What we learned, Thursday 15 September
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s what we learned:
Anthony Albanese said debates on an Indigenous voice to parliament and becoming a republic at same time was “not feasible”.
Australia’s jobless rate rose last month to 3.5%, as more people sought work and the economy added jobs even as rising interest rates squeezed finances for households and businesses.
The Bureau of Meteorology released an updated outlook that showed the easter half of Australia is facing a wetter than average summer.
After reports Albanese may not attend the next UN climate summit in Egypt in November, Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said the PM needs to go so he doesn’t repeat his predecessor’s mistakes
Independent MP Monique Ryan called for a renewed national conversation about Covid and even a national summit on the virus, backed by the Australian Medical Association.
Horse trainers Gai and Robbie Waterhouse are set to travel with Albanese to the Queen’s funeral.
The environment minister Tanya Plibersek “granted a full assessment of the impact of all industry in the Burrup peninsula on cultural heritage, under Section 10 of the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.”
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has called for Aboriginal actor and activist Uncle Jack Charles, who died earlier this week, to replace Queen Elizabeth II on the $5 note.
The Queensland police union president, Ian Leavers, was called to give evidence at the ongoing inquiry police response to domestic violence in Queensland.
Peter Dutton attacked Andrew Leigh for suggesting King Charles may not replace the Queen on the $5 note.
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Sarah Martin never misses, and her latest column, on Anthony Albanese’s deference to the throne, is a must read:
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Should Anthony Albanese attend the UN climate summit in Egypt?
Some quick thoughts on the discussion about whether Anthony Albanese is, or should be, going to this year’s UN climate summit in Egypt in November.
A story in the Australian Financial Review this morning contrasted Albanese’s almost-certain non-attendance in Sharm El Sheikh for Cop27 with him calling out Scott Morrison for not committing to go to the Cop26 summit in Glasgow last year.
The two summits are not the same, however. Morrison held out until late before committing to attend the Glasgow meeting while more than 100 leaders said they would go. But this is not the norm for climate summits, and hardly any leaders will be making the trek to Cop27 in two months’ time.
Richie Merzian, a former climate diplomat now with the Australia Institute, says this is because – unlike in Glasgow, Copenhagen in 2009 and Paris in 2015 – there are no big political decisions on the table.
This is an “implementation Cop”, focused on decisions that can be made by climate, environment and foreign ministers and diplomats. Merzian expects up to a dozen leaders could turn up in Egypt, mostly from the local region.
The Greens can make a logical case that Albanese should go based on the urgency of the crisis and given Labor has promised to bid to host a future Cop with Pacific countries. All positive leadership would be welcome - especially if it were to come with a major announcement.
But Cop27 coincides with both a G20 leaders’ meeting in Bali and a parliamentary sitting week. Expect the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, and the assistant climate change minister, Jenny McAllister, to be representing Australia.
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Warren Mundine quits SBS board
Failed Liberal candidate Warren Mundine has resigned from the SBS board two years into a five-year term during which he was admonished by the multicultural broadcaster for social media comments “not in line with the values of SBS”.
SBS confirmed Mundine had resigned early, citing his other business and personal commitments.
“Warren Mundine has been a valued member of the SBS board since joining in October 2020,” the SBS chair, George Savvides, said on Thursday.
“We understand the reasons for his decision, in that he has significant other business and personal commitments, and on behalf of the SBS board and the organisation I thank him for his service.”
Here’s our full story:
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Dutton claims republican’s seeking ‘political advantage’ from Queen’s death
If you hadn’t seen, earlier this morning opposition leader Peter Dutton claimed republicans are seeking “political advantage from the Queen’s death”, including one Labor minister opening the door to taking the monarch off the $5 note.
Dutton accused the assistant minister for treasury, Andrew Leigh, of “rewriting history” for claiming King Charles III would not “automatically” feature because Queen Elizabeth II appeared on the note due to her “personal” status.
Read the full story from Paul Karp
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Academic calls for truth in political advertising
New laws enshrining truth in political advertising should be introduced to stop politicians lying with “impunity” and prevent division seeping into society, a parliamentary committee has been told.
A submission from UNSW professor George Williams to an inquiry into the May federal election calls for a crackdown on disinformation to strengthen the integrity of the electoral system and Australian democracy.
Williams said a “narrowly drawn law for truth in political advertising” should be a priority for the parliament, which was failing to regulate its own “falsehoods”.
“There must always be space for robust debate and to question even the most accepted orthodoxy,’’ he said.
“It is also important that any new law cannot be weaponised during an election campaign by one party seeking court injunctions against its opponents.”
Williams said a lack of regulation meant “politicians can lie with impunity in the hope of misleading voters to secure electoral advantage”, including scare campaigns involving Medicare and death taxes.
“When citizens cannot tell fact from fiction, and leaders spread falsehoods for political advantage, society as a whole is damaged,” he wrote.
“The United States readily demonstrates this - Donald Trump’s baseless claims about electoral fraud are sowing division and distrust throughout that nation and undermining good governance.”
– via AAP
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Paracetamol packet sizes should be reduced, TGA recommends
The size of paracetamol packets sold in supermarkets could be reduced and limits introduced on the number of boxes that can be bought in a bid to reduce injury and death from intentional overdoses.
The recommendations are contained in an independent expert report published by Australia’s drugs regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The report found rates of intentional paracetamol overdose were highest among adolescents and young adults and more common among women and girls.
You can read more on the story by Melissa Davey at the link below:
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Star’s interim chairman apologises
Interim Star Entertainment Group chairman Ben Heap has written a letter to shareholders apologising after the Bell inquiry found the company unsuitable to hold its Sydney casino licence.
The Star has 14 days to respond and show why its licence should not be permanently revoked, with Heap writing it was “clear from the report that we need to fundamentally transform our culture”:
We need more transparency, more robust governance and greater accountability. At its heart, we need to be a workplace where our team members feel free to raise concerns, where we have open and honest dialogue with our regulators and independent monitor, and where our leadership is both vigilant and listens when concerns are raised.
Our goal is to earn back your trust and the trust and confidence of the NSW Independent Casino Commission and indeed all our regulators. I recognise that we won’t be judged by our words but by our actions. You have my commitment and that of my fellow directors and senior management team that we will do everything in our power to make the necessary improvements.
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Players’ association slams NRL’s sanction of Caitlin Moran
The Rugby League Players’ Association has slammed the NRL’s decision to sanction NRLW player Caitlin Moran for a social media post following the death of the Queen.
The Newcastle Knights player took down the post but the NRL announced a proposed sanction of a one-match suspension and a suspended fine equal to 25% of her salary.
In a statement, the RLPA say the fine issued to Moran is “far too severe” and that the NRL has a “worrying track record of inconsistent punishments”:
The Rugby League Players’ Association acknowledges the breach notice the NRL have issued to NRLW player Caitlin Moran.
