Murray Watt called the new Labor Queensland MPs the 'magnificent seven' after the election.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
14 minutes ago
- ABC News
Calls for Commonwealth housing fund to dedicate half to regional
The federal government is being urged to dedicate almost half its national housing target to regional Australia.
ABC News
14 minutes ago
- ABC News
Business considers changing states to avoid work-from-home laws in Victoria
Real estate agent William Bonnici regularly finds himself speaking to clients across two states. His real estate business has three offices: two in Victoria, in the towns of Beechworth and Wodonga, and one in New South Wales, in Albury. He said a Victorian government proposal to make working from home two days a week a legal right was an overreach, and he would consider closing his Victorian offices if the laws passed. "When state legislation starts dictating to a business — and I know that this government has been referred to as a dictatorship in recent years — as to how they should run their business, then it's going to make me question whether or not where you're based is where you should be based," he said. Several staff at Mr Bonnici's real estate agency regularly work from home, but he said it was not a specified regime and some tasks at his workplace could not be afforded flexibility. Mr Bonnici said he believed the proposed laws could lead to calls of inequality from those who had no choice in where they worked, such as paramedics, nurses or baristas. "Laws are there to be put in place to protect employees from recalcitrant employers and to protect employers from lazy employees," he said. "I don't see how this can be legislated and then policed effectively without someone claiming victimisation." Business Wodonga chief executive Graham Jenkin said the proposal had angered businesses and would bring more bureaucracy and frustration. Mr Jenkin said the passing of the legislation, along with higher land taxes and rents, could mean businesses may be enticed to move across the border. "Victoria is a very difficult place to do business at the moment … so often you'll find that similar office in NSW might be considerably cheaper and better off than here in Victoria," he said. Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said mandating working from home within Victoria was "perplexing". "If Victoria moves away from the legislated national system, businesses will move interstate and jobs will be lost," he said "If we want businesses to be productive, and to raise the economic prospects of everyone in this state and this country, we need to get out of their way and let them operate in a way that best suits their model." While some businesses might not want to offer work from home as an option, accountant Tom Hall said working from home suited him and his family. "I'm able to make more time for my kids, and it gets more time back in the day because you aren't losing time in the commute," he said. Mr Hall lives in Baranduda, just outside Wodonga, but works for Albury-based Dream Accounting. His boss Hayley Foot said she offered flexible work as an incentive to entice employees. "It was increasingly hard to find skilled staff, so in November last year [we had] to advertise for new staff," she said. "We put an ad up … and gave candidates the option to work flexible hours with a portion within business hours to meet clients' needs, and we got a huge response. "It speaks for itself." Albury Business Connect general manager Glen Robinson said he believed the laws would only apply to a small subset of the workforce in Wodonga, considering healthcare and manufacturing were the lead industries in the region. He said the cost of moving a Wodonga business to Albury would be outweighed by having a robust conversation with a staff member. "I know a number of people who can work quite comfortably, whether they're in an office, whether they're at home, whether on the international space station, as long as they've got access, it doesn't matter where they are," he said. The Victorian government on Tuesday opened up feedback on the proposed laws, which will include roundtable discussions. Industrial Relations Minister and Northern Victoria MP Jaclyn Symes said she was confident that businesses on the border would not move to NSW because of the legislation. "So when people say that people might be attracted to NSW, I would say that I think employers want the best and brightest, and the best and brightest like flexibility, and that'll be right here in Victoria." Consultation on the proposed legislation closes on September 28.
ABC News
44 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tasmanian Liberals face challenge implementing policies with new crossbench
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff says his minority government remains "committed to working across the parliament", as it plans to make inroads on budget repair, a new state-owned insurance agency, and allowing pets in rentals early in the new term. The state's net debt, which is projected to reach $13 billion by 2027-28, was one of the key reasons the state went to the polls. The budget outlook was a key policy platform for Labor and most members of the crossbench. "It'll be a lot of work," Mr Rockliff said on Wednesday. Within the first week, the government intends to consult with Treasury and government agencies, ahead of the November budget. Mr Rockliff said using the original 2025 budget as a baseline, the party would "work across the political divide" to bring it into shape. Independent MP Peter George said the party needed to show transparency and accountability. "The big problem is going to be whether the Liberal government is prepared to share the information that's necessary for making decisions, and whether it's also prepared to take the responsibility for the state of the budget that we've got now," he said. "I don't have a lot of faith in this Liberal administration. "It takes a long, long time to build trust, confidence and faith, and it can be very easily destroyed. "We need to do this very slowly." Within the first 100 days, the government wants to introduce legislation to advance state-owned insurance agency, TasInsure, planning to have it set up in 2026. The plan was slammed by the opposition, prominent economist Saul Eslake, and the Insurance Council of Australia during the campaign, but heralded as game-changing by the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Also a priority is amending the Residential Tenancy Act, to give tenants more secure right to keep pets in rentals — a promise the Liberals took to the 2024 election. Labor campaigned this time around with TassieDoc, pledging to deliver five fully bulk-billed clinics across the state. The Liberals quickly matched it, but did not follow on when Labor bumped the number up to 10. Now, the government plans to run an expression of interest for four new bulk-billed clinics within the first 100 days, "based on evidence of need". The Liberals have also promised to release updated costings on the leasing arrangement for Spirit of Tasmania IV, which was docked in Scotland from late 2024 and is due to reach Tasmanian waters this week. Without a majority in parliament, the Liberals have made a number of policy concessions to win over crossbenchers, including phasing out greyhound racing, abandoning a plan to release more native forest for logging and, most recently, a pause on salmon farming expansions while an independent review of the industry takes place. And the Liberals will need to continue appeasing the crossbench if they want to stay in power for a full four years. "There's no time for hubris. There's no need or want for hubris," Mr Rockliff said. But they remain at an impasse when it comes to Hobart's proposed Macquarie Point stadium. Independent MP Kristie Johnston said she did not expect the premier to abandon the project, but "the reality is we are in a power-sharing parliament now". The Project of State Significance (PoSS) process for assessing the project continued throughout the election campaign, and the premier said regardless of whether the PoSS or enabling legislation came before the parliament, everyone in the chamber would have their vote. Shooters, Fishers and Farmers member Carlo di Falco, one of the most conservative crossbenchers, told ABC Mornings he planned to push back on the concessions made that he did not agree with, such as the greyhound racing ban. He said he was "blindsided" by the move. "I'm not going to give Jeremy a free ride, and I've got a better chance of getting a better outcome for my constituents being inside the tent rather than outside, so every time Jeremy gets comfortable in his sleeping bag, I'm going to be kicking it," he said. On Wednesday, Minister for Business, Industry and Resources Felix Ellis announced a $20 million bridging loan to Liberty Bell Bay owner GFG Alliance to ensure the "bright future" of hundreds of Tasmanians. "It will provide a shipment of ore so that workers on site can get on with what they do best and produce manganese through the smelter," he said. Australian Workers Union president Robert Flanagan welcomed the support, but remained disappointed by the salmon review. "What we want to see is a government that supports job opportunities in Tasmania, and we think that [with] the crossbench the government has to work with [it] will be very difficult to achieve that outcome," he said.
