Defence Minister Richard Marles stands by federal government's pricy flight bill. Greens continue to push for superannuation to be added on paid parental leave. And in basketball, Australia to take on Slovenia in do-or-die match for FIBA World Cup.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Defence Minister Richard Marles stands by federal government's pricy flight bill.
- Greens continue to push for superannuation to be added on paid parental leave.
- Australia to take on Slovenia in do-or-die match for FIBA World Cup.
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Defence Minister Richard Marles has stood by the government's $3.6 million dollar flight bill, pointing out that he cannot reveal the details of those flights due to security reasons.
A document that was brought to light by Greens Senator David Shoebridge has shown the extremely high travel expenses made by the government since April 2022.
Mr Marles pointed out that the amount spent is only a fraction of what he is authorised to use by his office.
The Defence Minister says all travel expenses made by the members of the government were in order to help them fulfill their duties.
"Everywhere I have gone, everything I have done, has been on behalf of the Australian people and the duties that I do in that regard."
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The Greens are pushing for superannuation payments on paid parental leave in exchange for supporting the government's tax changes aimed at wealthy retirees.
They plan to use their balance of power in the Senate to nudge the government over the line, with the opposition already ruling out their support for the super tax concessions.
The federal government has signalled its interest in paying super to paid parental leave, but budget constraints have stopped Labor from taking action.
Greens spokesperson for women Larissa Waters says the measure would be relatively cheap in the context of government expenditure, amounting to about $200 million a year.
She says the Greens are giving the government an opportunity to act.
"At the next opportunity, when the superannuation tax reforms come before the parliament, that is the chance for the government to add superannuation onto paid parental leave. And we have said that we would like them to do that as part of that package of reforms, and our support for that package of reforms is contingent upon the government adding superannuation to paid parental leave."
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The Greens are pushing for superannuation payments on paid parental leave in exchange for supporting the government's tax changes aimed at wealthy retirees.
They plan to use their balance of power in the Senate to nudge the government over the line, with the opposition already ruling out their support for the super tax concessions.
The federal government has signalled its interest in paying super to paid parental leave, but budget constraints have stopped Labor from taking action.
Greens spokesperson for women Larissa Waters says the measure would be relatively cheap in the context of government expenditure, amounting to about $200 million a year.
She says the Greens are giving the government an opportunity to act.
"At the next opportunity, when the superannuation tax reforms come before the parliament, that is the chance for the government to add superannuation onto paid parental leave. And we have said that we would like them to do that as part of that package of reforms, and our support for that package of reforms is contingent upon the government adding superannuation to paid parental leave."
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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis estimated on Thursday (August 31) that the fires ravaging the country will destroy over 150,000 hectares by the end of summer.
The Greek Prime Minister blamed the climate crisis for the scale of this disaster, with 26 people having lost their lives from the start of the summer due to the wildfires plaguing the country.
Meanwhile, a massive wildfire in the Dadia forest in the northeast part of Greece, which has been described by the E-U as the largest ever recorded in the region, continues to burn for the 13th day.
Mr Mitsotakis has made a challenging statement as he told reporters that the good performance of the Greek economy is a counterbalance to the gloomy climate brought on by the wildfires.
"If anything can counterbalance this dark climate which has logically taken over Greek society due to the devastating wildfires especially in the Evros region, that could only be the great performance of our economy which has once again been shown in all productive areas."
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In basketball, the second round of the FIBA World Cup begins today, with the Boomers taking on Slovenia in Okinawa.
Brian Goorjian's team will need to find a way to shut down Luca Doncic, with the Dallas Mavericks point guard standing as the top scorer of the tournament after the first three rounds.
Doncic has an impressive average of 30 points per game.
This game will largely determine Australia's future in the tournament, after the Boomers' first round loss to Germany.
