logo
HECS and childcare Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's first order of business as parliament returns

HECS and childcare Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's first order of business as parliament returns

7NEWS3 days ago
Through church services, smoking ceremonies and ceremonial dragging of MPs, the 48th federal parliament has been opened in a flurry of pomp and ceremony.
Veteran MPs and fresh-faced senators gathered in Canberra on Tuesday for the formal opening of parliament before official business could get under way.
The day began with an ecumenical service at a Wesley Uniting Church, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promising to get down to business quickly.
'Every day is an opportunity to deliver for Australians and this week we will have legislation to do that,' he told reporters outside the church.
'We'll continue to work hard each and every day in the interest of Australians.'
Albanese will command a large majority in his second term as leader, with Labor holding 94 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives.
The size of the majority was on display on the floor of parliament for the first time since the election, with Labor MPs now sitting on both sides of the aisle in the lower house.
Across the chamber, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will preside over just 43 lower-house MPs after an election wipeout for the coalition.
'We got smashed at the last election and the number of seats that we now hold is a demonstration that we are at a low point,' Ley said.
'But we're here to work hard, we're here to put the interests of the Australian people that we come here to represent front and centre.
'And we know that aspiration connects every single threat of Australian society.'
After a ceremonial Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony on the forecourt of Parliament House, MPs and senators were one-by-one sworn in at their respective chambers.
Business soon turned to the election of a speaker for the House of Representatives.
Labor MP Milton Dick was re-elected to the role with bipartisan support before he was ceremonially dragged to the speaker's chair by MPs.
The prime minister said Dick would continue to conduct the role with 'fairness, with humour and with intellect'.
The returning speaker said it was a 'profound honour' to carry on in the position.
'My view is the role of speaker is not one of partisanship, but of stewardship, and it's my solemn responsibility to ensure that democracy is not only practiced here, but it's strengthened here,' Dick said.
In the Senate, Sue Lines was re-elected as president of the chamber, but not before One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's surprise nomination of political rival David Pocock for the position.
The independent ACT senator declined the nomination.
Later, Governor-General Sam Mostyn will deliver a speech in the Senate outlining the priorities of the term, followed by a ceremonial 19-gun salute.
Legislation due to be introduced in the first week of parliament includes a 20 per cent reduction in HECS debt for university students, penalty rate protections and increased safety measures at childcare centres.
The coalition is still reviewing many of the policies it took to the election, but the opposition has flagged it is likely to support the student debt reduction measures, along with childcare protection laws.
The Greens, who hold the balance of power in the upper house, are set to introduce a private senators bill to reform Australia's main environment laws.
Labor's main policies
The Albanese government will look to implement a long list of promises it made at the election when parliament resumes.
COST OF LIVING:
$1,000 tax deductions from 2026-27 for work-related expenses.
Cap prescription medication at $25 and $7.70 for concession cardholders.
HOUSING:
Five per cent deposits and 100,000 new homes for first-home buyers.
Electricity bill rebates of $75 per household for the final quarters of 2025.
HEALTH:
$8.5 billion over four years for Medicare to expand bulk-billing and create 50 extra urgent care clinics.
Free mental health services, new training facilities for professionals, upgrading mental health centres and improvements to mental health organisation Headspace.
GENDER:
$573 million in funding for women's health, including spending on long-term contraceptives and expanding endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics.
Men's mental health support measures, which will include training for primary health care workers and support programs.
CHILDCARE:
Three days of subsidised child care for every family.
A $1 billion fund to build new childcare centres.
EDUCATION:
20 per cent off HECS debt for university students and graduates.
100,000 fee-free TAFE placements.
DEFENCE:
Grow defence spending by $50.3 billion over the next decade, expanding spending from 2 per cent of GDP to 2.33 per cent by 2033/34.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Rebecca Tomkinson: WA miners get productivity and the State deserves a seat at Chalmers roundtable
Rebecca Tomkinson: WA miners get productivity and the State deserves a seat at Chalmers roundtable

