SYDNEY — A fundamental redesign of aged care is in the works but the higher wages needed to attract thousands of new workers are not in the budget’s five-year plan. Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck said the ongoing wage case before the Fair Work Commission will have to play out. The landmark case aims to boost the pay packets of over 200,000 aged care workers. Closed international borders are another constraint on growing the workforce and the case aims to solve some of the issues faced by the workers. Personal carers starting out in the sector currently earn AU$ 21.96…
Author: zenger.news
SYDNEY — A Royal Australian Navy warship, HMAS, has been linked to the deaths of two whales in the United States. The dead whales were dislodged from the hull of the HMAS Sydney as the destroyer was berthing alongside the San Diego naval base in California. The two are believed to be fin whales — one was about 20 meters long, and the other was about 7.5 meters. The Department of Defence said the Australian and United States navies were cooperating with local marine authorities and other agencies to review the incident. “The navy takes marine mammal safety seriously and is…
CANBERRA, Australia — The Morrison government faces pressure from the business community and doctors to lay out a plan for Australia’s reopening as Covid-19 cases dwindle, and the vaccine is rolled out. Ministers have been talking at odds over the timing of the vaccine rollout, which is moving close to three million doses delivered so far. And questions continue over the capacity of quarantine facilities to cope with extra demand from Australians seeking to return from overseas and, eventually, skilled workers, students, and tourists. While Treasurer Josh Frydenberg claimed on May 11 that all Australians who wanted to be vaccinated should have…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian Telecom giant Telstra has been fined AU$50 million ($38 million) for exploiting vulnerable Indigenous customers by signing them to mobile phone contracts they did not understand and could not afford. The sales staff at five stores in South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory signed 108 Indigenous people up to post-paid contracts between January 2016 and August 2018. Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer on May 13 ordered the telco giant to pay AU$50 million ($38 million) for unconscionable conduct, making it the second-biggest penalty imposed under Australian consumer law. Many of the Indigenous people who signed…
SYDNEY — Australian state of New South Wales’ farmers could have access to the most potent poison in the world as part of an AU$ 50 million ($38.56 million) relief package to deal with a mouse plague that’s been destroying crops and wreaking havoc since last year. The New South Wales Farmers Federation had been agitating for government help for months. Some farmers have already spent more than AU$ 150,000 ($115,686) on baiting, while others have lost more than AU$ 250,000 ($192,810) worth of grain and fodder. New South Wales Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall announced the package on May 13, saying farmers would soon…
SYDNEY — No, the Covid-19 vaccine does not contain a microchip that allows large businesses to control humanity through 5G networks. Nor does it alter your DNA or cause cancers and infertility. But as per a new study by Australian academics, far too many people are buying into such conspiracies and being dissuaded from receiving the jab. Since the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020, fact-checking has scrutinized almost 250 claims about the coronavirus. Theories have been posted by everyone from ordinary Australians to a sitting member of parliament and one of the country’s most famous — and now infamous — TV…
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s government is increasingly concerned its already slow Covid-19 vaccination program could run aground in coming weeks. Aotearoa has vaccinated just five percent of its population to date, placing it outside the world’s top 100 nations for rollout speed. And yet, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins are sounding the alarm further problems lie ahead. In a major speech on May 13, Ardern warned diminishing stocks of vaccine could slow or stop the rollout. “There is some risk that we’ll have a period between shipments when we run low or out of vaccine…
CANBERRA, Australia — Training providers have warned the federal budget plan to extend wage subsidies for apprentices could be a short-term sugar hit because of high drop-out rates. The Morrison government will spend AU$2.7 billion ($2.09 billion) over the next four years extending cash payments to businesses that hire trainees and apprentices. Employers who put people on between Oct 5, 2020, and March 31, 2022, will qualify for the scheme, which reimburses up to 50 percent of wages for a year, up to AU$ 7000 ($5407) a quarter. Apprenticeship Employment Network executive director Gary Workman said subsidies were useful in the short…
CANBERRA, Australia — The Covid-19 infection rate among Australian citizens returning from India could be in the double digits when flights resume this weekend. About 200 repatriated Australians are expected to start two weeks’ quarantine at Darwin’s Howard Springs facility once the travel ban is lifted on May 15. They will be some of the most urgent and vulnerable cases among the 9000 Australians stranded in the coronavirus ravaged sub-continent, which has recorded more than 250,000 deaths. Northern Territory health officials are preparing for 10 percent of passengers on Saturday’s flight to be infected, five times more than repatriation flights from…
BRISBANE, Australia — More cheap flights could be on the way if Australians snap up the remaining 137,000 cut-price fares. In March, the Morrison government announced 800,000 half-price flights to boost tourism in regions struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic. With 663,000 airfares bought in two months, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack remains open to extending the scheme. “When those 800,000 tickets are gone, I’m very happy to look at what we can do in the future,” he said. The federal transport minister said he would “quite potentially” release more cheap tickets when the allocation runs out. Deputy Prime Minister Michael…