The RLPA believes a fine equivalent to 25% of Caitlin’s salary, although suspended, is far too severe. Caitlin’s proposed financial punishment is another example of the inconsistent and disproportionate penalties handed down to players.
Case by case, the NRL has a worrying track record of inconsistent punishments given to players. For integrity-related matters, the RLPA has continually advocated for transparency, but we are yet to see any framework that informs the NRL’s sanctions.
The lack of a clear and transparent framework puts players in an incredibly vulnerable position and leaves many within the game scratching their heads at administrative decision-making.
Concerningly, the game wants to be transparent with the public by publicising breach notices, but the game does not want to be transparent with key industry stakeholders on what framework informs that decision making.
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BoM releases latest long-range weather forecasts
Summer’s looking a bit wetter than usual for the eastern half of Australia, according to the latest long-range forecasts released by the Bureau of Meteorology today. It’s the first look that we’ve had out to January.
@BOM_au's updated outlook shows Oct-Dec (left) and Nov-Jan likely to be wetter than average for most of eastern Australia. The modest drying would coincide with expectations of the triple La Nina event beginning to break down over summer. https://t.co/ymPMkS8SKq pic.twitter.com/Tfc6m7mtbN
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) September 15, 2022
The drivers were identified earlier this week, when the BoM formally declared a third La Niña in as many years, as we reported here:
With that extra rain there will be more cloud cover, and that means it’s very likely eastern Australia will have milder-than-usual temperatures out to December. By January the relatively cool patch starts to shrink to cover New South Wales mostly.
That reduction probably reflects the expected breakdown of the La Niña as summer rolls on, as indicated by the model forecasts the bureau relies on. For more on the triple-dip La Niña, have a listen to my colleague Graham Readfearn’s Full Story podcast.
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Minister says NSW rail union’s plan to turn off Opal machines is illegal
The New South Wales transport minister, David Elliott, believes the rail union’s plan to switch off Opal card readers next week is “illegal”.
As part of the ongoing industrial action undertaken by the Rail Tram and Bus Union, opal machines will be shut down “indefinitely” from 21 September.
Elliott said the government had received legal advice that indicated the action was illegal, and that the government could take any worker seen switching off the machines to court:
Prima facie we believe it’s illegal.
I will go down to any court in the country to make sure that any person who is seen to be doing this is prosecuted.
I don’t believe any court in this state would say inciting people to destroy public property is anything but illegal.
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Pocock urges government to divert money for dam projects to environmental protection
The independent senator David Pocock is calling on the government to divert money allocated to a promise made to the former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.
The former PM Scott Morrison promised billions of dollars for six major dam projects for Joyce in return for backing a commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The dams deal included $5.4bn for the Hells Gate project in north Queensland and upgrades worth $600m and $433m at the Paradise and Dungowan dams, respectively.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Pocock said that with the money currently unspent, the government should look to reallocate them to halt the the “extinction crisis” that the environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, said was due to a lack of funding:
The state of the environment report revealed just how desperately urgent this task is. Meaningful reform takes money.
If the billions in taxpayer funding allocated for water infrastructure isn’t going to proceed, it is imperative that this money be invested in environmental protection.
I appreciate the government is on the hunt for savings, but taking this money back into consolidated revenue would be a huge blow to our capacity to achieve the outcomes our environment so urgently needs.
The government needs to be setting minister Plibersek up to succeed.
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Emergency minister says flood risks due to third La Niña ‘very high’
The federal emergency management minister has conceded that the risk of flooding due to the third consecutive La Niña is “very high.”
Murray Watt was on ABC’s RN Breakfast earlier today, and said the areas that have faced flooding in recent years are likely to face flooding once again:
I think given how wet the catchments are in so much of the east coast of Australia, the risk of flooding is very high. And that’s why we need to be taking all the steps that are possible to prepare for right now.
The areas where we have seen flooding in Queensland and NSW over the last couple of years unfortunately are, again, faced with the risk of more. But really, anywhere in the east of and anywhere in northern Australia.
We have, specifically, been working with the state governments about what the plans are around people who are not living in permanent accommodation at the moment to make sure that there are flood plans in place [for those residents]. If people are living in temporary accommodation, that’s going to require a different response to what would happen if people were in their permanent homes.
I certainly think the NSW government and the NSW SES have really done a lot of work since last summer to improve its response and readiness for disasters. I think that everyone learned a big lesson from last summer about where people need to be positioned and how they need to be resourced.
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Queensland premier writes to King Charles III
Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has written to King Charles III via Queensland’s governor, Jeannette Young, expressing the “deep sadness” state MPs are feeling at the passing of the Queen.
It came as part of a very brief sitting of state parliament, where Palaszczuk praised the Queen for her “years of dedicated service and duty”.
(We express our deepest sympathy to your majesty and other members of the royal family for the loss they have sustained.
We also extend our sincere congratulations to your majesty on your ascension to the throne, and express our wishes that your reign is a long and happy one.
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Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, taking over from the always brilliant Amy Remeikis.
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Mostafa Rachwani will guide you through the afternoon. Thank you so much for joining me today – take care of you.
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Government responds to labour force figures
The employment minister, Tony Burke, has responded to today’s labour force figures – he wants to see stronger wage growth:
A slight uptick in the overall unemployment rate is due to a welcome increase in the participation rate. Unemployment remains at an historically low level.
The overall result in South Australia (3.9%) and Queensland (3.2%) are particularly encouraging, with both recording their lowest unemployment rates since records began in 1978.
But these economic circumstances should be resulting in stronger wages growth.
These results once again demonstrate why we need to update the workplace system and close the loopholes that are undermining wages growth.
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Parliament launches inquiry into online gambling
Australia has a well documented problem with gambling – but did you know it is now affecting kids as well?
The parliament’s standing committee on social policy and legal affairs has launched an inquiry into online gambling and will look at a range of issues relating to online gambling, including consumer protections support services, regulatory regimes, emerging technologies and advertising restrictions, to report back in May next year.
The independent Curtin MP, Kate Chaney, who is a member of the standing committee, said she was particularly concerned over what she was hearing about gambling and children:
I have heard heart-breaking stories of loss and shame from my electorate. An immediate priority should be reducing children’s access to online gambling advertising. A gambling ad is shown every two minutes on free-to-air TV in Australia. We are conditioning our kids to think gambling is normal.
Chaney said three quarters of Australian kids aged 8–16 years who watch sport think betting on sport is normal and can also name one or more sports betting companies (25% can name four or more).
The very real and insidious nature of this issue was brought to my attention by a number of constituents who relayed their stories. Rod told me of his son Ollie, who had lost $25,000. Sandra told me of her son, who started with a rite-of-passage trip to the races for his 18th birthday and ended up borrowing tens of thousands of dollars from friends and family and losing it through online gambling.
