TRANSCRIPT
- Australia's trade unions disappointed by what they see as an insufficient minimum wage boost.
- The Immigration Minister says the government is taking community safety concerns seriously.
- And in rugby union, Australia crowned women's World Sevens Series champions in Madrid.
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The Australian Council of Trade Unions says the Fair Work Commission should have raised the minimum wage by more.
The Commission's decision today will lift minimum wages and awards by 3.75 per cent from July 1st onwards.
That will mean a pay rise for 20 per cent of Australian workers.
The Commission says cost of living pressures and forthcoming tax cuts were factors in its decision, although it did not want to prescribe a rise higher than the current rate of inflation, which is 3.6 per cent.
They also noted that modern award minimum wages still remain lower than they were five years ago, in real terms.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions was pushing for a five per cent minimum wage increase.
ACTU National Secretary Sally McManus says this level, rather than 3.75 per cent, would make things much easier for many people.
"A five per cent increase, obviously, would mean that people didn't have to work the crazy hours that they are, and the multiple jobs that they're working at the moment. This is the biggest issue facing low-paid workers. The only way they've got, if they don't get big pay increases, to increase their pay, which they need to to cover all their essentials, is, obviously, to get extra jobs. And so that's putting a lot of pressure on a lot of working Australians."
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Immigration Minister Andrew Giles insists the locations of those immigration detainees released by the High Court ruling last November are always known, and community safety has not been compromised.
That's despite Mr Giles having to recant a claim he made last week that drones are being used to monitor these detainees.
He's told federal parliament he was given misleading information by his department.
"I did state that Operation Aegis was using drones. I relied on the information being provided by my department at the time, which has since been clarified. Now, our strong laws, Speaker, impose strict visa conditions on everyone in the NZYQ cohort, who were released following the High Court decision. This can include: electronic monitoring, curfews, financial reporting, spot-checks, random home visits, as well as other mandatory conditions."
Mr Giles also says an overhaul to the controversial Direction 99 will be put in place by the end of the week.
This direction allowed for some migrants who committed violent crimes to avoid deportation if they had significant ties to Australia.
Mr Giles says it will be amended to focus more on community safety.
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Former Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he won't be trying to win back his old seat of Kooyong at the next federal election.
Mr Frydenberg says he is sticking by his previous decision to not return to politics after losing the seat, which is in Melbourne's inner-east, at the last election to so-called teal independent Monique Ryan.
Draft redistribution changes have shifted Kooyong's margins for the next election, and these are thought to boost the Liberal Party chances of winning the seat back.
The draft redistribution changes, plus an endorsement from former cabinet colleague Karen Andrews, had fuelled speculation Mr Frydenberg may try and come back.
But another former cabinet colleague, Paul Fletcher, says Mr Frydenberg has made the right decision.
"Josh is an outstanding Australian. I hope, at some point, we will see him return to public service. But we have a preselected candidate, the outstanding Amelia Hamer, in the seat of Kooyong. She's campaigning hard. She's taking the fight up the Teal Party's Monique Ryan."
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In Rugby Union,
Australia have been crowned women's World Sevens Series champions after a magnificent Maddison Levi starred in an epic finals climax in Madrid.
It was the Levi show as the sport-hopping superstar first led Australia to a last-gasp semi-final win over New Zealand, then bagged a brilliant hat-trick in a 26-7 title-deciding defeat of France.
France had kept level with Australia until halftime at Metropolitano Stadium - but then Levi took over.
By the time she had finished, Australia were celebrating gold medals and looking forward to the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.
Levi told World Rugby that she was proud of her team's performance.
"I'm super proud. I guess, we like to put on display our defence in the drive moments so we work better under pressure. But I think our defence is what's winning us games. We're so lethal in attack but I think defence really brings us together. And having the culture and playing with girls that you consider your sisters is definitely what gets us over the line."
