Australian Wealth: How Superannuation Growth is Prompting Technology Conversations
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Australia news live: Gareth Ward in legal bid to avoid expulsion from NSW parliament; Acoss says it's time to roll back property tax breaks for investors
Update: Date: 2025-08-06T21:59:17.000Z Title: Chalmers says he will err on the side of workers when it comes to AI Content: Treasurer Jim Chalmers appeared on 7:30 Report last night, where he was talking about how AI will be a key topic at the government's productivity roundtable in a few weeks. He was asked if he would support the Australian Council of Trade Unions' call for workers to be able to veto AI in their workplace. He said he would err on the side of workers: We need to be realistic about it. And certainly, I agree that workers need to be part of the conversation when it comes to rolling out a technology that has this gamechanging potential. And where there's very real potential risks in the labour market. I would always err on the side of workers having a say in how their work is done. Update: Date: 2025-08-06T21:54:54.000Z Title: Good morning Content: and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Nick Visser, I'll be bringing you updates as the day gets rolling. Let's start with this: The Australian Council of Social Services (Acoss) is calling for the government to roll back tax breaks for property investors before the treasurer's productivity roundtable. Acoss is calling for the 50% capital gains tax discount to be halved 'so there'd be some tax reward for property investment but nowhere near as generous', the group's chief told the ABC. Also today, a court is expected to hear jailed MP Gareth Ward's bid to prevent the NSW parliament from expelling him. We'll bring you all the developments. Stick with us.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
The big beef producer and the frontier wars; ‘progress' in Ukraine talks; real range of EVs revealed
Good morning. We continue our Descendants series with revelations of Australia's biggest beef producer's historical links to abuses against Aboriginal people – through the actions of its longest-serving superintendent before he joined the company, and others who helped establish its farming operations in the 19th century. With all eyes on Moscow as Donald Trump's deadline for Russia to agree to peace with Ukraine looms large, US officials have met with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. An academic is crying foul after the University of Sydney removed a Palestinian flag flying from his office window. And: a new study finds the real-world range of EVs doesn't match manufacturers' claims. 'Chilling effect on free speech' | The University of Sydney has removed a Palestinian flag hanging outside an academic's office after claiming it breached a new policy regarding flags. The Descendants | The Australian Agricultural Company, or AACo, is worth about $830m as Australia's largest beef producer, but investigations have uncovered the company's historical links with the dispossession, shooting and poisoning of Aboriginal people through the exploits of Jesse Gregson and others who helped establish its operations. CSIRO cuts | Hundreds more jobs could be axed at Australia's national science agency, sparking concerns the country is gutting its research capability. Electric vehicles | A government-funded program to test the true performance of vehicles has found the driving range of five popular electric cars is between 5% and 23% lower than results from laboratory testing. 'No clear explanation' | Since July many Meta users have reported accounts being suspended erroneously – and Australian businesses are now struggling. A personal platypus | British wartime PM Winston Churchill was due to receive a monotreme named after him but it mysteriously died en route. German U-boats were blamed – but was that the truth? Russia-Ukraine war | Donald Trump said 'everyone agrees this war must come to a close' after US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin as the deadline to end Russia's war against Ukraine looms. Gaza crisis | Israel has issued forced displacement orders for Gaza City and Khan Younis amid fears of full occupation in Gaza. Our exclusive story reveals Israel relies on Microsoft's cloud services for expansive surveillance of Palestinians. Plus: the film about a Palestinian photographer killed by missiles in Gaza. Trump tariffs | The White House is placing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, bringing total tariffs up to 50%, in retaliation for the country's purchase of oil from Russia. Bolsonaro detained | A Brazilian judge has eased the terms of Jair Bolsonaro's house arrest, allowing the far-right former president to receive visits from family. 'Islamophobic and discriminatory' | A local authority in Spain has banned Muslims from using public facilities such as civic centres and gyms to celebrate the religious festivals Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Can Trump be shamed into supporting human rights? After three decades at the helm of Human Rights Watch, the former executive director Kenneth Roth has written a memoir about his time campaigning against human rights violations around the world – including in the Palestinian occupied territories. He speaks with Nour Haydar about why he thinks there's always a strategy to pressure governments into supporting better human rights outcomes. The US Bureau of Labor Studies released its July employment figures last week, and they were not good. In response, Donald Trump did what any autocrat would do when told bad news: he shot the messenger – by firing the commissioner of labor statistics. In his latest Grogonomics column, Greg Jericho argues that Trump's war on statistics is an authoritarian attack on democracy – and countries like Australia should call it out. The Tjanpi Desert Weavers is an Indigenous-run social enterprise that empowers women across 350,000 sq km of central Australia to earn an income through fibre art. Its contemporary art and sculptural works based in traditional practices have been exhibited in Australia – and around the world. Thirty years after it all began, Dellaram Vreeland looks at how 400 Indigenous women in remote Australia took the art world by storm. