Category: Australian News

The Morrison Government will invest a further $60 million to lower the cost of doing business for small businesses and help ensure around 3,200 young Australians in rural and regional areas have the opportunity to secure an apprenticeship by expanding the successful Australian Apprentice Wage Subsidy Trial by doubling its size.
The trial wage subsidy program began earlier this year to support eligible new Australian apprentices located in regional areas facing skill shortages. The trial has enabled businesses in rural and regional areas to take on around 1,600 more apprentice plumbers, mechanics, electricians, painters and hairdressers than they would otherwise have been able to do. Within weeks of the trial commencing, applications from employers had already exceeded the available spaces.
A re-elected Morrison Government would double the program’s size, allowing more regional businesses to be able to afford to take on a new apprentice, giving those young Australians the opportunity to train for a rewarding career in the regions.
Under the subsidy, eligible employers are able to receive payments based on the apprentice’s relevant award wage rates. Subsidies are provided at 75 per cent of the apprentice’s award wage in the first year, followed with 50 per cent in the second year and 25 per cent in the third year. The wage subsidy complements other incentives currently available and support the engagement of eligible new full-time apprentices at the Certificate III and IV levels in occupations on the National Skills Needs List in regional and rural communities.
The program is already benefiting over 450 apprentices in NSW, over 330 in Victoria, over 400 in Queensland, over 100 in South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania and around 50 apprentices in the Northern Territory.
Bill Shorten and Labor have opposed this support for regional communities at every opportunity. As such 3,200 Australians in rural and regional areas will miss out on an apprenticeship opportunity under Labor. Bill Shorten needs to come clean about whether he will rip up the wage subsidy and take away their jobs.
Labor’s opposition to more local apprentices show that they are seriously out of touch with rural and regional Australia.
Australians haven’t forgotten that Bill Shorten and Labor slashed employer incentives which led to the biggest single drop in new apprentices and trainees on record.
Today’s announcement builds on the $525 million Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow package that was announced in the Budget. That package will create up to 80,000 new apprenticeships in areas of skills shortages, support school-leavers and job-seekers by establishing 10 industry training hubs in areas with high youth employment and provide a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen the vocational education and training sector.
The Coalition understands that learning through a vocational education is just as valuable as a university degree. Continued investments in skills will help fulfil the Morrison Government’s pledge to create 1.25 million jobs over the next five years, including 250,000 new jobs for young Australians.

The Liberal National Government will provide $960,000 for intensive research into new 4D diagnostic technology to allow accurate assessment of lung function in patients of all ages including the very sick.
The Australian Lung Health Initiative headed by Professor Andreas Fouras is one of 10 highly promising research projects to be funded under Stage One of the bold Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Frontiers initiative.
The project aims to deliver an original technology that is rapid, easy to use and safe, with less than 10 per cent of the radiation used by X-rays.
Patients would not have to remain still or follow instructions, making it suitable for infants, children, older people and the very sick who are difficult to assess with current technology.
In Australia, 7.1 million people—almost one in three—live with a lung disease.
There are more than 30 types of lung conditions. Lung cancer, for example, is Australia’s biggest killer claiming more than 9,000 lives in 2017—more than breast, prostate and ovarian cancers combined.
The five-year project will build on Australian company 4Dx Limited’s patented XV Technology™, a four-dimensional lung function imaging analysis, and new lose-dose imaging science. Professor Fouras is founder, chairman, and chief executive of 4Dx.
The Australian Lung Health Initiative was formed to bring together world-leading Australian scientists, engineers, manufacturers and medical researchers to revolutionise lung screening and treatment.
As well as 4Dx, it includes medical technology company Micro-X, the University of Adelaide, Monash University, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, and Telethon Kids Institute,
Devices developed from the project could have a substantial health impact here and around the world, as well as huge commercial potential.
The funding is drawn from the Government’s ground breaking Frontier Health and Medical Research program, which is directing $570 million to Australia’s most innovative and transformational medical research.
Frontiers creates an opportunity for Australia’s best and brightest to form formidable multidisciplinary teams to transform ideas from concept to outcome. Frontier awardees needed to articulate how their idea was novel and would position Australia as a global leader.
Frontiers has a unique, two-stage structure developed in consultation with Research Australia.
In Stage One, 10 selected applicants will receive funding of up to $1 million each over one year to develop detailed planning for their cutting-edge research projects.
Each of the selected 10, like the Australian Lung Health Initiative, will be able to apply for Frontiers Stage Two with the opportunity to secure up to $50 million or more to realise their ground-breaking research plan.
Applications were assessed by an International Scientific Peer Review Panel to ensure those recommended for funding would deliver new to world ideas and opportunities.
This investment has the potential to transform healthcare and stimulate growth in the Australian medical technologies, biomedical and pharmaceutical sector, a vital part of the innovation economy.
The Coalition Government’s strong economic management ensures we continue to invest record amounts of funding into ground-breaking medical research, Medicare, mental health, life-saving medicines, and hospitals.

