The Point Live: Gas Giveaway Tracker hits the road; "Hey Albo" - Australia's biggest artists add their voices to gas tax pressure; Young adults to be paid the same as all adults

Thanks for turning in to The Point Live today.

It’s been a really enjoyable day but, alas, parent-teacher night at my child’s school waits for no parent!

Some audience numbers were shared with me today and I am humbled by those who enjoy our take on federal politics. I can assure you there are some long-established media outlets who’d be delighted to have a community the size of ours.

Who says “news” should be determined by some crusty Murdoch hack? Nobody tells us what we should and shouldn’t care about!

That’s kind of the whole point – we care. Do they?

Please tune in tomorrow for the final sitting day before budget week.

Should be fun.

Over in South Australia, independent candidate Lou Nicholson has picked up the state seat of Finniss on her second tilt.

In 2022 she turned Finniss from a safe seat to an ultra-marginal one, finishing second on 49.3% of the two-candidate preferred vote. In 2026, she has finished the job and will be the new member, winning 55.2% of the two-candidate preferred vote to the Liberals’ 44.8%. 

What makes Ms Nicholson’s victory particularly remarkable is that she came from fourth-place in primary vote terms to win on preferences, as election expert Antony Green observed this week.

A matter of preference

Under Australia’s preferential voting system, voters do not just identify their favourite candidate. They number candidates in order of their preference. If a voter’s preferred candidate is eliminated, their vote travels to the next preferred candidate. 

This means all voters get a say in who ultimately wins the seat, and winner and runner-up are chosen based on who is preferred by most voters.  

In Finniss in 2026, the Liberals won 27% of primary votes, One Nation 23%, Labor 19% and Ms Nicholson 18%, with the rest made up by the Greens, smaller parties and another independent. 

Ms Nicholson was preferred by enough Greens, independent and minor party voters to pull ahead of Labor, preferred by enough Labor voters to pull ahead of One Nation, and then preferred by enough One Nation voters to pull ahead of the Liberals.  

Is winning from fourth place a record?

Nicholson’s win seems to be the first time a candidate has won from fourth-place, but other candidates have relied more on preferences than she did to pull off a win from behind. 

In the 1972 federal election, four right-wing candidates split the conservative vote in the Victorian seat of McMillan.

Country Party candidate Arthur Hewson started in third place with just 17% of the primary vote, behind the Liberal candidate on 24% and Labor on 46%. But as minor party and independent candidates were removed from the count, their voters’ preferences went to Mr Hewson in great enough numbers that he won the seat — as he should have, since most voters preferred him to the Labor candidate. 

Just like federal elections, South Australia uses a fair voting system that considers not just the first preference of voters, but which candidate is preferred out of the final two in the race. That means that you can’t waste your vote.

Ms Nicholson started with a lower primary vote, but the distribution of preferences confirms that she, not the Liberal runner-up, is preferred by most voters.

In Question Time today, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor asks Anthony Albanese whether he will expand the Parliament by increasing the number of politicians.

As a reminder, there are 11 million more Australians than there were when Parliament last expanded over forty years ago. And the Liberal–National Opposition is the greatest evidence of how this is too little, since

The Prime Minister replied that he is “more than satisfied with both the number of members of the House of Representatives and their composition”, a subtle reminder to the Liberals and Nationals that he leads a historic Labor majority and successive election defeats have left the Opposition talent pool very shallow.

Angus Taylor comes back for another go: “Will the Prime Minister rule out expanding the size of the Parliament?”

Mr Albanese first mocks Mr Taylor’s priorities, that at a time of crisis this is the issue he spends his time on; secondly reiterating that he is very satisfied with the current size and composition of Parliament (in other words, he has a thumping great majority and the Liberals are nowhere near government); and thirdly that his Labor party colleagues wouldn’t be happy if he jeopardised that with a larger Parliament that might break a different way.

He didn’t rule anything out but nor was it an endorsement of an expanded Parliament – which is a shame because the move has a lot to recommend it.

Special Minister of State Don Farrell said yesterday that expanding the parliament is “what great Labor leaders do”. He’s right.

The three Labor greats who expanded representation, Ben Chifley, Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke, never let the Liberal Party tell them what to do – and they faced a far stronger and established Liberal Party than the one Mr Albanese faces today.  

If any of our politicians ducked out of their Parliamentary bunkers for some fresh air today, this is what they would have seen on the streets around the big house.

