What we learned today; Monday 4 November
As we wind down our breaking news coverage for the day, here’s a look at what’s been keeping us busy:
The secretary of the transport department defended his and other top bureaucrats’ membership to Qantas’s exclusive Chairman’s Lounge, insisting he and such colleagues don’t make regulatory decisions affecting airlines.
Independent MPs Allegra Spender and Kate Chaney have quit their Qantas Chairman’s Lounge membership as the fallout from Anthony Albanese’s flight upgrades rolls on. Spender’s move was labelled “grandstanding” by the Labor MP Luke Gosling.
Westpac delivered a $7bn profit as more mortgage holders fell behind.
In question time, Peter Dutton accused the government of “reckless spending” to reduce student debt.
Also in QT, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said his shadow counterpart, Angus Taylor, should acknowledge the latest “very encouraging” inflation data.
The acting secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Jaala Hinchcliffe, confirmed the National Anti-Corruption Commission executed warrants on the department last month, as first revealed by Guardian Australia.
The far-right provocateur Candace Owens has demanded the Australian government overturn its rejection of her visa for a planned national speaking tour.
Finally, the search for an 11-year-old boy swept out to sea is to enter its third day.
As ever, thank you for joining us. We’ll be back again bright and early tomorrow.
Updated
Search for boy swept out to sea on Central Coast set to enter third day
The land, air and sea search for an 11-year-old boy who was carried out to sea on the New South Wales Central Coast has been paused for the day.
The 11-year-old was walking with his three siblings and father at The Entrance when disaster struck about 5pm on Sunday.
AAP is reporting that the extensive search was called off at 4pm and that crews are set to return at 8am on Tuesday.
The family was visiting from Sydney and fishing in the area when it’s believed they took a shortcut across a channel between an estuary and the ocean before the boy was swept away while the tide was going out.
Updated
Financial distress drives record crisis call numbers
Record numbers of Australians experiencing financial hardship are contacting crisis support services, as the soaring cost of living takes a toll on people’s mental health.
Lifeline has received 110,000 calls related to financial distress so far in 2024, including calls about financial management, employment and homelessness, AAP reports.
The service’s highest-ever daily demand was recorded on 7 October, when it received 4,405 calls and messages.
It eclipsed the previous one-day benchmark of 4,396, set a week earlier in September, when the service recorded four of its 10 busiest days to date, with eight of the busiest 10 in 2024.
Lifeline Australia chief executive, Colin Seery, said the service was doing everything it could to keep up with the unprecedented demand.
“In the face of consistent cost-of-living pressures, we are seeing people having to make impossible choices, like should they pay the rent or should they pay their power or insurance bill?” he said on Monday.
Add to these multiple other factors happening at the same time, from domestic and family violence and social isolation to extreme weather and events overseas, and you can begin to understand why levels of anxiety and distress are on the rise.
Lifeline has never been needed more.
• In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978.
Updated
Job ads tick higher in another sign of resilience of Australia’s labour market
The Reserve Bank board has been meeting today to consider what to do with the key interest rate, with a decision to land tomorrow at 2.30pm AEDT. (Half an hour later, there’s the Melbourne Cup.)
The board will probably leave the cash rate at 4.35%, marking a year since its most recent move (a rate rise, in case you’ve forgotten). One reason for caution about cutting is that the labour market is doing a bit better than the RBA had expected (as we saw with the September jobs growth).
Job advertisements, meanwhile, perked up a bit last month for a second in a row, according to ANZ and Indeed:
Decline in job ad stalls...at least for now. (Via @ANZ_Research/@IndeedAU ) pic.twitter.com/bvFAsVHU6H
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) November 4, 2024
“This suggests the downward trend in Job Ads may be stabilising,” said ANZ economist Madeline Dunk. “Employment growth has averaged 45,000 over the past six months, the participation rate is at a record high, and the unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.1%.”
An increase in services inflation in the September quarter (even as the headline CPI figures fell) is another reason why the RBA is likely to be cautious about cutting borrowing costs until it’s confident price pressures are really ebbing.
Of course, the RBA (and many others) will be monitoring what fallout – if any – might emerge from this week’s US elections. Any disruption in the world’s biggest economy can’t be anticipated by the board but the threat of it looms as a cloud over this week’s gathering.
Updated
Andrew Giles says it’s unlikely he’ll cancel his Chairman’s Lounge access
Andrew Giles, the minister for skills and training, says he has not given his Qantas Chairman’s Lounge access much thought.
He has just told the ABC:
I haven’t given that matter any particular thought. I haven’t made any decision about removing it, I don’t think I will. Individual members will make their choices. I’m much more focused on the decisions I make for Australians than issues like that.
Updated
Labor MP accuses Allegra Spender of ‘grandstanding’ over Chairman’s Lounge cancellation
Labor MP Luke Gosling and Liberal MP Casey Aaron Violi have both signalled they will not give up their Chairman’s Lounge access and that the move by Allegra Spender – who said she will cancel her membership – was “grandstanding” from members who are not so reliant on long-distance flights for their work.
Gosling told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:
If they want to start talking to people from regional parts of Australia like where I live … I’ll give you a quick example … I had an event over the weekend, I got on the flight at midnight in Darwin like a lot of people have to do in Darwin. [I] flew down, was able to have a quick shave before I went out to an event down on the east coast, but it takes about eight hours.
It’s a bit rich from the people with harbour views who either drive or have less than a one-hour flight … [They’re] just trying to grandstand, like the independents often do.
Updated
Origin asked about ‘vested interest’
Back to that Ceda meeting in Sydney, where, as it happened, your Guardian correspondent was the event “facilitator”.
We couldn’t help asking the first question about Origin’s own “vested interest”, not least because it’s a big electricity generator and retailer and happens to own a chunk of APLNG, one of Australia’s biggest gas producers and exporters.
We also couldn’t help noting UBS, an investment bank, had recently landed on the view that APLNG “could produce more [gas]” but “it runs the risk of Government forcing [the exporter] to offer surplus production into the (lower value) domestic market”.
Calabria said “we don’t have gas to spare”. “So I stand proudly here about it, playing a very, very important role for domestic customers, and has always done so,” he said.
It is actually producing at quite high capacity levels today without further capital investment.
Still, given we export more than three-quarters of gas produced in eastern states, it’s a fair bet that should we ever hit a crisis and a big gas user (eg BlueScope) cut workers or shut down because of a lack of gas, Origin and other big energy firms might face more of those government “interventions” they’d rather avoid.
Updated
Kate Chaney says she is cancelling her Chairman’s Lounge membership
West Australian independent MP Kate Chaney says she emailed Qantas today to cancel her Chairman’s Lounge membership.