West Australian

time23 minutes ago

  • West Australian

Rebecca Tomkinson: WA miners get productivity and the State deserves a seat at Chalmers roundtable

For every 308 people on this planet, just one is Australian. There simply aren't that many of us. Which makes it all the more remarkable that the 0.3 per cent of humanity lucky enough to call this country home operate the world's 13th biggest economy. Generating that kind of output, and the prosperity that flows from it, would not be possible without the minerals and energy that account for two thirds of all Australian exports. The Australian success story is grounded firmly in two things: access to international customers and cost-competitive products to sell them. And it's grounded firmly in WA. Which is why it is so important WA is strongly represented at Treasurer Jim Chalmers' economic reform roundtable. Of the 24 invitations issued to date, just one has been delivered this side of the Nullarbor. The balance seems questionable when you consider that without the commodities produced in WA, Australia's productivity woes would have forced a reckoning years ago. Instead, the resources sector has papered over the cracks, helping disguise the economic drag of an outdated and ill-equipped tax and regulatory system. The irony is that our miners and energy producers have only been able to perform this act of sorcery through a laser-like focus on maximising productivity in their own operations. Capital deepening — improving the equipment and technology available to workers — has been an essential driver of those gains. But it hasn't come cheap. Tens of billions of dollars have been invested in ports, rail, roads, machinery and automation to improve efficiency and drive down costs. Securing that level of investment doesn't happen by accident. It requires a sustained focus on delivering fundamentals that attract businesses with no shortage of global options for their capital. There is an important lesson here. The crux of the challenge facing the national budget is this: our tax base is narrowing as the proportion of working Australians shrinks, while demands on government spending for health, aged care, infrastructure and defence continue to rise. Shifting to a more equitable and sustainable tax system is a significant piece of the puzzle — and at this point it is worth highlighting the Prime Minister categorically ruled out any new resources taxes during a visit to WA ahead of the recent election. But just as important as tax reform is improving the productive output of every Australian worker. That doesn't mean forcing everyone to work around the clock. Far from it. It means equipping the workforce with the technology, training and tools they need to get more done in the same amount of time — and then sharing the spoils with them. It means identifying Australia's most productive sectors (that's easy, they're the ones paying the highest wages) and supporting them to thrive through a generational energy transition. And it means fostering the conditions needed for those sectors to unleash a new wave of productivity-enhancing investment. For the resources industry, those conditions are sadly heading in the wrong direction. Energy costs, historically an Australian advantage, have skyrocketed at the precise time access to cheap electrons has become perhaps the most important factor in global industrial competitiveness. One of the primary obstacles to building out the transmission lines and low-emission generation required to bring energy costs back down is a complex and protracted assessment system that leaves projects in limbo for years. Approvals can be both efficient and rigorous. Cutting unnecessary waiting times, which are hurting investment in both resources and energy, must be a national priority. Equally important is incentivising businesses, through grants and tax rebates, to explore and prove up the new processes and technologies — such as green metals and low-carbon fuels — that will be critical to decarbonisation. Damaging recent industrial relations reforms will harm rather than promote productivity. Carve-outs for the resources sector, in line with the original intent of the workplace changes, would restore some much-needed confidence. Artificial intelligence has the potential to supercharge output across the entire economy. It's vital that potential is given space to flourish and not suffocated by yet more rules and regulations. Many of these suggestions aren't new. But Australia doesn't need more productivity sermons. It needs action. If we want our economy to keep punching above its weight, we must unshackle the sectors that already do. That means looking west. The WA resource sector isn't just a passenger in the Australian economy. It's the engine room. Ensuring WA's voice is heard in economic reform discussions can't be a courtesy. It's a necessity. Rebecca Tomkinson is Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA

Risk of higher US tariffs looms despite beef deal
Risk of higher US tariffs looms despite beef deal