Our Big Gas piss-take truck reminding them – and the good citizens of the capital – that Australia gives away more than half of the gas which leaves our shores for free.

If the government had introduced a 25% gas export tax at the start of the financial year after Russia invaded Ukraine, this is how much we’d have raised …

Maybe I’m in a good mood because it’s a beautiful autumn day in the capital and Easter is almost upon us, but I enjoyed Question Time today.

The PM has agreed to meet with Zomi Frankcom’s brother Mal and press Israel for answers … maybe even justice (if that’s even remotely possible) … for her murder.

The Treasurer continues to leave the door open to a gas export tax and making it easier for skilled migrants to have their skills recognised more quickly and easily.

Aside from updates on fuel deliveries and service station closures, the government talked up its crackdown on social media giants and the fair work decision on pay rates for young adults.

Heck, even old mate Barnaby asked a question about policy.

The opposition was just faffing around, with predictable questions on fuel and the number of MPs, which were appropriately batted away to make time for actual policy debate.

All-in-all, not a bad 75 minutes’ work!

Strange one from the LNP’s David Batt, Member for Hinkler:

How did the government allow the fuel crisis to get so bad that essential transport for vulnerable Australians is now under threat?

Energy Minister, Chris Bowen:

The supply of fuel to Australia continues at the rate we would expect. But of course, as this government has always said from the beginning of this crisis internationally, that there have been real shortages in regional Australia, real shortages, and we worked hard to ensure that those shortages are dealt with.

Minister for Energy, Chris Bowen:

There are currently more than 53 ships on their way to Australia. Some arrival is imminent. Others are just leaving the refineries as we speak.

Of course, a ship from the United States takes about a month to get here. It’s a lot quicker from Singapore and Malaysia.

We do expect, on average, 81 ships a month to arrive.

Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce:

Fire ants are currently on the march from Brisbane. We have a huge issue with obviously, if it gets out, reduction in the cattle, in the in the cattle herd, a reduction around about 40% will be one of the most devastating things that happens to the fauna of Australia, from from koalas to echidnas to anything that basically travels along the ground. It’s going to be devastating to the lifestyle of Australian people. We need funding by my fellow. What is your plan?

Leader of the House, Tony Burke (answering for absent Environment Minister):

We need to continue the fight because of the extraordinary damage, the extraordinary damage that those fire ants do in that time, notwithstanding all the attempts at containment that had been involved in government funding back then, government funding that I think, started under the Howard government, That continued during the nine years when the member was on and off, the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia that the containment funding has continued as it’s continued under us, the no one has been able to successfully prevent the spread that said, were it not for the containment funding that has been given. We would be in a much worse situation in Queensland, with respect to fire ants and where we are now, and the intention of the government, and the commitment to be able to to continue to do what is possible on that invasive species remains. There has never been an invasive species where we’ve successfully you’ll find very few examples where we’ve successfully eradicated. Very few examples that doesn’t mean that the efforts that are made with respect to containment aren’t worth doing, they do they make a difference and that’s why they continue.

In February, former Liberal MP Keith Wolahan outlined his vision of how the Liberal party could rebuild after its landslide defeat last year (including Wolahan himself in the suburban Melbourne seat of Menzies).

Mr Wolahan’s thoughtful analysis deserves to be read in full, including his defence of politics — “the pursuit of power is not distasteful. It is the means by which a party turns belief into reality” — and his stark warning to the Liberals: “No political party has a right to survive.”

His prescriptions included negative gearing reform, candidates more representative of the communities they seek to represent, and speaking with a more authentic tone.

Andrew Hastie, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the House, may have been listening to the last of those, saying on Sunday that “adopting a posture of humility and being open-minded is important – not being reactive”.

Recently, Hastie has said he is “sympathetic” to growing calls for a 25% tax on gas exports, labelled Trump “petulant” for his criticism of Australia’s refusal to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, and warned his party that “no one’s going to reward us for a final stand for neoliberal politics”.

On Monday, Hastie received a “formal counselling” from Opposition Leader Angus Taylor over these comments (though Hastie downplayed the conversation as more a “casual” chat).

Taylor has publicly shut down any suggestions of policy change. Doing so isolates the Liberals from most Australian voters — who are not merely “sympathetic” to a gas tax like Hastie is but actively supportive of it. 