A new multidisciplinary hub for sports research, development and performance will be established in the heart of Melbourne’s sporting precinct, thanks to $15 million from the Coalition Government.
Victoria Sport will improve the physical and mental health as well as performance of athletes and build a stronger, evidence-based approach to sports injury prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. It will also boost participation in sport by helping eliminate barriers to equity and inclusion.
Importantly, Victoria Sport will cater for multiple sports and athletes at all levels – local, regional and national.
With lead partners in the Collingwood Football Club and Monash University and the backing of Tennis Australia, Victoria Sport will include an education and training facility, treatment clinics, performance research laboratories, facilities specifically for women’s sports, a sports museum and a visitor centre.
To be located in the heart of Melbourne and Olympic Park, leveraging the already existing world-class sports infrastructure there, Victoria Sport will offer:
 

• research, professional development and knowledge sharing programs to improve performance, rehabilitation, resilience and longevity in sport, with a focus on concussion, injury rehabilitation, women’s injury, nutrition, genomics, mental health and technology use;
• evidence-based programs to tackle anti-social behaviour in sport, promoting inclusion and enhancing participation, with a focus on women and minority groups; and
• leadership programs to upskill professional athletes, sports professionals, health professionals, community leaders and sports volunteers.

 
Victoria Sport will connect with Monash University satellite sites, higher education and research institutions, health services, health professionals, community sports organisations and performance coaches. Practical information will also be shared with sporting clubs, players and their families, delivering benefits throughout our community.
Investments such as this in Victoria Sport are the dividend of a strong economy and only made possible through sound budget management.

Australian Greens Education Spokesperson and Senator for NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has launched the Greens’ ambitious plan to make childcare fee-free for most families, abolish the activity test and guarantee all three and four year olds access to 24 hours of early childhood education a week. The Greens will also provide an extra $200m in capital grants to community and government run centres in areas of highest need as well as supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander run centres. The plan has been costed at $20.4b over four years by the Parliamentary Budget Office and is the biggest investment in early childhood education to date. In addition, the Greens are also committed to developing a workforce strategy with the early learning sector and unions to achieve professional pay and better working conditions for workers.
Senator Faruqi said:
“We know the current system doesn’t work for most families with young children. Families are working hard, sometimes putting a whole income towards just paying for childcare. Under our plan, four out of five families will be able to access fee free childcare if and when they need it.
“The reality is that the lack of affordable child care affects women disproportionately. Often, women have to give up work and career opportunities because childcare is too expensive or not available.
“The two major parties treat childcare as a workforce participation measure, not the essential service it is. We know that affordable, quality and accessible child care benefits everyone.
“The activity test has negatively impacted access to childcare for families on lower incomes. By ditching the test completely, we will ensure people who need access to child care are able to do so without any barriers.
“Under the Greens plan for universal early education, all three and four year old children will be able to attend to pre-school for up to 24 hours a week.
“Our current system penalises primary carers, who are overwhelmingly women and is a source of significant financial stress.
“Australia’s current public funding of early childhood education and care is one of the lowest in the OECD. We can pay for universal childcare and early education by removing tax breaks that favour the highest income earners.
“I know firsthand the value of affordable childcare. When I came to Australia, I wouldn’t have been able to complete my higher education without access to affordable childcare. No one should be denied opportunities due to not being able to pay for child care.
“The Greens strongly support early childcare educators across the country and their rights to fair pay. It is well past time for the people who educate and care for children to have decent pay and conditions. We will institute a strategy for professional pay and conditions,” she concluded.