You can find more details of the committee, here (including on how to make a submission).
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PM should attend UN climate summit: Adam Bandt
Following reports Anthony Albanese may not attend the next UN climate summit in Egypt in November (still to be decided, but there is a bit on with parliament and whatnot), the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said the prime minister needs to go so he doesn’t repeat his predecessor’s mistakes:
As opposition leader, Anthony Albanese slammed Scott Morrison’s refusal to show up to the climate summit. The prime minister must not repeat Scott Morrison’s mistakes, but should show up to the summit and join other world leaders acting on coal and gas.
Anthony Albanese said Australia is ‘rejoining’ the world on climate action, but despite passing a climate law with a low emissions reduction target, his government has backed more coal and gas and opened up huge swathes of ocean for oil and gas drilling.
As Pacific Leaders have said, to be taken seriously on climate Australia needs to get serious about coal and gas, which means the prime minister turning up to the climate summit with a commitment to join the Global Methane Pledge and the Powering Past Coal Alliance.
If Australia wants to host a climate summit in the future, the prime minister needs to turn up to this one with a pledge to stop opening up more coal and gas mines.
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World Health Organization hits back at criticism from Lancet commission on global Covid response
A newly published Lancet commission report has found widespread, “massive” global failures in the Covid-19 response, which the commission said led to millions of preventable deaths and reversed progress made towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals in many countries.
The commission is the result of two years of work from 28 of the world’s leading experts in public policy, international governance, epidemiology, vaccinology, economics, international finance, sustainability, and mental health, and included consultations with over 100 other contributors to 11 global task forces.
“We must face hard truths – too many governments have failed to adhere to basic norms of institutional rationality and transparency; too many people have protested basic public health precautions, often influenced by misinformation; and too many nations have failed to promote global collaboration to control the pandemic,” the commission’s chair, Prof Jeffrey Sachs, said.
The commission also took aim at the World Health Organization, saying there were multiple failures of global cooperation and costly delays by the WHO to declare a “public health emergency of international concern” and to recognise the airborne transmission of the virus.
This coincided with national governments’ failure to cooperate and coordinate on travel protocols, testing strategies, commodity supply chains, data reporting systems, and other vital international policies to suppress the pandemic, the commission said.
The lack of cooperation among governments for the financing and distribution of key health commodities – including vaccines, personal protective equipment, and resources for vaccine development and production in low-income countries – has come at dire costs, the report found.
In a statement just issued, WHO hit back at the claims, saying “there are several key omissions and misinterpretations in the report”.
“The commission does not convey the full arc of WHO’s immediate, multi-year, life-saving response,” the statement said.
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Save the Children bringing week of Indigenous-focused story events to Canberra
Save the Children is bringing its “Our Yarning” program to Canberra from 19-21 September:
Our Yarning is a free, digital library of culturally relevant books created by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Our Yarning team will host three story time sessions at early childhood centres, host writers’ workshops, and hold a public lecture at Canberra University presented by Our Yarning’s Cultural Advisor Dr Julie Owen during the week of events.
You can find all the information here:
A public lecture with Dr Julie Owen: Creating mirror books for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children.
In Conversation with adventurer Huw Kingston & story gatherer Dr Julie Owen: Books for an Adventurer.
Children’s book writing workshop: Inviting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander story tellers
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For those who missed Peter Dutton’s earlier interview, Paul Karp has written it up:
Josh Butler wrote about this here:
People who look like me have been told to go back to where they come from at one point or another. I’ve copped it more times than I can count, but the hurt & sorrow it causes never lessens.
— Mehreen Faruqi (@MehreenFaruqi) September 15, 2022
When Parliament sits on the 26th Sept, the Greens will move to censure Pauline Hanson. pic.twitter.com/PkLBo6HDSV
Jobs data pointing to further interest rate rises to come
Investors have taken the August jobs data to suggest the economy continues to motor along, with the ASX200 share index recently up more than 0.6% on the day (or roughly double the gain before the numbers landed).
The Aussie dollar, too, has advanced against the US, implying some modest increase in the expectations of future RBA rate rises than what investors had plugged in prior to the data release.
Australian dollar ticks a bit higher on the jobs data. Most of the measures point to underlying tightness of the jobs market (even if traction for higher wages is slow to take hold). (Source: Bloomberg) pic.twitter.com/7UgQrmJK6g
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) September 15, 2022
Labour market data can be a bit noisy, in part because of the multiple moving parts, such as hours worked. Those rose 0.8% last month to 1.854bn, fully reversing the drop in July.
“The August rise in employment and hours occurred after the winter school holidays and flooding events in NSW, where we saw more people than usual working fewer hours in July,” said Lauren Ford, head of labour statistics at the ABS.
Still, “the number of people working reduced hours due to sickness remained elevated in August, at around 760,000 people,” or about double the number at the end of a typical winter, she said.
So, while the headline jobless rate is up for the first time since it clocked higher last October, the point the markets are making is that the chances of higher interest rates have, on the margin, increased after today’s jobs data.
Brendan Rynne, KPMG’s chief economist, says “the continued strength in the labour market suggests the RBA will maintain its tightening bias to the cash rate in next month’s meeting”.
“The question remains whether the RBA will start to ease off on the size of the rate jumps and revert back to 25 basis point or whether it will continue with double jumps of 50bp, in line with the aggressive approach of the US Federal Reserve.”
The gap in data isn’t really helping forecasters.
We won’t see the September quarter consumer price inflation figures until 26 October - or well after the next RBA board meeting on 4 October - and the wage price index for that quarter doesn’t land until 16 November.
Ample time, then, for speculation.
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ABC’s Barbara Miller meets man who spent seven years planning Queen’s lying in state during street interviews
If you didn’t see this bit of the ABC coverage this morning, I recommend having a watch – particularly if you’re a journalism student.
ABC reporter Barbara Miller was cherry picking people out of “The Queue” (the line to see the Queen lying in state, which is about two miles long at the moment, with the capacity to reach five miles long) for vox pops (short street interviews).
The gentleman she had a chat to turned out to be General David Leakey, a former Black Rod of the UK parliament, who spent seven years planning the lying in state and was queuing up to see how his plan turned out, as well as pay his respects to the Queen, who he had dealings with quite often.
Miller found out at the same time as us that she was interviewing someone a little more knowledgeable than the usual vox pop, but she held it together.
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Parents and their villages are doing this all over the nation today (and every day).
Privatising early childhood education has had a huge effect not just on families, but the economy at large.
My office is a family friendly space because there is no free child care out there. So I’m entertaining kids this morning. pic.twitter.com/qYUk653F1r
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) September 15, 2022
French media on Aukus: Australia still has ‘no precise horizon’ for acquiring submarines
You may have seen that it’s a year since the Aukus pact was announced – a sudden U-turn on Australia’s submarines deal with France that later led the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to accuse the then prime minister Scott Morrison of lying to him.
