Huge cost-of-living move coming this week
The changes will be applied to all student debts as they on June 1, 2025, with the average HELP debt of $27,600 set to receive a reduction of about $5520.
The HECS reform will also reduce the repayment threshold for debts from $56,156 to $67,000.
Rates of repayments will also be lowered then current levels, with someone on $70,000 paying $1300.
Despite the Coalition not supporting the measure during the campaign, education spokesman Jonno Duniam said he expected the Bill to 'pass' parliament. Labor will pursue action on its election vows to slash student debts and introduce paid prac ahead of parliament returning on Tuesday. NewsWire/ Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire
Speaking to the ABC on Sunday, he said that while the legislation would still need to go through party room and shadow cabinet, he believed 'the Australian people spoke pretty clearly … around the policies the Labor Party took,' adding the party was 'not really in the business of standing in the way of cost of living relief'.
Labor will also seek to introduce its cost-of-living election promises, including the $150 energy rebate top up, the 30 per cent discount on home batteries, paid prac measures for student nurses, teachers, social workers and midwives, plus a $10,000 cash bonus for trainee builders who finish their construction apprenticeship.
It will also begin work on legislating a two-week increase for Government Paid Parental Leave and laws to add superannuation on government paid parental leave, while also increasing the Super Guarantee to 12 per cent.
Education Minister Jason Clare will also use the first sitting week to introduce Bills to tighten protection settings in childcare centres, including provision to allow anti-fraud officers to inspect centres with a warrant or police supervision.
The Coalition has also said it's open to working with the government to get the Commonwealth to pull funding on centres which fail to meet safety standards after a Victorian former childcare worker Joshua Brown was hit with more than 70 child abuse charges.
While Labor holds a thumping 94-seat majority, out of a total 150 seats, in the Lower House, the government will still need to negotiate with either the Greens (which hold 10 seats), the Coalition's 27 senators, or the 10-member crossbench. Politicians are set to return to Canberra on Tuesday for the first sitting fortnight of the 48th parliament. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
After an election bloodbath, the Coalition will return with a significantly reduced 43 seats, while the Greens have been reduced to a single seat.
Ahead of the official opening of the 48th parliament, Sussan Ley warned that while the Coalition would 'provide a constructive path for any legislation that makes Australia stronger,' it's 'good will is not a blank cheque'.
As it stands, the opposition has already vowed to fight Labor's proposed superannuation tax on balances over $3m, with the Coalition also set to eye accidentally released treasury advice to Jim Chalmers which urged him to consider new taxes to increase the budget outlook.
'Anthony Albanese is yet to explain why his departmental officials secretly advised the Treasurer that Labor would need to raise taxes on Australians,' the Opposition Leader said.
'We will seek answers on behalf of Australian taxpayers, not one of whom should face a new tax that they didn't vote for.'
It will also continue to attack Labor over its handling of Australia-US relations, following further fallout from Donald Trump's tariff trade war, with Anthony Albanese yet to secure a meeting with the US President.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
17 minutes ago
- West Australian
Lack of AI playbook puts Australia down readiness ranks
Two in three Australian businesses are not ready to implement artificial intelligence, a study has found, despite most companies being committed to spending more on the technology. The lack of clear plans or trained staff has dragged Australia down the AI readiness rankings over the past year, even though most employees remain concerned about the effect it will have on their jobs. ServiceNow released the findings from its AI Maturity Index on Monday, leading experts to warn businesses to reassess their plans for artificial intelligence or risk missing out on productivity gains. The warning comes as the federal government prepares to host a summit on boosting productivity, and after the Productivity Commission named AI as one of its five focus areas for the coming year. The company's AI Maturity Index, prepared with Oxford Economics, surveyed more than 4400 senior business leaders from 16 countries including 560 Australian executives. It found Australian businesses were less prepared to implement AI than they were in the previous year, falling from a score of 46 points out of 100 to 35. The lower grade reflects one in three business leaders saying their companies had a clear vision to change using AI, and 37 per cent said they had the right mix of skills and talent in their workforce. The result was particularly surprising, ServiceNow emerging technology director Dani Magnusson said, as most Australian companies planned to increase AI spending over the coming year. "We've got 82 per cent of organisations investing in AI but only a third of those organisations setting a clear vision and strategy for how it gets implemented across the organisation," she told AAP. "Businesses aren't planning for AI." Keeping the technology "siloed" in individual business departments was holding back progress, Ms Magnussen said, although businesses should also consider whether their employees had the right skills to implement AI reform. "There's no question it will give us more productivity and more capacity and it will take away some of the parts of the jobs and the roles that we don't enjoy doing today," she said. But the survey also identified widespread fear among employees, with six in 10 Australian executives saying workers had raised concerns about job security due to generative AI. The research predicted the technology could be used to automate 670,000 roles by 2030, while it created a comparatively few 150,000 technology jobs. The findings should encourage more workers to learn about the technology, management consultancy Bain & Company's Asia Pacific AI head Richard Fleming said, and for organisations to make AI tools available to staff for experimentation. "It's now our responsibility to start individually using AI and working out how do I use it in my everyday life, how do I use it at work to build skills and understanding," he told AAP. "We should be embracing AI and training people on how to use it, training them on the risks, and that becomes a broad responsibility."