The preservation of Australia’s historically significant sites and landmarks will be strengthened through a $6 million investment from the Morrison Government, ensuring Australians can continue to experience and learn about their nation’s unique heritage.
Thirty projects across Australia will share $6.2 million to build recognition, management, conservation and public engagement of Australia’s iconic National Heritage List places.
The National Heritage List protects more than 100 of Australia’s outstanding natural, historic and Indigenous heritage places, including ancient rock art sites, outstanding colonial buildings, beaches, and parks.
These landmarks and places are an integral part of our identity, telling stories of the moments that made our unique history. They remind us of how Australian life was in the past and prompt us to reflect on how we hope to live in the future.
For the first time, this funding round includes recognition of Indigenous and natural heritage places as well as all sites with historic heritage values.
This is the first round delivered under the Australian Heritage Grants Program, announced in the 2018 budget. Up to $21.4 million is being made available from 2018-19 to 2021-22, with $5.7 million per annum provided from 2022-23 onwards.
This funding replaces the previous Protecting National Heritage Sites Program and the National Trusts Partnership Program, and builds on the Government’s commitment to preserving Australia’s history.
Over the last seven years, $36 million has been invested to support the work of owners and managers of historic places and sites on the National Heritage List.
In last month’s Budget, the Government committed $21.4 million for infrastructure upgrades at key defence heritage sites around Sydney Harbour enabling community, educational and recreational use.
The Government is also investing up to $216 million to upgrade the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park and support the township of Jabiru.
http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/grants-and-…

The Coalition Government is delivering $4.62 million in rebates for drought-hit livestock farmers to put in new water infrastructure.
Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud said the rebate helps WA’s drought-hit farmers to put in new water infrastructure that improves drought resilience.
“Smart water use and drought resilience go hand-in-hand,” Minister Littleproud said
“Under the scheme eligible WA farmers can claim up to a quarter the cost of buying and installing new on-farm infrastructure.
“It’s important we keep supporting drought-affected farmers and help them prepare for future droughts too.
“The rebate will help farmers be more productive by installing new water infrastructure, while improving drought resilience and addressing livestock welfare needs.”
“The rebate can be used for putting in new pipes, water tanks, pumps, distilling dams, and power plants that drive the new water equipment.
“A 25 per cent rebate of up to $25,000 can be claimed on eligible water projects to enhance drought resilience for farmers.
The Western Australian rebates are part of the $50 million On-Farm Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate scheme.
The program will be delivered through the WA Department of Agriculture and Food.
For more information visit agriculture.gov.au/water/national/on-farm-infrastructure-rebate.

The Coalition’s Child Care Subsidy is leaving more money in the pockets of parents.
Out-of-pocket child care costs have reduced by 8.9 per cent since the Coalition introduced the Child Care Subsidy on 2 July 2018, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ consumer price index (CPI) released today.
Minister for Education Dan Tehan said the Coalition provided around $8 billion for the Child Care Subsidy in this year’s Budget to support parents with the cost of child care while they’re working, training, studying or volunteering.
“Nearly one million families are benefitting from the Coalition’s child care reforms,” Mr Tehan said.
“We have removed the annual rebate cap for most families, increased the subsidies for low and middle income families and provided a generous safety net to support children and families who need extra help.
“We can afford to provide a generous child care subsidy that means families are keeping more of their money in their pockets because we can manage the economy.
“Labor can’t be trusted to run the economy and if they can’t run the economy they can’t guarantee they’ll pay for the child care subsidy that is supporting hard-working families.
“That’s why Labor is the Bill Australia can’t afford.”

A re-elected Morrison Government will invest up to $2 million for Multicultural Community Amenities Grants in the Northern Territory to help with greater social and economic participation.
Multicultural Community associations play a key role connecting Territorians with new cultures and promoting inclusion. These grants will assist existing Northern Territory multicultural service or community groups to fully participate in social, economic and sporting life in the NT.
Grant applications up to a maximum of $50,000 with matched funding for up to 12 months will be available.
The objectives of the Multicultural Community Amenities Grants are to more effectively facilitate integration and diversity activities that encourage diverse communities to come together around a shared opportunity or challenge, and in turn help build understanding and trust.
These grants will support the Government’s commitment to keeping Australians together by building stronger and more connected communities.

