Chalmers says Australia will work to make intergenerational fairness ‘defining’ principle of the country
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said one of the “defining moments” to come from the economy roundtable was making “intergenerational fairness” a defining principle of the country.
He told RN Breakfast this morning:
I’d say we’ve made a lot of progress in our economy the last few years and the best way to sustain that progress, to lift living standards, to make people better off over time is to make our economy more productive, more resilient and make our budget more sustainable. And those were the three major issues that we grappled with over the course of the last three days …
One of the defining outcomes of this economic reform roundtable was building consensus and momentum around ensuring that intergenerational fairness is one of the defining principles of our country, but also of our government. And that’s certainly something that we will pick up and run.
Chalmers wouldn’t say if the government would consider changing the treatment of family trusts or reducing the capital gains discount.
Key events
Roundtable agrees environmental laws review should be sped up
Guardian Australia’s Tom McIlroy and Patrick Commins dug into some of Chalmer’s plans for reform, including a rapid overhaul of the country’s environmental laws.
Chalmers said the three-day event had agreed the environment minister, Murray Watt, should proceed more quickly than a planned 18-month timeline. It was one of a flurry of announcements, including progress on road user charging for electric vehicles and a longer-term process to consider major tax reform.
Read more here:
Chalmers says Australia will work to make intergenerational fairness ‘defining’ principle of the country
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said one of the “defining moments” to come from the economy roundtable was making “intergenerational fairness” a defining principle of the country.
He told RN Breakfast this morning:
I’d say we’ve made a lot of progress in our economy the last few years and the best way to sustain that progress, to lift living standards, to make people better off over time is to make our economy more productive, more resilient and make our budget more sustainable. And those were the three major issues that we grappled with over the course of the last three days …
One of the defining outcomes of this economic reform roundtable was building consensus and momentum around ensuring that intergenerational fairness is one of the defining principles of our country, but also of our government. And that’s certainly something that we will pick up and run.
Chalmers wouldn’t say if the government would consider changing the treatment of family trusts or reducing the capital gains discount.
Good morning, and happy Friday. Nick Visser here to take over for Martin Farrer. Let’s get started.
Krishani Dhanji
Early education operator calls for national system to track workers
Still with that childcare summit, our team are reporting this morning that one of Australia’s largest early education providers says a national system to track childcare worker misconduct is the key to keeping children safe.
Every worker in every state should be subject to mandatory reporting, they say.
Read the full story here:
Krishani Dhanji
Education minister commits $189m for childcare safety package
The education minister, Jason Clare, is putting $189m on the table at today’s meeting with his state and territory counterparts to fund a childcare safety package, including a national education register, mandatory safety training, and CCTV for a limited number of services.
The register, training and CCTV are at the top of the federal government’s agenda for the meeting and have been flagged as important areas of reform by Clare.
He’s putting forward a national assessment for CCTV in up to 300 services – in 2024 there were almost 15,000 childcare subsidy approved childcare services. Services have raised concerns about the cost of installing CCTV cameras.
The government is also proposing a mandatory mobile phone ban from 1 September this year for all childcare services – although Guardian Australia understands there may be some hold out from Queensland on a full ban.
Clare says the government will fund 1,600 additional unannounced spot checks by commonwealth officers at centres, and look at tougher penalties to deter breaches and to provide more information for parents on the condition of childcare centres.
No parent should ever have to wonder if their child is safe when they drop them off at childcare. We need a national register to ensure we know who is caring for our children, and their work history.
We also need mandatory child safety training. The overwhelming majority of childcare workers are awesome at what they do caring for our children. They are just as angry as everyone else.
We also need to ban personal phones and ramp up inspections to make sure centres are up to scratch.
Australia signs international statement to allow media access to Gaza
It’s been a busy night for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Before the release of the statement about the West Bank, it also emerged that the government had signed a letter with 26 other countries demanding that the international press be given immediate access to Gaza.
Germany and the UK were among the other nations who signed the statement from the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), an international advocacy group that the UK helped to create.
It said:
In light of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, we, the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition, urge Israel to allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza.
Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war. Access to conflict zones is vital to carrying out this role effectively. We oppose all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists during conflicts.
Read our full story here:
Australia calls West Bank settlement plan ‘unacceptable’
Australia has joined 20 other countries in condemning Israel’s plans to expand Jewish settlements on the West Bank.
In a move likely to further enrage Benjamin Netanyahu and his right wing-dominated ruling coalition, foreign minister Penny Wong said the Israeli plan for the E1 area east of Jerusalem was “unacceptable and a violation of international law”.
She was joined by the foreign ministers of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the European Commission.
In a statement posted on her government webpage overnight, Wong said:
The decision by the Israeli higher planning committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, East of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law.
We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms.
[Israeli defence minister Bezalel] Smotrich says this plan will make a two-state solution impossible by dividing any Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem. This brings no benefits to the Israeli people. Instead, it risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability, taking us further away from peace.
The government of Israel still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan going any further. We encourage them to urgently retract this plan.
Unilateral action by the Israeli government undermines our collective desire for security and prosperity in the Middle East. The Israeli government must stop settlement construction in line with UNSC Resolution 2334 and remove their restrictions on the finances of the Palestinian Authority.
Here’s the full story from our UK colleagues:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best breaking stories before Nick Visser picks up the slack.
Jason Clare will meet state and territory education ministers today to discuss how to reform the childcare sector after a series of abuse scandals. The federal minister will pledge $189m at today’s meeting to fund a childcare safety package, including a national education register, mandatory safety training and CCTV for a limited number of services. More details shortly.
Australia has joined 20 other countries in condemning Israel’s plans to expand Jewish settlements on the West Bank. It comes after Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on Sky News last night alleging that Anthony Albanese had “forever tarnished” his reputation by backing Palestinian statehood. The government also signed an international statement demanding international media be given access to Gaza. More shortly.
Queensland police chiefs have said that pro-Palestine protesters will be arrested if they try to march across the Story Bridge in Brisbane on Sunday. The planned march was banned yesterday by the chief magistrate, who said it would not be safe. More coming up.
