TRANSCRIPT
- The federal government's White Paper calls for a new understanding of unemployment.
- Libyan infrastructure officials charged after the deaths from Storm Daniel.
- Brisbane's Lachie Neale has won his second Brownlow Medal.
The federal government will change its definition of "full employment" as it seeks to reduce unemployment through its White Paper roadmap for the Australian labour market.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the change on Monday, which will see underemployed workers and workers not actively looking for work counted in unemployment statistics, to create a clearer sense of workforce under-utilisation.
The government has released its so-called White Paper, which outlines nine new measures to limit unenemployment, including removing barriers preventing pensioners and job seekers working, and the creation of a new National Skills Passport.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry C-E-O Andrew McKellar has welcomed the new definition, which already has the backing of R-B-A Governor Michelle Bullock.
"The government is seeking to lift the speed limit on the Australian economy, to develop a more sustainable and inclusive definition of full employment. Certainly, that's a very worthwhile goal."
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor did not comment directly on the change, but says that the government has missed an opportunity to remove obstacles for workers and employers, including through its industrial relations policy.
"It remains to be seen what details the government is going to pursue there, but we do want to make sure that we have a strong jobs market. We want to make sure that all the roadblocks to work are knocked out. And that's roadblocks on the employers side but also the employees' side, and that's making sure there are real incentives to get into work."
[—]
Sixteen Libyan civic and infrastructure officials have been charged following an investigation into the collapse of two dams which caused devastating floods in the country's east.
The powerful Storm Daniel hit the North African country earlier this month causing two dams to break above the port of Derna, washing away large areas of the city, with estimated death tolls ranging from more than 4,000 to over 11,000.
Public Prosecutor Al-Siddiq Al-Sour of Libya's Eastern government had said previously that an investigation had been opened to look into the causes of the collapse.
Eight of the accused will be detained pending investigation, including the now-suspended mayor of Derna, who faces charges of abuse of power and mismanaging funds allocated for the reconstruction and development of the city.
[—]
Australia's first large-scale green hydrogen export terminal will be established in a South Australian steel town it was once feared would be "wiped off the map".
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and State Premier Peter Malinauskas announced $100 million of funding to help build the terminal at Port Bonython near Whyalla, northwest of Adelaide.
Then-opposition leader Tony Abbott warned in 2012 that the steel town of Whyalla could be wiped out by the Gillard government's proposed carbon tax.
Mr Malinauskas says that the hub, which will drive a green revolution at nearby steelworks and generate as many as 1.8 billion tonnes of hydrogen by 2030, will harness the economic potential of decarbonisation.
"That opportunity is more on show in Whyalla than pretty much any other part of the Southern Hemisphere. Right here in Whyalla we have the steelworks, we have the workforce, we have the magnetite resource, and soon we'll have the world's largest hydrogen electrolyser."
[—]
In A-F-L,
Brisbane's Lachie Neale will head into this weekend's AFL grand final [[30 September]] against Collingwood as a two-time Brownlow Medal winner, after claiming the league's greatest individual honour on Monday.
The 30-year-old, who won the 2020 award and was runner-up last year, polled 31 votes to beat the Western Bulldogs' Marcus Bontempelli and Collingwood's Nick Daicos, storming home with three-vote games in the final two rounds.
Neale is the first two-time winner since former Fremantle teammate Nat Fyfe in 2015 and 2019, and just the 16th player to win more than one Brownlow Medal.
Neale, who attended the ceremony via teleconference from Brisbane with Grand Final preparations underway, told Channel 7 the victory had caught him by surprise.
"It doesn't sit very well at the moment. I'm sure it'll sink in at a later date. I'm pretty rattled to be honest, so apologies if this doesn't go too well - I didn't expect this, and to be among some of those names that one two is unbelievable."
