PBS prescriptions to be reduced to $25
The government will table a bill this week to reduce the price of scripts on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from $31.60 to $25.
The change in script prices is forecast to save Australians $200 million a year.
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7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Protests planned across Australia after Sydney Harbour Bridge march
Protest laws could be repealed or expanded following a march across an iconic national landmark, as activists plan for more demonstrations. The pro-Palestine movement, boosted by a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge which made news across the nation and around the world, hopes to build on its momentum. The march across the bridge and back in pouring rain came after opposition from police, and a court's overruling approval that has politicians worrying about the rare occurrence becoming common. Further protests are planned on August 24 in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth with hopes more can be organised in other cities. Ahead of the state's parliament resuming on Tuesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns says his government is examining whether a legal precedent has been set by the Supreme Court judgment that allowed the protest to proceed. 'No one should believe it's open season on the bridge,' he told reporters on Monday. But new laws might be needed to stop future bridge protests. Minns was 'not ruling anything out' but said any legislation could not be rushed. Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley encouraged the premier to look at 'what might happen next'. 'Because we can't continue to have these protests that shut down such an important area of a major city,' she told reporters. In her determination declining to prohibit the march, Justice Belinda Rigg said the bridge would have been closed to traffic regardless of whether the protest was authorised or not. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said demonstrations were an important part of democracy and highlighted the peaceful nature of the Sydney march. 'Australians want people to stop killing each other, they want peace and security ... they don't want conflict brought here,' he said. Minns has faced some internal dissent from other Labor MPs over protest legislation. NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson has also flagged plans to seek the repeal of laws limiting protest, first introduced by the previous coalition government but expanded under Labor. Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees, defendant of the court action NSW Police took in an unsuccessful attempt to have the demonstration ruled unlawful, says nationwide protests are being planned for August 24. 'We want to build on this massive momentum we have now,' he told reporters. Despite concerns of regular marches across the bridge, Lees said the group has no plans for a repeat crossing any time soon and accused the premier of having an anti-protest agenda. 'His stance is pretty clear and he's passed a raft of anti-protest legislation already,' Lees said. 'We're going to have to keep fighting for our rights to demonstrate.'
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
$135m rescue for struggling major employer
The federal, South Australian and Tasmanian governments will inject $135m into the struggling Nyrstar smelting business in response to attempted market dominance from China. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas announced the funding at the Port Pirie smelter on Tuesday, flanked by business executives, a day after state cabinet met in the town. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the lifeline was in the face of 'an unacceptable risk'. Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'When people contemplate, 'Is this an appropriate investment on behalf of taxpayers', one also has to think about the counterfactual,' Mr Malinauskas said. 'The counterfactual would be to allow the western world to see China consolidate all of its smelting capacity - all of the world's smelting capacity - which would mean that we don't get to participate in the critical mineral and critical metal supply chain of the future. 'That's an unacceptable risk, particularly in the current geostrategic environment.' Canberra is kicking in $57.5m, SA is contributing $55m and Tasmania will cover the remaining $22.5m. The announcement was made at the Port Pirie smelter. NewsWire / David Mariuz Credit: News Corp Australia Materials coming out of the Nyrstar smelters are crucial for products as diverse as batteries, flame retardants, cameras, semiconductors, and solar panels. Mr Malinauskas flashed a chunk of processed antimony and spoke of its military uses. 'Few Australians would have heard of antimony, but it's a critical mineral that has a number of applications, none more important than the national defence supply chain,' he said. 'In fact, antimony is often attributed for shortening World War II by 12 months. It is something that men and women in the field of battle simply must have. 'And other parts of the world - other countries - one in particular - is seeking to consolidate the production of critical minerals just like this to the exclusion of all others.' Antimony is used to harden bullets. Following WWII, the US Munitions Board assessed the harder, more reliable bullets saved a year of fighting. More to come
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Door open on changes to major tax
Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino has left the door open to potential changes to the GST, saying the upcoming economic reform roundtable should consider a broad range of tax options to boost productivity. Speaking ahead of the forum, which will focus on ways to lift Australia's long-term economic performance, Dr Mulino said ruling any ideas in or out ahead of time would 'undermine' the purpose of the discussion. 'In the long run, productivity growth is what underpins our standard of living, and any productivity discussion has to include tax,' he told Sky News. GST, or Goods and Services tax, is a levy of 10 per cent on most items sold in Australia. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino has left the door open to potential changes to the GST ahead of the economic reform roundtable. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia His comments follow a new report suggesting the most effective way to fund reductions in corporate tax would be through expanding the GST, increasing council land rates, and raising taxes on offshore oil and gas projects. Dr Mulino said it was important to look at the full tax system, including how different taxes affect the economy, fairness, and how easy they are to administer. 'And what the Treasurer has said from the outset is that he doesn't want to get into the rule in rule out game, because that would undermine the whole purpose of this process. 'And so he's open to a range of ideas being brought to the round table. 'So what we saw in the analysis that you're referring to is that it's possible to rank taxes by how distortionary they are, and that's an important piece of the analysis. 'But I'd also say that when we're looking at tax reform, that's only one of the criteria. 'It's also important to consider, when you look at a range of taxes, the equity of different taxes and also the administrative simplicity of different taxes and their physical implications. 'That's what makes tax reform complex, but you can't just look at that one characteristic of taxes in isolation.' Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tim Wilson labelled the roundtable a 'tax hike summit'. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tim Wilson labelled the roundtable a 'tax hike summit' saying Australians 'didn't vote' for GST reforms. 'So far, all we've had is proposals for tax hikes. It's a tax hike summit from Treasurer Jim Chalmers. You know, initially it was a productivity one,' Mr Wilson said on Sky News. 'I've heard lots of proposals to raise taxes. I haven't heard many proposals about how they plan to cut taxes and drive productivity growth and improvements in the economy.' The discussions are set to be held over three days from August 19.
