Health News at Your Fingertips

Another NSW government MP is pulling up stumps and will retire from politics at the next state election, AAP reports.

The Nationals MP for the mid-north coast electorate of Oxley, Melinda Pavey, announced her decision in a Sydney newspaper on Sunday.

Her Nationals leader, Paul Toole, said she had been a passionate advocate for regional communities for 20 years.

“She has served across both chambers of the NSW Parliament, entering the Legislative Council just weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Emily,” he said in a statement.

Mel can be proud that her time in the parliament and as a long-time member of the NSW Nationals team has helped deliver a stronger regional NSW for the next generation.

Pavey joins a stream of Liberal and Nationals MPs throwing in the towel ahead of the NSW state election in March next year.

The Liberal departure list so far includes Corrections Minister and Parramatta MP Geoff Lee, Customer Service Minister and Ryde MP Victor Dominello, Riverstone MP Kevin Conolly and Vaucluse MP Gabrielle Upton.

Departing Nationals MPs include the member for the seat of Clarence Chris Gulaptis and Myall Lakes MP Stephen Bromhead, and now Pavey.

Infrastructure, Cities, and Active Transport Minister Rob Stokes, who holds the Liberal seat of Pittwater, earlier this month said he was still weighing up whether or not to run again.

There’s also speculation another Liberal, Health Minister Brad Hazzard, is also considering his political future.

Benita Kolovos

Victoria’s opposition will match the state government’s announcement to cover the cost of nursing and midwifery degrees if elected in November.

Speaking at the Liberal party state conference on Sunday, the opposition health spokeswoman, Georgie Crozier, says the $270m plan to cover the cost of more than 10,000 nursing and midwifery degrees, as well as offer scholarships for nurses to undertake postgraduate specialities, has come too late:

Daniel Andrews has had eight years to do this and has failed to do anything … This government is bereft of ideas and are coming at this late time to make an announcement.

Lisa Cox

Greens urge Tanya Plibersek to promote jobs that protect the environment

The Greens are calling on the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to use the jobs and skills summit to promote jobs to protect and restore the environment.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, the Greens’ environment spokesperson, has written to Plibersek to say a focus on green jobs could help many plants and animals “before they are lost forever”.

The letter says:

A strong plan to invest in green jobs would provide a high return on investment while also ensuring the restoration and recovery of critical ecosystems and wildlife. As the State of the Environment report showed, Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world. There are almost 2000 species listed as threatened under the EPBC (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation) Act, with many still waiting on recovery plans well past their due date.

The party is calling for intensive environmental restoration and water management, a target to plant 2 billion trees by 2030 and a taskforce to restore forests and revegetate bushland and degraded habitat .

Hanson-Young writes this would provide jobs across the country and help reduce carbon pollution.

The government has two roundtables scheduled on green jobs to feed into the summit.

No one with Covid-19 has died in Australian Capital Territory overnight, with the territory recording 175 new cases on Sunday morning, 104 people in hospital, three in ICU and one on ventilation.

Victoria will pay Hecs debts for 10,000 nurses and midwives to deal with shortage

Benita Kolovos

The Victorian government is set to cover the cost of more than 10,000 nursing and midwifery degrees, in an effort to boost the state’s health workforce.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, and the health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, announced the $270m initiative at the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Victorian branch on Sunday.

Under the plan, all new domestic students enrolling in a professional-entry nursing or midwifery course in 2023 and 2024 will receive a scholarship of up to $16,500 to cover course costs.

Students will receive $9,000 while they study and the remaining $7,500 if they work in Victorian public health services for two years.

A postgraduate midwifery incentive program will also be expanded to cover course costs and salary support for 150 existing nurses to complete their specialist studies in midwifery.

Scholarships worth an average of $10,000 will also be available for nurses who complete postgraduate studies in areas of need including intensive care, cancer care, paediatrics and nurse practitioner specialities.

In a statement, Andrews said:

If you’re in Year 12 and you’ve been thinking about studying nursing or midwifery – go for it. We’ve got your Hecs fees covered. Every health system in the country is under enormous pressure due to the pandemic. The best thing we can do to support our hardworking staff is give them more support on the ground – that’s why this package will train and hire more nurses than ever before.

Queensland recorded 1,125 new Covid-19 cases overnight, with the state recording 288 people in hospital on Sunday morning and ten in ICU.

The state does not report deaths on Sunday or Monday and instead publishes them as part of their Tuesday totals.

Tony Abbott: ‘If you want to keep the Andrews government, vote teal’

The former prime minister Tony Abbott is rallying the Liberal faithful to stick fast with the Victorian Liberal party leader, Matthew Guy, after a fresh bout of poor polling.

Abbott flew into Melbourne for a Liberal party fundraiser at Preston on Saturday night, just under three months until the November election.

The Victorian Coalition continues to trail Labor in the polls, with the latest Newspoll from Saturday suggesting the Andrews government is on track for a third term.

