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Paterson puts voluntary redundancies back on the table for public service cuts
Asked about the details of the Coalition’s plan to shrink the public service by 41,000 workers over five years, James Paterson says there could be voluntary redundancies to meet the figures.
Earlier this week, the opposition leader backflipped on the public service policy, and the plan to force public service staff to work from the office. Dutton had said there would be no forced redundancies.
Paterson tells RN Breakfast:
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We will cap the size of the Australian public service and reduce the numbers back to the levels they were three years ago through natural attrition and voluntary redundancies … Our policy is always based on natural attrition and voluntary redundancies. That’s what our costings are based on. That’s what we’ve sought advice from the PBO on, and that’s why we’ll achieve the savings once it’s mature, of $7bn a year.
Asked why the Coalition can’t say exactly which departments will be most affected by the cuts, Paterson then goes back to saying the cuts will come from natural attrition and a hiring freeze:
Because it’s a process of natural attrition and a hiring freeze, what that means is that as people leave the public service, if they’re not in a frontline service role, they won’t be replaced, and so over time, those numbers will come down.
Key events
Albanese says the government does “not sell arms to Israel”, following reports by the ABC that the Israeli military has tested an advanced weapon made by a Canberra-based defence supplier.
Albanese says he’s seen the reports but Australia does not export arms to Israel.
We do not, we do not sell arms to Israel. I’m aware of the report that you referred to. We looked in this matter, the companies confirmed with the department of defence the particular system was not exported from Australia. Australia does not export arms to Israel.
The Greens have previously accused the government of exporting parts that have been used in lethal weapons in Israel.
Albanese: ‘there are interested parties’ for the port of Darwin.
The government is “prepared to use compulsory acquisition powers”, but Albanese says there are interested parties who the government is negotiating with to buy the port of Darwin.
The port, which was sold on a 99-year lease to Chinese company Landbridge in 2015, has been a political thorn in the side of the federal government.
Albanese says:
We certainly are looking for a private buyer, as I’ve said, and there is interest… We won’t go through commercial negotiations and the interested parties, but there are interested parties here in the port of Darwin, if we can secure an arrangement and a transfer of ownership back to Australian control in an orderly way, without Commonwealth intervention and compulsory acquisition, we will do so.
Earlier, Albanese is asked about a request, back when he was infrastructure minister and before it was leased, by the NT government to upgrade the port. He’s asked whether that had an impact on the NT government’s decision to lease the port.
Albanese says he doesn’t remember the territory infrastructure minister at the time, and says “no”, that it wouldn’t have had an impact.
Albanese ‘confident’ Congress knows Aukus is in US’ national interest
On to questions, and Albanese is asked about Elon Musk being called in to review US shipbuilding capacity.
Albanese says he’s “confident” that Aukus will prevail, as it has significant support across the US Congress.
I’m confident about Aukus because I’ve had those first-hand discussions with the President of the United States, and also with more than 100 members of Congress, in the Senate during my state visit to the United States. I’m also confident that people, when they make an assessment, know that this is in Australia’s national interest, but it’s also in the national interest of the United States.
Asked about the tariffs, and whether the current caretaker mode will affect Australia’s ability to negotiate with the US in the short term, Albanese says:
That, of course, is a factor. That’s just a reality, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to engage, and we are continuing to engage with the United States on a daily basis. I welcome the President’s comments overnight.
Katy Gallagher: As many as 500 NT public servants could lose jobs under Coalition
Labor says up to 500 public service workers are at risk in the NT under the coalition.
Katy Gallagher is bringing the fight about the Coalition’s proposed public service job cuts to the press conference.
She says James Paterson’s comments on RN Breakfast this morning that there could be voluntary redundancies means there will be “sackings”.
Here in Darwin, they’re a pretty large workforce, well over 2,000 public servants across the Northern Territory. And if Peter Dutton has his way with his 20% cut to the public service, that will mean around 500 jobs will go from the NT.
This morning on [the] radio, Senator Paterson has said there will be redundancies in the public service. So this rubbish that it’s all going to be found by attrition, has been put to bed today. It is actually redundancies, which means sacking of public servants.
She attacks the Coalition for not saying where those jobs will be cut.
