Treasurer welcomes a move to boost Australia's minimum wage; funding to fast track an Ebola vaccine; Aryna Sabalenka progresses at the French Open.
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TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin:
- Treasurer welcomes a move to boost Australia's minimum wage
- Funding to fast track an Ebola vaccine
- Aryna Sabalenka progresses at the French Open
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has welcomed the Fair Work Commission's ruling to provide millions of employees a 4.75 per cent wage increase next month.
The decision means about 100,000 minimum wage earners will see their hourly wage jump from $24.95 to $26.44.
Dr Chalmers says he's pleased to see cost of living pressures recognised by the commission.
"This means that the minimum wage is up more than $12,000 a year since we came to office four years ago. It's about a 30 per cent increase in the minimum wage, which is a very good thing. When it comes to these cost-of-living pressures that Australians are confronting right now we see decent pay as part of the solution, not part of the problem."
Elsewhere, the move has received mixed reactions, with Union groups saying the figure will allow workers to get back on their feet, but some business groups saying this will worsen inflation.
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A five-month community-based inquiry into the multi-billion-dollar AUKUS defence pact has been launched at Parliament House.
Trade unions, independent MPs, and civil society organisations supported the establishment of the inquiry, which will take written submissions and hold public hearings before delivering its final report by October 30.
Former Labor environment minister Peter Garrett will head the inquiry, and says he’d welcome input from government members.
"And to provide the opportunity for Australians right across the political spectrum and from all walks of life (to ask questions). Now the irony is that we're launching a public inquiry in Parliament House where there has been no substantive debate about AUKUS at all. And so it is consequent upon us and the other commissioners standing with me that we provide that opportunity for Australians."
The inquiry comes within days of Defence Minister Richard Marles confirming Australia will only receive second-hand US submarines.
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The James Boag's brewery in Launceston will close in November after more than 140 years.
Owner Lion said the decision was due to a long-term decline in national beer sales combined with higher costs.
The brewery, which opened in 1881, will see its production shift to mainland Australia, and the move is expected to impact 42 jobs.
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Efforts are ramping up to develop a vaccine for Ebola Bundibugyo, the rare strain driving a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Global health organisation, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is allocating more than $80 million dollars to Moderna, the University of Oxford — which developed AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine — and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
The Gavi vaccine alliance will also give around $70 million dollars.
CEPI Chief Executive Richard Hatchett says trials could potentially begin within months, taking into account the unpredictable security situation in eastern Congo.
“They demonstrated in COVID that they could get to clinical trials in around two months. We're saying it's possible. We're not making any promises. But we think the platforms have the capability to get to clinical trials probably quicker than the VSV construct will.”
Nearly 250 people have died and more than 1,100 infected with the strain in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda, though the true spread is feared to be much wider.
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And in sport,
World Number One Aryna Sabalenka has beaten Naomi Osaka in her relentless charge towards a maiden French Open Crown.
The Belarusian overpowered four-time major champion Osaka 7-5 6-3 to reach the quarter finals, in the first women's night-session match at Roland Garros since 2023.
Sabalenka says it was a tough match.
"She's such a great player, always tough by what's against her, super aggressive tennis. I'm mostly happy the way I serve and that I was able to put all of that pressure back on her, and happy with the win, it was a very tough one."
The game came on the same day Serena Williams announced her return to professional tennis, after an absence of almost four years.
