Joyce says Dutton 'lost his mind' over refusal to support nuclear
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Perth Now
35 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Vow to protect penalty rates for 2.6m workers
Labor will move to protect penalty and overtime rates for about 2.6 million workers, saying 'hardworking' Aussies rely on the entitlements to 'keep their heads above water'. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth will introduce the Bill on Thursday, and urged the Greens and Coalition to support the proposed legislation. The law would prohibit the Fair Work Commission to reduce an overtime or penalty rate, or substitute the entitlements if it reduces the overall take-home pay a worker would otherwise receive. An award would not be able to be altered if there was evidence that even a single worker would be worse off under an arrangement which traded an overtime or penalty entitlement. Ms Rishworth said the change would protect about 2.6 million award-reliant workers. 'If you rely on the modern award safety net and work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, you deserve to have your wages protected,' she said. 'Millions of hardworking Australians rely on penalty rates and overtime rates to keep their heads above water, which is why this Bill is so critical and should receive the support of both the Opposition and the Greens.' Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth is set to introduce the legislation on Thursday. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia The election promise was prompted by a FWC review launched the Australian Retailers Association to allow senior management to take a 25 per cent wage increase above minimum award entitlements in exchange for overtime, weekend and public holiday penalty rates and rest breaks. The move has been backed by the supermarket giants, plus beauty giant Mecca, as well as Kmart, Costco and 7-Eleven. Prior to the election, then employment minister Murray Watt wrote to the FWC to stop large retailers from cutting the entitlements, in a rare act of government intervention. Enshrining penalty rates was a key demand from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, with secretary Sally McManus previously arguing workers should be compensated for sacrificing their weekends. The proposed bill will override the FWC's ability to reduce penalty and overtime rates in modern awards, or substitute the entitlements if even a single worker is worse off. NewsWire/ Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire However, the legislation will likely will likely be opposed by the Coalition, with industrial relations and employment spokesman Tim Wilson stating the independent FWC was already responsible for ensuring 'workers get the best arrangements possible for a fair days work'. Instead he lashed Labor's proposed Bill as being politically motivated. 'There is no threat to penalty rates,' he said on Saturday. 'What there is, is a political focus of the Government that isn't focused towards improving the economic conditions to help small businesses grow, to enable them to go on and employ the next generation of workers, to give those first generation, those first jobs to young Australians so that they can be independent and be able to get on with their economic futures.'
News.com.au
35 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Labor to introduce new Bill to protect penalty, overtime rates for 2.6 million award workers
Labor will move to protect penalty and overtime rates for about 2.6 million workers, saying 'hardworking' Aussies rely on the entitlements to 'keep their heads above water'. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth will introduce the Bill on Thursday, and urged the Greens and Coalition to support the proposed legislation. The law would prohibit the Fair Work Commission to reduce an overtime or penalty rate, or substitute the entitlements if it reduces the overall take-home pay a worker would otherwise receive. An award would not be able to be altered if there was evidence that even a single worker would be worse off under an arrangement which traded an overtime or penalty entitlement. Ms Rishworth said the change would protect about 2.6 million award-reliant workers. 'If you rely on the modern award safety net and work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, you deserve to have your wages protected,' she said. 'Millions of hardworking Australians rely on penalty rates and overtime rates to keep their heads above water, which is why this Bill is so critical and should receive the support of both the Opposition and the Greens.' The election promise was prompted by a FWC review launched the Australian Retailers Association to allow senior management to take a 25 per cent wage increase above minimum award entitlements in exchange for overtime, weekend and public holiday penalty rates and rest breaks. The move has been backed by the supermarket giants, plus beauty giant Mecca, as well as Kmart, Costco and 7-Eleven. Prior to the election, then employment minister Murray Watt wrote to the FWC to stop large retailers from cutting the entitlements, in a rare act of government intervention. Enshrining penalty rates was a key demand from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, with secretary Sally McManus previously arguing workers should be compensated for sacrificing their weekends. However, the legislation will likely will likely be opposed by the Coalition, with industrial relations and employment spokesman Tim Wilson stating the independent FWC was already responsible for ensuring 'workers get the best arrangements possible for a fair days work'. Instead he lashed Labor's proposed Bill as being politically motivated. 'There is no threat to penalty rates,' he said on Saturday. 'What there is, is a political focus of the Government that isn't focused towards improving the economic conditions to help small businesses grow, to enable them to go on and employ the next generation of workers, to give those first generation, those first jobs to young Australians so that they can be independent and be able to get on with their economic futures.'