Perth Now
17 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Lack of AI playbook puts Australia down readiness ranks
Two in three Australian businesses are not ready to implement artificial intelligence, a study has found, despite most companies being committed to spending more on the technology. The lack of clear plans or trained staff has dragged Australia down the AI readiness rankings over the past year, even though most employees remain concerned about the effect it will have on their jobs. ServiceNow released the findings from its AI Maturity Index on Monday, leading experts to warn businesses to reassess their plans for artificial intelligence or risk missing out on productivity gains. The warning comes as the federal government prepares to host a summit on boosting productivity, and after the Productivity Commission named AI as one of its five focus areas for the coming year. The company's AI Maturity Index, prepared with Oxford Economics, surveyed more than 4400 senior business leaders from 16 countries including 560 Australian executives. It found Australian businesses were less prepared to implement AI than they were in the previous year, falling from a score of 46 points out of 100 to 35. The lower grade reflects one in three business leaders saying their companies had a clear vision to change using AI, and 37 per cent said they had the right mix of skills and talent in their workforce. The result was particularly surprising, ServiceNow emerging technology director Dani Magnusson said, as most Australian companies planned to increase AI spending over the coming year. "We've got 82 per cent of organisations investing in AI but only a third of those organisations setting a clear vision and strategy for how it gets implemented across the organisation," she told AAP. "Businesses aren't planning for AI." Keeping the technology "siloed" in individual business departments was holding back progress, Ms Magnussen said, although businesses should also consider whether their employees had the right skills to implement AI reform. "There's no question it will give us more productivity and more capacity and it will take away some of the parts of the jobs and the roles that we don't enjoy doing today," she said. But the survey also identified widespread fear among employees, with six in 10 Australian executives saying workers had raised concerns about job security due to generative AI. The research predicted the technology could be used to automate 670,000 roles by 2030, while it created a comparatively few 150,000 technology jobs. The findings should encourage more workers to learn about the technology, management consultancy Bain & Company's Asia Pacific AI head Richard Fleming said, and for organisations to make AI tools available to staff for experimentation. "It's now our responsibility to start individually using AI and working out how do I use it in my everyday life, how do I use it at work to build skills and understanding," he told AAP. "We should be embracing AI and training people on how to use it, training them on the risks, and that becomes a broad responsibility."
Perth Now
17 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Drawn-out minority talks after state's snap election
Tasmania faces a protracted period of political limbo as election votes are counted and major parties court the cross bench. The incumbent Liberals (14) claimed more seats than Labor (nine) in Saturday's snap election but neither can reach the 18-seat mark required for majority. Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff, whose refusal to resign after losing a no-confidence vote sparked the poll, has been given "first crack" at forming government by Labor leader Dean Winter. However, Mr Winter hasn't ruled out trying to get the numbers to govern if Mr Rockliff is unable to form a working government. It could be weeks for three in-doubt seats to be confirmed via preferences, and any formal minority agreements might not be arranged until after the numbers are settled. Mr Rockliff on Sunday said he had reached out to independents on the cross bench, pledging to work collaboratively. The Liberals' failure to keep the cross bench onside in minority resulted in an early election in March 2024 as well as the successful no-confidence vote against Mr Rockliff in June. Mr Rockliff will have to mend bridges and deal with several crossbenchers who are against the Liberals' stadium plan and don't like Liberal-backed salmon farming and forestry. Two of the four elected independents, Kristie Johnston and Craig Garland, voted for the no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff and have been critical of Tasmania's ballooning debt. Mr Winter, however, has ruled out doing a deal with the five-seat Greens to form government, despite needing their votes, but has reached out to independents. Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff urged Mr Winter to pick up the phone again on Sunday and potentially form an alliance. Mr Rockliff said the Liberals would not walk away from their pet project $945 million AFL stadium, or their support for traditional industry. STATE OF PLAY AND NEW FACES * Seats: Liberal 14, Labor nine, Greens five, independent four, in doubt three * Bridget Archer (Liberal): The former federal MP was successful in the northern electorate of Bass just a few months after losing her federal seat * Gavin Peace (Liberal): Another former federal MP who jumped on board to help the party * Marcus Vermey (Liberal): A third-generation butcher and first-term MP who picked up the most votes for his party in the Hobart-based seat of Clark * Peter George (Independent): Anti-salmon farming activist coming off a strong campaign at the federal election