Albanese and ministers visit NT to promote Labor’s health care record
Anthony Albanese is with finance and public service minister Katy Gallagher, aged care minister Anika Wells, and minister for Indigenous Australians and NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy.
No surprises here that they’re speaking at a medicare urgent care clinic (this time in Palmerston), spruiking Labor’s health record and investments in the sector.
Albanese: rate of workers leaving aged care sector slowing dramatically
The prime minister is speaking in Darwin this morning, with a $60m pledge for aged care beds.
This year, wages for aged care workers also rose, with $2.6bn earmarked in the latest federal budget to pay for that.
Albanese says these changes are improving the sector and helping to retain workforce numbers.
What the royal commission found was that unless we addressed those issues, we simply wouldn’t have a workforce. People who are leaving the workforce, who are dedicated professionals, dedicated to caring for older Australians, giving them the respect and dignity that they need in their later years, but they simply couldn’t afford to stay in those jobs, and they were leaving the sector. What we have now is the leaving rates are dropping dramatically.
Listen to the Full Story to hear how the Greens might work with a Labor minority government
The Greens played a pretty major role at times during this term, and could play an even bigger role if Labor is forced into a minority government (as some polls have predicted).
We know the party has been pushing significant environmental reforms, and advocating for adding dental to medicare.
So how exactly would leader Adam Bandt work with Labor in a minority government?
Full Story’s Reged Ahmad and our political reporter Josh Butler spoke with Bandt (trust me, it’s worth the listen):
Paterson puts voluntary redundancies back on the table for public service cuts
Asked about the details of the Coalition’s plan to shrink the public service by 41,000 workers over five years, James Paterson says there could be voluntary redundancies to meet the figures.
Earlier this week, the opposition leader backflipped on the public service policy, and the plan to force public service staff to work from the office. Dutton had said there would be no forced redundancies.
Paterson tells RN Breakfast:
We will cap the size of the Australian public service and reduce the numbers back to the levels they were three years ago through natural attrition and voluntary redundancies … Our policy is always based on natural attrition and voluntary redundancies. That’s what our costings are based on. That’s what we’ve sought advice from the PBO on, and that’s why we’ll achieve the savings once it’s mature, of $7bn a year.
Asked why the Coalition can’t say exactly which departments will be most affected by the cuts, Paterson then goes back to saying the cuts will come from natural attrition and a hiring freeze:
Because it’s a process of natural attrition and a hiring freeze, what that means is that as people leave the public service, if they’re not in a frontline service role, they won’t be replaced, and so over time, those numbers will come down.
James Paterson: Coalition would ‘seek advice’ about 2035 emissions target
James Paterson, the Coalition’s campaign spokesperson, joins RN Breakfast after the treasurer.
Overnight the opposition announced it would scrap the penalties on the vehicle efficiency standards, and Sally Sara asked, why bother keeping the standards if there’s no penalty?
We strongly support choice for Australians when it comes to the car that they want to buy that’s suitable for them and their family. We think the uptake of EV is a good thing … there already are pretty powerful incentives to buy EV in the system, for example, you don’t pay fuel tax, which funds the road infrastructure that we all share.
We don’t support taxing people who want to choose a car that’s suitable for their family needs.
On emissions more broadly, Sara asks whether the Coalition will commit to 2035 targets.
Yesterday, the Coalition’s energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, left the door open to reducing Australia’s 2030 target, and potentially leaving the Paris agreement.
Paterson, like O’Brien yesterday, says the Coalition would get advice:
We would seek advice about the best achievable target for 2035 and we remain absolutely committed to zero emissions by 2050 consistent with our Paris agreement obligations.
ASX to open sharply lower amid worsening trade war
Jonathan Barrett
Australian shares are poised to open sharply lower this morning, as concerns about Donald Trump’s unsettling policy shifts and deteriorating trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies take hold.
Futures prices are pointing to a 1.6% fall in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to 7,590 points when it opens later this morning, after a sell-off on Wall Street overnight.
Investors have had to contend with wild swings this week triggered by changes to the US tariff regime, with share prices pushed around by extreme bouts of relief and fear.
