TRANSCRIPT
- The Prime Minister says he will not offer concessions to the Greens in order to gain their support for his tax cut changes.
- The federal opposition claims bulk billing is going down despite more clinics offering it.
- And in sport, cricketer Ash Gardner wins Belinda Clark Medal for Australian women's player of the year.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government won't give concessions to the Greens on other issues in order to get proposed tax cuts through the Senate.
The government is trying to secure support from the Greens and other crossbenchers to try and get its so-called stage three tax cuts through the Senate.
The Greens have criticised Mr Albanese's reformed stage three tax cuts proposal, saying they don't differ enough from what the former coalition government proposed.
It's been put to the Prime Minister that giving the Greens concessions on issues such as the Jobseeker program, and including dental care in Medicare, might persuade them to change their minds.
But Mr Albanese rejects that, warning that anyone who opposes his proposal is denying tax cuts to the people who most need them.
"What we won't be doing is trading across different issues. We're focused on this. This stands on its merits. And people can decide whether they want to leave people behind. All those people earning under 45,000 dollars will not get a cent under the former government's proposal."
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The federal opposition claims bulk billing is going down under the current federal government- despite more clinics offering it.
Government data from November shows a 2.1 per cent rise in the national bulk billing rate.
Health Minister Mark Butler says this shows the extra incentives the government has offered for doctors to bulk bill are making a difference.
But a Productivity Commission report shows the number of people delaying or cancelling a medical appointment due to price has doubled, from 3.5 per cent in 2022, to seven per cent in 2023.
Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley says the government's lack of effective action on the cost-of-living crisis has left many people unable to go to the doctor.
"When Peter Dutton was Health Minister, the bulk billing rates were about 84 per cent. Under Mark Butler, they're just over 77 per cent. If this government cared about your health costs, they would do something about the cost-of-living crisis, so Australians could actually afford to go to the doctor."
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Queensland Premier Steven Miles says the Reserve Bank should cut interest rates when it meets next Tuesday - and the big banks should do so even before then.
The better-than-expected inflation figures released this week have heightened hopes that there will soon be a lowering of interest rates.
The Reserve Bank operates independently of government, and politicians are usually circumspect in their public comments about its actions on interest rates.
But Mr Miles has told Sky News he's simply advocating for Queenslanders.
"It's an independent body, but that doesn't mean I can't have an opinion on its decisions. And my job is to be on the side of Queenslanders. Now that inflation has turned a corner, they should act just as quickly to cut rates as they did to increase rates. There is no rule that says the banks can't cut rates in advance of the RBA. They put the rates up before the RBA did, so they can cut them before the RBA does."
In response to Mr Miles' comments, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he'll leave the issue of interest rates to the central bank.
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Cricketer Ash Gardner is hoping her latest honour will have positive impacts on Indigenous kids.
All-rounder Gardner last night won the Belinda Clark Medal for Australian women's player of the year.
It's the second time in three years she's won the award.
One of Australia's few Indigenous cricketers, Gardner, a Muruwari woman on her mother's side, has established a foundation in her own name that aims to empower the Indigenous community through sport, the arts, and education, trying to get more Indigenous children to finish high school.
Gardner says she wants to be a role model for such young people.
"Fingers crossed that something like this can inspire those kids. Whether it is to pick up cricket, or just to live a healthy life. I think there's so many benefits from it as well."
