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Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
Huge changes to WA public holidays being considered
The Cook Government is proposing making Easter Saturday a public holiday as part of sweeping changes to the State's annual calendar. The Sunday Times can reveal the Government will invite feedback on the Easter Saturday proposal and canvass support for an additional weekday public holiday, in a four-week public consultation period. The changes would mean West Australians get 13 public holidays a calendar year, instead of 11, bringing the State into line with Victoria, the Northern Territory and the ACT. Other options the Government is presenting include permanently moving WA Day from June to November and changing the Labour Day and King's Birthday public holiday dates to align with those in the eastern states. Any changes to public holidays are proposed to come into effect in 2027 or 2028. But Premier Roger Cook promises no changes will be made without public input, announcing an on-line and stakeholder public consultation period, which begins today. 'Western Australia is the engine room of the national economy, and I want to keep it that way,' he said. 'What I've often heard from the business community is that better alignment between WA public holidays and the east coast public holidays would be good for productivity. 'And what I've often heard from members of our broader community is that they'd like to see more public holidays, and a broader spread.' Mr Cook said opening the consultation up to the public showed it was not a decision that would be taken lightly. 'This consultation will not only allow us to better understand what Western Australians want to see happen with public holidays going forward but also gather the information we need to make sure we get the balance right,' he said. WA is the only mainland State that does not observe Easter Saturday as a public holiday. Any changes to our public holiday calendar need to ensure Western Australians get an even spread throughout the year. Daniel Pastorelli WA Day — now marked in June — would be held annually in November, to coincide with the yearly West Test at Optus Stadium. The King's Birthday public holiday, now in late September as part of Royal Show week, would be shifted to June in line with all other States and Territories bar Queensland. And a new public holiday could be created in September. What that new public holiday would be called or what event it commemorates will be up for discussion, with the survey to ask West Australians for their verdict. Meanwhile, though Labour Day in the WA falls in the first week of March, Victoria and Tasmania observe it on the second Monday in March. National holidays such as Anzac Day, Australia Day, Christmas and Boxing Day won't change. The State Government will also invite direct feedback from business and other groups, and the Premier's Parliamentary secretary Daniel Pastorelli will meet directly with other key groups — like the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Hotels Associaiton, unions and the Royal Agricultural Society of WA — to further discuss the potential changes. While many will rejoice in having extra public holidays, business owners who choose to open their doors on holidays will be faced with paying higher rates of pay to workers who agree to work on those days. Surcharges would also be likely be put on items like takeaway and dine in coffees. 'Any changes to our public holiday calendar need to ensure Western Australians get an even spread throughout the year,' Mr Pastorelli said. 'It's also important we get the balance right, so the workers get the break they deserve, and economic activity continues to thrive here in WA.' Feedback is invited until August 8. Have your say here.
7NEWS
6 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Trump has flagged 200 per cent tariffs on Australian pharmaceuticals. What do we produce here, and what's at risk?
This article first appeared in The Conversation. US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Australia's pharmaceutical exports to the United States has raised alarm among industry and government leaders. There are fears that, if implemented, the tariffs could cost the Australian economy up to A$2.8 billion. That's both in direct exports and as inputs to third countries that produce drugs also hit by tariffs. The proposed tariffs come amid growing pressure from pharmaceutical lobby groups in the US for Trump to use trade negotiations as a tool to make changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and raise Australian drug prices. In response, Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the government would not compromise the integrity of the PBS to do a deal with the Trump administration. Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie also confirmed bipartisan support for the PBS. Our largest export market for pharmaceuticals The US is Australia's biggest pharmaceutical export market, accounting for 38 per cent of total Australian pharmaceutical exports and valued at $2.2 billion last year. About 87 per cent of exports to the US consist of blood plasma products, mainly from manufacturing giant CSL. These are used for transfusions in a range of medical and surgical situations. In a submission to the US Commerce Department, which is reviewing the sector, CSL called for tariffs to be phased in over five years, and for an exemption for certain biotech equipment. Trump floated proposed tariffs potentially as high as 200 per cent. But he also said these would not be imposed for 'about a year, a year and a half' to allow negotiations to take place. If tariffs are eventually implemented, there are fears domestic manufacturing may suffer, with negative flow-on effects for Australian research and innovation in the sector. How does the PBS work? The PBS is an Australian government program aimed at providing affordable prescription medicines to Australians. It helps reduce the cost of essential medications, ensuring access to treatments for a wide range of medical conditions. Medicines included on the PBS are subsidised by the government, with the patient making a capped co-payment. More than 900 medicines were listed on the scheme in 2023–24, costing the government $17.7 billion. Decisions to list medications on the PBS are made by the health minister based on recommendations from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. The committee evaluates the clinical effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness ('value for money') and estimated financial impact of new medications. If approved, the PBS uses this information to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies, helping to keep prices affordable. How does the US system compare? This contrasts with the US system, which operates more under free-market principles. In the US, pharmaceuticals are subsidised through private health insurance or government programs such as Medicaid. Neither directly negotiates with pharmaceutical companies. The fragmented nature of the US system enables pharmaceutical companies to maintain higher prices, as there is no central authority to enforce cost controls. Studies have shown that prices for pharmaceuticals in the US are, on average, 2.78 times those in 33 other countries. In addition, in the US pharmaceutical companies are granted extensive patent protections. These provide exclusive rights to sell their drugs for a certain period. This exclusivity often leads to monopolistic pricing practices, as generic competitors are barred from entering the market until the patent expires. In Australia, patents also exist. But the PBS mitigates their impact by negotiating prices and promoting the use of cost-effective alternatives, such as generics, once they become available. Industry lobbying US pharmaceutical industry bodies have long criticised the PBS. They claim the scheme 'undervalues new innovative medicines by setting prices based on older inferior medicines and generics, and through use of low and outdated monetary thresholds per year of life gained from clinically proven treatments'. The slow process to list drugs on the PBS has also attracted criticism. The advisory committee meets only three times a year, with resources currently being stretched beyond capacity. In response to these criticisms, the Australian government commissioned a review, which was completed in 2024. It provided 50 recommendations to ensure Australians can continue to access effective, safe and affordable medicines in an equitable and timely way. The government has established an advisory group to work on implementing these recommendations. However, it is unclear whether proposed changes will appease the powerful US pharmaceutical industry.