Speaking with the ABC’s Greg Jennett, she said the had “zero concerns from constituents” about membership to the lounge, but given the media focus on the issue, membership was “not worth it if there is a perception that it is somehow influencing my decisions”.
“I think it is a bad look to be requesting upgrades, especially if you are in charge of making policy to regulate the industry,” she said.
I think people really want to be able to trust politicians to make decisions in the public interest and there is a deep suspicion that politicians are getting freebies that may influence their decisions.
I think it’s a bad look. I don’t know if it’s technically a breach of the code of conduct, but I suspect that from now on, politicians will think more carefully about whether they are actively soliciting upgrades and how that may be perceived.
When asked whether she had been upgraded, she said she had and that the upgrade was immediately declared.
Updated
Origin boss calls for redesign of national electricity market (with more gas a priority)
Origin Energy boss Frank Calabria has told a lunchtime CEDA meeting in Sydney that the national electricity market is “no longer driving the required investment in new generation” needed by the grid.
Ideally, the design of the Nem (which covers most of Australia bar WA and NT) would be drawing in enough money to support the “right mix of technologies required to deliver reliable electricity supply at least cost – avoiding the need for government interventions”. And to cut emissions too.
We don’t have to look too far to see the stresses. We’re used to seeing so-called “lack of reserve” alerts where generators are nudged to supply more electricity – and there are a couple of those out for NSW and Queensland later this week.
Lately, though, we have also had the opposite – alerts for too little power demand and Victoria has another out for tomorrow. (Probably more wind and solar about rather than a lack of interest in nag races.)
The wider economy, too, faces serious gas supply shortfalls (which are not only bad for big gas users, they tend to push up electricity prices too if gas-fired power plants are called on).
Redesigning the Nem won’t be easy but “we can choose not to pander to fringe voices and vested interests”, Calabria said.
Updated
Trade minister in China with representatives from 253 Australian companies
The trade minister, Don Farrell, is in China, where he is doing his best to boost Australian wine sales – and to get lobster and meat sales back on track.
Speaking with the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, he said he “got some assurances” from his counterpart minister “that everything is on track to resolve” the issues that have weighed on the Australian producers of those products – and that he has plans to go further:
Now, having done that we are not resting on our laurels. I’m here with 253 Australian companies, some of them have been here before, but many are coming for the first time and my job as the trade minister is to try and push Australian companies out of Australia and into overseas markets. Obviously China is the largest market for Australian goods. Last year we sold $327bn of two-way trade between Australia and China. But I think we can do better than that.
Updated
Victoria investigates whether medicinal cannabis users can drive safely
Rubber has hit the road in a world-first medicinal cannabis driving trial, as Victoria’s government investigates if users can steer safely.
The trial, led by Swinburne University and backed by a $4.9m state grant, aims to understand how tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive compound in medicinal cannabis – impacts driving performance and risk on the road, reports AAP.
The trial will test drivers’ steering, braking and speed control and assess their ability to handle distractions at a Melbourne driver training centre.
All participants will be accompanied by a qualified driving instructor with dual controls to take over if required.
The trial was open to people prescribed cannabis for a sleep disorder, chronic pain or a mental health condition for at least six months.
The study will include impairment screenings before and after test drives.
Prescription cannabis has been available in Australia since 2016, and is used by more than 700,000 people to manage cancer treatment, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and other medical conditions.
Victoria’s upper house recently passed legislation to end automatic licence bans for medicinal users caught driving with traces of cannabis in their system.
THC can be detected more than a week after it is consumed, which has landed authorised users with bans and hefty fines, despite debatable impairment at the time of driving.
From March 1 2025, magistrates will have discretion to determine if the driver was impaired at the wheel.
Updated
Severe heatwave forecast for parts of Queensland
Temperatures into the mid-40s will scorch parts of Queensland this week, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of severe heatwave conditions in the state’s interior:
⚠️🌡️Severe heatwave conditions for much of interior #QLD in the next few days, may extend into #SEQLD by Thursday. Maximum temperatures in the low to mid 40s. Minimum temperatures in the low to mid 20s, hitting the high 20s in the southwest. Details: https://t.co/bg0Yo68UuD pic.twitter.com/YrQiqsIBMm
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) November 4, 2024
Updated
Candace Owens demands government reverse visa rejection
The far-right provocateur Candace Owens has demanded the Australian government overturn its rejection of her visa for a planned national speaking tour.
Owens has appealed to the home affairs department about the minister, Tony Burke’s, decision that her presence in Australia could “incite discord”, warning that she will escalate to federal court litigation if it is not reversed.
The US conservative influencer and podcast host has advanced conspiracy theories and been accused of antisemitic rhetoric including minimising Nazi medical experiments in concentration camps.
In a statement Owens claimed to have launched a legal challenge that Burke’s decision “was made with clear bias and improper motivations”.
“According to Owens’s legal representatives, Burke displayed prejudice against her case from the outset, making public remarks that cast doubt on his impartiality long before a decision was made,” a spokesperson said.
Burke also revealed private details of Owens’s application to the media, further calling into question his neutrality.
Guardian Australia understands that the status of the matter is now only an application to the department to have the decision revoked.
A spokesperson for Owens clarified: “It is still in the appeal process … if the decision is maintained then it will be filed in federal court.”
“The grounds for refusal are legally unreasonable and unjustifiable,” the spokesperson said.
In October Burke said that “Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else”.
“From downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about [notorious Nazi doctor Josef] Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction,” he said.
Guardian Australia contacted Burke for comment.
Updated
Thank you, Tory Shepherd! Let’s get straight on with the remainder of the day’s news…
I’m handing the steering wheel over to the dazzling Daisy Dumas, as my brain is fried and frazzled from my first question time in a few moons. See you back here tomorrow!
Updated
Question time ends
And with a final thundering answer from the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, to a Dorothy dixer (inflation, tax cuts, surpluses, rinse and repeat), question time is done for today.
Updated
Sharkie has question about veterans’ graves charity
The independent MP for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, has a question on a charity, the Headstone Project, which finds veterans in unmarked graves in South Australian cemeteries. Their application for tax deductibility status has been refused.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he’ll “have another look”:
We get many more applications that we can afford to fund. We do our best working closely with the minister to work out how we can impose some sort of order and priority on those, but if there has been some obvious issue here for this one then I am obviously happy to take another [look].
Updated
The opposition MP Dan Tehan raises a point of order about relevance and prompts chortles by introducing Slovakia to the debate (it’s not entirely clear why, but I just wasted a couple of minutes looking at Slovakia’s interest rates).
Updated
Chalmers says Taylor should acknowledge ‘very encouraging’ inflation data
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, says the International Monetary Fund is predicting Australia’s inflation will be the second highest of any economy in 2015.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he thinks Taylor means 2025. He goes on to say:
I think it is unfortunately dishonest of the shadow treasurer to ask a question about inflation without acknowledging the very welcome and very encouraging data we got last Wednesday.