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Nationals net-zero pushback intensifies, Littleproud open to dropping policy
Nationals leader David Littleproud has revealed he is "definitely" willing to flip the party's support for a 2050 net-zero emissions target while the renewable rollout is "tearing families apart" across regional communities. The revelation follows former Nationals leader Michael McCormack lending his support to a private members' bill being proposed by another former party leader in Barnaby Joyce to repeal legislation mandating greenhouse gas reduction goals. The tinderbox situation may see a new chapter in the nation's climate wars written as both Coalition partners continue to separately review their emissions and energy policies following the May 3 election bloodbath. However, Mr Littleproud stressed the party position adopted during the Morrison government was no longer set in stone prior to receiving the research being put together by Queensland senator Matt Canavan, a coal mining advocate who has steadfastly opposed net-zero. "I'm open ... I wanted to make sure we do this calmly and methodically, and understanding the human toll, the economic toll and the social toll this is having on our communities," Mr Littleproud said on Wednesday. "I think net zero unfortunately, has become something about trying to achieve the impossible rather than actually doing what's sensible, and we're bearing the burden of that." The comments follow news that the Clean Energy Council has thrown down the gauntlet to its 1000-odd member organisations in declaring that the industry must "redouble" its attempts to win community support and social license from regional Australians being asked to host large-scale wind and solar renewable projects. In a four-page letter sent to members, the peak lobby group's 10-member board said the rollout of the energy transition across the regions had so far produced "a mixed reaction from those communities". Meanwhile, it is unknown how the Coalition Agreement could work, or even survive, given there was already a week-long split after the election, should the Nationals drop net zero and a Liberal Party, desperately needing to win back inner-city seats to reform government, voted to retain it. Mr Joyce further stirred the pot in revealing that he "did not vote for net zero" in any previous party room vote, while Mr McCormack said he only backed the policy in 2021 to allay producer fears that Australia might be hit with international trade barriers if it did not adopt the target. "But the world has changed," the Riverina MP said. New Liberal leader Sussan Ley has not put a timeframe on when her party room would finalise its emission reductions and net-zero position, but provided some pointers to its substance in saying the nation should "play its part" in reducing emissions while needing to ensure a reliable and stable domestic energy grid. The policy will be significantly informed by an energy working group being led by opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan. A Peter Dutton-led Coalition went to the May 3 election advocating for an energy sector transition underpinned by the rollout of up to seven nuclear power plants across Australia. Mr Tehan recently told ACM that the Coalition intends to "look at all aspects" of the terrain before bedding down a net-zero by 2050 policy, from weighing up its assessment of the economy-wide impacts of Labor's renewable rollout to "the cost of doing nothing". While Mr Joyce's proposed "Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025" does not have a chance of succeeding given Labor's majority and presumed opposition from the Greens and crossbench, the New England MP said people in the regions were "furious". "You get to understand the sort of fury that (people) have in regional areas," he said. While Mr Tehan likened Mr Joyce and Mr McCormack, who also placed a question mark over Mr Littleproud's leadership, to "two steers in a paddock", Nationals senator for NSW Ross Cadell told the ABC that his colleagues were "espousing the views of their electorates, which people come (to parliament) to do." "Michael is really concerned by the number of wind towers and the things around Yass that are going up, and how that affects his farmers," he said. "Barnaby is the same ... one thing we do know, and I agree with them very much on, is (the rollout) can be done better. "It is really hurting regional communities. When you see acres and acres of roofs without solar panels in the cities, we should be doing more there and having less effect on the regions for a start. "Social license has to happen. It is not happening and you are seeing increasingly these communities rise up because it is not being done the right way." Meanwhile, Liberal senator Jane Hume told media on Wednesday that "over and over" the electorate has indicated that it wants emission reduction policies. "We need to be able to take the politics out of the issue," she said. "And say, how do we get