Now, as Tory Shepherd writes, “the geostrategic environment is even more dire”.
French media have certainly noted the escalation in tensions. A piece in Le Monde this week called the surprise announcement a “slow-burn fuse” that set off a “domino effect” in the Indo-Pacific – and labelled it the “turning point in the polarisation of tensions between China and the United States”.
Un an après, l’alliance « Aukus » entre 🇦🇺,🇬🇧et 🇺🇸 apparaît de + en + comme un détonateur à mèche lente. Après de longs mois de flous, un certain nombre de décisions diplomatiques et militaires structurantes émergent dans son sillage. Bilan ⤵️ #sousmarins https://t.co/4O36x7WH5h
— Elise Vincent (@elise_vincent) September 14, 2022
With more than a hint of schadenfreude, or hauteur if you will, the paper noted that Australia still has “no precise horizon” for acquiring the submarines it abandoned with the French deal – and that, per experts, Aukus has set us back ten years.
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Kiwis announce extended squad in lead-up to Rugby League World Cup
For those watching the rugby league world cup, AAP has an update for you:
Shaun Johnson has earned a recall to the Kiwis setup as part of an extended squad announced by head coach, Michael Maguire, ahead of the Rugby League World Cup.
Experienced playmaker Johnson was overlooked for the Pacific Test win over Tonga earlier this year due to indifferent form with the Warriors, with Maguire backing a new-look halves pairing of Jahrome Hughes and Dylan Brown.
The 32-cap international was part of a 34-man group announced by Maguire on Thursday, with the squad to be reduced prior to this year’s World Cup in England.
Canberra’s Brisbane-born centre Seb Kris, who qualifies through his mother, is a surprise call-up.
He joins fellow uncapped Raiders centre Matt Timoko, as part of a six-man strong Canberra contingent headlined by in-form prop Joe Tapine, Corey Harawira-Naera, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Jordan Rapana.
Canterbury hooker Jeremy Marshall-King is in line for a maiden Test cap, while experienced internationals Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Braden Hamlin-Uele and Kodi Nikorima also return to the set-up.
Centre Joey Manu is included after missing the Sydney Roosters’ finals loss to South Sydney with a calf injury.
“We’re excited about the depth of players available and the form they’re in,” Maguire said.
“The vast majority of them are in sides that made it into the finals which is a real positive as we look ahead to the tournament.”
The Kiwis will play the Leeds Rhinos in a warm-up game at Headingley on October 8, when retiring former New Zealand captain Tommy Leuluai will play his final professional game.
New Zealand open their World Cup campaign in group games against Lebanon, Jamaica and Ireland.
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Daniel Andrews pledges to establish practitioner paramedic roles
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has vowed to establish paramedic practitioner roles in the state’s ambulance service to ease pressure on the burdened health system in a pre-election health pledge.
In an Australian first, the paramedic practitioner role would be established within Ambulance Victoria to expedite people’s access to medical care.
Andrews said the announcement was a “significant step forward”.
This is what the workforce has asked for ... they want to take their higher level of skills, their commitment, their passion, and go into new spaces and do different things.
Practitioner paramedics have additional primary care skills and can treat a wide range of general health conditions.
The premier made the election commitment on Thursday morning at Wonthaggi Hospital in Victoria’s south-east. Andrews also pledged that if his government was re-elected in November it would fund up to $290m to complete the second stage of the hospital. The expansion would be completed by 2027 and consist of two extra wards.
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Labour market remains tight even as more people look for work
On the face of it, the August jobs figures are on the strong side because of the jump in full-time positions of almost 60,000 during the month.
And in context, a 3.5% overall jobless rate reading suggests the labour market remains very tight.
Putting some context to the minor rise in the jobless rate to 3.5% last month. (Source: ABS) pic.twitter.com/kXrIE2Tan5
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) September 15, 2022
And that 66.6% participation rate, up 0.2 percentage points on July, remains close to the record high reached in June of 66.8%.
It’s also 0.7 percentage points higher than before the pandemic began nearly 30 months ago – meaning there’s less slack in the economy.
The participation rate bounced back a bit last month to 66.6% and remains close to record highs. (Source: ABS) pic.twitter.com/rY0e2SYOW4
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) September 15, 2022
Among the states and territories, the ACT had the lowest jobless rate at 2.7%, ahead of WA’s 3.1%. NSW at about a third of the economy had an unemployment rate of 3.4% while Victoria (which goes to the polls in just over 10 weeks) was sitting at 3.7%.
We’ll have more reaction shortly here and in our accompanying article:
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A guard has fainted during the Queen’s lying in state:
BBC suspends live footage of the Queen’s lying in state, after guard faints. #QueenElizabethII pic.twitter.com/6FUwfwb0qJ
— JackThompson (@Jack_Thompson_8) September 14, 2022
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Higher participation rate drives slight rise in unemployment rate
Australia’s jobless rate rose last month to 3.5%, as more people sought work and the economy added jobs even as rising interest rates squeezed finances for households and businesses.
Labour market data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed the economy added about 33,500 positions in August. The participation rate, which tracks the proportion of people looking for work, rose to 66.6%.
The jobs figures are closely watched by economists as a sign of how strong the economy remains and whether the interest rate rises by the Reserve Bank so far are having much effect to cool demand.
The economy added 58,800 full-time positions while shedding 25,300 part-time roles, the ABS said. At 3.5%, the jobless rate was marginally higher than the 3.4% level reported for July, and remains close to the lowest since 1974.
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For the record, it was 2017 when Ray Hadley and Peter Dutton went through their Andrew Leigh obsession phase.
Here is the “weird cat” interview:
Hadley: What sort of fellow is this fellow, I watch him with a puzzled look on my face with Sky news, is he as strage as he sounds?
Dutton: He’s a weird cat, Ray.
Hadley: A weird dude.
Dutton: He is a weird dude.
Hadley: A weird dude. I’ve said in the past that we should have an IQ test for federal MPs, he would pass that because he’s got 48 degrees, but he is as thick as four plates
Dutton: You should spend some time with him, I’d like you to spend some time with him.
Hadley: Nah, nah, look, at 62 and a bit, my life is too short to be in a room with Andrew Leigh for any more than 30 seconds.
Dutton was a minister of the crown then.
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Unemployment rises from 3.4% to 3.5%
The very small increase seems to be from an increase in the participation rate – which means there are more people who have entered the labour market looking for work.
Peter Hannam will have more for you soon.
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Dutton attacks Andrew Leigh for suggesting King Charles may not replace Queen on $5 note
Peter Dutton is also very upset by Andrew Leigh daring to suggest that King Charles may not automatically replace his mother on the $5 note.
Here is the exchange (Dutton and Ray Hadley had a very strange fixation on Leigh for a while there – they reference one of the many conversations they had about Leigh while he was in opposition here).