While some nations have enjoyed a reprieve from their super-sized tariffs, Australia’s position, along with those of the UK and New Zealand, are unchanged given they remain subject to the US “baseline” 10% charge.
The White House clarified overnight that total tariffs on China had been raised by 145% since Trump took office.
The Reserve Bank of Australia governor, Michele Bullock, said last night that an uncertain and rocky path lay ahead, saying “financial market and economic volatility can be expected as this process unfolds”.
The Australian dollar has recovered significant ground in recent days, rising to US62.2c this morning, after threatening to plunge below the 59c barrier earlier this week.
Chalmers welcomes RBA’s reassuring tone about interest rates
Last night, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said it was “too early” to judge how Trump’s trade war will affect interest rates.
While commentators and markets are forecasting a larger cut of up to 50 basis points in May, Bullock hosed those forecasts down.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers in his interview on ABC RN Breakfast said Bullock’s reassuring tone was “welcome” and “warranted”.
You can read all the details of that speech (and what it means) here:
Australia talking to allies and trade partners about US tariffs
Chalmers will be speaking today with his Korean counterpart, as the government talks to allies and trade partners reeling from Trump’s tariffs.
But with the election looming and the parliament now in caretaker mode, Chalmers says there are limits to the decisions that can be made or discussions had.
I spoke with my UK counterpart. I’ll be engaging with our posts in the region … we’re still conferring, we’re still comparing notes, we’re still coordinating our efforts.
The Australia EU trade deal has the capacity to advance our interests … but I think that’s a good example of the progress that we might be able to make.
Chalmers says he’s not sure if shadow trade minister Kevin Hogan has been kept in the loop on those discussions, including the discussion between trade minister Don Farrell and his EU counterpart earlier this week.
And what about China’s offer to “join hands” yesterday?
I think we’ve got our own way of engaging in the region, our own language to describe our efforts. And I think the Chinese export market for Australia is incredibly important … our interests are best served by more diverse, more reliable, more robust markets, and the big economies in our region have got a big role to play there.
Chalmers: It’s been a wild ride this week
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says there’s more volatility and unpredictability in the global economy, but he believes Australia still stands in “quite good stead”.
Last night, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock gave a speech, and Chalmers tells RN Breakfast she made a point of talking about the “robustness” of Australia’s system, which will help weather any economic storm.
It’s been a wild ride this week on global share markets … I think the markets are now not just reacting to specific announcements out of Washington DC or the retaliatory measures, but this real sense of volatility and unpredictability, which is not good for markets. But the good news for Australia, I think is that the [Reserve Bank] governor was making a point last night about the robustness of our systems.
Host Sally Sara says the last time he was on the show, Chalmers said the economy was keeping him up at night; this time he’s revealed he’s still not getting much sleep, and has been waking up in the middle of the night to read the Wall St Journal.
Labor ahead of the Coalition for the election thanks to Dutton’s WFH policy, polling shows
Voters continue to abandon Peter Dutton with the latest polling showing the Coalition has gone from being “in the box seat” to win the election to the prospect of losing seats on 3 May, AAP reports.
Latest YouGov polling, released to AAP, reveals Labor has gained ground to forge ahead 52.5% to 47.5% over the coalition in the two-party preferred vote.
The result is the best for Labor in months and slightly higher than its polling of 52.1% at the 2022 election.
The coalition’s primary vote is now down to 33.5% – lower than at the 2022 election.
Falling support for the opposition leader has been mirrored in other recent polling as Labor and Anthony Albanese continue to build momentum as the election draws near.
Dutton’s work-from-home policy had sparked the fall and taken his party from “being in the box seat to win the federal election in February to struggling to hold on to the seats they won in 2022,” YouGov director of public data Paul Smith said.
The Coalition’s support has fallen so far that they now risk losing seats.
Peter Dutton’s work-from-home blunder has taken him from a winning position to a losing one in a dramatic way we rarely see.
Record enrolment for the Australian election
The Australian electoral commission (AEC) says 98.2% of eligible Australians have enrolled to vote for the election.
Since 2022, the role has increased by 5%, or 870,000 people, with the youth enrolment rate now 92%.
The AEC says 30% of new enrolments are migrants, but most are young people who have turned 18 and can vote for the first time.
