Latest news with #SkyNews'
Sky News AU
40 minutes ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Labor needs to 'turn the ship around' in second term, AI Group's Innes Willox declares ahead of economic roundtable
Labor needs to 'turn the ship around' through its upcoming economic roundtable where the Albanese government's goals to boost productivity and investment in Australia will take centre stage. Australia's ailing productivity will be the subject of the roundtable led by Treasurer Jim Chalmers next month where leaders across business, politics and unions will discuss the nation's poor growth. AI Group chief executive Innes Willox is one of the attendees and urged the Albanese government, which has returned to parliament with a massive majority, to develop a clear picture of how to drive the nation's economy forward at the roundtable. 'This is an opportunity for the government to … get clear understandings around the big challenges that we face around productivity and investment and all the things that go into that,' Mr Willox told Sky News' Business Now. 'This is sort of like a legacy moment, a watershed moment. Not only for the government but also for the country because we have one chance here to turn the ship around and start to get things heading in the right direction.' Mr Willox was hopeful of genuine change from the Albanese government as he said there had been an 'epiphany' from some Labor members about the nation's economic future. He said it came from a novel by two US journalists titled 'Abundance' that had become popular in Canberra. The shift, Mr Willox said, was a "recognition" that "governments have indulged in process over outcomes, dollars over delivery and complexity over certainty". 'We need to turn all of that around so that we get government focused on the things that matter," Mr Willox said. 'Government in many ways, whether business likes it or not, is a partner of business, but it's a partner that has to act in the interests of business as well. 'If they don't, we're just going to continue to see a decline in living standards.' Economic and productivity reform was a lower priority during the Albanese government's first term, despite slow growth and the country sitting in a per capita recession. Labor struggled with sky-high post-pandemic inflation during its first term - which ate into household budgets. Inflation rose more than 17 per cent over about three and a half years while wages fell behind, prompting Labor to introduce an array of cost of living assistance measures such as energy bill relief. Labor will look towards fostering long term economic prosperity at the productivity roundtable from August 19 to 21. Here, the government said it will strive to "enhance economic resilience and strengthen budget sustainability".
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Penny Wong avoids labelling Trump administration ‘chaotic'
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has carefully declined to confirm whether she views the US Trump administration as 'chaotic', amid shifting dynamics in the diplomatic relationship. It comes after the US announced it would review the AUKUS defence pact, and called on Australia to confirm what it would do in the event of a China-Taiwan conflict. When asked by Sky News if she would describe the Trump administration as chaotic — a characterisation made by government insiders — Ms Wong did not confirm. 'I'm not going to get engaged in that sort of commentary,' she said on Tuesday. Ms Wong has instead pointed pointing to the evolving nature of the US-Australia relationship and her confidence in managing it. ' I understand that this is a time of change, and I was pretty upfront about that … before and after the election. 'President Trump envisages a different role for America and the world, and that does involve a change.' However, Ms Wong said that Australians should have 'confidence' in the Albanese government's capacity to navigate global diplomacy. There have been tensions in the US-Australia alliance, exacerbated by past public criticisms of Donald Trump from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ms Wong when in opposition. In 2021, Mr Albanese labelled Trump's conduct 'anti-democratic' and accused him of inciting violence. Ms Wong herself said Trump 'undermined American democracy' and was willing to 'trash alliances and partnerships for personal political interest'. Such rhetoric has been flagged by experts as potentially damaging to bilateral ties at a time when regional security challenges require close cooperation. Relations have also been complicated by the cancellation of a planned meeting between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump at the G7 summit. Mr Albanese recently downplayed concerns over the strength of the US-Australia alliance, saying he was 'not worried' about relations with President Donald Trump. Speaking at Sky News' Australia's Economic Outlook forum recently, he insisted that a meeting with President Trump would take place before the end of the year. 'Well of course we will have meetings, there will be a range of meetings between now and the end of the year with President Trump,' he said.
