What we learned: Thursday 29 June
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s a snapshot of what we learned today:
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, denies Australia’s first budget surplus in more than a decade comes at the expense of under-pressure households as the cost of living rises, but also said he is “not floating” more cost of living relief at the moment.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has announced a full audit of 1,000 environmental offset sites, in a bid to rein in developers flouting the rules.
The federal and New South Wales governments have announced a deal to underwrite 550 megawatts of dispatchable electricity – that is, power that can be called on at any time – as part of a commitment to firm up the national grid.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, has offered to extend the presence of Australian troops and police in Solomon Islands beyond the end of the year.
The commonwealth is seeking access to evidence gathered during the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial to use in ongoing war crimes investigations, the federal court has heard.
Retail sales for May rose 0.7% compared with April, and there were 432,000 job vacancies in May 2023, down 9,000 from February, according to new figures from the ABS.
Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog says it will be focusing on the “improper influence” of lobbyists, donors and government-aligned stakeholders, as well as the excessive use of force by police officers and their response to family violence in the upcoming financial year.
Victorian private schools with annual fees over $15,000 will be stripped of their longstanding payroll tax exemption.
Police have grave fears for a Belgian tourist who vanished near a remote walking track in north-west Tasmania, saying the conditions in the area are “not survivable” for the length of time she is thought to be exposed.
Thanks so much for your company this afternoon. See you tomorrow.
Updated
NSW to get new urgent care clinics and virtual consultation services
New urgent care clinics and virtual consultation services will be rolled out across NSW to help ease pressure on overcrowded emergency departments, AAP reports.
A mainstay health union says tackling the issue requires having more qualified boots on the ground.
On Thursday the government revealed it either fully or partly supports 10 of 12 recommendations made by a parliamentary inquiry into emergency departments being forced to make patients wait in ambulances – a practice known as ramping.
The health minister, Ryan Park, said the government had inherited a troubled system and would introduce measures to ease the strain:
We know patients can suffer when our emergency departments are overcrowded and there are delays in the transfer of care from our paramedics to our hospital clinicians.
The government has already committed $175m to recruit an additional 1,200 nurses by 2027.
It will also roll out 25 Urgent Care Services across the state and direct patients to virtual care services to help reduce numbers arriving at emergency departments.
Health Services Union NSW secretary, Gerard Hayes, said with about 12,000 health worker vacancies, attracting more people through better wages and conditions was the best option.
The best and fastest way to improve the hospital performance in NSW is by resolving the attraction and retention crisis.
Updated