The inflation we inherited at 6.1% is now 2.8%. If he wants to ask me a question about headline inflation, he shouldn’t have spent the last six months saying that headline inflation doesn’t matter, only underlying inflation matters. He has to make up his mind.
He says inflation peaked lower and later in Australia than in other countries, and says if Taylor wants to compare Australia with other countries he should acknowledge that they have higher unemployment than we do here.
Chalmers has another stab at Taylor, saying he assumes he has “someone who turns the IMF reports into little cartoons so he can understand” them.
Updated
Bandt asks why student debt relief cannot be introduced immediately
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, cheekily says he welcomes the government’s adoption of the Greens policy on student debt, but asks why it can’t be introduced immediately.
“I really do thank the member for Melbourne for that question,” Anthony Albanese says, and accuses the Greens of working with the Coalition to hold up the government’s legislation:
Take, for example, our help to buy legislation … something that we took to the last election, something just like what they did with the HAFF [the Housing Australia Future Fund], they actually have motions moved in the Senate between the Greens and the Coalition, where they defer things off into the never-never. And say we can’t talk about it.
Albanese says Labor has committed to a range of legislation it wants to get through this year and next year, and has committed to legislation for a second term.
“So we make no apologies for … saying what a re-elected Labor government will do,” he says.
Updated
Littleproud asks why Labor won’t back divestitures for the big supermarkets
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, asks the government why it won’t back the Coalition’s policy on divestitures for the big supermarkets.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says it’s a “really important issue”. He says the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said using those powers was “unnecessary”:
If we get in at the start and prevent the kinds of mergers which are anti-competitive … we can get the right outcome without going towards these sorts of proposals. And one of the reasons why we should be very wary about the proposals that the leader of the Nationals has put forward today is we want to make sure there are no unintended consequences.
Divestiture powers are a blunt instrument, they are rarely used in any other jurisdiction and frankly … we have better ways to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour, especially when it comes to supermarkets.
Updated
PM says inflation now has a ‘two in front of it’, thanks to Labor policies
The Liberal MP Jenny Ware asks the prime minister to say “without reference to the treasurer” what the cash rate is (Albanese famously stuffed up his answer to that question during the election campaign).
Albanese says:
We understand that interest rates have caused pressure on Australian households and, of course, interest rates, we have seen a series of increases, many of which began under the former government, to the point whereby the Reserve Bank will meet tomorrow … and the rate is of course 4.35%.
Albanese says inflation now has a “two in front of it”, because of Labor’s policies and budget surpluses, “something that would be unrecognisable by those opposite”:
One of the reasons why inflation wasn’t such a problem in Australia, as the Covid inquiry confirmed, was a wasteful expenditure giving $20bn to companies that were not seeing a decrease in their revenue, some of which were seeing an increase in their revenue.
Updated
Taylor brings up ‘household recession’ again
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, has brought up the “household recession” again – it’s what the opposition uses in place of “per capita recession”.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says if the Liberals care, they should support Labor’s cost-of-living legislation:
If he really cared about living standards, he wouldn’t have left us [with] real wages falling very substantially … we’ve now turned that around and real wages are growing again.
And so if he cares about per capita circumstances and if he cares about living standards in our economy, he should be supporting our efforts to clean up the mess those opposite left behind.
He says GDP per capita went backwards under the former Liberal government:
We have acknowledged in a number of ways that growth in the Australian economy has been very soft. And people are doing it tough … if you care about per capita living standards in this economy, you have got two options. One option is to try to help people where you can – that’s our approach – and the other option is to oppose wage increases and cost-of-living help – which is the approach of those opposite.
Updated
Wilkie asks if Labor will crack down on pokie machines
The independent MP Andrew Wilkie asks the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, about gambling advertising, and whether Labor would crack down on pokie machines (Albanese said in October that pokies cause the majority of gambling harm).
Albanese says he doesn’t question the question (after the leader of the house, Tony Burke, said it “offended the standing orders”). Albanese says his quote about pokie machines was “just a fact”.
Updated
Now Albanese is responding to a question from the deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley: “Is Australia in a household recession?” There’s some faffing around about the wording of the question.
Albanese says the government understands that households are under pressure:
It’s precisely why we gave a tax cut to every Australian taxpayer. All 13.6 million of them, not just some … what was going to happen under their plan was we were all going to get a tax cut, but lower and middle-income earners were going to miss out. We wait for their policy to claw back the tax cuts they have called waste.
His government “provided energy price relief for every single household”, Albanese says.
“In addition to that, we have provided for cheaper medicines, something those opposite also opposed and said would be a disaster. We’ve introduced 60-day dispensing, literally cutting the cost in half.”
He adds in the fee-free Tafe spots they’ve announced, cheaper childcare, etc, and says:
There’s not a single cost of living measure that those opposite are prepared to support.
Updated
After a Dorothy dixer to the education minister, Jason Clare, on (you guessed it) the policy to reduce student debt, there’s an early ejection under 94A – that’s for the WA Liberal Rick Wilson.
Updated
Question time under way with Dutton criticism of student debt relief
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, accuses the government of “reckless spending” on reducing student debt.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says his government has halved inflation, created a million jobs, and provided cost-of-living relief.
For some people, their interest is more than their original debt, he says, outlining the details you can read in this story:
The first thing we will do if we are re-elected is we will introduce legislation … 3 million people would benefit.
We’re also raising their student debt repayment threshold from $54,000 to $67,000 and lowering the repayment rate.
You will save $1,300 if you’re earning $65,000 a year. In addition to that, we are also making free Tafe permanent.
He says that will allow more tradies to build homes, more apprentices to get a start and more carers for loved ones:
We understand that education is the key to opening those doors of opportunity and we want to widen it. That is what this government is about and I’m proud of the announcements that we have made over the last few days. And over the coming days or weeks and months, there will be more about what our second term agenda looks like.
Updated
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, also offers his condolences, and now question time is under way. Hold on to your hats!
Updated
Albanese pays tribute to ‘trailblazer’ Fay Marles
Just ahead of question time, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is giving his condolences on the death of the defence minister Richard Marles’ mother, Fay Marles. She was a “trailblazer”, he says:
She made a real difference and a lasting difference for women in particular but ultimately for the nation. Fay was appointed Victoria’s first equal opportunity commissioner following the introduction of the Equal Opportunity Act. She was the first woman to become deputy chancellor of Melbourne University in 1996.
She was the first woman to become chancellor of Melbourne University in 2001. And she was made a member of the Order of Australia in 1986.
Throughout her 98 years, Fay led a life that was full and complete and was about compassion for others and making a difference.
