Chalmers signals inflation focus in budget – as it happened | Australian education

What we learned: Sunday, 12 May

Asbestos emergency after tornado hits Bunbury in WA southwest

Asbestos scattered over residential streets has prompted a “hazmat emergency” response in Western Australia’s southwest, with specialist crews urgently working to contain any possible exposure following a devastating tornado.

More than 100 homes were damaged when the tornado ripped off roofs, collapsed walls and sucked up debris into the sky at Bunbury on Friday afternoon.

The town’s prison, a sporting centre, other community buildings and infrastructure were badly damaged but no one was seriously injured.

Seven homes have so far been declared uninhabitable and seven others were severely affected. That number is expected to rise after crews finish assessing the scale of the damage.

Residents living in three blocks have been told to stay away from their homes due to asbestos contamination fears near the Hay Park sports complex.

WA Premier Roger Cook says there is “a lot of asbestos in the streets”.

We’ve got specialist teams on the ground trying to clean that up but there are exclusion zones which ensures that we can secure the public’s safety.

Authorities are now turning their attention to recovery, Department of Fire and Emergency Services Acting Commissioner Melissa Pexton says.

Specialist contractors have been hired to sweep affected streets to reduce the size of the exclusion zone.

We are hopeful that in the next two to three days we will have that finalised and we’re very comfortable with the progress that’s being made; we’ll definitely keep the community up to date.

Nine people are booked into emergency accommodation and Bunbury locals will gather at a community meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss what other services are needed.

– AAP

Elective surgery target slashed by Victorian government

A key target for 240,000 Victorians to go under the knife for elective surgery each year is no more, with the state government quietly moving the goal-posts.

In 2022, the Andrews Labor government boldly set itself a target to carry out 240,000 elective surgeries a year by 2024, as part of a $1.5bn Covid catch-up plan.

But buried in Tuesday’s budget papers, was a new, lower target of 200,000 for 2024/25 after failing to reach the earlier target in 2023/24.

The budget attributed the shortfall to continued demandfor health services post-pandemic.

In November, the state’s health Minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, told ABC Radio Melbourne the government would not stop until it hit the ambitious target, saying she couldn’t accept anything less on behalf of Victorians.

We’re going to hit it.

We will come very close … and if we don’t achieve that target we’ll keep working until we do.

Thomas told reporters on Sunday that the government had changed the target because of staff shortages within the health system.

We’re still not able to access the workforce that we need.

We’re in a global war for talent when it comes to getting healthcare workers.

The opposition health spokeswoman, Georgie Crozier, says the government has broken a promise, leaving tens of thousands of Victorians to languish in pain waiting for vital surgery.

Whether it’s elective surgery, building hospitals like at Arden Street or the 10 community hospitals that they promised two elections ago, this government is full of broken promises and as a result it’s Victorians who are paying the price.

– AAP

Proposed laws will tighten Queensland’s assisted reproductive technology regulation

Assisted reproductive technology companies will face greater scrutiny and regulation under laws proposed by the Queensland government.

The state health service will be able to enter and inspect premises, put conditions on licences and even suspend or cancel non-compliant IVF clinic services, bringing Queensland into line with other states and jurisdictions.

A donor conception register is also set to be unveiled in the legislation put forward by Health Minister Shannon Fentiman following recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry.

Queensland has fallen behind the rest of Australia in regulating assisted reproductive technology providers, Fentiman says.

It’s so important that Queensland Health has the compliance and enforcement powers it needs to make sure that the services these companies are providing are safe,” she told reporters on Sunday.

There was really no powers for Queensland Health to be able to enter these premises, inspect these premises, make sure that these providers were doing the right thing by families.

This legislation now will give Queensland Health those powers that most other states already have.

The $2m donor conception register will allow donor-conceived people to access genetic and medical information from the past 50 years.

Counselling will be offered to those using the register as part of its implementation.

– AAP

Australians need more cost-of-living relief, higher wages, ACTU president says

ACTU President Michele O’Neil has called for the government to prioritise cost-of-living relief and support for continued wage growth.

Ahead of Tuesday’s budget, O’Neil says Australians have dealt with 10 years of weak nominal wage growth, while real wages stagnated under the previous 10 years of a Coalition government. But she says that had changed under the new government.

Australians suffered historic low wage growth under the Coalition government, and it remains the economic and ideological position of the Dutton Coalition to drive down workers wages as [an] answer to economic growth.

Wage growth has finally turned around as a result of decisions made by the Albanese government, and we expect the 2024 budget to continue to deliver on the economic conditions that support higher wages.

The government has made good steps in addressing the cost-of-living, with workers seeing improvements in bargaining rights, support for increases in the minimum wage, and a pay rise for aged care workers. Particularly important is the cost-of-living tax bonus from 1 July for workers who need it the most, as well as last year’s energy bill relief, which took pressure off household budgets.

Woman suffers serious spinal injury at Australian band Trophy Eyes’ New York gig

A woman has been left partially paralysed after the lead singer of Newcastle post-punk bank Trophy Eyes attempted to crowd surf during a show in New York.

Local news organisation WGRZ reported that Bird Piche, 24, attended a show by Trophy Eyes at Mohawk Place in Buffalo last week.

