Hi there. It's Thursday, September 1, and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here: NSW nurses are striking for 24 hours
Thousands of nurses and midwives across NSW have walked off the job for the third time this year demanding increased staffing levels.
The 24-hour strike began at 7am, with members of the Nurses and Midwives' Association calling for fixed nurse-to-patient ratios in the state's hospitals.
Nurses say staffing is a constant challenge and it's putting patients at risk.
"We're often five, six, seven nurses short per shift, and what that means is increased workloads for us and obviously care that we can't provide for our patients in the emergency department," nurse Denny Anderson said.
The union said it was arranging 60 rallies across the state, while a NSW Health spokesperson said there were plans in place to minimise disruptions in hospitals and still provide emergency care.
We heard a lot about the jobs and skills summit
It's been a big day for all things jobs and skills in Canberra, but here are the main takeaways from the first day of the summit:
- Childcare reform has dominated the first day, with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews urging the federal government to bring forward its promised changes to address workforce shortages. The changes would mean families with an income of up to $80,000 would receive a 90 per cent childcare subsidy for their first child, but every family with an income up to $530,000 would be eligible for some form of support
- There's been substantial progress on several areas of reform to the Fair Work Act, including enterprise bargaining. Business groups at the summit have opened the door to a conversation on developing legislation on multi-employer bargaining, which the Australian Council of Trade Unions has pushed for, while unions will participate in similar talks around the Better Off Overall Test
- The federal and state and territory governments have all agreed to bring forward 180,000 free TAFE places to next year to help address skills shortages and the need for skilled workers in a "training blitz". It'll cost $1.1 billion to implement, which states and territories have agreed to split evenly
Want to know more? Political reporter Nicole Hegarty has you covered.
News alerts you might have missed
- Chris Dawson has been subjected to "constant threats" in prison after being found guilty of murder earlier this week, a Sydney court has heard. The 74-year-old, who has not applied for bail, will be sentenced on November 11
- 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams is through to the third round of the US Open after defeating Anett Kontaveit in three sets. She'll now take on Australian Ajla Tomljanović
- Speaking of tennis, Australian Nick Kyrgios has also advanced to the third round of the US Open after defeating Benjamin Bonzi and overcoming the smell of "marijuana"
What Australia has been searching for online
- Byron Bay Bluesfest. Next year's festival line-up has been announced, with Elvis Costello & The Imposters returning to Australian shores to headline the festival. Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Gang of Youths will also take to the stage between April 6 and 10, 2023
- Victorian Liberal Party. A Pentecostal church group in Gippsland has been accused of branch stacking to "infiltrate" local Liberal Party branches and gain influence over the party's internal direction.
One more thing
Netflix has given us our first glimpse of its adaptation of Boy Swallows Universe — and its star-studded cast.
The best-selling Australian novel by Trent Dalton is being turned into an eight-part limited series, and will star Travis Fimmel as Lyke Orlik, Simon Baker as Robert Bell, and Phoebe Tonkin as Frances Bell, while Felix Cameron will take on the role of Eli Bell.
Production for the series is currently happening in Brisbane, but the streaming giant hasn't said when it will premiere so until then these pictures will have to tide us over.
You're up to date
We'll be back to do it all again tomorrow.
ABC/wires