AEC commissioner Jeff Pope said:
This is the third election in a row at which we’ve set a record for Australia’s national enrolment rate.
Record enrolment like this doesn’t happen by accident. It represents a huge amount of work on the part of the AEC to engage with voters and reduce barriers for enrolment.
We’re particularly focused on Australia’s youth enrolment rates.
Under 35s now make up 25.9% of enrolments, while over 65s make up 24.9% of enrolments, according to the AEC.
Aged care minister Anika Wells announces $60m for new aged care beds, defends sector reform
Labor is this morning announcing $60m for up to 120 new aged care beds in the Northern Territory.
Aged care minister Anika Wells has told ABC News Breakfast the government has delivered the “biggest reforms” to the sector in 30 years.
Wells acknowledges stakeholders are “worried” about delivering the reforms, which is why the government has established a transition taskforce.
We had to cram five, 10 years’ worth of reform into two years because this has been left so long and time’s up. People are waiting for beds today. We have to build these new beds and we have to fix the system so we’re all acting urgently.
New line alert!
Wells is also asked about the Coalition’s decision to scrap penalties for carmakers under the vehicle efficiency standards. She says:
The Coalition have had more backflips than Simone Biles in the energy space. It’s hard to keep up, to be honest.
For anyone who doesn’t know, living legend Simone Biles is a US gymnast and you should immediately Google her!
Daisy Dumas
Pauline Hanson backs Peter Dutton, says he has the ‘qualifications’ to be PM
Pauline Hanson claims that her “common sense” policies have been picked up by both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton – but that it is the leader of the opposition who’ll have her support come 3 May.
Appearing on the ABC’s 7:30, the One Nation senator said on Thursday evening that she thought Dutton had “the qualifications to actually become the prime minister of this country”.
I put my support behind him.
Speaking about the Coalition’s fuel excise cut, nuclear energy plans and refusal of Indigenous flags – as well as Labor’s clamp down on the foreign ownership of homes, she said:
I think it’s wonderful that they’re both picking up my policies, commonsense policies.
She said “change was needed”.
This Albanese government hasn’t tried to work with me. I don’t get meetings, I’m not aware of what legislation is coming up. I think they’re arrogant, I think they’re rude, incompetent and have not done the best thing.
Didn’t the prime minister say we’re going to be open and honest and consultative? They have been anything but. I think change is needed.
Sarah Basford Canales
Dutton says Coalition would repeal vehicle fuel efficiency standards
The Coalition has pledged to repeal Labor’s fuel efficiency standards aimed at curbing the sale of high-polluting cars.
In an announcement overnight, Peter Dutton said he would scrap the standards due to come into effect from July, describing them as “unfair penalties on carmakers and consumers”.
The fuel standard places a cap on the emissions from new cars to encourage carmakers to supply low- and zero-emissions vehicles as part of their fleet. The cap will be lowered over time.
Until it passed into law in May last year, Australia remained one of the few countries in the world, alongside Russia and Saudi Arabia, to not have a national fuel standard.
The opposition has long fought against the standard, claiming it would drive up the cost of utes – a popular choice for tradespeople.
Dutton said:
We want cleaner, cheaper cars on Australian roads as we head towards net zero by 2050, but forcing unfair penalties on carmakers and consumers is not the answer.
The Coalition’s opposition to the standard represents another promise to wind back laws aimed at reducing Australia’s emissions output. The Coalition has yet to announce an emission reduction policy.
Good morning
Krishani Dhanji
Krishani Dhanji here with you, and Thank God It’s Friday.
We’re now at the end of week two of the campaign, which means just three weeks to go, so hang in there!
Peter Dutton’s fuelling up with more petrol promises, this time confirming the Coalition would scrap penalties for high-polluting cars under the current vehicle efficiency standards introduced by the Albanese government.
We also have new research showing hundreds of jobs at an agency scrutinising mistreatment in the aged care sector could be lost under the Coalition’s plans to drastically reduce the public sector, according to the Community and Public Sector Union.
And as has been the flavour for the past week, there’s continuing fallout and reaction to Donald Trump’s tariffs, and we’ll bring you all of that as it comes.