ABC News
7 hours ago
- ABC News
US President Donald Trump reflects on assassination attempt one year on
The first anniversary of Donald Trump's near-assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, has served as a stark reminder of the lingering impact of that day when a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally, grazing the ear of the then-Republican presidential candidate, and killing one of his supporters in the crowd. One year after coming millimetres from a very different outcome, Mr Trump is, according to friends and aides, still the same, but they see signs — beyond being on higher alert on stage — that his brush with death did change him in some ways. "I think it's always in the back of his mind," said South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, a long-time friend who was in close touch with Mr Trump after the shooting, and joined him that night in New Jersey after he was treated at a Pennsylvania hospital. "He's still a rough and tumble guy, you know. He hasn't become a Zen Buddhist. But I think he is, I'll say this, more appreciative. He's more attentive to his friends," he said, pointing to Mr Trump sending him a message on his birthday earlier this week. Senator Graham added: "It's just a miracle he's not dead. He definitely was a man who believed he had a second lease on life." The attack dramatically up-ended the 2024 campaign and launched a frenzied 10-day stretch that included Mr Trump's triumphant arrival at the Republican National Convention with a bandaged ear, with then-US president Joe Biden's decision to abandon his re-election bid, and the elevation of then-vice president Kamala Harris as his successor. While many who survive traumatic events try to block them from memory, Mr Trump has instead surrounded himself with memorabilia commemorating one of the darkest episodes in modern political history. He's decorated the White House and his golf clubs with art pieces depicting the moment after the shooting when he stood up, thrust his fist dramatically in the air and chanted: "Fight, fight, fight!" A painting of the scene now hangs prominently in the foyer of the White House State Floor near the staircase to the president's residence. Earlier this year, he began displaying a bronze sculpture of the tableau in the Oval Office on a side table next to the Resolute Desk. And while he said in his speech at the Republican convention that he would only talk about what had happened once, he often shares the story of how he turned his head at just the right moment to show off his "all-time favourite chart in history" of southern border crossings, that he credits for saving his life. During a press conference in the White House briefing room last month, he acknowledged lingering physical effects from the shooting. The president reflected on the shooting in an interview on Fox News with his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, earlier this week. "Well it was unforgettable. I didn't know exactly what was going on. I got whacked, there's no question about that," he told Fox News. "Our sniper, within less than five seconds was able to get in from a long distance with one shot. "If he didn't do that, you would've had an even worse situation, it was really bad. His name is David, he did a fantastic job. He just went about his business. Less than about four seconds, and that's when it all stopped and he got him perfectly from a long distance, we got a little bit lucky in that regard," Mr Trump said. A year on from the assassination attempt and authorities say the shooter's motive remains unclear. Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was identified by the FBI as the person behind the attack that injured Mr Trump and killed a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter. Mr Crooks shot Mr Trump from the rooftop of a nearby building and was killed by Secret Service snipers shortly after he opened fire. Authorities said they have not found any kind of manifesto or motivation for the attack. Mr Crooks was a registered Republican and the 2024 election would've been the first time he was old enough to vote in a presidential election. He was a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about an hour away from where the rally was held. The FBI had to analyse Crooks's DNA because he did not have any form of identification on him during the attack. Mr Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who as his then-campaign chief was with him at the rally, said in a podcast interview that he walked away from the shooting believing he had been spared for a reason. "I would say, I think he believes that he was saved. I do. And he would never — even if he thought it before, I don't think he would have admitted it. And he will now," she told Pod Force One. As a result, she said, when Mr Trump says things that "are perfunctory — every president says 'God bless America' — well, it's more profound with him now, and it's more personal". She also credited the attack with helping change public perceptions of Mr Trump during the campaign. "For the American public to see a person who was such a fighter as he was that day, I think, as awful and tragic as it might have been, it turned out to be something that showed people his character. And that's helpful," she said. Roger Stone, a long-time friend and informal adviser, noted that Mr Trump has had other brushes with death, including a last-minute decision not to board a helicopter to Atlantic City that crashed in 1989, and another near-assassination two months after Butler when US Secret Service agents spotted a man pointing a rifle through the fence near where Mr Trump was golfing. Mr Stone said he's found the president "to be more serene and more determined after the attempt on his life" in Butler. "He told me directly that he believed he was spared by God for the purpose of restoring the nation to greatness, and that he believes deeply that he is protected now by the Lord," he said. Ralph Reed, chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, agreed. "I think for people who know the president, it is commonly believed that it changed him. I mean, how could it not? Imagine if you were who he was, and if you don't turn your head at that instant," he said. "He knew he was lucky to be alive." Given how close Mr Trump came to a very different outcome, Mr Reed said, "it's hard not to feel on some level that the hand of providence protected him for some greater purpose. And there are people that I've talked to who said they were confident that he would win for that reason. That there must have been a reason". Mr Trump will spend the anniversary of the assassination attempt, attending the FIFA Club World Cup soccer final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. ABC/AP