A Shorten Labor Government will get historically low wages moving again by acting on job security.
Labor will legislate to allow workers the right to request permanent part-time or full-time employment after 12 months with the same employer.
Too many Australians are employed as casuals with no clear prospect of a permanent position and endless job insecurity.
Too often, long-term casual work is used as a mechanism to pay workers less, deprive them of leave, and make them easier to sack.
In Australia, 2.6 million workers are considered casual – that’s one in four workers who are not entitled to paid leave. More than half of them have been with their employer for more than 12 months (59 per cent) and 192,000 workers have been with their current employer for more than 10 years.
While some people like the flexibility that casual work provides, for others it has become a constant worry: never knowing what it’s like to have a paid sick day or paid holiday.
For these workers it’s tough to pay the rent or the mortgage and the bills, let alone make longer-term decisions like taking out a car loan or buying their own home.
That is why we will give long-term casuals the right to request permanent part-time or full-time employment after 12 months.
Labor will also provide workers with a right to challenge an employer who unreasonably refuses such a request.
Currently, there is no obligation for an employer to convert a worker to a permanent arrangement, and the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has failed to act, denying there is a problem.
Labor’s policy builds on a recent decision of the Fair Work Commission, which provides a right for casual employees on modern awards to request to convert to part-time or full-time employment if they have worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis in the previous 12 months.
Labor has previously committed to clearly define “casual” work – so employers and workers know with certainty whether a worker is really a “casual”.
Labor’s policy on casuals will help to get wages moving again, together with Labor’s plans to:

• Reverse the cuts to penalty rates.
• Protect Australians from unfair labour hire.
• Raise the floor on wages.

This is in stark contrast to Scott Morrison and the Liberals and Nationals, who will say and do anything to try and win votes, including claiming they support workers.
Matt Canavan and George Christensen, both Queensland Nationals, have posted false claims on Facebook that the Government has sought to legislate to provide casual workers with a right to convert to permanent employment. Neither claim is true.
For over five years, this government has denied there is a problem with casualisation and precarious work. Their only plan is to cut penalty rates and keep wages low. The Finance Minister recently claimed keeping wages low is a “deliberate design feature”.
This election is a choice between Labor’s plans to get wages moving again, and the Liberals’ plans to cut penalty rates and deliver bigger tax loopholes for the top end of town.
After six years of Liberal cuts and chaos, our united Labor team is ready to deliver a fair go for all Australians.

A Shorten Labor Government will invest in 56,000 new apprenticeships and TAFE places with no upfront fees for Queenslanders as part of our Queensland Skills Guarantee.
The LNP has made massive cuts to TAFE and skills training so they can give bigger tax handouts to the top end of town. Labor will stop the LNP cuts.
Skills shortages should not last a day longer than it takes to train a local – and Labor will make sure Queenslanders can get the skills they need to secure local jobs.
The equation is simple. If Queenslanders can’t access the right training, they will miss out on local jobs.
Under the LNP, Australian apprenticeships have plummeted by 34 per cent in Queensland – with over 29,000 apprenticeships and traineeships lost since 2013.
TAFE enrolments have also dropped by 25 per cent nationally.
This is despite the fact that nine in 10 jobs will need a TAFE or university qualification in the coming years.
A Shorten Labor Government will turn this around by investing more than $1 billion in TAFE and apprenticeships. This will mean more opportunities for Queenslanders, including:

• 20,000 TAFE places with no up-front fees – so Queenslanders can get skills in growing industries.
• Additional Apprentice Incentives for an extra 30,000 apprentices in areas of skills shortage – helping to reverse the decline that has occurred under the LNP.
• 2,000 pre-apprenticeship places for young Queenslanders – to give young Queenslanders at risk of unemployment the support they need to get into a trade.
• 4,000 Advanced Entry Adult Apprenticeships – to support Queenslanders to get their skills recognised and complete an apprenticeship when the economy changes.

A Shorten Labor Government will also guarantee at least two in three public vocational education dollars goes to TAFE. And we will require one in 10 jobs on major Commonwealth and Defence projects to be an apprentice.
We will also work with the State Labor Government to re-build and renew TAFE facilities across the state as part of our $200 million Building TAFE for the Future Fund.
This election is a choice between Labor’s plan for better TAFE and more apprenticeships or bigger tax loopholes for the top end of town under the LNP – paid for by bigger cuts to the services families rely on.
After six years of LNP cuts and chaos, our united Labor team is ready to deliver a fair go for all Australians, not just the top end of town.