platforms cause is necessary.
The mums and dads who have turned what are personal tragedies into not wanting that to happen to any other parent to lose a young one, they’ve shown courage and dignity, and it’s been quite extraordinary.
And I want kids off their phones and out [on] the sports field. Social media companies have a social responsibility, and we need to just recognise that this is causing social harm, and I’m really proud of what my government has done.
The changes are due to come into effect in December this year, but we don’t have a design or plan on how exactly it will work. An age assurance trial is currently underway, but details on its success or otherwise will come after the election.
You can read more details on where we’re at on the policy from my colleague Josh Taylor:
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PM gets stuck into Coalition WFH policy reversal
Anthony Albanese is joining Nova Sydney, and first question is how he’s holding up after falling off a stage in Newcastle on Thursday.
The PM laughs it off and repeats (as our loyal blog legends will remember) the “I fell for Newcastle a long time ago” line.
He’s then asked about why school kids get 12 weeks of holidays a year while their parents only get four. Albanese takes the opportunity to take a stab at the Coalition’s work from home backflip.
That’s one of the reasons why we’ve [Labor] done issues like working from home, put that in the industrial relations legislation.
And I’m not quite sure where they are at the moment, but the Coalition certainly said they’d stop working from home. They didn’t want to support it. Today, they’ve gone from defending to pretending that they weren’t.
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NSW doctors to strike in breach of court orders
Stepping away from the election campaign for a moment…
Doctors in NSW will go ahead with their planned strike action on Tuesday and Thursday this week, the NSW government says, in breach of the orders of the Industrial Relations Commission.
The state health minister, Ryan Park,, says action by the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (ASMOF) will disrupt hospitals and health facilities including emergency departments and surgeries. Park says preparations are urgently underway to manage the impact on patients, and those with surgeries postponed will be contacted:
We do not want this. We reinstated the independent IRC for this very reason. The IRC allows workers to advance their claims without the limits of the wages cap the previous government imposed, without endangering the welfare and safety of the community ...
I share the community’s desire to see our healthcare workers paid more – it’s why we’ve offered a 10.5% multi-year wage increases (on top of the 4.5% already in pockets) and sat down with unions over many years to deliver those pay increases.
Doctors are seeking pay rises of up to 30% and the state government has struggled to talk down demands from unions after agreeing to an up to 40% pay rise for police in November.
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Watt promotes Labor battery policy as good for the outer regions
Watt is also spruiking the government’s battery policy announced over the weekend.
He says solar panels have seen a higher uptake in outer suburbs over the inner city, and the policy will help those areas (areas that Labor needs to hold, or gain on the Coalition).
He told ABC News Breakfast there are also low and no cost financing options available for those on lower incomes, to deal with the higher upfront cost of the technology.
Peter Dutton and his colleagues like to describe solar panels as some inner-city latte thing, but people in the outer regions are taking up solar because they know it’s a great way to save on their bills. This is the next example of our focus on cost of living.
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Labor begins attacks on Coalition policy backflip
The employment minister, Murray Watt, has jumped on the bandwagon to clobber the Coalition over their policy change, saying Dutton is in the “process of giving himself the worst facelift in Australian history” by saying he’s now a work from home supporter.
Watt tells ABC News Breakfast it would take “so many years” to cut 41,000 workers out of the public service through natural attrition and hiring freezes. He also says Dutton won’t be able to make the billions of dollars in savings required to pay for his nuclear policy:
Over the last few weeks, Peter Dutton and his colleagues have called working from home a holiday, they have accused people working from home of being unproductive …
It would take so many years to cut the jobs in the way he’s talking about, he won’t be able to achieve it and achieve the savings he’s relying on to pay for his nuclear reactors and all the other policies. Peter Dutton can’t be believed on any of the policies.
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Dutton insists planned job cuts were 'always' going to be done through hiring freezes and natural attrition
Back to Peter Dutton, Sarah Abo is certainly making it awkward for the opposition leader – testing him on whether natural attrition was always the plan as he’s just claimed.
Have a little look at the exchange:
Abo: [You were] initially targeting 41,000 jobs. Now you’re walking back from that. How will you find the billions you need for your Medicare plan?