Labor holds a 56-44% two-party-­preferred lead, compared with 58-42% in the previous Newspoll and 57-42% result at the 2018 election.

Dissatisfaction with Guy’s performance has risen seven points since ­November, two months after toppling Michael O’Brien in a leadership challenge.

But Abbott believes the Victorian Liberal-Nationals can turn the tables, citing the 2010 federal election when he led the Coalition to 72 lower house seats and forced Labor into minority government.

“No one thought we had a chance in 2010 and we did extremely well against a first term government because we had a strong sense of what we stood for,” he told Sky News.

A Liberal party that stands for things, that fights for things, always has the hope of victory, the scent of victory in its nostrils.

Integrity is seen by voters as a key issue for the November 26 state election, as both major parties head to the polls with questions over their heads.

Abbott described the Andrews government as ethically challenged but would not be drawn on the state Liberals’ donor scandal involving Guy’s former chief of staff Mitch Catlin.

Victorian Liberal MPs are facing more independent challenges in traditional heartland seats such as Kew, Sandringham and Hawthorn after several of their federal colleagues were ousted by the “teal” wave at May’s federal election.

Needing 18 seats to reclaim government outright, Abbott said voters should understand that casting their ballot for teals will keep Labor in power.

“The Andrews government is probably one of the worst governments Australia has ever had,” he said.

If you want to keep the Andrews government, vote teal. If you want to change the Andrews government vote Liberal. Simple as that.

Guy is due to give a speech at the Victorian Liberals state council meeting on Sunday.

-from AAP

Richard Marles to tour Europe as defence minister

The defence minister, Richard Marles, will tour key British shipyards as the government moves ahead with its decision to purchase nuclear-powered submarines, AAP reports.

The 18-month consultation period under which the government will decide whether to purchase US or UK made submarines is coming up in March 2023.

Marles previously visited Washington and will now tour yards “which build some of the world’s most capable ships and submarines”.

“Our relationship with the United Kingdom is both historic and mutually beneficial, and is reflected through our continued commitment to Aukus,” he said in a statement.

“I look forward to meeting my counterpart, [the] secretary of state for defence, Ben Wallace, and collaborating on a new era of opportunities and challenges.”

The defence minister, who is also deputy prime minister, will visit France and Germany over a four-day stint as Europe looks to expand its presence in the Indo-Pacific.

Germany recently joined Exercise Pitch Black, which brought around 100 aircraft to Australia’s Top End, for the first time, and mobilised fighter jets to Singapore within 24 hours to highlight its rapid response capabilities.

Marles will meet with his German and French counterparts to discuss defence cooperation as well as participate in industry roundtables.

This visit reflects the importance we attach to our European partnerships and reaffirms the government’s commitment to working together towards shared strategic goals that transcend geography.

No one with Covid-19 has died in Tasmania overnight, with the state recording 178 new cases on Sunday morning, 30 people in hospital, and one in ICU.

Greens urge Plibersek to take leading role in pushing for UN marine environment treaty

The Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson has called on the Australian government to convene an emergency meeting with the UN, after the latest attempt to pass a global agreement to protect the world’s oceans and marine life failed.

An effort to reach an agreement on a proposed UN treaty to protect sea life fell through on Saturday night when negotiations in New York were suspended, following a two-week effort.

The treaty sought to protect portions of the world’s oceans not currently protected by domestic laws by setting aside 30% of ocean area as a form of marine sanctuary.

The focus on was on shared benefits from marine life, the establishment of protected areas, assistance to developing countries to provide skills and means for ocean exploration and efforts to prevent harm from human activity.

Russia was among countries said to be holding up the process by refusing to engage with the treaty process or refusing to find compromise with EU member countries.

The talks will resume next year, unless a special emergency sessions is called before the end of 2022.

Whish-Wilson said the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, should live up to promises to take a global leadership role in ocean protection by leading efforts to declare a special emergency session.

“Sadly talks to pass the UN High Seas Treaty have failed, but it’s not too late for Tanya Plibersek to convene an emergency meeting with UN member states and take a true leadership role in protecting the world’s oceans and marine life,” Whish-Wilson said in a statement.

A failure to make progress on a UN High Seas Treaty now threatens the livelihoods and food security of billions of people around the world. It’s been 40 years since the last international agreement on ocean protection was signed and we can’t wait any longer.

This is Quite Good.

The independent senator David Pocock has called for the federal government to abandon its stage three tax cuts, saying that he understands the government “doesn’t want to be accused of breaking an election promise, but [not cutting the] stage three tax cuts are not his”.

“Reconsidering them is the right thing to do,” Pocock said.

Unions and employees detail plans to invest in skills

Westacott says rebuilding the Tafe system after a period of “underinvested” was important to addressing this.

Companies are very happy to step up here … but you do need higher wages, particularly for smaller business.