to a net-zero energy future, and reduce emissions, but at the same time maintain our prosperity?" Nationals leader David Littleproud has revealed he is "definitely" willing to flip the party's support for a 2050 net-zero emissions target while the renewable rollout is "tearing families apart" across regional communities. The revelation follows former Nationals leader Michael McCormack lending his support to a private members' bill being proposed by another former party leader in Barnaby Joyce to repeal legislation mandating greenhouse gas reduction goals. The tinderbox situation may see a new chapter in the nation's climate wars written as both Coalition partners continue to separately review their emissions and energy policies following the May 3 election bloodbath. However, Mr Littleproud stressed the party position adopted during the Morrison government was no longer set in stone prior to receiving the research being put together by Queensland senator Matt Canavan, a coal mining advocate who has steadfastly opposed net-zero. "I'm open ... I wanted to make sure we do this calmly and methodically, and understanding the human toll, the economic toll and the social toll this is having on our communities," Mr Littleproud said on Wednesday. "I think net zero unfortunately, has become something about trying to achieve the impossible rather than actually doing what's sensible, and we're bearing the burden of that." The comments follow news that the Clean Energy Council has thrown down the gauntlet to its 1000-odd member organisations in declaring that the industry must "redouble" its attempts to win community support and social license from regional Australians being asked to host large-scale wind and solar renewable projects. In a four-page letter sent to members, the peak lobby group's 10-member board said the rollout of the energy transition across the regions had so far produced "a mixed reaction from those communities". Meanwhile, it is unknown how the Coalition Agreement could work, or even survive, given there was already a week-long split after the election, should the Nationals drop net zero and a Liberal Party, desperately needing to win back inner-city seats to reform government, voted to retain it. Mr Joyce further stirred the pot in revealing that he "did not vote for net zero" in any previous party room vote, while Mr McCormack said he only backed the policy in 2021 to allay producer fears that Australia might be hit with international trade barriers if it did not adopt the target. "But the world has changed," the Riverina MP said. New Liberal leader Sussan Ley has not put a timeframe on when her party room would finalise its emission reductions and net-zero position, but provided some pointers to its substance in saying the nation should "play its part" in reducing emissions while needing to ensure a reliable and stable domestic energy grid. The policy will be significantly informed by an energy working group being led by opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan. A Peter Dutton-led Coalition went to the May 3 election advocating for an energy sector transition underpinned by the rollout of up to seven nuclear power plants across Australia. Mr Tehan recently told ACM that the Coalition intends to "look at all aspects" of the terrain before bedding down a net-zero by 2050 policy, from weighing up its assessment of the economy-wide impacts of Labor's renewable rollout to "the cost of doing nothing". While Mr Joyce's proposed "Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025" does not have a chance of succeeding given Labor's majority and presumed opposition from the Greens and crossbench, the New England MP said people in the regions were "furious". "You get to understand the sort of fury that (people) have in regional areas," he said. While Mr Tehan likened Mr Joyce and Mr McCormack, who also placed a question mark over Mr Littleproud's leadership, to "two steers in a paddock", Nationals senator for NSW Ross Cadell told the ABC that his colleagues were "espousing the views of their electorates, which people come (to parliament) to do." "Michael is really concerned by the number of wind towers and the things around Yass that are going up, and how that affects his farmers," he said. "Barnaby is the same ... one thing we do know, and I agree with them very much on, is (the rollout) can be done better. "It is really hurting regional communities. When you see acres and acres of roofs without solar panels in the cities, we should be doing more there and having less effect on the regions for a start. "Social license has to happen. It is not happening and you are seeing increasingly these communities rise up because it is not being done the right way." Meanwhile, Liberal senator Jane Hume told media on Wednesday that "over and over" the electorate has indicated that it wants emission reduction policies. "We need to be able to take the politics out of the issue," she said. "And say, how do we get to a net-zero energy future, and