Albanese will win majority government: Former Labor minister
Former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon has predicted the Albanese government will win a majority government.
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Perth Now
42 minutes ago
- Perth Now
All changes coming for Aussies next month
From minimum wage increases to a crackdown on tobacco, a number of changes will come to effect for millions of Australians from July 1. State and federal governments typically use the new financial year as a starting point for a range of regulatory and legislative changes. Among this years changes are an increase to the minimum wage and changes to skilled migration. The NSW and Victorian governments will also crackdown on tobacco with new licensing schemes. The Albanese will institute a number of changes from July 1. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia See the full list of changes here: National – The minimum wage will increase by 3.5 per cent from July 1. The Fair Work Commission will raise the National Minimum Award to $948 per week or $24.95 per hour, which will apply from the first full pay period starting on or after July 1. The minimum award wages will increase by the same percentage. – A number of changes to superannuation will come into effect from July 1. On that day, the superannuation guarantee rate will increase to 12 per cent. The new percentage will be applied to all salary and wages paid to eligible workers on or after July 1, and will mean employers will have to pay a minimum of 12 per cent to an employees superannuation fund. The maximum super contribution base will meanwhile decrease from $65,070 to $62,500. – From July 1, Services Australia will lift the number of Parental Leave Pay days from 110 to 120 for children born from that day. Parents, including of adoptive children, will be able to claim up to three months before the date they expect the child to 'enter their care'. – Skilled visa income thresholds will be increased by 4.6 per cent from July 1, when the annual indexation takes affect. The Core Skills Income Threshold and Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold will increase from $73,150 to $76,515 while the Specialist Skills Income Threshold will increase to $141,210. – The sorts of products smokers can purchase is set to change from July 1. In the new financial year, a raft of changes to tobacco sales will come into full affect, including the banning of flavoured or menthol cigarettes, the removal of names such as 'smooth' and 'gold', packets will ne standardised at 20 cigarettes, as well as the rolling out of consistent shapes and sizes, and new health information. Many of the changes have already been implemented. NSW Premier Chris Minns has criticism pushback ahead of the state's tobacco crackdown. Photo: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia NSW – From July 1, NSW will finally have a tobacco licensing scheme. Retail businesses selling tobacco and non-tobacco smoking products will required to notify NSW Health, with stiff penalties for any breaches. – A new Community Services Industry portable long service leave scheme will be introduced on July 1. It will give workers in the community services industry, who often work with multiple employers, access to long service leave after seven years of service to the industry with one or more employers. – Improved protections for renters are slated to come into effect from July 1, including making it easier for accessibility infrastructure to be installed, providing evidence that an animal is an assistance animal, and obtaining approval for minor renovations. – A raft of changes to strata in NSW will come into effect from July 1. They include new strata committee duties, protection for owners in strata from unfair terms, increased penalties for developers, and other improvements to strata laws. – Community land law changes will also take effect from July 1, including ensuring that sustainability is discussed during annual general meetings, that requests to change association property for accessibility infrastructure only needs a majority vote at an association meeting, and that by-laws don't ban sustainability infrastructure based on appearance – except if it is a heritage property. Tobacconists in NSW and Victoria will require a license. NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia Victoria – New rules requiring motorists to slow down to 40km when passing workers on the roadside, or stationary or slow-moving vehicles (travelling at 10 km/h or less) displaying flashing lights, will be introduced from July 1. Previously applicable to emergency and law enforcement vehicles, motorists will now also have to slow down for other vehicles, including accident towing trucks, roadside assistance, and incident response vehicles. – From July 1, tobacco retailers and wholesalers will be required to apply for a licence to sell tobacco products. Tough penalties will apply for those found contravening the new regulations, inducing a fine of $829,878 for anyone operating without a licence or caught possessing or selling illicit tobacco. For an individual, it is $165,975 (or five years prison. – A planning permit will not automatically be required for a venue with a liquor licence in Victoria beginning July 1. – The payroll tax free threshold will increase from July 1 to will be lifted from $900,000 to $1,000,000 for annual returns, and from $75,000 to $83,333 for monthly returns. – The Victorian Default Offer, a set electricity price, will be set at $1675 from July 1. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has spearheaded a number of changes. NewsWire / Aaron Francis Credit: News Corp Australia Queensland – Annual rent and eligibility checks for all social housing tenants will be reintroduced from July 1. The checks will confirm if tenants still meet income thresholds. – People convicted of a crime with pay more from July 1, when the Queensland government indexes the rate of a penalty unit. From that date, a single penalty unit will rise from $161.3 to $166.9 for most offences covered under state legislation, as well local law penalties. Western Australia – Reforms to WA's public sector will begin to take effect from July 1. They include the transition of the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation to the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification and a new Office of Defence Industries. A new Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration will administer and drive the future development of the resources industry. – Rebates will be made available for residential solar batteries of up to $1300 for Synergy customers and up to $3,800 for Horizon Power customers from July 1. The reforms are aimed at allowing more households access to batteries and rebates. South Australia – The SA government will implement cost of living measures from July 1, including capping the price of a 28-day student pass on the MetroCard to $10 – down from $28.60. The change means a trip for a student on public transport will cost about 25c. Victorian motorists will finally have to slow to 40km for roadworks. NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui Credit: News Corp Australia Tasmania – RBF Life Pensions, Interim Invalidity Pensions, and Parliamentary Pensions will be indexed in-line with reflation and a Consumer Price Index of 1.150 per cent on July 1. – TasWater, Tasmania's water and sewage utility, will increase its prices by 3.5 per cent from July 1. The average residential customer will see an increase of about 12.04 cents per day. – From July 1, the electoral reforms will establish a new scheme for disclosing political donations and electoral expenditure in parliamentary elections, and administering public funding in relation to House of Assembly elections in Tasmania. Northern Territory – The payroll tax-free threshold will increase to $2.5m on July 1, with maximum annual deductions also increased to $2.5 million maximum annual deduction to $2.5 million Australian Capital Territory – On July 1, the ACT government will raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. – A short-term rental accommodation levy will be introduced in the ACT on July 1. It will apply to books of no more than 28 days. – The ACT Public Service will berestructured from July 1, including directorate mergers, function transfers and the creation of the new Digital Canberra directorate.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
The US needs Australian beef for hamburgers, Littleproud says
Anthony Albanese should play hardball with the US on beef as tariff talks grind on, Nationals leader David Littleproud says. American beef imports have emerged as a key negotiating item in the Albanese government's efforts to secure a tariff carve out. The Trump administration has been pushing for Australia to loosen import rules to include beef from cattle originating in Canada and Mexico but slaughtered in the US. The Prime Minister has confirmed biosecurity officials were reviewing the request but vowed his government would not 'compromise' Australia's strict bio laws. But the prospect of changing laws has sparked unease among cattle farmers worried about keeping bovine diseases well away from the country's shores. With beef imports seemingly key to securing a US tariff exemption, Mr Littleproud on Monday said there needed to be some 'perspective'. 'The United States does need Australia and other countries to import beef to be able to put on their hamburgers,' he told Sky News. 'They don't have the production capacity to be able to produce the type of beef that goes on their hamburgers. 'So this is a tax on themselves that they put on Australian beef.' Despite being subject to the blanket 10 per cent tariffs on foreign imports, Australian beef into the US has risen by 32 per cent this year, according to Meat and Livestock Australia. Meanwhile, the cost of domestically produced beef within the US has been climbing, as cattle farmers struggle with drought. Mr Littleproud said the Nationals were not against importing American beef provided that it was from cattle 'born in the United States and bred all the way through to their slaughter in the United States'. But beef from cattle originating in third countries was a risk because 'we don't have the traceability that we have over the US production system'. 'And that's why Anthony Albanese needed to rule out straight away that he would not open that up to those cattle that were born in Canada, Mexico, or anywhere else in the Americas, because that poses a significant risk unless we can trace those cattle,' Mr Littleproud said. Mr Albanese has been clear in saying he would 'never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity'. But he has also said that if a deal can be struck 'in a way that protects our biosecurity, of course we don't just say no'. Mr Littleproud acknowledged Mr Albanese's words but said 'when you see reports from departments saying this is what's on the table in terms of negotiations – where there's smoke, there's fire'. In addition to the baseline 10 per cent duties on foreign goods, Australia has also been subjected to 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium. Only the UK has been able to secure a partial exemption from the Donald Trump's tariffs. A key UK concession was scrapping its 20 per cent imposts on American beef and raising the import quota to 13,000 metric tonnes. But with many British goods still subject to tariffs, analysts have questioned whether the deal was worth it. The US has trade surpluses with both the UK and Australia. Though, Australia also has a free-trade agreement with the US, meaning goods should be traded mostly uninhibited. The Albanese government has repeatedly criticised Mr Trump's decision to slap tariffs on Australian products as 'economic self-harm' and 'not the act of a friend'.
AU Financial Review
2 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Labor is adrift on gas policy. Here's why that's bad
A critical environmental decision and an enthusiastic industry conference have exposed several issues that must be high on the agenda for the second Albanese government. In its first term, the government struggled to be clear on the role of gas, which left gaps to be filled by advocates with strong interests. Current developments demand a different approach. The gas industry celebrated Minister Watt's decision to extend the life of the North West Shelf gas project to 2070 as evidence of an open door to gas. The terms of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act did not allow the minister to reject the project based on its climate change impact. A final decision depends on unreleased conditions related to the impact of the project on important indigenous rock art.