Hadley:
On another minor issue, and I know that you’ve said you’re on the same page as the prime minister, and this is the note issue about who appears on the $5 note now Her Majesty has passed.
Convention would dictate, because the $5 that came into being in 1992, and prior to that we had a $1 note – the lowest denomination – and she featured on that as well. Tradition is that the reigning monarch in a constitutional monarchy in Australia, the reigning monarch has her insignia, her profile, on that note or in this case, King Charles.
Now, you and I have discussed at great length Andrew Leigh previously. Was he the one you said was a weird cat? I’m not quite sure ...
Dutton:
I think we did describe him like that.
Hadley:
Nah, nah, not we – you, but anyway, I’m just agreeing with you.
… He made an announcement in concert with the Mint CEO, where he said – he had a conversation about the $5 note – and he made it clear that it will be his decision. ‘Down the track, it’s a conversation that will happen.’
Now, [he also said] that it’s not automatic that the Queen is replaced by King Charles III on the $5 note, because according to him … ‘It was due to her personality, and personally, not as monarch.’
So he’s reinvented history, and like I say, it’s a discussion to have down the track, but almost seizing upon the opportunity to say ‘oh, look, it’s not about being the monarch, it’s about, she was very popular in 1992 and equally popular upon her passing in 2022, so that’s the reason she’s on the note.’
I mean, he’s just invented it all, it’s just an invention in his own mind.
Dutton:
Well, clearly it is and again, it’s trying to take advantage of the circumstances that we’re in at the moment. I’d be surprised if the prime minister supported Andrew Leigh. I’d be disappointed if he did, because if we’re a republic at some stage, then that’s a decision for the Australian people to make, but we’re with our current arrangements at the moment and we should honour those arrangements and that includes in relation to the $5 note.
For Andrew Leigh to come out and express a view which, again, is not based in fact, … it’s not something that you can just make up on the run. There’s a protocol that’s in place and again, I don’t understand why he would feel a need to come out at the moment and to make, what is a unilateral decision.
… Equally, most people I’ve spoken to as you move through airports and around the cities over the last week or so … are very much concentrating on the Queen’s life.
… I just think these are decisions for another day. If you’re going to change something, well, argue it down the track, but we’re not a republic yet and I think the Australian public will have a strong view about this issue, probably stronger than they have in the past. But that comes in time, and at the moment we’ve got an arrangement which is in place. And to rewrite history, as you say, is pretty odd from Dr Leigh, but this won’t be the first or last odd decision from Dr Leigh.
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Peter Dutton says raising republican question too soon is ‘unseemly’
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has had his weekly chat with Sydney radio’s Ray Hadley, where they run through all the issues they agree on over the last seven days.
Not surprisingly, both agree it is too early to talk about Australia’s future under the UK monarchy and are very disappointed in those who have dared raise the “R” word (republic).
It’s just not the time, Ray. I mean, the Queen hasn’t even been laid to rest yet, and the usual suspects – as you point out – are out of the block straight away, and I think most Australians would be appalled by that.
There’s a time and place for their argument. I mean, I don’t agree with a republic and frankly, I think, what we’re seeing at the moment highlights the stability, the transition, that you get in a monarchy and it’s hard to imagine how that would happen if we were a republic.
But all of that to one side, I think it’s just unseemly and to try and eke out some political advantage from the Queen’s death*. Frankly, I think it says more about them than what it does about the issue.
*The LNP in Queensland are trying to rename a major infrastructure project (which it tried to scrap while in government) after the Queen and set up a “petition” to get support for it, which also gave the party petitioners data.
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Motoring lobby calls for national road safety plan after 4.1% jump in road deaths in 12 months
Australia’s peak motoring lobby, the AAA, says road deaths have increased by 4.1% in the 12 months to August.
It wants a national road safety action plan to be finalised and for the government to “urgently improve national road safety management and coordination, after new data confirmed 1,172 people died on the nation’s roads in the 12 months to August 31, 2022”.
AAA managing director, Michael Bradley, said:
Australia’s worsening road toll reflects poorly on our national approach to road safety, which lacks clarity and coordination.
Australia is today unable to even quantify the extent of road trauma, let alone the effectiveness of interventions being deployed to reduce it.
Australia’s poor measurement, analysis and reporting of road safety performance continues to be the major impediment to evidence-based solutions and well-targeted funding.
Unfortunately, Australia will continue to miss its trauma reduction targets until we have a national plan that’s serious about its goals, and how they’re to be achieved.
Updated
Australian share market moves higher after yesterday’s plunge
The Australian share market has moved modestly higher in early trading, a day after its worst selloff in three months.
At 10.26am, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 21.7 points, or 0.32%, to 6850.3, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 19.9 points, or 0.28%, to 7091.7.
Seven of the ASX’s 11 sectors were up, industrials and consumer discretionary shares were collectively flat and property and health care were down.
The energy sector was the biggest mover, rising 3.1%.
Woodside was up 3.7 % and Whitehaven Coal had risen 3%.
The S&P/ASX200 closed 2.58% down on Wednesday, to a one-week low of 2828.6.
Updated
QLD police union president to appear at inquiry into police response to domestic violence
The Queensland police union president, Ian Leavers, has been called to give evidence at the ongoing inquiry police response to domestic violence in Queensland.
#BREAKING: Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers will be called to give evidence at the commission of inquiry into police responses to domestic and family violence on Friday 7 October. @GuardianAus
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) September 15, 2022
You can read more about the inquiry here:
Updated
ABS to release labour market figures today
Later this morning we’ll get the August labour market figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which are likely to show that all those “staff wanted” signs in shop windows aren’t just anecdotal.
There’s a bit of variety in the projections among economists about whether the July jobless rate of 3.4% – already the lowest in 48 years – will fall further.
There are a few moving parts, such as the participation rate which counts those looking for jobs, along with the actual numbers of full-time or part-time jobs added or subtracted.
So it’s not out of the question for a 3.3% reading to be weak if it’s because a lot of people stopped looking for work, or the contrary, of a 3.5% result being a strong result if the participation rate rose last month and a lot more full-time jobs were added.
Borrowers will probably be hoping for a weak result as it would imply the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rapid increase in its key interest rate – the 2.25 percentage points so far is the fastest rise since 1994 – is having some effect.
After yesterday’s kerfuffle on financial markets following the surprisingly big US inflation figures nudged expectations higher that the RBA too will have to tap the rate rise brakes harder – but only moderately so.
A few weeks ago, investors were tipping a 4% peak in the RBA’s cash rate, and we’re not back there, yet. (Commercial banks were in the 2.6% to 3.35% range.)
As for today’s markets, stocks are modestly higher in the first half hour, clawing about 0.25 percentage points back from yesterday’s dive of about 10 times that.