Updated
ABC’s David Anderson unable to attend Senate estimates
The outgoing ABC managing director, David Anderson, is unable to attend Senate estimates tomorrow due to a medical issue, the ABC chair, Kim Williams, has told the communications committee.
Anderson resigned in August, a year into his second term after a 35-year career at the ABC, and will remain in the role until the new year.
The acting managing director and chief financial officer, Melanie Kleyn, chief people officer, Deena Amorelli, director of news, Justin Stevens, and editorial director, Gavin Fang, will appear before the committee to answer questions.
Williams notified the chair of the environment and communications committee, Senator Karen Grogan, last week that Anderson had taken leave to attend to medical issues. A spokesperson said:
This is only the second time in more than six years as managing director that Mr Anderson has been unable to attend an estimates hearing.
The ABC takes the accountability mechanism provided by Senate estimates with great seriousness.
Anderson is due to return to work on 9 December.
Updated
Emma Shortis has written about how “some of the worst excesses of far-right American politics, led by Trump” have some sway here in Australia:
A second Trump presidency would pose a considerable challenge to our shared democratic values. Are we up to that challenge?
DPS chief says it has no written record of former head’s conflict-of-interest declaration
The acting secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), Jaala Hinchcliffe, has acknowledged the department has no written record that the secretary, Rob Stefanic, declared a conflict of interest within the department, despite him reporting having done so to the speaker of the House of Representatives as well as externally to the Australian Public Service commissioner.
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, told Monday’s hearing of the finance and public administration estimates committee that she intended to write to the attorney general to seek a review of DPS’s governance practices after evidence that no written record existed of the alleged declaration to the speaker, Milton Dick, exists.
Hume has been asking questions about Stefanic allegedly having declared a personal relationship with his then deputy, Cate Saunders. At estimates hearings in May, Stefanic – who is now on indefinite leave – denied any romantic relationship with Saunders and said he only declared a personal relationship because of “gossip” and “rumour”.
Hume told Hinchcliffe she was concerned at the department’s practices:
So we’ve got no record of the declarations for this contact, we’ve only got recollections. We’ve got inconsistent stories about who knew what and when. We have an inconsistent and at best patchy record of when the department was told about a secondment for the deputy secretary and in fact it may have had more of a role in arranging it than anyone was aware but we won’t know because it appears that nothing has been written down.
We’ve had to take a lot of this on trust because the department is not subject to freedom of information. The only public scrutiny of this department is here. Two ministers and the presiding officers potentially have been misled, given they only found out about the conflict months after the APSC was allegedly told.
Do you think it’s acceptable for people outside of this building who pay taxes to provide for this department that the record-keeping is so inadequate?
Hinchcliffe replied to Hume:
Senator, I would say that in my career as a public servant I have constantly thought about the fact that every single dollar that I spend is taxpayers’ money and the public trust that they put into me to undertake my work with integrity and with efficiency and effectiveness is incredibly important.
That, I think, stands for all of us as public servants and part of how we do that is that we do our jobs well and we do them properly and that includes proper record-keeping.
Hinchcliffe said her experience, including working in oversight agencies, was that record-keeping was often a problem.
It seems to be something that the public service find difficult to get right. It will be an area of focus for us at DPS.
Hinchcliffe has confirmed that DPS has commissioned an independent “fact-finding” exercise into the $300,000 payout that Saunders received when she left the department.
Updated
Damaging storms possible in NSW
A quick look at today’s weather warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology. Severe thunderstorms are forecast in the east and north of New South Wales, where residents have been warned of damaging wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain:
⛈️Thunderstorm FORECAST for today: Thunderstorms possible for central east and northeast of #NewSouthWales. Some thunderstorms may become severe in the northeast with risks of damaging wind gusts, large hail, and heavy rain. Warnings issued as needed https://t.co/HaQrNPzBsh pic.twitter.com/jr4FOrFlAD
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) November 4, 2024
To the north, in parts of central and western Queensland, temperatures are above the seasonal average, with the bureau warning of heatwave conditions in Longreach.
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Spender calls for end to politicians' free flight upgrades
Allegra Spender, the independent member for Wentworth, wants an end to free airline upgrades and says she has cancelled her Qantas and Virgin VIP lounge memberships.
How can the public have confidence in decisions when airlines are handing out freebies and perks to MPs and Senators ?
— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) November 4, 2024
I’m calling for an end to free upgrades and a thorough review of the Ministerial Code for both ministers & shadow ministers. https://t.co/wHJgJBh28C
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that independent MP Helen Haines has “started the process” to quit the Chairman’s Lounge.
Updated
Karen Middleton wrote earlier about a testy exchange between Greens senator David Shoebridge and home affairs department secretary Stephanie Foster. Enjoy the full vision here:
Federal police may search PwC Australia headquarters for ‘several days’ – CEO
PwC Australia’s chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, has told staff the Australian federal police may be searching the firm’s Sydney office for “several days”.
As mentioned earlier, the search relates to an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct by former staff, after confidential Treasury information was shared in breach of disclosure laws.
Here’s part of an email Burrowes sent to staff earlier today:
I am writing to advise the Australian federal police is attending our Sydney office today and may be on the premises for several days.
This step is an expected development in relation to an investigation the AFP commenced in 2023 into the historical tax matter and individuals who have left our firm.
We have been working with the AFP to facilitate its attendance and will continue to cooperate with its investigation.
Please carry on as usual and remain focused on the important work we’re delivering with our clients and in the community.
Updated
Federal police search PwC headquarters over tax leaks scandal
The Australian federal police are conducting a search at PwC Australia’s headquarters in Sydney.
The search for documents relates to an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct by former PwC Australia staff, after confidential Treasury information was shared in breach of disclosure laws.
A source familiar with the police search stressed it did not relate to current PwC Australia staff.
Here’s the statement from PwC Australia:
This step is part of the existing investigation that began in 2023 regarding the historical tax matter, and is an investigation into individuals who have left the firm.
We have been working with the Australian federal police (AFP) to facilitate their attendance and will continue to fully cooperate with their investigation, as we have from the beginning.
In the past 18 months, PwC has introduced significant governance, business and cultural reforms, and our people remain focused on delivering the best outcomes for our clients and communities.
The federal treasury referred the PwC tax scandal to the Australian federal police for a criminal investigation in May.
The AFP has been contacted for comment.
Updated
Student union says Labor’s Hecs relief plan a ‘disingenuous’ bid for votes
Oh dear. University students are unhappy with the federal government’s plans to reduce student debt. AAP reports that the National Union of Students (Nus) has described it as “disingenuous”.
