Latest news with #FederalElection
Sky News AU
7 hours ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
China masking hostile goals with ‘charm and flattery', Scott Morrison warns
China is masking long-term hostile goals with 'charm and flattery', former prime minister Scott Morrison has told a US congressional committee. The comments came less than a week after Anthony Albanese returned from a lengthy state visit to China, in which both he and his hosts touted trade, tourism and research as opportunities to deepen ties. Mr Morrison, now the chairman of Space Centre Australia, testified overnight before the US Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and warned of malice lurking behind Beijing's warm words. 'After the failure of the CCP's coercive efforts to break our resolve, the (People's Republic of China) took advantage of the change in government following the 2022 Federal Election to effect a reset and adopt a different set of tactics,' he told the committee. 'This included abandoning their economic and diplomatic bullying and coercion for more inductive engagement laced with charm and flattery. 'That said, the PRC still continues to engage in intimidatory behaviour by their military against Australia when it suits them, without remorse. 'While the CCP's tactics may have substantially changed, their objectives remain the same.' The Prime Minister was treated to lunches with business leaders, banquets with Chinese officials and unobstructed views of China's biggest tourist sites on his diplomatic and business blitz. His mission was clear – shift the focus of the bilateral relationship from a militaristic regional rivalry to friendlier terms, framed by people-to-people ties and a partnership reaping the economic benefits of a global green transition. Though Mr Albanese was also clear throughout his trip that chasmic differences with Beijing remain. Any suggestion Australia was realigning itself geopolitically was quickly met with his China mantra: 'We will co-operate where we can, disagree where we must, and always engage in the national interest.' Originally published as China masking hostile goals with 'charm and flattery', Morrison warns
SBS Australia
7 hours ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Labor to introduce penalty rates bill aimed at protecting millions of workers
A casual hospitality worker can expect to have weekend penalty rates of about $40 an hour protected under a bid to prevent take home pay for employees from being shaved. Measures to enshrine penalty and overtime rates in law will be introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday by Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth. The bill aims to prevent variations to awards that would result in lower pay for workers. It will be among the first pieces of legislation introduced by Labor in its second term of power following the 3 May federal election. Workers can be entitled to higher pay rates when they are required to work particular hours or days, including weekends, public holidays or irregular hours. While rates can vary depending on an employee's specific award or agreement applicable to that industry, common pay rates for workers on a Sunday are double time (200 per cent) or time-and-a-half (150 per cent). A calculation of rates on the Fair Work Commission's website shows that for a casual hospitality worker, common penalties for a shift on Saturday are $40.85 per hour, while a day's work on Sunday could bring in $47.65 per hour. Protecting penalty rates was an Albanese government election pledge. Minister Amanda Rishworth says the bill will ensure the wages of about 2.6m workers are protected. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas Rishworth said the bill will ensure the wages of about 2.6 million modern award-reliant workers are protected. "If you rely on the modern award safety net and work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, you deserve to have your wages protected," she said. "Millions of hard-working Australians rely on penalty rates and overtime rates to keep their heads above water, which is why this bill is so critical and should receive the support of both the opposition and the Greens." Labor's planned changes came after peak retail and business groups put forward proposals for large companies to opt out of providing penalty rates for staff in exchange for a raise on base levels of pay. Opposition employment spokesman Tim Wilson said the coalition supported penalty rates. "We will work through the legislation to make sure we consult the businesses and those it's going to impact to get the best outcome," he told AAP. Wilson said the absence of a regulatory impact statement, which lays out the potential impacts of the proposed changes, meant consultation was even more important to ensure it would be part of the future success of the economy. The Coalition also wants to assess how the changes would interact with the Fair Work Commission, which would be required to apply the new rules in addition to the modern awards objective in making its determination.
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
‘Charm': Warning after Albo's China jaunt
China is masking long-term hostile goals with 'charm and flattery', former prime minister Scott Morrison has told a US congressional committee. The comments came less than a week after Anthony Albanese returned from a lengthy state visit to China, in which both he and his hosts touted trade, tourism and research as opportunities to deepen ties. Mr Morrison, now the chairman of Space Centre Australia, testified overnight before the US Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and warned of malice lurking behind Beijing's warm words. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just returned from a lengthy state visit to China. Prime Minister's Office / Handout / NewsWire Credit: Supplied 'After the failure of the CCP's coercive efforts to break our resolve, the (People's Republic of China) took advantage of the change in government following the 2022 Federal Election to effect a reset and adopt a different set of tactics,' he told the committee. 'This included abandoning their economic and diplomatic bullying and coercion for more inductive engagement laced with charm and flattery. 'That said, the PRC still continues to engage in intimidatory behaviour by their military against Australia when it suits them, without remorse. 'While the CCP's tactics may have substantially changed, their objectives remain the same.' Former prime minister Scott Morrison says China is masking its long term hostile goals with 'charm and flattery'. Richard Dobson / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia The Prime Minister was treated to lunches with business leaders, banquets with Chinese officials and unobstructed views of China's biggest tourist sites on his diplomatic and business blitz. His mission was clear – shift the focus of the bilateral relationship from a militaristic regional rivalry to friendlier terms, framed by people-to-people ties and a partnership reaping the economic benefits of a global green transition. Though Mr Albanese was also clear throughout his trip that chasmic differences with Beijing remain. Any suggestion Australia was realigning itself geopolitically was quickly met with his China mantra: 'We will co-operate where we can, disagree where we must, and always engage in the national interest.'