Wall St's dive on Tuesday on inflation fears nudged expectations higher for Australian interest rates too - but not hugely. Peak RBA cash rate now near 3.75% (less than earlier in Sept). Investors rate a 50bp rise to 2.85% of Oct 4th as a 2-in-3 chance. pic.twitter.com/X5IcR1oEwR
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) September 14, 2022
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Lidia Thorpe calls for Uncle Jack Charles to replace Queen on $5 note
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has called for Aboriginal actor and activist Uncle Jack Charles, who died earlier this week, to replace Queen Elizabeth II on the $5 note.
On Tuesday the assistant minister for treasury, Andrew Leigh, opened the door to alternatives to the new monarch on Australia’s smallest bill by noting that King Charles III will not “automatically” appear on the note because Queen Elizabeth II featured due to her “personal” status.
Thorpe said:
We just lost a king in our own country, who was subjected to colonial violence from the moment he was born. We owe it to him, and First Nations people, to remember king Jack Charles and end the stolen generation once and for all. Uncle Jack is a great candidate for the $5 note.
We’ve lost our King 😔 pic.twitter.com/jvAwiPnXEE
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) September 13, 2022
The Australian Republican Movement will also reportedly push for someone other than King Charles III. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has refused to be drawn on the question this week.
Updated
Albanese says he spoke to UK PM Liz Truss about Aukus
On ABC radio Brisbane, Anthony Albanese was asked whether he expected there to be any differences in Australia’s relationship with the UK now there is a new prime minister.
He said:
Well, the relationship between our two countries is much bigger than the relationship between individuals. I met Boris Johnson as prime minister, I had breakfast with him in Madrid during the Nato summit. And on the very next day, I shared a platform with Liz Truss, who was then the foreign minister, talking about the global challenges which are there. The challenge in our own region with strategic competition with China; the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the land war that’s occurring in Europe that we thought was something of the past, but which is occurring.
Australia and the UK have common values of support for democracy and support for the rule of law. Our system of government is of based upon the Westminster system with a little bit of a hybrid with the US Senate tacked on as well. But we have close relations. The Aukus alliance is very important to us. We had a brief discussion last Friday about that, and I look forward to that strong relationship that we have. It is an important economic relationship as well. We have a free trade agreement with the UK. And of course, so many Australians have historic links to the United Kingdom, including myself.
Updated
Police seek information about suspected gang-related murder
Police have released CCTV footage of vehicles of interest in the suspected gang-related murder of Bilal Hamze in Sydney’s CBD in June last year.
The 34-year-old had been known to police.
The new CCTV footage of a Ford Territory, Mercedes sedan and a Honda Odyssey has been released to try and see if it jogs anyone’s memories.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers.
Updated
Environment minister grants Burrup peninsula cultural impact assessment
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has “granted a full assessment of the impact of all industry in the Burrup peninsula on cultural heritage, under Section 10 of the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.”
That includes Woodside’s Scarborough gas project and the Perdaman urea plant.
Greens senator Dorinda Cox said it came after a strong push from the Murujuga traditional custodians who launched the ‘Save our Songlines’ campaign.
Now Cox says it is time for the government to listen:
If Labor wants to meet their climate targets, they can’t allow the Burrup Hub to continue producing some of the dirtiest LNG in the world to fire the Perdaman plant.
The North West Gas Shelf, and now Perdaman, will make their huge profits off the back of destroying First Nations’ cultural heritage while setting off a climate bomb that will cause irreversible damage to the environment.
This Labor government can not talk about recognition, they are silencing the voices of traditional owners and ramping up another juukan caves. When traditional owners say no, governments need to listen. None of this work has ever received free, prior informed consent and this is why our grassroots organisations need to find legal assistance to make them listen.
Murujuga national park is due to bid for World Heritage listing in February next year, we need this fast-tracked to protect it from destruction. Murujuga contains the world’s largest collection of rock art, one of the oldest women’s law grounds in the world, as well as the Seven Sisters dreaming song-line linking stories across Australia and the world.
We cannot continue to allow projects to go ahead that wreck the climate and destroy cultural heritage. We need investment in cleaner, greener renewable energy sources now, and for this Government to stand on the right side of history and protect Australia’s First Peoples stories and sacred places.”
Updated
Brisbane Broncos sign their coach – but just for a year
The Brisbane Broncos chair, Karl Morris, insists Kevin Walters will be the NRL club’s head coach next year but says any future contract extensions will likely be on a one-year basis, AAP reports.
The Broncos have conducted an end-of-season review into their year.
Morris said Walters, who is under contract until the end of 2023 after signing a one-year extension in March, was the right man to lead the club forward after taking the side from bottom of the ladder two years ago to ninth this season.
Brisbane won 13 games under Walters’ stewardship this year, their most since 2018, but lost five of their last six games to slip from fourth to ninth and miss the finals.
The Broncos paid a hefty termination settlement to former coach Anthony Seibold when they parted ways in 2020 in the second year of a five-year deal, a scenario the club does not want to revisit.
Morris said he was not concerned about any perceptions of instability from not extending Walters’ contract beyond next season.
“The way I view it is that he has a contract until the end of next year and at some stage during the year we will have a conversation with him about going onto a normal employee contract or extending his current contract,” Morris said.
“I assume it would be a yearly contract. I don’t see what the benefit or upside is in having any employee, forget just Kevin Walters, on any more than a one-year contract.”
Updated
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has written a powerful piece on why she won’t be giving the Queen a minute’s silence:
Updated
Man missing in far north Queensland
Police and SES crews are searching the banks of a creek in far north Queensland after a man disappeared while swimming.
Selwyn Malayta, 48, was last seen by another man when the pair went for a swim in Plantation Creek, in Ayr, about 1.30am on Wednesday.
A search and rescue is underway in Ayr for Selwyn Malayta who went missing in Plantation Creek around 1.30am yesterday morning. https://t.co/FXFLRx2GRc pic.twitter.com/3ukzvFuxEa
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) September 14, 2022
The second man returned to the creek bank first and called out to Malayta, but there was no response.
Police and SES personnel are combing the creek for any sign of the missing man. They have urged anyone who has seen Malayta to contact police immediately.
Updated
For those about to cruise, we salute you.
Cruising is back in Victoria, with the first ship in more than two years docking in Melbourne this morning.
— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) September 14, 2022
7,000 passengers will be arrive in the state via cruise ship ahead of the Melbourne Cup.#9News | WATCH LIVE 6pm pic.twitter.com/TxoksbcMTY
Updated
Attorney general announces advisory group to support survivors in government’s response to child sexual abuse
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, also has an announcement today:
A new advisory group will meet in Brisbane today to ensure the voices of victims and survivors are at the centre of the government’s response to child sexual abuse.