President Ngaire Bogemann said it was little more than an attempt to win votes and would not address concerns held by students. She told ABC Radio:
If you want to talk about creating a fairer and more accessible higher education system, wiping debts to 20% is not actually getting to the root cause of the issue.
The root cause was indexation, which kept debts growing, Bogemann said.
This seems a bit of a disingenuous attempt to bring some people in, vote-wise, and not an attempt to actually create change.
Bogemann said Hecs indexation levels would result in many students back where they started in terms of their debt levels, even after the 20% reduction.
“We’ve seen young Australians denied home loans because the Hecs debts are so large,” she said.
There are a whole heap of other issues here that I think are probably going to create more of an impact if they change.
The federal government moved earlier in 2024 to cap indexation on Hecs at either the rate of inflation or the wage price index, whichever of the two is lower, after the indexation rate increased rapidly above 7%.
Updated
Loneliness levels no different when working from home at times, forum told
The mandate to get workers back to the office is not justified to improve loneliness, a conference dedicated to the subject has heard.
Ending Loneliness Together’s research and policy symposium held in partnership with the University of Sydney’s prevention research collaboration unit and Wallis Social Research is being held in Sydney today.
Associate Prof Sarah Wright, from University of Canterbury business school, discussed her study published in the December issue of the Harvard Business Review which looked at 1,000 knowledge workers employed by companies in the United States in more than 20 industries, including financial services, healthcare, technology and manufacturing.
Wright said fully remote employees are lonelier but they found there was no difference between those working hybrid and those working five days in person when it comes to level of loneliness.
In fact, they found highly lonely participants reported conducting nearly half (47%) of their prior month’s work interactions in person, which shows that even a substantial amount of face-to-face work does not automatically translate into less loneliness.
Wright told the conference:
The mandate to pull people back to the office is not justified to improve loneliness.
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Heath minister eyes private sector changes
Butler says he has asked the health department to look at the private health sector and potential short-, medium- and long-term reforms.
I don’t have a view about what they may look like into the future. I just want to encourage all different parts of this sector, which sometimes have competing interests, to continue the very cooperative way in which they undertook the process over the last few months.
On the Covid inquiry, Butler says it will take a “determined effort on the part of all governments” and stakeholders to rebuild trust, including through measures such as establishing a national centre for disease control. He says:
As much people don’t want to go back and don’t want to think about what was such a painful period for our community, I thought there was a really constructive community debate about some of the things that happened and some of the things that we could do better.
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Butler doesn’t understand Coalition’s ‘violent objection’ to easing student debt
On the government’s moves on education debt, Butler says it’s an attempt to ease pressure on students. He says:
They’re saddled with these record levels of debt at a time of real financial pressure on them, whether it’s rental costs or having to save up for a house deposit.
It’s a personal and a national investment, the health minister says. “We make no apology for doing everything we can to relieve that financial pressure.
I just don’t understand why there’s been such a violent objection to it from the opposition.
Asked about election timing, he suggests the gathered journalists could “all read tea leaves about election timing”.
“I’m sure that will happen for the coming joyous weeks and months as we lead into the next election,” he says.
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Butler says there has been an increase in bulk billing in every jurisdiction but that it has been “particularly pronounced” in rural and regional Australia. “Of course there is more to do,” he says.
But just in 12 months … we have delivered 5.4m additional free visits to the GP. That’s making a real difference. That’s … in addition to 850,000 patients that have gone through our urgent care clinics.
He points to past increases to Medicare rebates but says they’ll do more.
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Bulk billing has “stopped sliding”, health minister Mark Butler says. He’s on the ABC now talking about this story:
DPS probes $300,000 payout to ex-official after conflict of interest declared
The Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) is conducting an independent “fact-finding” mission into the department’s role in a $300,000 payout to a former deputy secretary after a conflict of interest was revealed.
At the last Senate estimates in May, the DPS boss, Rob Stefanic, who is on indefinite paid leave, denied having a romantic relationship with his then subordinate, Cate Saunders, telling Senate estimates he formally declared a conflict of interest only due to “gossip” and “rumour”.
Months after the conflict of interest was declared, Saunders was placed on secondment at Services Australia in April 2023 until she accepted a $315,126 incentive payment for her retirement from the public service on 1 October 2023.
The exit package was approved by the Department of Parliamentary Services. Stefanic told the hearing he was not personally involved in its sign-off.
In her opening statement on Monday, the acting secretary, Jaala Hinchcliffe, revealed she had engaged Dr Fiona Roughly SC to investigate whether the department followed “correct processes” in the decision.
Hinchcliffe said she was “unable to provide further comment on this matter but will update the committee at the appropriate time”.
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Sparks fly between senator and official over home affairs’ survey ranking
Greens senator David Shoebridge has had a testy exchange with home affairs department secretary Stephanie Foster in the legal and constitutional affairs estimates committee hearing over the public service staff survey that ranked home affairs among the lowest in all cohorts across the Australian public service.
Shoebridge demanded to know if one of the departmental officials had a copy of the 2024 staff census and could table it but Foster blocked her from answering, drawing an angry response from Shoebridge, who noted that home affairs was in the bottom 10% of every rating measure.
Foster defended her achievements. She said:
We’ve made some progress in some of the key metrics that matter most, about staff engagement, about SES [senior executive service] communication.
We clearly have significant work still to do, and that’s not surprising to me, in the context of a very large agency operating in a very complex environment.
Shoebridge also highlighted the findings on staff being less willing to report incidences of inappropriate behaviour.
Foster insisted that the survey showed an increase in reporting of bullying and harassment and noted that, anecdotally, people were happy emailing her to raise concerns.
After a short break in proceedings, Shoebridge produced the survey and tabled it himself.
“Under your leadership, secretary, people feel much less confident to speak up and raise concerns about inappropriate behaviour than they did before you became secretary - and the previous secretary was not a shrinking violet,” Shoebridge said, referring to former secretary Mike Pezzullo. “How do you explain that?”
Foster insisted confidence was increasing.
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson chimed in, ahead of changing the subject.
“Perhaps the new informal headshots will fix this problem and staff will be willing to come forward,” Paterson said, moving on.
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“When shown details and given a choice between nuclear and other forms of energy, nuclear fares very, very badly, climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen told Adam Morton:
And if too much Bowen is barely enough, here’s another great piece from Morton that ran on the weekend:
Transport department chief defends senior bureaucrats’ use of Qantas Chairman’s Lounge
The secretary of the transport department has defended his and other top bureaucrats’ membership to Qantas’ exclusive Chairman’s lounges that includes access for their partners, insisting he and such colleagues don’t make regulatory decisions affecting airlines.
The admission from Jim Betts, the secretary of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, comes amid ongoing debate about the influence of Qantas on decision-making in Canberra, and recent scrutiny about flight upgrades prime minister Anthony Albanese received when he was transport minister.