reduce emissions, but at the same time maintain our prosperity?" Nationals leader David Littleproud has revealed he is "definitely" willing to flip the party's support for a 2050 net-zero emissions target while the renewable rollout is "tearing families apart" across regional communities. The revelation follows former Nationals leader Michael McCormack lending his support to a private members' bill being proposed by another former party leader in Barnaby Joyce to repeal legislation mandating greenhouse gas reduction goals. The tinderbox situation may see a new chapter in the nation's climate wars written as both Coalition partners continue to separately review their emissions and energy policies following the May 3 election bloodbath. However, Mr Littleproud stressed the party position adopted during the Morrison government was no longer set in stone prior to receiving the research being put together by Queensland senator Matt Canavan, a coal mining advocate who has steadfastly opposed net-zero. "I'm open ... I wanted to make sure we do this calmly and methodically, and understanding the human toll, the economic toll and the social toll this is having on our communities," Mr Littleproud said on Wednesday. "I think net zero unfortunately, has become something about trying to achieve the impossible rather than actually doing what's sensible, and we're bearing the burden of that." The comments follow news that the Clean Energy Council has thrown down the gauntlet to its 1000-odd member organisations in declaring that the industry must "redouble" its attempts to win community support and social license from regional Australians being asked to host large-scale wind and solar renewable projects. In a four-page letter sent to members, the peak lobby group's 10-member board said the rollout of the energy transition across the regions had so far produced "a mixed reaction from those communities". Meanwhile, it is unknown how the Coalition Agreement could work, or even survive, given there was already a week-long split after the election, should the Nationals drop net zero and a Liberal Party, desperately needing to win back inner-city seats to reform government, voted to retain it. Mr Joyce further stirred the pot in revealing that he "did not vote for net zero" in any previous party room vote, while Mr McCormack said he only backed the policy in 2021 to allay producer fears that Australia might be hit with international trade barriers if it did not adopt the target. "But the world has changed," the Riverina MP said. New Liberal leader Sussan Ley has not put a timeframe on when her party room would finalise its emission reductions and net-zero position, but provided some pointers to its substance in saying the nation should "play its part" in reducing emissions while needing to ensure a reliable and stable domestic energy grid. The policy will be significantly informed by an energy working group being led by opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan. A Peter Dutton-led Coalition went to the May 3 election advocating for an energy sector transition underpinned by the rollout of up to seven nuclear power plants across Australia. Mr Tehan recently told ACM that the Coalition intends to "look at all aspects" of the terrain before bedding down a net-zero by 2050 policy, from weighing up its assessment of the economy-wide impacts of Labor's renewable rollout to "the cost of doing nothing". While Mr Joyce's proposed "Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025" does not have a chance of succeeding given Labor's majority and presumed opposition from the Greens and crossbench, the New England MP said people in the regions were "furious". "You get to understand the sort of fury that (people) have in regional areas," he said. While Mr Tehan likened Mr Joyce and Mr McCormack, who also placed a question mark over Mr Littleproud's leadership, to "two steers in a paddock", Nationals senator for NSW Ross Cadell told the ABC that his colleagues were "espousing the views of their electorates, which people come (to parliament) to do." "Michael is really concerned by the number of wind towers and the things around Yass that are going up, and how that affects his farmers," he said. "Barnaby is the same ... one thing we do know, and I agree with them very much on, is (the rollout) can be done better. "It is really hurting regional communities. When you see acres and acres of roofs without solar panels in the cities, we should be doing more there and having less effect on the regions for a start. "Social license has to happen. It is not happening and you are seeing increasingly these communities rise up because it is not being done the right way." Meanwhile, Liberal senator Jane Hume told media on Wednesday that "over and over" the electorate has indicated that it wants emission reduction policies. "We need to be able to take the politics out of the issue," she said. "And say, how do we get to a net-zero energy future, and reduce emissions, but at the same