Dutton: Well, Sarah, that was always the plan, that there would be natural attrition and a hiring freeze, and that achieved over…
Abo: But it wasn’t the plan. You wanted to cut back 41,000 jobs. You wanted to introduce working from home. You’ve walked back from both of those. How can they have both always been the plan? It doesn’t make sense.
Dutton: Sarah, you asked, you asked a question about the costing. There’s no change to the costing at all, because the original plan of the natural attrition and the freezing was what we’d always had. It’s the way in which Labor’s contorted that into something else.
Dutton had claimed in his budget reply speech that the policy to cut 41,000 public service workers would save about $7bn.
He says there’s no change to the costings but now the policy will take place over five years and through natural attrition and hiring freezes.
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Research finds up to 600,000 teenagers under 18 are gambling
New research has found up to 600,000 teenagers aged under 18 are gambling, and spending more than $18m a year.
The shocking findings by the Australia Institute show 30% of 12-17 year olds gamble, and almost half (46%) of 18-19 year olds are betting. In other words, Australians are starting to gamble before they are legally old enough to do so.
The Alliance for Gambling Reforms’s CEO, Martin Thomas, says the findings are a result of gambling companies targeting children at a young age:
There is evidence that the gambling industry targets kids as young as 14 years old through social media, urging them to download gambling ads and the saturation of gambling ads around our major football codes is also luring children to gamble.
It is both alarming and tragic to understand that the number of teenagers gambling under the legal age would fill the MCG six times over.
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Dutton: ‘we made a mistake’ on work from home policy
Peter Dutton has apologised over the Coalition’s policy to force more public servants to return to the office.
The Opposition leader is on the Today Show and says he’s “listening to what people have to say”, and like Hume, has also blamed Labor for implying that the policy would also apply to the private sector.
Sarah Abo grills him, starting off by asking: “will you be asking for forgiveness from female voters?”
Dutton replies: “I think I am today”:
We never had any intention for work from home changes that we were proposing in Canberra to apply across the private sector, but the Prime minister was out there saying that, it was just a lie …
We’ve made a mistake in relation to the policy. We apologise for that. And we’ve dealt with it.
There’s been a fair bit of confusion over how exactly the party would axe 41,000 public service jobs. The Coalition’s policy on that has also taken a big step back, with the promise of no redundancies. But Dutton claims that was always the policy.
That was always the plan, that there would be natural attrition and a hiring freeze and that achieved.
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Hume announces 'enshrining' of workplace flexibility and ditches forced redundancies in major policy backflip
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, says the Coalition will “enshrine” workplace flexibility as the party backflips on its previous demand to get public sector workers back into the office.
Hume told Sky News Labor has pursued an “unfair scare campaign” over the policy and said the change was due feedback showing the public wanted flexible work to be enshrined:
We’ve listened to feedback from right around the country, not just Canberra based public servants … who are telling us that flexible work is something that they would like to see enshrined.
Now, let’s face it, it always was going to be enshrined. Flexible work was always here to stay. But what our concern now is that part of that flexible work should also be an ability to work from home where it’s appropriate to do so, and that hasn’t changed.
Hume says the Labor scare campaign implied the policy would also apply to the private sector but she promises that was never the case.
The other side of the public service policy was to cut 41,000 public servants. Hume says that will now be done over the space of five years, with no forced redundancies.
We’ll also ensure that the size of the public service is reduced by 41,000 over a period of five years. That will be done through natural attrition, and it will be done through a hiring freeze. There will be no forced redundancies.
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Good morning
Krishani Dhanji here with you on week two of the federal election campaign.
We’ve seen quite the backflip this morning from the Coalition on their previous policy to get public service workers back into the office. The demand for “all” public servants to return is being abandoned and the promise to slash 41,000 public servants is being wound back with confirmation there will be no forced redundancies if the Liberals win the election.
There’ll be plenty of reaction to that this morning.
On the Labor side, the party has announced over the weekend a $2.3bn battery promise for households and they’ll no doubt be out promoting that again this morning.
So buckle in – it’s going to be a big one!
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