Sky News AU
15-07-2025
- Sky News AU
'Have to step back and be realistic': Banning male workers from childcare centres not the solution, parenthood advocate says after accused paedophile charged
A leading advocate for parents has moved to quell calls to ban men from the childcare industry following a horror case of alleged child sex abuse in Melbourne, saying the solution must come at a systemic level instead. A recent police investigation exposed a string of harrowing alleged abuse against multiple children, carried out by accused pedophile Joshua Brown. Brown, who has worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017, was arrested on May 12 facing more than 70 child sex offences against eight alleged victims, who were in his care at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook between April 2022 and January 2023. The shocking case has left parents mortified, and sparked calls for male workers to either be shunned from the industry, or to restrict their interactions with children. In one instance, Inspire Early Learning, which operates 16 childcare centres across Victoria, banned male educators from changing nappies or toileting duties in the wake of the charges against Brown. CEO of The Parenthood Georgie Dent said while she completely understands parents are fearful and more cautious after the revelations, it wouldn't be fair to punish the male workers who are safe and positive role models. "I think that for male educators who work in early learning centres this has been a really difficult period of time because there has been a reaction, a strong reaction to say we don't think you should be here," she told Peter Stefanovic on Sky News' First Edition on Tuesday. "And what is disappointing about that is we know that children really benefit from having positive role models who are both male and female and for male educators who are there for the right reasons and doing the right thing, it's really distressing for them to be tarred with that brush that 'all men who work in this industry have obviously got some perversion'. "I think we have to step back and be realistic here that the answer to these abuse allegations is to strengthen the system, not to decide to perpetrate another injustice by saying men aren't welcome in this industry," she said. When asked what solutions the childcare industry needed to be looking at, Ms Dent said improvement of quality and safety at the top level was required. She also said The Parenthood had been campaigning for an early childhood commission to oversee changes to the system and called for key changes to be brought in for the industry. "We need a strong national working with children check system, we need a national educator register again so that we're seeing when a particular educator is moving between different jurisdictions, we need a national reportable conduct scheme," she said. "At the moment there's more than five different schemes available and it is so difficult to navigate and what this crisis has shown us is that parts of the system are not talking to each other and we have to make sure that child wellbeing and child safety is the paramount priority. "If it means privacy for a particular person is curtailed so that an employer is allowed to be told if there have been red flags in this person's employment history, I think most parents would reasonably expect that any childcare provider who's employing someone is able to see if there's any problems in their employment history." Ms Dent added that if childcare centres consistently failed to meet the minimum standards, then they should stop receiving ongoing funding from taxpayers or parents. "If a service is not meeting the minimum standards, which does occur, it should not be business as usual. There needs to be an intervention. And if that requires a service to be shut, then I think that's necessary," she said.
Rhyl Journal
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
Racial disparities in criminal justice system ‘shameful'
Sir Mark Rowley spoke on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips where he said racial disparity among suspects and victims of crime in the capital was a 'difficult' issue for the force. The Met Police Commissioner said there was a history between policing and black communities 'where policing has got a lot wrong, and we get a lot more right today'. 'But we do still make mistakes. That's not in doubt,' Sir Mark added. 'I'm being as relentless in that as it can be.' He continued: 'The vast majority of our people are good people. 'But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.' 'It's not right that black boys growing up in London are more likely to be dead by the time they're 18, far more likely than white boys,' the commissioner said. 'That's, I think, shameful for the city. 'The challenge for us is, as we reach in to tackle those issues, that confrontation that comes from that reaching in, whether it's stop and search on the streets or the sort of operations you seek. 'The danger is that's landing in an environment with less trust. 'And that makes it even harder. But the people who win out of that, all of the criminals.' He added: 'I'm so determined to find a way to get past this because if policing in black communities can find a way to confront these issues, together we can give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we're seeing at the moment.' 'And it's not simply about policing, is it?' he added. 'I think black boys are several times more likely to be excluded from school, for example, than white boys. 