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Sydney Morning Herald
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia's youngest-ever senator goes back to school
Charlotte Walker became the youngest person ever elected to the Senate on her 21st birthday, which fell on the same day the Albanese government was re-elected for its second term. The South Australian senator attended Senate school on Wednesday, learning the ropes with the other new senators. They will all take their places in the upper house chamber on July 22, when federal parliament sits for the first time since the national poll. At an age when many of her peers are enjoying university life, Walker said she was focused on driving policies to reduce student debt, improve housing affordability, reduce domestic violence and improve access to government services in regional areas. 'The biggest issue with getting into the housing market is saving for that down payment,' she said. Loading 'I'm really looking forward to getting out and talking to local people, making sure that we have proper regional representation in our parliament.' Walker grew up on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, studied at the University of Adelaide and took a job with the Australian Services Union. She will now switch to a full-time job as a politician, but one less than half as old as the average member of parliament, who is 50 years old. 'Growing up in the country, I didn't see myself in the parliament, so that's definitely a priority of mine,' she said. 'Another issue I saw a lot of growing up is domestic violence. The lack of access to services really saw that issue maximised.'
The Age
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Australia's youngest-ever senator goes back to school
Charlotte Walker became the youngest person ever elected to the Senate on her 21st birthday, which fell on the same day the Albanese government was re-elected for its second term. The South Australian senator attended Senate school on Wednesday, learning the ropes with the other new senators. They will all take their places in the upper house chamber on July 22, when federal parliament sits for the first time since the national poll. At an age when many of her peers are enjoying university life, Walker said she was focused on driving policies to reduce student debt, improve housing affordability, reduce domestic violence and improve access to government services in regional areas. 'The biggest issue with getting into the housing market is saving for that down payment,' she said. Loading 'I'm really looking forward to getting out and talking to local people, making sure that we have proper regional representation in our parliament.' Walker grew up on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, studied at the University of Adelaide and took a job with the Australian Services Union. She will now switch to a full-time job as a politician, but one less than half as old as the average member of parliament, who is 50 years old. 'Growing up in the country, I didn't see myself in the parliament, so that's definitely a priority of mine,' she said. 'Another issue I saw a lot of growing up is domestic violence. The lack of access to services really saw that issue maximised.'
Perth Now
17-06-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Union fears rights threatened in work-from-home review
A national employer group is attempting to use working from home negotiations as an excuse to strip away basic workplace entitlements, a union claims. The Australian Industry Group, which represents businesses in multiple sectors, has been taking part in confidential proceedings initiated by the Fair Work Commission to introduce work-from-home rules to the national award for clerks. The changes aim to remove any existing award-related barriers to flexible working, the group said. But Australian Services Union national secretary Emeline Gaske slammed what it said had been an attempt by employers to "axe basic workplace rights" in return for work-from-home entitlements. The union said the proposed changes would allow employers to slash provisions such as overtime, penalty rates, rest breaks and minimum shift requirements. "Even discussing the idea of employers refusing to pay overtime, remove penalty rates, eliminate breaks, and roster staff for as little as 30 minutes a day, all because someone works from home, is an outrage," Ms Gaske said on Tuesday. "Workers are feeling totally blindsided by this proposal to cut their overtime penalty rate hours just because they work from home." A Fair Work Commission study from earlier in 2025 found two-thirds of surveyed employees surveyed indicated being able to work from home to some extent, with more than half doing so. "Employers and employees have been able to manage working from home arrangements for five years and they have been really effective and productive," Ms Gaske said. But the Ai Group accused the union of presenting a "flagrantly misleading picture" of its intentions in the commission's proceedings. Chief executive Innes Willox said the employer organisation had been taking part in the proceedings, but it would be "highly inappropriate" to disclose its contents. The group would put forward a proposal that aimed to make it easier for employers and employees to adopt working-from-home arrangements, he said. Mr Willox criticised the union's claims, calling it a ridiculous attempt to demonise the business organisation. The group and its partner organisations represent the interests of 60,000 firms, employing more than one million workers. Its membership spans companies of all sizes, from large international corporations to smaller, Australian-owned brands. The election had shown the importance people placed on working from home, Mr Willox said in reference to the coalition's widely criticised and swiftly abandoned plan to force public servants back into the office. "We know that accommodating this, when they can, is also important to many employers," he said.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Australia's youngest-ever senator Charlotte Walker has a lot to learn but says she is ‘not naive'
The median age of Australia's federal parliamentarians is 50. On election night, as the scale of Labor's victory was revealed, Charlotte Walker was blowing out the candles on her 21st birthday cake. On Tuesday, she was officially declared a Labor senator for South Australia and became the youngest senator ever elected. 'I'm just taking it a day at a time,' she tells Guardian Australia as she prepares for Senate school in Canberra. On 3 May Walker worked on polling booths then spent the night in the seat of Boothby, where Labor's Louise Miller-Frost held out against Liberal Rachel Swift. Amid the other celebrations, a colleague sorted her out with cake. Walker says she loves her work for the Australian Services Union, and would be staying there if she wasn't off to Canberra. Asked what makes her nervous about her parliamentary debut, she says she is 'not naive'. 'There's a lot to learn,' she says, but the support from her union and Labor colleagues has been 'amazing'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Her youth, she says, will bring another perspective to parliament. 'I grew up in the regions,' she says of her childhood in Yankalilla and Normanville. 'I think we need our regions to also remain represented, so hopefully that complements my youth.' She studied agriculture throughout school, is pondering committee work including on the education and employment committee, and mentions global unpredictability and the cost-of-living crisis as challenges facing the nation. She describes herself as 'somewhere in the middle' of extraversion and introversion, as someone who is 'empathetic and understanding'. 'I like to have a bit of fun as well,' she says. Walker takes the youngest-ever-senator mantle from the Western Australian Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, who was 23 when he was elected. Before him, the South Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young was elected at 25, and the Australian Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja, also from SA, was appointed at 26. 'It's wonderful to hand the baton to another young South Australian woman,' Hanson-Young says. 'There's plenty of older people in politics who don't listen, don't take good advice and make stupid mistakes. Age isn't a determining factor of a good politician – but knowing what you believe and being open to others' views certainly is,' she says. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'My main tip is to surround yourself with people who will give you honest advice. And to be true with yourself about what you know and don't know. 'It is impossible to know everything – and you don't need to – but the best skill is to be able to listen.' The youngest elected parliamentarian was the Liberal Wyatt Roy, who was 20 when he was elected to the House of Representatives. Walker's election means the Liberal senator David Fawcett, who had been in parliament for 20 years, lost his spot. The Labor senators Marielle Smith and Karen Grogan, Liberals Alex Antic and Anne Ruston, and Hanson-Young were all re-elected in South Australia. But Labor taking the sixth spot was entirely unexpected. The electoral analyst Ben Raue says parties often use young people in elections to 'fill up numbers', or as a practice run for the future. But Walker has a strong pedigree and is no spot filler. As well as her union work, she was the SA Young Labor president. She says she was raised with 'Labor values'. 'My mum really set me up well to make an informed decision,' she says. 'It wasn't like … 'you will vote Labor'. She gave me the tools I needed to make a good decision and I ended up with Labor.' She says her mother was with her from her first job in politics and joining the party to now. 'So I think it's been a bit of a whirlwind for her as well,' she says. 'But I hope she's feeling proud.'
