Wage increase for Australia's lowest-paid workers

SBS Australia

03-06-2025

Major investment into domestic violence services as numbers surge
White House imposes fresh deadline on trade offers
Daria Kasatkina out of the French Open Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . The New South Wales government says more than half a billion dollars will go towards dealing with domestic violence as it increases spending on jails and courts. About half of the money is set aside for a $227 million injection into the state's victims support service to help victim-survivors access counselling and financial assistance. While advocates welcome the funding, some say it fails to address the reality that these services are stretched to breaking point. State Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Jodie Harrison, says the services will have more certainty around funding. "We're going to be providing the certainty and the continuity for those services through five-year contracts for the majority of them. We're also going to be working with the non-domestic violence specialist workforce. So, people outside the DV specialist workforce, to help them recognize and respond to, and refer people who are experiencing domestic and family violence." A landmark study has found more than one in three Australian men aged 18 to 65 have committed violence of some form against an intimate partner, in their lifetime. The report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, which surveyed men and boys in 2013/14 and again in 2022, found a stark increase in the rate of abuse. Emotional abuse was the most common form of intimate partner violence, with 32 per cent of men in 2022 reporting they had made a partner feel frightened or anxious. Nine per cent reported physically abusing their partner. Mental ill health and poor father-son relationships are revealed as key factors that could contribute to men's violence against women. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek told ABC Radio National it is important to record these numbers. "The number of men who have ever used violence has increased from one in four to one in three. That equates to about 120,000 extra men every year in Australia using violence for the first time in intimate relationships, an obviously that's a trend that's going in the wrong direction." If you or someone you know needs support, you can seek 24-hour assistance by calling 1800 RESPECT. That's 1800 737 732. Australia's lowest-paid workers have been handed a 3.5 per cent wage increase by the Fair Work Commission. The change will impact one in five Australian workers on an award wage, from the 1st of July. The wage review panel came to the decision, after assessing submissions from the government and other stakeholders as part of the annual review process. Labor had pushed for an increase above the rate of inflation, which was 2.4 per cent at the end of March. Unions had been calling for a 4.5 per cent increase to the minimum wage, but the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry had cautioned against anything greater than a 2.5 per cent rise, saying it would impact businesses. The US Government has imposed a deadline for countries looking to do a deal over tariffs. The Trump administration has set tomorrow as the last day for nations to submit their best trade offers. The US President - Donald Trump - wants to lock off trade deals with multiple countries in the next five weeks. It's a tight turnaround for deals, after Mr Trump pressed pause on his Liberation Day tariffs on most countries for 90 days, triggering weeks of negotiations with trading partners. The latest talks are between the U-S and Italy, with US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, meeting with Italian counterpart Francesco Lollobrigida. Ms Rollins says the goal is to support American farmers importing products to Italy, while lowering barriers to trade for Italian producers. 'Our relationships with Italian buyers and consumers foster tens of billions of dollars in bilateral trade and investment. So American farmers and ranchers want to ensure that EU regulations do not get in the way of that mutually beneficial trade relationship between the United States and Italy." The US threatened to lay tariffs on European goods from June but has moved the deadline forward. Talks between Russia and Ukraine have not resulted in a ceasefire, with Ukraine saying Russian president Vladimir Putin is not interested in peace. The warring sides met for about an hour in Istanbul. They agreed to exchange more prisoners of war and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked United States President Donald Trump to impose stronger sanctions on Russia. "They said they're ready for a 2–3-day ceasefire to collect bodies from the battlefield. I think they're idiots, because the whole point of a ceasefire is to prevent people from being killed in the first place. Therefore, I really want our American partners to take strong steps to impose a package of sanctions and to pressure the Russians into a ceasefire with strong sanctions. They won't understand any other way." To sport, Daria Kasatkina has been eliminated from the French Open in a tough fourth round match against Russian teenage phenomenon Mirra Andreeva. The 17th seed went down at Roland Garros 6-3 7-5, the result making Andreeva the youngest player to reach back-to-back French Open quarterfinals in nearly three decades. Kasatkina had hoped to become the first Australian woman to reach the quarterfinals since Ash Barty's 2019 triumph, just two months since being granted permanent residency. But she says she has no regrets - especially because of the support she has received from tennis fans.
"I heard many times that Aussies were - I don't know if everyone who was screaming 'Aussie' was from Australia. But you know I felt this support. And on social media, I am getting a lot of support from the Australians that they are so happy to welcome me and are so happy for me."