time maintain our prosperity?" Nationals leader David Littleproud has revealed he is "definitely" willing to flip the party's support for a 2050 net-zero emissions target while the renewable rollout is "tearing families apart" across regional communities. The revelation follows former Nationals leader Michael McCormack lending his support to a private members' bill being proposed by another former party leader in Barnaby Joyce to repeal legislation mandating greenhouse gas reduction goals. The tinderbox situation may see a new chapter in the nation's climate wars written as both Coalition partners continue to separately review their emissions and energy policies following the May 3 election bloodbath. However, Mr Littleproud stressed the party position adopted during the Morrison government was no longer set in stone prior to receiving the research being put together by Queensland senator Matt Canavan, a coal mining advocate who has steadfastly opposed net-zero. "I'm open ... I wanted to make sure we do this calmly and methodically, and understanding the human toll, the economic toll and the social toll this is having on our communities," Mr Littleproud said on Wednesday. "I think net zero unfortunately, has become something about trying to achieve the impossible rather than actually doing what's sensible, and we're bearing the burden of that." The comments follow news that the Clean Energy Council has thrown down the gauntlet to its 1000-odd member organisations in declaring that the industry must "redouble" its attempts to win community support and social license from regional Australians being asked to host large-scale wind and solar renewable projects. In a four-page letter sent to members, the peak lobby group's 10-member board said the rollout of the energy transition across the regions had so far produced "a mixed reaction from those communities". Meanwhile, it is unknown how the Coalition Agreement could work, or even survive, given there was already a week-long split after the election, should the Nationals drop net zero and a Liberal Party, desperately needing to win back inner-city seats to reform government, voted to retain it. Mr Joyce further stirred the pot in revealing that he "did not vote for net zero" in any previous party room vote, while Mr McCormack said he only backed the policy in 2021 to allay producer fears that Australia might be hit with international trade barriers if it did not adopt the target. "But the world has changed," the Riverina MP said. New Liberal leader Sussan Ley has not put a timeframe on when her party room would finalise its emission reductions and net-zero position, but provided some pointers to its substance in saying the nation should "play its part" in reducing emissions while needing to ensure a reliable and stable domestic energy grid. The policy will be significantly informed by an energy working group being led by opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan. A Peter Dutton-led Coalition went to the May 3 election advocating for an energy sector transition underpinned by the rollout of up to seven nuclear power plants across Australia. Mr Tehan recently told ACM that the Coalition intends to "look at all aspects" of the terrain before bedding down a net-zero by 2050 policy, from weighing up its assessment of the economy-wide impacts of Labor's renewable rollout to "the cost of doing nothing". While Mr Joyce's proposed "Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025" does not have a chance of succeeding given Labor's majority and presumed opposition from the Greens and crossbench, the New England MP said people in the regions were "furious". "You get to understand the sort of fury that (people) have in regional areas," he said. While Mr Tehan likened Mr Joyce and Mr McCormack, who also placed a question mark over Mr Littleproud's leadership, to "two steers in a paddock", Nationals senator for NSW Ross Cadell told the ABC that his colleagues were "espousing the views of their electorates, which people come (to parliament) to do." "Michael is really concerned by the number of wind towers and the things around Yass that are going up, and how that affects his farmers," he said. "Barnaby is the same ... one thing we do know, and I agree with them very much on, is (the rollout) can be done better. "It is really hurting regional communities. When you see acres and acres of roofs without solar panels in the cities, we should be doing more there and having less effect on the regions for a start. "Social license has to happen. It is not happening and you are seeing increasingly these communities rise up because it is not being done the right way." Meanwhile, Liberal senator Jane Hume told media on Wednesday that "over and over" the electorate has indicated that it wants emission reduction policies. "We need to be able to take the politics out of the issue," she said. "And say, how do we get to a net-zero energy future, and reduce emissions, but at the same time maintain our prosperity?"