The other thing we’ve calling for is that we have got to get a system where people can do life-long learning, micro credentials, stack stuff up, get skills more quickly. Not having to go back and do a 3-year Tafe course or 3-year[s of] university, they can get things more quickly, keep their skills current.

The final question is for McManus, who is asked about calls for the government to raise the unemployment rate from $46 a day – a figure well below the poverty line – and why apprentice wages should be a priority.

… Apprentices are paid appallingly and we are not attracting people to do those jobs because they can’t live on those wages. That is something that is needed if we are going to be able to move … to renewable energy, for example.

We absolutely need to address that particular issue, and investing in Tafe and Vet [Vocational Education and Training] is part of productivity, it is part of how you become a more productive country is by investing in people so that they can use skills.

Business council looking to lift migration cap by 220,000 places

ABC’s Insiders is asking the heads of the ACTU and BCA if they both want to revive an agreement from a years ago regarding the better off overall test. Westacott clarifies that she wants to “progress the key principles of it”.

On the migration cap, Westacott is asked how high the BCA would like to see the cap lifted. She says she wants it lifted by 220,000 places.

We have to do two things: Deal with the short-term issues you have been talking about this morning.

We just don’t have enough people to do things but the real purpose of migration is not to focus on a number, but to focus on what do we want the role of migration to be, which is bringing in the skills that will allow us to go to what I call the frontier economy.

Westacott says she wants Australia to bring in the “best and brightest” people “from around the world to come in, transfer their knowledge and drive innovation”.

McManus is asked for her view:

We’ve said a bit less than that, but around the same figure, but for us the issues are needing a plan to address wages and needing a plan to address skills.

McManus says she wants to see more Australians trained to do these jobs and more permanent migration, not just temporary migration to fill a job.

ACTU: we support ‘simple and fair’ bargaining

McManus is asked on whether, like Westacott, she would like to see the principles of enterprise bargaining as proposed under the Hawke-Keating governments introduced as “originally designed”.

McManus:

Yes, the idea of bargaining being simple and fair is something we both support. Those are the principles absolutely. Just where Jennifer left off on the Hawke and Keating enterprise bargaining system, I think we can get close to that and make it better. Simple for workers and simple for employers.

The thing that is different is the better off overall test. We moved away from what was called the no-disadvantage test because some employers were rorting it, using it to cut wages and then had unfair competition with other employers. We have to change that to make sure it is about bargaining going forward.

Asked about a previous agreement where the ACTU and BCA nearly came to an agreement about enterprise bargaining, the idea was that agreements could be fast-tracked through the Fair Work Commission, waiving the “better off overall” test.

Westacott is asked whether she would like to see this. She says both organisations are on a “unity ticket that we want people to be paid more and those wage increases sustained”.

Enterprise bargaining, when done well, when you look at the data and averages on wages, people on enterprise agreements get substantially more money. That’s the starting point.

The principles that Sally and I negotiated a couple of years ago are basically the ones we should take forward. Don’t get rid of the better off overall test, make it better off overall. Get rid of this idea of hypothetical workers.

This is the crucial thing: When the parties agree, when they have negotiated in good faith, when they have followed the processes, [then] the Fair Work Commission doesn’t try to re-write and micro manage that agreement. Make sure the … people who haven’t been party to the agreement can’t come in later and blow everything up.

ACTU: Individual bargaining is ‘not practical and not happening’

McManus and Westacott are being led in a dialogue that is meant to echo what is to come at the Skills Summit going on. McManus is asked to respond to the concerns raised by the BCA:

It is very simple. If you [are working] in a child care centre, the idea that you can bargain with individual management … and improve wages for yourself, let alone all child care workers is obviously not practical and not happening. They deserve … the same rights as everyone else.

Business council says one-size-fits-all approach to wages will be a disservice to employers

Jennifer Westacott, the head of the Business Council of Australia, is asked to respond to these points and says her concern is that “we try to fix one problem and end up with a lot more”.

She says innovation and productivity grows wages and it would be unfair for a business in Bendigo to have its wages and conditions set by a manufacturer in Tasmania or Adelaide.

“How will that work to drive inflation?” Westacott asks.

She also says her concern is about driving competition and prioritising innovation in areas like aged care to “give better patient care, to give better services” as “many of them are stuck in very old-fashioned demarcation areas”:

My next concern is industry-wide strike action. Don’t forget before the 1983 summit, we lost 1.3m days in strike action, and I know that’s not Sally’s intent.

On sector-wide bargaining, Westacott says a one-size-fits-all approach will be a disservice to employers:

My final concern is this idea of pattern bargaining, where somewhere in the supply chain you start negotiation and then as it moves through the supply chain, it ends up with an employer who simply doesn’t have the capacity to pay that – irrespective of their workers, their markets, their customers, the amount of money they’ve got to pay. So they are our concerns.