Australia's construction industry faces labour shortages and price rises
Arcadis National Director Matthew Mackey discusses the construction industry's rising costs amid labour shortages across Australia.
'Generally, what we have seen, pretty much since the pandemic is costs have risen, pretty much exponentially, well above long-term trends,' Mr Mackey told Sky News Australia.
'We are beginning to see that settle a bit now, so costs are still above average, but they are rising at, let's say, a less significant pace than they have been.'
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News.com.au
18 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘It's not true': Winx owner Debbie Kepitis shoots down Crown Lodge rumours amid Godolphin restructure
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ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tasmanian election called for July 19, but both Liberals and Labor hamstrung on key issues
After a nail-biting few days of "will they, won't they, could they, should they," Tasmania's very, very early election is full-steam ahead. Except this one can't exactly be full steam, can it? After all, it's an election that nobody wanted brought on for a variety of reasons, including the dire state of Tasmania's budget situation. That was one of the reasons for Labor's successful no-confidence motion in Premier Jeremy Rockliff. Imagine making that a sticking point and then throwing cash at a bunch of bowls clubs (they're always on the funding list). If the major parties want to look like they're serious about getting Tasmania's finances back on track, they are going to need to avoid any form of pork barrelling. No matter how tempting. The Liberals have been accused of it the past three elections. Their response is to deny it's happening and insist they're simply listening to the community. Labor also made promises to sports clubs last election, but the plan was to have government departments "rigorously" assess them all before the funds were handed out. On top of that, Labor has said it wants to ban pork barrelling as part of its plan to fix the budget, it would be rather hypocritical to engage in it itself. But it's not just pork barrelling that arguably needs to go. Even a competitive sports grants process, which would otherwise be welcomed, could be a little on the nose, given the state barely has a cent to spare. And we all know that pool of money would not be up for grabs if it were not for an election. The other issue is the Liberals have just put out a budget. We know what they were planning to spend the money on, and where. Sure, they can change some things up — but how many sweeteners can they really surprise us with? So if they can't focus it on all the cash they want to drop, or their savings plans, that leaves policy. The Liberals have already begun to rethink theirs. Starting with privatisation. The premier announced just last Saturday the Liberals will not privatise any state-owned companies, and will in fact legislate so a two-thirds majority of parliament is required to sell them. Clearly they know going to an election with a "we want to explore privatisation" agenda is unlikely to win them many fans. It was also one of the reasons listed on the no-confidence motion. But how many other unpopular policies can they really rethink? The May decision to walk away from a treaty process was deeply unpopular among some Aboriginal groups, but there's no policy fix for the bungled process around the new Spirit of Tasmania ferry terminal, for example. The party's most unpopular position, an undying support for the almost billion-dollar Macquarie Point stadium, is unlikely to change. Lucky for the Liberals, Labor has taken the same stance, so it can't be used against them by the only other party viable to form government. But while the Liberals are trying to reconsider policies, Labor is going to need to come up with some (more). The party has been grappling with being stuck in the political wilderness for over a decade now. It lost the last election just 15 months ago. Badly. So, naturally, all policies are under review. With a little more notice of this election, it might have spent some time polishing them off, but it is partially responsible for this mess after all. When it comes to offering up something fresh, Labor's got the advantage of having a new leader, and as Dean Winter likes to remind everyone, "Labor has changed under me". Now is his time to really prove it. He certainly gained some kudos from the public for bringing the Spirit of Tasmania saga to light and has made it clear that the party backs workers. His mantra is almost "jobs, jobs, jobs". 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But where there is a void, there is always someone else happy to fill it. In this case, that is the Greens and other environmentally conscious crossbenchers. The same goes for the stadium. It is the crossbench who will be rewarded for their anti-stadium stance, and if the polls are anything to go by, it is a large crowd to capitalise on. But for how many Tasmanians will the stadium be their number one issue? Considering the Liberals' stuff-ups are fresh in people's minds, and Labor is copping a lot of the blame for the early election, the crossbench could very well benefit from voters' frustrations. But Tasmanians annoyed about the election also have a reason to take their anger out on the crossbench. Because, as much as the Greens and other independents like to spruik the power and benefits of minority parliament, most of them played a hand in blowing up that parliament less than halfway through its term. How can voters trust that won't happen again soon? Little about this election is going to be normal. But like it or not, in just over a month's time we're being dragged to the polls. No-one is coming into this unscathed and the end result is still anyone's game. Whatever the result, those 35 politicians owe it to Tasmanians to make it work for longer than 15 months, whatever it takes.
SBS Australia
39 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
United States to conduct review into AUKUS agreement as PM prepares to meet Trump
Australia's AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine deal with the United States and United Kingdom is facing a review by the Pentagon, as the prime minister prepares for his first face-to-face meeting with the US president. Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has provided some reassurance about the future of the $368 billion submarine agreement struck in the Biden era. But in a move first reported by the Financial Times and confirmed by the Pentagon, a review will be conducted to ensure the program meets the "America First" criteria. Announced in 2021, the AUKUS agreement was designed to eventually support a shipbuilding industry in Australia to construct the highly complex nuclear-powered submarines using a UK design and technology shared between the three countries. But in the 15 years ahead of that, the US was set to provide at least three Virginia-class submarines, though its own domestic manufacturing industry is under pressure. Australia's agreement on AUKUS included significant investment in the American production line, and has been considered advantageous to the US. US Democrat congressman Joe Courtney, one of AUKUS' supporters in Washington, warned of serious consequences if the Trump administration junks the defence agreement. "To abandon AUKUS — which is already well under way — would cause lasting harm to our nation's standing with close allies and certainly be met with great rejoicing in Beijing," Courtney said. The prime minister is expected to lock in face-to-face talks with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 in Canada, which starts on Sunday.