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Costed energy policy, real cost of living relief: What Sussan Ley must offer voters to haul the Coalition back from pitiful 40-year polling low
The 2025 Federal Election was a landslide victory to Labor and a massive blow to the Liberal Party. Compounding that, data released this week, revealed support for the Coalition has sunk to a 40-year low, although Labor has failed to capitalise on the exodus. Despite the uphill battle the Liberal Party now face, there is no assurance that Labor will secure a next-term win, and in fact, it is now anyone's game. The biggest lesson that can be taken from the Federal Election is that when any party strays from its core values, they will be punished at the polls. The 2025 primary vote for Labor was 34.6 per cent while the LNP primary vote was 31.8 per cent. Contrast that to the 2019 Morrison versus Shorten election, with Labor's primary at 33 per cent while the Morrison-led coalition achieved a primary of 41 per cent. The 2019 LNP result looks like a dream compared to the nightmare they just endured. The Liberals in particular, have been dealt the worst hand, with previous supporters voting for minor parties and independents, and the preferences heavily in favour of Labor. The Greens are another party who are paying the price for jumping into issues without a clear agenda. The group remain a force in the Senate but lost three out of four of their Lower House seats, including that of Greens leader, Adam Bandt. On the other hand, One Nation has doubled their numbers in the Senate, increasing to four Senators. People know what they are voting for and the renewed numbers for One Nation is the outcome delivered from disgruntled voters who look towards alternate parties who show their cards and stick to the values that voters align with. Parties are also defined by their action or inaction in opposition. In 2007, Kevin Rudd easily took down a stale Howard-Costello government who had been in power for a decade and had begun messing with Industrial Relations laws to the detriment of the average Aussie battler. Mr Rudd was a clean slate, and announced he would abolish Howard's 'unfair dismissal' laws, which affected everyone employed by small and medium businesses with under 100, employees, and on the flipside, promised climate change action, laptops in classrooms and a faster internet. Then, when Tony Abbott became opposition leader, he was so effective and aggressive in his relentless attacks on a chaotic and dysfunctional Rudd-led Labor Party, that he was credited for the internal toppling of Rudd, who was replace by Julia Gillard. Mr Abbott outlined everything that was different between the Liberal's path compared to the disastrous paths Mr Rudd had led Australia down. Mr Abbott pledged to "stop the boats", and get rid of the carbon and mining taxes. It should have been an easy task for Peter Dutton, as opposition leader, to show the public the contrast between the Liberal outlook compared to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's failures as Labor leader. But with policy on the fly, such as the not-so-well-thought-out nuclear power stations (without costings), the appeal of the Liberals remained flat in the recent election with a lower primary vote even to Labor's. The Liberals have the most to lose – and the most to gain over the next three years as they navigate a new path forward. They will need to prove to a skeptical voting public that they have the better policies to help make Australia's economy stronger, cost of living cheaper, and its social values uncompromised. New Liberal opposition leader Sussan Ley and her deputy Ted O'Brien are off to a shaky start with a messy split between the Liberals and Nationals after a breakdown in talks between Ms Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud, before the parties made amends. Then, during her first major address as opposition leader at the National Press Club, Ms Ley touted the possibility of quotas for higher female participation within the party as her first big idea. It was the only take away from that all-important first address. Ms Ley looks like a leader without a clear direction. She does have some grace of a new leader of a party facing a massive slump in numbers, which have been halved to their potential size. But that window will close by the end of the year and those who look to the Liberals as a plausible alternative to Labor will judge whether they are on track in finding their true north. The Liberals will need to have a coherent energy policy and renewables agenda while putting forward their ideas to provide baseload power to support manufacturing while bringing down power prices, rather than a nuclear policy without any costings. They will need to explain exactly how they will drive down inflation and cost of living expenses, stabilise housing and rental prices, and show that they have been better at bulk billing and Medicare than Labor. Slogans will no longer do, and strong policy direction will need to be coupled with reliable costings before the next election – so the work starts now. Robert Weir is a freelance journalist whose work has also been published in The Spectator Australia. He enjoys writing political, lifestyle, and environmental stories as well as film reviews
9 News
7 days ago
- Politics
- 9 News
Clive Palmer's two political parties suffer cyberattack
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Clive Palmer's two political parties, United Australia Party (UAP) and Trumpet of Patriots, have suffered a data breach. UAP confirmed it identified unauthorised access to the political parties' servers on June 23, which resulted in the access and possible removal of data records. "We were the subject of a ransomware cyberattack," UAP said in a statement today. Clive Palmer's two political parties have suffered a data breach. (AAP) The data records include all emails to and from the two political parties, including their attachments, and documents and records created and held electronically by the political parties. People's personal information, including email address, phone number, identity records, banking records, and employment history, has been affected. "We do not know comprehensively what information of yours was on the server, but you should assume that any information you have provided would have been stored on the server," UAP said. The political parties do not keep a record of everyone who was on the server, so they deemed it "impracticable" to notify those affected by the breach. Instead, they are securing their systems and restoring recoverable data from back-ups. Anyone who has emailed either of the political parties is advised to review their communications. (Getty) "We sincerely apologise for this incident and are taking steps to ensure it does not happen again," UAP said. Anyone who has emailed either of the political parties is advised to review their communications to identify what information was provided and potentially compromised. "We recommend you carefully consider whether you need to take any action in response to the data breach on the assumption that the hackers may have accessed your data," UAP said. "The action you might take could include monitoring your bank accounts, changing passwords, using multi-factor authentication, contacting your bank and being vigilant about use of your identity." The breach has been reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and the Australian Signals Directorate. Clive Palmer has launched a new political party Trumpet of Patriots. (X) Palmer voluntarily deregistered UAP in September 2022. Ahead of this year's federal election, he was forced to form a new party so his candidates could appear under a party on the ballot papers. He started the Trumpet of Patriots in February and won no seats at the election. data hackers national Australia Politics Federal Election 2025 Clive Palmer CONTACT US