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion AFL | Jayden Nguyen's Bombers debut could herald new era as the AFL tackles cultural diversity, Jack Snape writes. Cricket | The Hundred is set for Twenty20 transformation as early as next year, with IPL investors keen on a switch. Football | Liverpool grant Darwin Núñez the go-ahead for a move to Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal; Newcastle's Alexander Isak ordered to train alone amid transfer speculation. Rugby union | Rugby in the US suffers another blow as the second team in a week exits Major League Rugby. Increasing numbers of older Australians are seeking to share houses as property prices continue rising and rental costs soar, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Business leaders claim Melbourne's post-Covid recovery is under threat from the state government's plan to enshrine a legal right to work from home, the Age reports. NSW | A hearing is scheduled in the NSW supreme court as MP Gareth Ward fights parliamentary expulsion. Nationwide | A national student strike is scheduled in support of Palestine. NSW | The Lowy Institute is hosting a debate on 'How to defend Australia'. Business | AMP's full-year results are due to be announced this morning. Enjoying the Morning Mail? Then you'll love our Afternoon Update newsletter. Sign up here to finish your day with a three-minute snapshot of the day's main news, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. And finally, here are the Guardian's crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
Qantas has devalued its frequent flyer points. What should you do now?
Qantas was back in the spotlight this week with news that affected members of its frequent flyer program. The airline has made significant changes to its loyalty program, effectively devaluing its frequent flyer points. While we don't know the full extent or the specifics of the changes, airline loyalty program experts estimate a 20% average increase in the number of points needed to redeem a seat. Qantas has given us a few examples, including that a Classic Rewards economy seat on a Sydney-Melbourne flight has risen to 9,200 points plus $55 in fees, from 8,000 points plus $55 in fees. So, will the Qantas promise of more rewards seats available to flyers make the additional expense worth it? Or are people better off spending their points on shopping instead of flights? Flagging the changes in January, the chief executive officer of the frequent flyer program, Andrew Glance, said: 'A lot has changed in the last six years.' He suggested the changes would mean the airline could increase the number of Classic Rewards and Classic Plus Rewards seats available to be booked with frequent flyer points. Qantas has for some time fielded complaints about the scarcity of Classic Rewards seats in general, especially in premium classes. The airline has acknowledged the changes would force many members to spend more points and more cash on fees. However, Qantas said it hadn't adjusted the value of its loyalty scheme since 2019, and that the August changes were only the second since 2004. Daniel Sciberras, who works for the guide website Point Hacks, says the latest increase is 'relatively reasonable', even if customers aren't happy about it, because the program 'needs to remain viable'. In his view, this is because the average 15% to 20% jump in the number of points needed to book flights works out to about a 2% to 3% rise a year since 2019 – roughly in line with inflation. The specifics of what each Classic Rewards seat will cost under the new scheme have not yet been revealed. However, Sciberras says his tips for consumers in general haven't changed. He says there's no difference to 'the general rule' – that redeeming points for premium seats on long-haul fights is the 'best bang for your point'. 'So, you're still going to get great value when it comes to flights, especially in those long-haul premium cabins.' He says people are generally better off redeeming points on business-class seats than paying for an economy seat and using points to get an upgrade. His advice remains the same when it comes to domestic bookings too: use your points on routes with less competition. Sciberras says this is because busy domestic routes with lots of competition – such as flights between Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide – generally have lower ticket prices. The amount of points needed to redeem a seat is fixed, and based on distance, he says. This means you're better off using points to book domestic flights that would otherwise be more expensive, such as to destinations like Hamilton Island, Uluru or Broome. Not if you want to get the best value for money, Sciberras says. 'You're always going to get more value by redeeming your points for flights than other things: accommodation, car hire, anything from the shopping mall,' he says. This is because points – when worked out in dollar terms – end up being worth more when used to book flights, he says. Sciberras says points usually work out to be about 1c in value when used to book flights. 'But … if you want to get a $50 gift card, it'll be like 10,000 points, right? That gives you half a cent in value,' he says. 'Short-haul domestic might be only around 0.7c per point, so it's not much more. But if you're going international first class, you could get 4c or 5c in value, or even more per point.'