The 20-member national strategy advisory group of experts, including people with lived and living experience, service providers, peak bodies and academics, are meeting over the coming two days to help shape action on child sexual abuse by providing advice on the design, implementation, and evaluation of measures under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030.
The national strategy is Australia’s first strategic framework to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in all settings, and was a key recommendation of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.
The members represent the experience of every national strategy priority group: victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and their advocates, children and young people and their support networks, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, people with a disability, LGBTQIA+, and people living in regional and remote communities.
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PM says debates on voice and republic at same time is 'not feasible'
On ABC radio, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is asked why can’t we consider our future under the monarchy.
Albanese:
I want Australians to concentrate on the voice to parliament. If you think about the counterfactual it, to me, is inconceivable, that the next change that we need for our constitution is anything other than recognising that our national birth certificate, which is what the constitution represents, should acknowledge that our history didn’t begin in 1788. It of course didn’t end then either. But we should be proud of the fact that we share this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth, at least 65,000 years of cultural continuance there, and that should be something that needs to be fixed before other matters are debated.
Q: I suppose I can see that we’re going to have a detailed constitutional debate around the voice. So does it bring up the republic as well? We could do them both at once.
Albanese:
I’ve made it very clear, and I made it clear before the election, what my priority is. Getting constitutional change in this country is very difficult. We know that that’s the case. We had a vote, for example, about the republic at the end of the last century and it is difficult to get the change through. The idea that you would have multiple debates at once is, I think, not feasible. I’ve made my priorities clear and that is what we have a mandate for and that is what I intend to do.
We’ve had, I think, substantial debate. I’ve put forward a draft of a question, a draft of what the constitutional change might look like, a very simple change, saying that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should have a say, at least be able to express an opinion on matters that affect them and that we should recognise Indigenous people in our constitution.
Updated
PM outlines UK schedule
Speaking to ABC radio, Anthony Albanese gave a quick whoosh whoosh of his schedule while in the UK:
It’s a pretty busy schedule. We’ll arrive on Friday night. On Saturday morning, I’ll travel down to Kent to have a meeting with the new British prime minister, Liz Truss.
And I assume it is a part of the Westminster estate where I’m travelling to, that’s in the morning. There’s a reception at Australia House for the 10 people who are travelling with us, but other prominent Australians who are based in London, and that’s occurring at lunchtime.
Over the weekend, I will have an audience with King Charles and there is also a visit to see and pay respects to Queen Elizabeth, who is lying in state.
And then Monday there is the funeral, of course. And between then there’ll be other activities as well. I’m catching up with Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, over the weekend as well, and things are moving pretty rapidly.
Updated
Hearing that house prices are going down but looking around and seeing they are still astronomical?
Grogs explains why – yup, house prices are falling, but they are coming from eye-watering heights.
Updated
Government moves to secure supply of diesel exhaust fluid
Remember when there was the AdBlue shortage?
Farmers and truck drivers are unlikely to forget.
So the announcement that the government is moving to build a stockpile of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) as part of the manufacturing industry push will come as good news to many.
Chris Bowen says the “$49.5m investment over four years is a comprehensive package that will enhance resilience of the market”.
The measures include:
A government-controlled strategic stockpile of 7,500 tonnes of TGU providing an additional five weeks of supply beyond industry stock levels in case of a supply shortage.
A competitive grants program to support sovereign capability and manufacturing projects that will look to produce TGU domestically.
Collection of voluntary data provided by industry to provide market awareness of TGU and DEF domestic stocks.
For further information about the government’s plan, visit www.energy.gov.au
Updated
Among the RBA review topics are these questions:
What changes, if any, should be made to the objectives set out in the Reserve Bank Act (1959): stability of the currency, maintenance of full employment, and economic prosperity and welfare of the Australian people – or do these remain the right objectives?
• What adjustments, if any, are warranted to the RBA’s flexible inflation targeting arrangement as described in the Statement on the Conduct of Monetary Policy, or what alternative arrangement is most appropriate, in light of current and future challenges? How should the RBA balance its objectives in its approach to monetary policy?
• How should monetary, fiscal and macroprudential policies complement each other, including during economic downturns and when interest rates are close to their effective lower bound? What implications does that have for the design of Australia’s monetary policy framework, and its interaction with fiscal and macroprudential policy arrangements?
That’s something people have been considering for years. Are interest rates the only tool the RBA could use? What impact is that having? Is it just redistributing wealth and benefiting the wealthy?
The RBA is not alone in pulling the rates lever – it happens all over the world, but there are increasing questions over whether it is right and whether it is doing anything to help with the stated mission of the RBA, which is looking after the welfare of the Australian people.
Updated
Airport workers at Menzies strikes new pay deal
Workers at Menzies, one of three main companies that handle baggage for Qantas, have struck a new pay deal, averting possible industrial action as the already troubled airline gears up for surges in travel over the September school holidays and Christmas.
The Transport Workers’ Union said under a deal covering ground workers in Victoria and NSW, Menzies has agreed “to insource all operations that are currently outsourced”, increase minimum hours and deliver an 11% pay increase, including backpay, by January.
Workers had been planning to ballot to go to industrial action.
It comes after the TWU last week struck a deal with DNata, which also handles Qantas bags, to give ground staff a new deal that includes a 17% pay rise over four years, as well as improved working conditions.
This means that of the main companies that handle Qantas baggage, only Swissport, which is regarded as having the most aggressive attitude towards the TWU, remains without a new agreement. The agreement there expires in December.
The TWU said it has also struck a deal with DNata’s catering division that delivers workers there between 7.5% and 8% over two years, including backpay to January 2022, when the company resumed operations after the Covid shutdown grounded air fleets.
A lack of industrial turmoil in its outsourced operations would be welcome news at Qantas, which has been struggling to deliver flights on time and get baggage where it is supposed to go.
Updated
Rise in EV sales not enough to offset Australia's growing preference for SUVs
The emissions intensity of new light vehicles in Australia fell by only 2% last year, reflecting the slow uptake of electric vehicles and increased sales of SUVs and utes that pollute more than sedans.
The report by the National Transport Commission is consistent with national greenhouse gas emissions data that shows transport pollution has continued to rise once the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns is removed.
Electric vehicle sales tripled last year to reach about 2.8% of the total, but Australia continues to trail most other countries in moving away from petrol and diesel cars.
The jump in EV takeup from a low base was not enough to offset the impact of Australians’ growing preference for large cars. Sales of utes increased by more than 43,000 and SUVs about 25,000.
About 45% of new passenger cars sold in Australia had an emissions intensity of 160 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled or less. This compares with 90% in Europe. Many SUVs and utes emit more than 210 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.
Transport is responsible for about 18% of national emissions.
The report says:
Increasing investment in public recharging stations, preferential tax arrangements and other incentives, and the adoption of emissions standards can lead to significant uptake in greener vehicles.
