Hi there. It's Friday, September 2, and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here: The jobs summit has come to an end
It's been spoken about for weeks, but after a whirlwind two days the Jobs and Skills Summit has finished in Canberra. Here's a quick wrap of the developments from today:
- The federal government will pour $36.1 million into visa processing to speed up the approvals process. Immigration Minister Andrew Giles says that will help increase staffing levels by 500 people over the next five months to help drive down the wait time for temporary skilled visas, student visas and working-holiday visas
- Speaking of immigration, the government also announced it would review Australia's immigration system and it would provide more detail in the coming weeks
- Boosting workforce participation was also in the spotlight today, with a focus on removing barriers to employment for First Nations people and people living with disability
- Australian of the Year and disability advocate Dylan Alcott also called for those living with disability not to be overlooked for employment, saying: "We have higher retention rates and lower absenteeism, and yet the unemployment is more than double … that of able-bodied people"
- The federal government will also allow pensioners to earn an extra $4,000 this financial year without losing any of their pension, on top of the $480 earning limit that currently applies each fortnight
- Overall, the government has agreed to 36 "immediate" initiatives as a result of conversations with industry, unions and other groups at the jobs summit
We also heard about skilled migration changes
This was also part of the final day of the Jobs and Skills Summit and was confirmed by Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil this morning. Here's a quick breakdown:
- The number of skilled migrants who can come to Australia has been lifted by 35,000 to help address skills shortages across several sectors
- That means there will be up to 195,000 skilled migrants who can come to Australia this financial year
- Ms O'Neil says we need to think of migration "as a driver of productivity and great jobs"
- Both businesses and unions had broadly agreed to the change, and had suggested a boost of 40,000 to reach 200,000 places a year
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers said training Australians was the first priority, but migration could also play an important role
- It's not the first time that Australia's migration cap has risen to the 190,000s — it was at this level during the 2010s before being cut to 160,000 in 2019-20
News alerts you might have missed
- US President Joe Biden has used a prime-time speech to criticise Donald Trump and MAGA-supporting Republicans, saying they "represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic"
- The man who abducted four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family's tent in Carnarvon in north-west Western Australia last year will be sentenced in December. The sentencing hearings will take place on December 13 and 14, and he faces up to 20 years in jail
- Victorian public figures gathered at the Brunswick Town Hall to pay tribute to the late Labor MP Jane Garrett, who died from cancer in July aged 49. She spent more than two decades working to advance social justice as a lawyer, councillor and government minister
What Australia has been searching for online
- Twitter. The social media platform is rolling out a hotly demanded edit button for subscribers to its premium Twitter Blue service later this month
- Kanye West. After months off social media, the rapper is back in the headlines for posting (and promptly deleting) screenshots of private messages with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and other photos on Instagram with captions that hit out at Kris Jenner and detailing fears his daughters would follow their mother's career path
One more thing
Let's end the week on a lighter note.
If you're planning to spend your weekend catching up on the first two episodes of the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series that started on Prime Video this week, you might have seen a particular promotional video and thought it looked a little … familiar.
One Twitter user took it upon themselves to reinterpret the video to show what so many were thinking, and it is our honour to present: The Rings of Power (Kath & Kim version).
Initially some thought the meme sequence was the actual opening credits for the show that reportedly cost $US750 million ($1.1 billion) to make, but don't worry — we've tuned in and can confirm that's not the case.
You're up to date
That's all for the week — we'll be back to do it all again on Monday.
ABC/wires