Video of the incident later posted to the band’s Reddit page shows the moment where frontman, John Floreani, jumps from the stage during a crowdsurf.

Floreani, however, appears to land on Piche’s head as others lift the singer.

Those who claimed to be at the concert posted in the Reddit thread that people thought the women had fainted but when she didn’t get back up, the show stopped and people, including Floreani, rushed to help her.

She was taken to a hospital emergency room.

She is thought to be in a stable condition with a severe spinal cord injury, although she still has use of her arms and is able to communicate through text messages.

Stores up in smoke following suspected tobacco war attacks

Victoria’s tobacco wars show no signs of abating, with two stores in Melbourne’s north-west suffering extensive fire damage after suspected targeted attacks.

Two tobacconists have been torched in more suspected fire bombings linked to ongoing tobacco wars in Victoria.

The stores at Hadfield and Gladstone Park in Melbourne’s north-west caught alight within the space of 45 minutes on Sunday morning.

Nobody was inside either store at the time and both stores suffered significant damage.

A burned-out ute remained in front of the Gladstone Park store on Sunday morning, while an SUV with major fire damage to its front was outside the Hadfield shop.

No arrests have been made for the suspected arsons.

Investigators are treating the fires as targeted attacks and will look at any possible links to other recent fires.

Victoria police set up Taskforce Lunar in 2023 to investigate the firebombing of dozens of shop fronts and other venues in an ongoing battle for control of the state’s tobacco market.

In April, assistant commissioner Martin O’Brien told a parliamentary inquiry that youths recruited into the illegal tobacco and vape wars were being paid as little as $500 to commit arson attacks.

O’Brien says gangs have stepped into the market as the cost of legal tobacco products soars, shipping in illegal tobacco and vapes from China and Arab nations.

The Victorian government has committed to establishing a tobacco retailer and wholesale licensing scheme in the second half of 2024.

– AAP

Australian data expected to show robust wage growth

Australian workers have likely logged a robust start to the year for wage growth, even as the jobs market continues to soften around the edges.

While the federal budget on Tuesday is likely to dominate the headlines this week, there are a couple of top-shelf data releases due as well.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to drop the March quarter wage price index on Wednesday and the April labour force report on Thursday.

Wages have been growing strongly due to a tight labour market and robust public sector pay decisions, lifting 0.9% in the December quarter, and 4.2% for the year.

For March, Westpac economists had a 0.9% quarterly rise pencilled in, keeping the annual pace flat at 4.2%.

The April jobs data from the statistics bureau will follow March’s unemployment rate ticking higher to 3.8%, from 3.7% in February.

Australia’s labour market has proved resilient in a slowing economy, although there are signs it is softening, with job vacancies increasing and the underemployment rate edging up.

The National Australia Bank business survey for April will be released on Monday, which will show how the private sector is coping.

There’s also a speech expected from Reserve Bank of Australia chief economist Sarah Hunter on Thursday, which will follow the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates on hold at 4.35% in May.

Local investors will assess modest gains on Wall Street on Friday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s comments about monetary policy and eyed upcoming inflation data.

– AAP

‘Exemplar’ solutions to housing crisis being blocked by councils, resident groups

When a group of Melburnians banded together with a plan to build their dream homes, they did not envision the barriers they would face from local council.

The proposed development of 21 townhouses overlooking a creek in Eltham, on Melbourne’s fringe, promised environmentally-conscious design, plenty of shared space and respect for heritage and the local neighbourhood.

According to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, it is the type of project that “could and should have been supported and fast-tracked”, an “exemplar of an innovative approach” to dealing with the state’s housing crisis.

Instead, the Brougham Street co-housing project has been “met with substantial delays and opposition” from the local Nillumbik Shire council and residents group, in what Vcat says is a growing issue across the state.

“[It] is part of a wider trend we are observing, that will fail to produce appropriate housing projects that can start to address the existing shortfall of housing supply presently being experienced across metropolitan Melbourne,” Vcat says.

For more on this story read the full report by Guardian Australia Victorian state correspondent Benita Kolovos:

Auction activity has remained stable this weekend with 2,168 auctions scheduled.

This is just below the 2,202 held last week but a gain on the 1,692 auctions on the corresponding weekend last year.

CoreLogic’s found on results collected so far that the preliminary clearance rate was 72.6% across the country, which is lower than the 73.5% preliminary rate recorded last week but well above the 65.9% actual rate on final numbers.

Across the capital cities:

• Sydney: 572 of 753 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 75.9%.

• Melbourne: 766 of 1066 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 68%.

• Brisbane: 103 0f 152 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 76.7%.

• Adelaide: 60 of 115 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 91.7%.

• Canberra: 35 of 69 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 71.4%.

• Tasmania: Two auctions to be held.

• Perth: Eight of 11 auctions held.

Thunderstorms forecast for south-east Queensland and northern NSW

The wet weather along the east coast is set to continue through Sunday into the evening with thunderstorms forecast for south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Rainfall is expected to continue further south towards Sydney.

Celestial display lights up southern skies

Australians living in the southern states were treated to a light show on Saturday night as the aurora australis lit up the night sky.

Guardian Australia reporter Stephanie Convery snapped these photos overnight.

South Australia’s department for environment and water is encouraging residents to share their best photos of the event.