Australia politics live: Chalmers says Coalition ‘hyperventilating’ over national debt as gross figure hits $1tn; jobless rate climbs to 4.5% as 15,800 lose work
Greens senator David Shoebridge argues blame for debt rests with major parties for selling off Australian assets. Follow today’s news live
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended the government’s budget position and says debt would have been even worse under the Liberal party. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended the government’s budget position and says debt would have been even worse under the Liberal party. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Liberals ‘hyperventilating’ over national debt figure, says Chalmers
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended the government’s budget position and says debt would have been even worse under the Liberal party.
In a statement, Chalmers says under the Coalition gross debt would have crossed the $1tn mark three years ago.
No amount of hyperventilating from the Liberal Party today will change the fact that debt is $200 billion lower this year than what they left us … If the Coalition had been in power today, gross debt this year would already be approaching $1.2 trillion.
Chalmers says two international ratings agencies, Moody’s and S&P Global, this month reaffirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating.
The unemployment rate has lifted to 4.5% in July, from 4.4% the month before, after the number of employed Australians dropped by 15,800.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics are weaker than anticipated - the consensus had been for the jobless rate to stay steady - and will add weight to arguments for the Reserve Bank to not hike rates again.
The data also showed underemployment - which includes people with jobs but who are looking for more work - held at 6.4%.
Rae stands firm on controversial aged care algorithm tool
The aged care minister, Sam Rae has continued to defend a controversial aged care assessment algorithm tool, which experts say has no human override function.
He tells the press conference, alongside Mark Butler, that the government has already made some changes to the assessment, that assesses eligibility and support levels for at home care, including prioritising people with motor neurone disease.
Rae says the algorithm is just one part of the assessment.
IAT [the integrated assessment tool] is a component of the single assessment system, which was a key recommendation of the aged care royal commission. We’re getting fairer and more efficient outcomes by using this new assessment system. And fundamentally, that’s the important part here, driving down assessment wait times for older people.
But journalist Evelyn Manfield points out that an algorithm wasn’t a recommendation of the royal commission.
Our focus is on improving the prioritisation mechanism at this stage. But as I’ve said a number of times, we’ll continue to listen to older people, take on board that advice and make improvements where we think that’s appropriate.
Labor de-merges two home care programs for older Australians
The government has announced it will continue to fund the Commonwealth Home Support Program until 2029, which provides older Australians with services at their homes, delivered through state-based services and community organisations like Meals on Wheels.
The health minister, Mark Butler, says the previous government had committed to merging that program with the Support at Home program which is the commonwealth-run scheme that provides clinical and independence supports.
Butler says he was “sceptical” of that decision.
There was a decision taken by the former government to merge these two programs, the home support program and the home care program. I have been pretty sceptical about that for some time because I think they deliver quite different services, drawing on quite different capabilities in the communities and serving quite distinct needs on the part of older Australians.
Liberals ‘hyperventilating’ over national debt figure, says Chalmers
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended the government’s budget position and says debt would have been even worse under the Liberal party.
In a statement, Chalmers says under the Coalition gross debt would have crossed the $1tn mark three years ago.
No amount of hyperventilating from the Liberal Party today will change the fact that debt is $200 billion lower this year than what they left us … If the Coalition had been in power today, gross debt this year would already be approaching $1.2 trillion.
Chalmers says two international ratings agencies, Moody’s and S&P Global, this month reaffirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating.
The Israeli ambassador, Hillel Newman, has arrived at Parliament to meet with Penny Wong.
The foreign minister said this morning she would express Australia’s outrage to the ambassador, over the Israel Defense Forces’ decision to not criminally investigate the killing of Australian Zomi Frankcom and other World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza.
A car understood to be carrying the Israeli ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, arrives at Parliament House. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Indigenous Australians ‘denied an equal response’ to racism, antisemitism royal commission hears
Cait Kelly
Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner, Katie Kiss, has told the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion that Australia will not be able to address racism towards any other community that has settled in this country until it deals with its racism towards First Peoples.
She said there was a tendency to invisibilise racism towards First Nations communities:
[First Peoples] have consistently come to the table seeking the ability to engage with the broader community in genuine good faith. Some of those conversations are had genuinely, and some of them are not.
The exposure to racism has been ongoing and persistent.
When you can’t engage safely in broad political debate… that erodes trust and sense of belonging.
When you’re followed by security guards, you’re not feeling safe; when you’re tagged by police, you’re not feeling safe.
In terms of the system and structures, we’ve engaged in good faith to build a cohesive set of values that also see Aboriginal people as part of the community. Over time and time again, we’ve had that dismantled because of the way that engagement has come back to us.
We get denied an equal response.
The social justice commissioner, Katie Kiss. Photograph: Lewis James Media
Labor ‘squandered a golden opportunity’ on gambling reforms, David Pocock says
David Pocock is still, safe to say, very disappointed by the gambling reforms that passed through the parliament yesterday.
He says the changes fall well short of what was recommended by the landmark 2023 Murphy report. The “you win some, you lose more” report made 31 recommendations, including a phased out comprehensive ban of online gambling ads, and the establishment of a national regulator – neither of which were accepted by the government.
Pocock tells News24 it was a squandered opportunity:
Nothing happened for three years, they were finally sort of forced into doing something, and they’ve done the absolute bare minimum. And I think they’ve just squandered a golden opportunity to, one, do what the Australian people want, what the Murphy report said, what experts say is evidence based policy.
I hope that they pay the price for it. It says a lot that at the end of the day, they had to do a deal with the Coalition.
Independent senator David Pocock. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Wells welcomes governor general’s intervention on Swans investigation
Anika Wells says she’s glad the governor general, Sam Mostyn, spoke out over an allegation of sexual assault linked to several Sydney Swans players.
In remarks published by the ABC, Mostyn said the allegation “shocked and troubled” her, and said she is “devastated for the women” affected by the alleged behaviour of Sydney Swans players linked with the allegation.
At her earlier press conference, Wells said women’s safety, wellbeing and dignity must come first, “before an immediate discussion about how this impacts finals”.
I was glad that she [Mostyn] added her voice to it, I’ve tried to do that today.
I thought the AFL CEO statement was good, I think everyone could do more.
Debt shouldn’t become an ‘intergenerational legacy’, says Wilson
Tim Wilson stopped to talk to journos in the press gallery corridor this morning, slamming the government’s financial credentials as the country soon hits $1tn of gross national debt.
Gross debt is the total amount of money a country owes, but we tend to use net debt figures more often which is the total amount of debt minus income including taxes, financial assets, etc.
Wilson said:
We know that it’s costing about $2,000 per Australian taxpayer to continue to finance this debt, and as a consequence, it could be a $2,000 tax cut that was offered if it wasn’t there. This is why the task is so important, to confront debt, to make sure it doesn’t continue to be part of an intergenerational legacy that’s being left behind.
But Greens senator David Shoebridge, earlier told News24 the problem was on both major parties for selling off Australian assets and not adequately taxing our resources.
We’ve had Labor and the coalition, sell off every income producing asset that most state and federal governments have: banks, insurance companies, airlines, airports, flogged the lot off, privatised the whole lot, and then refused to put in revenue measures on, public theft, like zero tax on export gas.
So you flog off all the publicly owned income producing assets, you don’t tax the corporations that you give them to and gift them to, and you wonder about why debt is increasing.