Betts told a Senate estimates hearing on Monday morning that he had membership to Qantas Chairman’s lounges across the country, as did his wife. He said all deputy secretaries of his department also had the membership, and “in a couple of cases” their partners did too.
He also said he only had access to Virgin Australia’s standard lounges, not its Beyond lounges, which aim to rival Qantas’ Chairman’s lounges.
Betts said he didn’t didn’t believe the memberships to the elite lounges created a perception of influence over the department, noting that regulatory decisions about airlines weren’t taken at his secretary level, and that his predecessors in the role had also had access.
Nationals senator Matt Canavan then asked Betts about an email – released under freedom of information – sent by an assistant to a newly appointed deputy secretary in the transport department, David McKay. The email, sent to a Qantas employee in 2023, is notifying Qantas that McKay should now be entitled to be upgraded to the invitation-only Chairman’s Lounge membership.
Betts, who was asked if such a request amounted to solicitation of a gift, said that while he hadn’t seen the email, “it’s standard practice” for deputy secretaries to have the membership.
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Parliamentary department confirms corruption watchdog raid
The acting secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) , Jaala Hinchcliffe, has confirmed the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) executed warrants on the parliamentary department last month, as first revealed by Guardian Australia.
In her opening statement, Hinchcliffe said the Nacc officials visited Parliament House in October but would not reveal further information regarding their purpose or staff involved.
Hinchcliffe also confirmed in her opening statement that the secretary, Rob Stefanic, was on paid leave but did not yet have a return date.
Guardian Australia reported the long-serving secretary went on a sudden period of leave announced in a department-wide email last month.
Stefanic was appointed as the department’s secretary in December 2015. He was reappointed for a second term in December 2020 for another five years to 13 December 2025.
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PM denies his staff requested flight upgrades for him
AAP reports that Anthony Albanese has denied his staff requested flight upgrades from Qantas on his behalf.
The prime minister has been criticised after it emerged he received 22 flight upgrades - some when he was transport minister.
He denied allegations he contacted former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce to make a request, and said any upgrades given were all declared.
Asked if anyone in his office had inquired about an upgrade on his behalf, Albanese told the ABC: “Not to my knowledge.”
Everything has been declared, and I’ve had no upgrades as prime minister.
As the federal election looms in the first half of 2025, the controversy continues to plague the government, which has been accused by the opposition of being out of touch.
Albanese has also come under fire after it was revealed he bought a clifftop home for $4.3m.
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie said Australians were focused on making ends meet during a cost-of-living crisis, and denied ever asking for a flight upgrade.
“It really blows me away, and I think most people have had a gut full of it,” she told the ABC.
The reputation of politicians gets worse every year, and we are to blame up here.
Nobody else is to blame but the people here in the higher office.
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Paterson grills home affairs department for removing Australian and Aboriginal flags from executive headshots
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson has been grilling home affairs department secretary Stephanie Foster in the legal and constitutional affairs estimates hearing over why the department has removed the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags from the background of headshot photographs of the department’s executive on its website.
Paterson said he had noticed that the photographs now had no flags in the background and that they appeared to have been Photoshopped out.
Foster said it was her doing and that she “wanted to have photos that were less formal”. She said:
I think having photographs against a background of flags gives a certain formality to the photo. As you know, as part of our cultural reform, I’ve been working hard to make sure that the senior executive are very accessible to staff. It was one small change that I thought might assist with that program.
Paterson wanted to know who undertook the task of removing the flags from the photos – he was told it was the media and communications staff – and how much work it took. He said:
In July and August, the department was dealing with some pretty big issues and continues to deal with some big issues, whether it’s the released cohort of non-citizen offenders, or whether it was Palestinian visas or folks getting through to the Australian mainland.
Was this really a high priority for the department at a time like that?
Foster responded:
Senator, in terms of executive focus it took very little time. And whilst I’ll have to take on notice how big what the executive did was, I’m struggling to believe it was much work.
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Department clerk gives estimates some guidance on Lidia Thorpe’s oath
It’s Senate estimates week but it isn’t always about hard news during the 13-hour grilling of public officials.
This morning, the Department of the Senate, a little known department that helps keep the upper chamber’s engine running, is up and the clerk is being asked about whether Senator Lidia Thorpe’s oath is legitimate.
As a reminder, because news moves fast, Thorpe told ABC she had sworn allegiance to Queen Elizabeth’s “hairs”, instead of “heirs”, but later said it was an accidental mispronunciation.
The opposition has written to the Senate president to review her legitimacy as a senator. The shadow foreign affairs minister, Simon Birmingham, is quizzing the department about whether a senator should continue to serve given the oath’s mispronunciation.
The clerk, Richard Pye, who’s sporting a shiny earring that has absolutely caught my eye, said the idea they should be disqualified on that basis “takes the point a bit too far”. He said there had been a number of examples in the UK where MPs had said the oath with their fingers crossed, or later said their allegiance was to the people they serve and not the monarch.
“You’re a senator unless – and until you – resign your place, find yourself disqualified – as people have – or the good people of your state or territory say otherwise,” Pye said.
He also suggested there was a “non zero chance” Thorpe was “trolling the media” when she made the hairs/heirs comment, although he said it was “an opinion I shouldn’t be expressing”.
It’s Monday morning and I’m still bright-eyed. Let’s see how I fare after a few more hours of this.
Read more:
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Victorian estates over $250,000 to be hit with new probate fees
Families in Victoria will pay thousands of dollars more to enact the wills of their loved ones due to an increase in probate fees.
The acting attorney general, Enver Erdogan, has today announced the supreme court’s probate fees will move from a fixed rate to a tiered system for the first time.
Under the change, estates worth less than $250,000 won’t have to pay probate fees. But all others will be slugged between 0.21-0.24% of the estate’s total value.
Erdogan said:
Our probate fees are currently considerably lower than other states and don’t cover the costs of hearings in the supreme court adequately. It’s why we’re making the system fairer by abolishing probate fees for small estates and keeping medium-sized estate fees cheaper than New South Wales and South Australia’s fees.
For the very small percentage of Victorians dealing with multimillion-dollar estates, the fees will be lifted to cover the level of administration and dispute resolution these complex applications often require in court.
The government is yet to provide a breakdown of the new fee structure. But it’s a huge jump, particularly for those with multimillion-dollar estimates.
The family of a deceased loved one with estate worth $2m, for example, will go from paying a fixed rate of $1,502.40 to $4,800 – an increase of 219%.
The Law Institute of Victoria had previously urged the government not to go ahead with increases. They’ve been approached for comment.