West Australian

timean hour ago

  • West Australian

Risk of higher US tariffs looms despite beef deal

Australia's move to lift restrictions on US beef is unlikely to shift the dial on tariff negotiations, as the nation's products face the possibility of even steeper duties. The Albanese government will allow access to US beef that has been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America, following a safety review. Australia is subject to a baseline 10 per cent tariff applied by the Trump administration and has been keeping an eye on the trade negotiations of other countries. AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said Donald Trump's flagged higher tariffs might include the nation's exports. "The risk for Australia is that we may be lucky to hang on to 10 per cent, which could actually turn out to be higher," he told AAP. "This (beef decision) might help us hang on to 10 per cent or avoid a worse outcome, but I don't think there's any guarantees of that." American beef was banned from Australia almost two decades ago following an outbreak of mad cow disease. Mr Trump has pressured the government to ease restrictions as Labor argues for an exemption from the tariffs as part of the US president's deepening trade war. Former ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos said while biosecurity investigations can take a while to finalise, it was a "sensible outcome". "The challenge here is it doesn't look like we're putting together a package deal," he said. "It'd be better if there was a package approach to this if we're seeking to gather an overall trade outcome with the US." Australian Farm Institute executive director Katie McRobert said the cattle industry has been "extremely nervous" about biosecurity traceability from different parts of the north and South America regions. "We wouldn't expect a significant impact on Australian producers from the potential to import American beef ... because we already produce far more beef in Australia than we can possibly eat," she said. Trade Minister Don Farrell said he didn't have any meetings scheduled with American counterparts after last meeting US trade representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of an OECD ministerial meeting in Paris in June. Senator Farrell said Mr Greer didn't raise beef concerns at that meeting. "We believe that America should lift those tariffs on Australia, there's no justification whatsoever for the United States to apply tariffs to Australia," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday. "We have a free trade agreement, that agreement makes it very clear that it's a tariff free arrangement." Senator Farrell also denied the move was to create a bargaining chip. The Philippines and Japan recently struck agreements with the US to lower their tariff rates, but both are still above the 10 per cent baseline.

Risk of higher US tariffs looms despite beef deal
Risk of higher US tariffs looms despite beef deal

Perth Now

timean hour ago

  • Perth Now

Risk of higher US tariffs looms despite beef deal

Australia's move to lift restrictions on US beef is unlikely to shift the dial on tariff negotiations, as the nation's products face the possibility of even steeper duties. The Albanese government will allow access to US beef that has been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America, following a safety review. Australia is subject to a baseline 10 per cent tariff applied by the Trump administration and has been keeping an eye on the trade negotiations of other countries. AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said Donald Trump's flagged higher tariffs might include the nation's exports. "The risk for Australia is that we may be lucky to hang on to 10 per cent, which could actually turn out to be higher," he told AAP. "This (beef decision) might help us hang on to 10 per cent or avoid a worse outcome, but I don't think there's any guarantees of that." American beef was banned from Australia almost two decades ago following an outbreak of mad cow disease. Mr Trump has pressured the government to ease restrictions as Labor argues for an exemption from the tariffs as part of the US president's deepening trade war. Former ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos said while biosecurity investigations can take a while to finalise, it was a "sensible outcome". "The challenge here is it doesn't look like we're putting together a package deal," he said. "It'd be better if there was a package approach to this if we're seeking to gather an overall trade outcome with the US." Australian Farm Institute executive director Katie McRobert said the cattle industry has been "extremely nervous" about biosecurity traceability from different parts of the north and South America regions. "We wouldn't expect a significant impact on Australian producers from the potential to import American beef ... because we already produce far more beef in Australia than we can possibly eat," she said. Trade Minister Don Farrell said he didn't have any meetings scheduled with American counterparts after last meeting US trade representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of an OECD ministerial meeting in Paris in June. Senator Farrell said Mr Greer didn't raise beef concerns at that meeting. "We believe that America should lift those tariffs on Australia, there's no justification whatsoever for the United States to apply tariffs to Australia," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday. "We have a free trade agreement, that agreement makes it very clear that it's a tariff free arrangement." Senator Farrell also denied the move was to create a bargaining chip. The Philippines and Japan recently struck agreements with the US to lower their tariff rates, but both are still above the 10 per cent baseline.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store