The Guardian

Australia news live: Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case fallout; minimum wage rise to be revealed

The Guardian logo The Guardian 02.06.2023 00:32:21 Natasha May
Ben Roberts-Smith at an event organised by the Australian War Memorial in 2018. The memorial is facing calls to remove his uniform from its display.

LIVE - Updated at 22:25

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What does the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry think the Fair Work Commission should decide on the minimum wage rates?

Their CEO, Andrew McKellar, has told ABC News Breakfast:

We've put forward a submission for a 3.5% increase in the award rates. On top of that of course, employees will be getting another 0.5% in superannuation from 1 July this year. We think that's fair. We think it's reasonable. We think it is part of the equation to get inflation back under control and ultimately that's the thing that is going to ensure that those who are most vulnerable in workplaces can begin to lift their living standards again.

We've put forward a submission for a 3.5% increase in the award rates.

On top of that of course, employees will be getting another 0.5% in superannuation from 1 July this year.

We think that's fair. We think it's reasonable.

We think it is part of the equation to get inflation back under control and ultimately that's the thing that is going to ensure that those who are most vulnerable in workplaces can begin to lift their living standards again.

The Fair Work Commission will broadcast online the result of the wage review at 10am AEST today.

Good morning! Thanks to Stuart MacFarlane for kicking things off. I'm Natasha May and I'll be taking you through all the day's live news until the afternoon.

A bit more on the Fair Work Commission's increase to the minimum wage:

Westpac economists have predicted an average pay increase of 4.6%. But ANZ experts believe there will be a 7% nominal increase in the national minimum wage in line with headline inflation:

For modern award minimum wages, we expect a smaller but still substantial nominal increase of five to 5.5%.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said:

We will respect whatever decision the independent umpire makes. But the Albanese government will always do what we can to support the wages of workers, particularly the lowest-paid workers in our economy.

We will respect whatever decision the independent umpire makes.

But the Albanese government will always do what we can to support the wages of workers, particularly the lowest-paid workers in our economy.

The nation's largest business network, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says there should be a "cautious and calibrated" wage increase of 4%. This would lift the minimum wage to $841.04 a week, with 3.5% directed to ordinary earnings and 0.5% directed to the expected superannuation increase from 1 July.

The ACTU has argued for a 7% rise, or about $57 a week for a full-time worker on the minimum wage.

Australia's online gambling regulation far behind global pack, advocates find

New research shows Australia is lagging behind Europe and other parts of the world in regulating online wagering, Josh Taylor writes in an exclusive.

According to analysis from the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Australia is far behind countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain in curbing gambling advertisements or online gambling.

A parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its associated harms is due to report back in the coming weeks. The committee's chair, Labor MP Peta Murphy, has previously said the inquiry's final report would consider "what other jurisdictions have and are doing to reduce gambling harm".

Read more here:

Related: Australia's online gambling regulation far behind global pack, advocates find

Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage of all things Australian and political. I'm Stuart MacFarlane, taking a look at the main breaking stories this morning before Natasha May takes the controls.

The fallout from yesterday's judgment in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case is continuing, with the Australian War Memorial facing calls to remove Roberts-Smith's uniform from its display.

In a landmark defamation case ruling on Thursday, Justice Anthony Besanko found that, on the balance of probabilities, Roberts-Smith kicked a handcuffed prisoner off a cliff in Darwan in 2012 before ordering a subordinate Australian soldier to shoot the injured man dead.

Besanko also found that in 2009 Roberts-Smith ordered the execution of an elderly man found hiding in a tunnel in a bombed-out compound codenamed "Whiskey 108", as well as murdering a disabled man with a prosthetic leg during the same mission.

In Canberra most politicians were reluctant to weigh in on the implications of the ruling but the Greens described the defamation judgment as "an important win for fearless journalism in the public interest".

Millions of Australians on award and minimum wages are set to find out how much more they will be paid. But economists warn a too-generous rise could add to pressure on the Reserve Bank to push up interest rates next week.

The Fair Work Commission will broadcast online the result of its latest wage review at 10am AEST today, which is expected to impact on 2.67 million of the lowest-paid Australians.

Last year the panel split its decision by awarding a 5.2% increase to 180,000 workers on the lowest minimum wage, in line with inflation at the time. As well, the umpire outlined an increase of $40 a week or at least 4.6% for 2.6 million people on higher award rates.

The Albanese government has recommended to the commission that it "ensures the real wages of Australia's low-paid workers do not go backwards".

With inflation at 6.8% in the year to April, this would require a wage rise of at least 6.9%.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will deliver the keynote speech at a major regional security forum in Singapore, before travelling to Vietnam.

The speech, to be given in front of the likes of the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, and senior Chinese defence officials tonight, is being flagged as his most significant global security address this year.

Convened by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Shangri-La dialogue is the premier forum for government leaders and experts to discuss regional security.

Albanese said he would outline "Australia's vision for a stable, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific".

With all that, let's begin .

vendredi 2 juin 2023 03:32:21 Categories: The Guardian

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