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Nuclear plant idea for NSW region with seismic activity prompts questions
WA Labor senator Varun Ghosh has been probing whether National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) has detected concerns about, or been asked to investigate, suggestions that a nuclear power plant could be built in the Muswellbrook region of New South Wales, which he noted had recorded some seismic activity.
“Can I just ask from a disaster preparation or management perspective, have you given any consideration to what the impact of putting a nuclear facility in an area that has that sort of seismic activity would be?” Ghosh asked during Monday morning’s legal and constitutional affairs estimates committee hearing, without referring specifically to the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy.
Nema’s deputy coordinator general Joe Buffone said the answer was “no”:
We haven’t been engaged and we haven’t been asked to undertake any advice in relation to that.
Ghosh pressed on, asking if Nema would expect to be.
Buffone said historically the agency hadn’t been asked to provide advice on such matters but if asked, it would consider it.
Ghosh tried one more time, asking if any community groups had raised issues with Nema around having a nuclear facility built nearby.
“Not at this point, senator,” Buffone replied.
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Dumped Queensland hydro power project would have cost $37b – Crisafulli
AAP reports that newly installed Queensland premier David Crisafulli has been talking about a controversial pumped hydro project that has been scrapped after a major cost blowout.
Crisafulli went to the October state election promising to cut Labor’s Pioneer Burdekin project in central Queensland, claiming it was the source of a budget black hole.
The LNP then received a briefing within 48 hours of taking office that the project’s $12bn cost had ballooned to $36.77bn – more than triple what was originally forecast. Crisafulli told ABC Radio:
I find it completely and utterly implausible that the former government wouldn’t have known about that.
Before the election, then premier Steven Miles admitted the price tag would be high for the project – heralded as the centrepiece of the Labor’s renewables plan – but would be worthwhile in the long term.
“[Pumped hydro projects] are income-generating assets that will generate a return to Queenslanders, basically forever,” he said during his second election debate with Crisafulli.
The capital cost, you’re right, is high, but the operational cost is very, very low, and the revenue from them is very, very high.
Crisafulli visited the town of Eungella on Sunday to meet landholders whose properties were resumed or forcibly sold off for the project.
The premier apologised to those Queenslanders who he claimed the former government failed to consult before committing to the project.
“What they’ve been through was horrendous,” he said.
Deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie promised on Friday to write to the almost 60 affected landowners and “work out a way forward”.
The LNP government will look to build multiple, smaller pumped hydro plants at yet-to-be-decided locations without a forecast price tag.
Crisafulli said:
We have to find a way to deliver smaller, more manageable pumped hydro because it’s important if you’re going to firm up renewables, you need that.
He promised to deliver the Borumba pumped hydro project, near the Sunshine Coast, at an affordable cost.
The former government budgeted $6bn towards the project, with the total cost estimated to be $14bn.
Once the government decides on its list of smaller pumped hydro projects, it will unveil its plan.
Environmental advocates have called on the government to release details about its Pioneer Burdekin alternatives within 100 days.
“It’s really important that the new state government is upfront about which pumped hydro projects they’re considering,” Queensland Conservation Council director Dave Copeman said.
Queenslanders want to know they’re serious about getting on with the energy transition, but also, critically, we need to be able to assess the potential environmental impacts of their plans.
The LNP government will hold its first cabinet meeting on Monday after ministers were sworn in on Friday.
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Labor’s student debt relief plan ‘irresponsible’, Liberal senator says
Shadow finance minister Jane Hume told Sky News this morning that “persistent, sticky” inflation was to blame for higher student debts. She said the government’s plan was “an economically irresponsible and inequitable decision”:
It favours those university students that have higher incomes in the longer term … about 30% higher than those that haven’t gone to university. But it’s those that haven’t gone to university or those that have already paid off their debts that will pay the price through higher taxes.
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Disaster resilience funding used for fitting thermal curtains in ACT homes, estimates hears
In the legal and constitutional affairs estimates committee, deputy Nationals leader Perin Davey has questioned national disaster resilience funding being used to top up an ACT government program to fit thermal curtains in the homes of vulnerable people in the national capital at a cost of $3,000 per household.
National Emergency Management Agency official Dr Jill Charker explained that the ACT suffered significantly from heatwaves and that the program was deemed meritorious in helping to protect people.
Davey raised the prospect of other jurisdictions wanting the same financial support:
I’m just concerned if we have a repeat from every other state government - because heatwaves are a risk all over Australia... I think when looking at these things, we’ve also got to look at the precedent being set.
At a cost of $3,000 per household, Davey said she hoped “people were getting a reduction in their insurance premiums” .
This post was amended on 4 November to correct the names of Dr Jill Charker and the National Emergency Management Agency
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Delays in flood-damaged home buybacks queried
The legal and constitutional affairs estimates committee has kicked off with the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) giving an update on the NSW northern rivers’ flood recovery and the home buyback program through the NSW Reconstruction Authority.
Deputy Nationals leader Perin Davey is asking about progress in buying back and demolishing flood-damaged homes.
The deputy coordinator general of resilience and recovery at Nema, Dr Jill Charker, tells the hearing that 1,003 homes have been approved for buybacks, 825 offers for buybacks have been approved and 699 have been accepted.
Davey is asking why the program is taking so long.
Charker explains that flood mapping and then subsequent consultations can require extensions of time.
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Great work here from political reporter Sarah Basford Canales on wild increases in gambling company donations:
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PM says Hecs wasn’t meant to be ‘a lifetime of debt’
Anthony Albanese says slashing university students’ debt will contribute back to education, with 80% of children currently in primary school set to need a uni or Tafe qualification to get a job.
“The Hecs scheme was never meant to be a lifetime of debt,” the prime minister told ABC radio.
For many people, the interest that they are paying on that debt is more than the original Hecs payment.
One of the things about university degrees, as well as Tafe qualifications, is that it doesn’t just help the individual student. It’s the key to our national economy.
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AAP has a roundup of the week ahead in Canberra:
Federal Labor is banking on education reform to give it a much-needed boost, as MPs and senators return to Canberra for the final month of parliamentary sittings.
But a furore over flight upgrades and the outcome of the US election threatens to overshadow any plans the government has for a pre-election reset.
The upcoming sitting week in Parliament House is set to be dominated by education after Labor announced it would slash HECS debts for university students by 20%, if it is returned at the next election.
The government is also hoping an emphasis on fee-free Tafe will give it a boost, after announcing there will be 100,000 places made available each year from 2027. On Sunday, prime minister Anthony Albanese said:
More tradies to build our homes, more apprentices getting a start, more carers to look after our loved ones, whether they be young or old, more opportunities for Australians to train and retrain.
The House of Representatives is also expected to pass laws supporting a 15% pay rise for early childcare workers, ahead of the boost coming into effect in December.