'And there are multiple issues layered on top of each other that feed into disproportionality.' The police chief said the Met is a 'stretched service', but that people who call 999 can expect an officer to attend. 'If you are in the middle of the crisis and something awful is happening and you dial 999, officers will get there really quickly,' Sir Mark said. 'I don't pretend we're not a stretched service. 'We are smaller than I think we ought to be, but I don't want to give a sort of message of a lack of hope or a lack of determination.' 'I've seen the mayor and the Home Secretary fighting hard for police resourcing,' he added. 'It's not what I'd want it to be, but it's better than it might be without their efforts.' Sir Mark went on to say that the criminal justice system was 'close-to-broken' and can be 'frustrating' for officers. He said: 'The thing that is frustrating is that the system – and no system can be perfect – but when the system hasn't managed to turn that person's life around and get them on the straight and narrow, and it just becomes a revolving door. 'When that happens, of course that's frustrating for officers. 'So the more successful prisons and probation can be in terms of getting people onto a law-abiding life from the path they're on, the better. 'But that is a real challenge. I mean, we're talking just after Sir Brian Leveson put his report out about the close-to-broken criminal justice system. 'And it's absolutely vital that those repairs and reforms that he's talking about happen really quickly, because the system is now so stressed.' Sir Mark gave the example of Snaresbrook Crown Court in London, which he said had more than 100 cases listed for 2029. 'If it's someone on bail, then who might have stolen your phone or whatever and going in for a criminal court trial, that could be four years away. 'And that's pretty unacceptable, isn't it?' he added.
Glasgow Times
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Racial disparities in criminal justice system ‘shameful'
Sir Mark Rowley spoke on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips where he said racial disparity among suspects and victims of crime in the capital was a 'difficult' issue for the force. The Met Police Commissioner said there was a history between policing and black communities 'where policing has got a lot wrong, and we get a lot more right today'. 'But we do still make mistakes. That's not in doubt,' Sir Mark added. Sir Mark spoke on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips (James Manning/PA) 'I'm being as relentless in that as it can be.' He continued: 'The vast majority of our people are good people. 'But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.' 'It's not right that black boys growing up in London are more likely to be dead by the time they're 18, far more likely than white boys,' the commissioner said. 'That's, I think, shameful for the city. 'The challenge for us is, as we reach in to tackle those issues, that confrontation that comes from that reaching in, whether it's stop and search on the streets or the sort of operations you seek. 'The danger is that's landing in an environment with less trust. 'And that makes it even harder. But the people who win out of that, all of the criminals.' He added: 'I'm so determined to find a way to get past this because if policing in black communities can find a way to confront these issues, together we can give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we're seeing at the moment.' 'And it's not simply about policing, is it?' he added. 'I think black boys are several times more likely to be excluded from school, for example, than white boys. 'And there are multiple issues layered on top of each other that feed into disproportionality.' The police chief said the Met is a 'stretched service', but that people who call 999 can expect an officer to attend. 'If you are in the middle of the crisis and something awful is happening and you dial 999, officers will get there really quickly,' Sir Mark said. 'I don't pretend we're not a stretched service. 'We are smaller than I think we ought to be, but I don't want to give a sort of message of a lack of hope or a lack of determination.' 'I've seen the mayor and the Home Secretary fighting hard for police resourcing,' he added. 'It's not what I'd want it to be, but it's better than it might be without their efforts.' Sir Mark went on to say that the criminal justice system was 'close-to-broken' and can be 'frustrating' for officers. He said: 'The thing that is frustrating is that the system – and no system can be perfect – but when the system hasn't managed to turn that person's life around and get them on the straight and narrow, and it just becomes a revolving door. 'When that happens, of course that's frustrating for officers. 'So the more successful prisons and probation can be in terms of getting people onto a law-abiding life from the path they're on, the better. 'But that is a real challenge. I mean, we're talking just after Sir Brian Leveson put his report out about the close-to-broken criminal justice system. 'And it's absolutely vital that those repairs and reforms that he's talking about happen really quickly, because the system is now so stressed.' Sir Mark gave the example of Snaresbrook Crown Court in London, which he said had more than 100 cases listed for 2029. 'If it's someone on bail, then who might have stolen your phone or whatever and going in for a criminal court trial, that could be four years away. 'And that's pretty unacceptable, isn't it?' he added.