Updated
Gai and Robbie Waterhouse to travel on plane with Albanese to Queen’s funeral
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken to KIIS FM about his upcoming travel to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Albanese revealed that horse trainers Gai and Robbie Waterhouse will be on the PM’s plane, because they “couldn’t get on a commercial flight”.
Albanese said it will be a “pretty full plane”. In addition to departmental staff Australia is assisting heads of state or government from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Samoa.
I doubt there has been an occasion like this before in history,” Albanese said.
Albanese departs this evening and will meet the new UK prime minister, Liz Truss, on Saturday morning at her residence in Kent.
Asked about the tone of public debate in the period of mourning, Albanese said:
I think this is a time for respect. It’s not about our system of government – this is about respect for Queen Elizabeth, her contribution. You can have respect for individuals without being drawn into – at this time – those debates.”
Updated
ACTU secretary says paid leave essential to contain Covid spread
The NSW premier wants to scrap the mandatory Covid isolation period altogether and have people stay home if they’re sick and let them leave if they’re not.
Sally McManus though, says “doing the right thing” when ill depends on “if you get paid leave or if you don’t get paid leave”.
So it is not an equal playing field.
McManus told the ABC:
For casuals, and for a lot of people, because they’ve run down their leave because of so much sickness with the pandemic, staying home and not being paid is a big economic question.
I think it’s naive and we know from our own experience, during the pandemic it is wrong to think that people [are all in the same situation].
If you aren’t going to get paid leave the chances are you will choose between paying your bills and not paying your bills.
People will choose to pay their bills first. That’s not a good thing for workplaces, for employers either, if you spread sickness at work.
Updated
Australian Medical Association backs idea of national Covid summit
(Continued from last post)
States governments are already running long Covid clinics. The federal government believes Australia’s high vaccination rate and relatively lower incidences of cases of the more serious Alpha or Delta virus variants, may see a lower occurrence and severity of long Covid in Australia.
Dr Danielle McMullen, vice president of the Australian Medical Association, said she saw long Covid patients in her general practice.
“It definitely exists and it can be serious. We’re already seeing large rates of absenteeism here and abroad. In my own practice, patients who are many months after their infection are suffering an inability to participate in life as they used to,” she said.
“We don’t know how long it lasts, how many people affected and the ages of those people are likely to be. It’s difficult to predict the impact on society but it’s likely to be significant.”
McMullen said the AMA backed the concept of a national Covid summit, saying specialised clinics, more Medicare subsidies and better training of health workers was critical.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary, Sally McManus, also voiced support for a renewed national conversation.
“Long Covid will likely have a lasting impact on our society, our workplaces and our healthcare system. It’s extremely important that we do everything we can to understand it and what we can do to control it, just as we have with the virus itself,” she said.
Updated
Monique Ryan calls for national summit on coronavirus amid long Covid fears
The health minister, Mark Butler, says Australia is still seeking “a clear picture” on the impact of long Covid, declaring the need for a national response and more research on the lingering effects of the virus.
It comes as independent MP Monique Ryan calls for a renewed national conversation about Covid and even a national summit on the virus, raising concerns about the longer-term problems of workplace absenteeism and strain on the health system.
“Off the back of the success of the jobs and skills summit, I think it would be appropriate and timely to take the same approach to Covid,” Ryan, the member for Kooyong, told Guardian Australia.
“I get people are frustrated and tired, and pretending it’s gone away and we’re going back to normal, but that’s ill-advised and won’t pay off for us in the long term.”
Ryan, a paediatric neurologist, wrote to Butler last week calling for a national consensus approach on virus strategy.
“In light of the recent success of the Jobs and Skills Summit – and the broad consensus that meeting achieved – I write to ask you to consider a National Summit on COVID,” she wrote.
Ryan suggested a meeting of business groups, health experts and representatives from the aged, disability and childcare sectors to discuss issues including ventilation for public areas, anti-viral and vaccine strategy, and plans for testing, isolation and workforce support in the face of new variants.
Ryan told Guardian Australia she was concerned by issues around “long Covid”. As opposed to acute lingering symptoms in the weeks after infection, long Covid refers to rarer instances of serious symptoms persisting months after infection, such as neurological issues or fatigue.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said last month some 31,000 Australians were forced to miss work each day over long Covid.
“Over time, if 5 or 10% of people get long Covid, and if the more often you get it the more likely you are to develop long Covid, those issues accumulate and considering effects on the workforce, that’s a significant effect on our economy,” Ryan said.
“Long Covid will be an unfolding story. People are looking at it, there’s lots of research and questions nobody knows the answer to.”
Updated
Good morning
Welcome to Thursday 15 September.
Thursdays are usually the worst day of the week – you get through hump day just to have to do a whole other day before its Friday. Named for the Norse god Thor, you need all of the strength and protection to get through Thursdays.
Anthony Albanese flies out today to attend the Queen’s funeral. The governor general and the 10 chosen Australians (mostly Australians of the Year recipients) are heading out with him.
While there, Albanese will meet with the UK prime minister Liz Truss, a mystery world leader for breakfast at the hotel they are both staying at, and have an audience with the King. He is hoping to also meet with Joe Biden, but logistics will determine that.
Richard Marles will be Australia’s acting prime minister.
In news closer to home, the government has released the issues paper for the Reserve Bank of Australia review. There is not a lot new in the paper –it just goes into more detail of what we had already been told would be part of the review.
Carolyn Wilkins, Professor Renée Fry‐McKibbin and Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM will review the bank’s role in today’s world and how well it reacts to modern challenges.
So what is in their sights? Well, policy settings – which includes interest rates – and how the central bank’s policies work towards full employment and keeping inflation stable. The review will also look at workplace culture, the board and the bank’s leadership.
And given the world we are living in, the review will also look at whether the bank needs to take more into account the effects of climate change in the economy, and whether its policy settings should take it further into account.
The Review will consider the culture, management, and recruitment processes of the RBA. It will be particularly focused on the extent to which these aspects of the organisation support its overall effectiveness in meeting its policy objectives.
… This is particularly important in the context of the economic and social challenges that many countries including Australia are facing, for example demographic change, digitalisation of finance and the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and sustainable natural capital management.
Considering climate change and how it affects monetary policy is not alien to the bank – former deputy governor Guy Debelle had spoken on it in speeches before he left, outlining how the bank was having to consider climate change as part of its response. This review will be looking holistically at the bank’s responses, which means looking at the role of climate change on the economy, and the bank’s policy settings at large (which includes interest rates).
The review will also examine the “tools” the bank uses (interest rate rises) and whether there are others which could be lent on, with the reviewers looking at:
Its performance in meeting its objectives, including its choice of policy tools, policy implementation, policy communication, and how trade-offs between different objectives have been managed.
We will bring you all the day’s news, so we hope you have your coffee. It’ll be a four-cup minimum for me.
Ready?
Let’s get into it.