But the Coalition is likely to continue to press the government on the prime minister’s travel arrangements, amid revelations he received 22 flight upgrades from Qantas, with some reportedly granted after Albanese contacted the airline’s former head, Alan Joyce.
Albanese has denied he had contacted Joyce for flight upgrades.
Education minister Jason Clare on Sunday admitted he also sought a flight upgrade in 2019 after surgery on his leg. He called Qantas to ask for the upgrade.
With the upcoming sitting week also featuring a round of Senate estimates hearings on government spending and decision-making, questions about MPs travel arrangements are expected to feature prominently.
While the debate in Parliament House is expected to be fiery, all eyes in Canberra on Wednesday will be trained on the US as the results from the presidential race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump feed through.
Both sides of politics have stressed Australia’s relationship with the US will remain unchanged, regardless of who wins.
Economic management in Australia will also be high on the agenda, with the Reserve Bank of Australia set to hand down its decision on interest rates on Tuesday.
The cash interest rate has been on hold at 4.35% since November 2023, while the government has been buoyed by key inflation figures showing price pressures fell to 2.8% in the September quarter.
It’s the first time inflation has been within the central bank’s preferred 2% and 3% target range since 2021.
The lower house is also set to debate laws that would bar the NBN from being sold off, along with aged care and merger reform.
Home affairs minister Tony Burke said misinformation laws would also be back up for debate:
Misinformation and disinformation pose a threat to the safety and wellbeing of Australians, as well as to our democracy, society and economy.
As usual, the opposition will come to parliament to try and stand in the way of Labor reforms that are delivering for Australians.
The federal election will be held by the end of May.
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In case you missed it – political editor Karen Middleton talked to shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie about the Qantas saga for the Australian Politics podcast – please enjoy McKenzie’s nimble wordcraft:
Westpac delivers $7bn profit as more mortgage holders fall behind
Westpac has recorded a $7bn full-year profit, representing a modest decline on last year’s strong result, as the number of homeowners falling behind on repayments jumped higher.
The major bank blamed “elevated interest rates and cost-of-living pressures” for a 24 basis point increase in 90-day mortgage delinquencies for the 12 months to the end of September, which refers to loans with repayments that have fallen behind by more than three months.
Westpac’s hardship provisions also rose sharply as the lender allowed under-pressure customers to restructure their loans.
Westpac chief executive Peter King said that while the majority of clients were showing resilience, “we recognise some customers are facing difficult choices”.
The bank also warned of a “less favourable outlook for commercial property”.
Analysts have noted that any future shock to the banking system would likely stem from their exposure to commercial properties, where there are some concerns over falling office tower valuations and constrained retail spending.
Westpac declared a final dividend of 76 cents, up from 72c a year ago.
Its $7bn annual net profit was down 3% from last year’s $7.2bn result.
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Andrew Giles says boosting construction skills an ‘absolute priority’
The Australia Institute reported last week on the surge in the cost of university – including the expense of arts degrees. Giles says it’s a real issue the government has to confront, and that these measures on student debt will be part of that response.
He says the government is particularly targeting construction skills:
This is an absolute priority … building a workforce that will enable us, amongst other things, to build the houses Australians need.
Aaaaaaand back to Qantas upgrades and lounge access ... Giles says voters are more focused on what the government is doing for them than what they are doing for themselves.
What we do need to do though is support trust in politics and the system of declarations is obviously fundamentally important in that.
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Skills and training minister Andrew Giles is up on ABC radio now talking about the student debt plan. He says students are doing it tough:
This is going to continue to incentivise people to do something which is good for them – getting a good education – but also good for the country.
They will contribute the economy and pay tax, he says, when asked about the impact on the budget bottom line.
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Some more on that bulk-billing guff that health minister Mark Butler was talking about earlier – here’s a wrap from chief political correspondent Paul Karp:
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Fletcher said it was a matter for the finance department to enforce politicians choosing the cheapest airfares. (On the weekend, the Nine newspapers reported that Virgin had complained that the vast majority of MPs and staffers’ flights were on Qantas.)
He told ABC radio the Coalition stood up for competition in aviation, that in government they focused on building western Sydney airport, and questioned why the Labor government had not opened up the aviation sector to Qatar in 2022.
Here’s a good wrap of what happened at the time, if you’ve not been glued to the saga since then:
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Student debt relief an ‘unfair’ burden on taxpayers, Liberal MP says
Coalition frontbencher Paul Fletcher has been on ABC’s Radio National saying it’s a “profoundly unfair policy” because taxpayers will bear the cost.
What this will simply do is increase the burden on all taxpayers ... this has to be paid for. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Asked about generational inequality, Fletcher talked about inflation getting “out of control” and driving up those student debts. He said the government had “given up” on tackling inflation and the cost of living. But host Steve Cannane didn’t let him get away with that answer, and brought it back to generational inequality. Fletcher said “of course there are issues” with concerning the needs of young Australians, including housing.
Fletcher said young people would benefit from the Coalition’s housing policies. But he wouldn’t say whether the opposition would reverse those changes to student debt if they went through parliament.
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Bulk billing turning a corner – Butler
And naturally Butler was also asked about the upgrades saga. He said MPs had complied with the rules, and said the stories had “occupied a lot of column inches, a lot of radio and TV time” but that they were just getting on with the job.
He also foreshadowed an announcement on bulk billing, saying they were starting to “turn a corner”.
We’re seeing more doctors, we’re seeing more bulk billing, and we’re seeing more Medicare urgent-care clinics.
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Butler defends student debt relief
Health minister Mark Butler has been asked on ABC television whether it’s “fair” that taxpayers foot the burden for students’ debt relief. He said students were under “real financial pressure”:
It’s something we can afford as a country because we know there’s no better investment we can make than in the skills and the education of our young citizens.
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Good morning
Well hello, Australia, and welcome to the third-last sitting week of the parliamentary year. I just learned that the word for that is “antepenultimate”.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese joined South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas yesterday to kick off what some are referring to as the election campaign. When we’re all distracted by the shenanigans in the United States!
The centrepiece was an announcement on student debt relief to the tune of $16bn and fee-free Tafe places and the obligatory three-word slogan (in this case, “Building Australia’s Future”).
The Coalition has been out already this morning saying they probably can’t afford to match that pitch to younger Australians. Nationals leader David Littleproud told ABC television this morning that they would “struggle” to find the dosh. He said:
We’re going through a process now, but I just can’t see how we can pick winners to that scale of money and support a mechanism like this. In the totality of this cost-of-living crisis, there are more pressing things about getting your energy bill down, and we can do that quickly with more gas and a long-term policy around energy.
We’ll hear more about that today, but there’s little chance it’ll knock conversations about Qantas flight upgrades and the Chairman’s Lounge off the agenda.