More than three in five Australians support a flat 25% tax on gas exports, as do three in five Coalition voters. If Angus Taylor is looking for a more authentic tone, listening to the majority of voters is probably a good way to start.

Angus Taylor just asked about the suggestions of increasing the number of MPs.

Bill Browne of course has laid out the very good reasons for doing this.

The Liberal Party is against it, probably because they think saying “we don’t need more MPs” is an easy political position, and also they are probably worried more MPs would mean not more Liberal MPs.

But Taylor’s suggestion that it would put upward pressure on inflation because it would cost an $600m is quite hilarious.

Firstly, I have no idea where he got this figures, but let’s pretend it is real.

The change wouldn’t happen till 2028, so not exactly a pressing issue to do with inflation in 2028. But also $600m? Ok, Angus, Households in Australia spent $76,510m in January alone, so suggesting an $600m in the cost of increasing the parliament will add to inflation is quite ludicrous.

Last night’s Four Corners investigated Australia’s scandal-ridden university sector. Yesterday, I discussed the key cause of these problems, the universities’ unrepresentative councils and broken governance system. But it’s worth dwelling on the outcomes of this broken system.

Essentially, the sector too often underprioritises teaching and research, and overprioritises prestige, pay and perks for its senior management.

Staff suffer from extreme stress, overwork, casualisation, job cuts and millions of dollars in wage theft. Students see their courses cancelled or graduate to discover their degree isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

Meanwhile, universities spend lavishly on fancy new buildings, expensive consultants, flashy advertising, executive travel, and extravagant parties.

The most dramatic visualisation of the sector’s priorities has been the explosion of Vice-Chancellor remuneration.

In 1985, before the quasi-corporatisation of Australia’s university sector, Vice-Chancellors were already paid generously, at over $300,000 per year in today’s terms. In the late 1980s, the Hawke government implemented the ‘Dawkins Revolution’, a range of reforms to the higher education system that began the sector’s transformation and included deregulating Vice-Chancellor pay.

By 1995, remuneration for Vice-Chancellors in the Group of Eight (Go8) universities had more than doubled, to about $660,000.

By 2023, generosity had become absurdity, and remuneration for Go8 Vice-Chancellors reached nearly $1.3 million per year, more than quadruple what it was in 1985. From 1985 to 2023, Go8 Vice-Chancellor remuneration grew eight times quicker than average full-time earnings.

Australia’s Vice-Chancellors are paid more than their university executives in comparable countries, including in Europe, the USA, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Over a dozen Australian Vice-Chancellors are regularly paid more than the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

In 2022, Vice-Chancellor remuneration was at least seven times more than that of university lecturers, more than nine times that of high school teachers and over 10 times more than that of primary school teachers. Meanwhile, the average remuneration for university tutors is under $23,000 per year, or less than 3% of average Vice-Chancellor remuneration. While most of these tutors technically do not work full-time, these roles have become highly insecure and often involve significant hours of unpaid work to ensure their students receive quality tuition and constructive feedback on assignments.

Greens Member for Ryan, Elizabeth Watson-Brown:

Can you confirm that oil and gas giant Shell has for years paid no petroleum resource rent tax, and even with your recent changes and war prices for LNG, Shell will now, at best, only pay a few cents per dollar of revenue. Isn’t it time for a 25% tax on gas export revenue, so gas corporations like Shell pay their fair share?

Treasurer, Jim Chalmers:

I acknowledge that there are a range of views on this issue, and as I understand it, the Senate agreed yesterday afternoon or last night to have a committee to look into some of these matters.

this government believes that Australians do deserve a fair return from the natural resources that they own. That’s why, in our first term, we made changes to the PRRT so that offshore gas companies pay more tax sooner.

The government has also taken significant steps, more broadly, to strengthen tax transparency, including the introduction of public country by country reporting and improvements to the transparency code released by the board of tax.

We’ll continue to focus on our big agenda to make sure multinationals, including oil and gas companies, pay their fair share of tax, including more disclosure and minimum tax reforms to debt deductions and funding for compliance, and of course, those important changes that we made to the PRRT.

I acknowledge the Honorable Member would like us to go further, but the government has made important steps in this regard already.

Global democracy watchdog the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at Gothenburg University, has released its Democracy Report for 2026. It’s a sobering read.

The authors find that global democracy has fallen to 1978 levels, and that today, nearly three-quarters of the world’s population lives in an autocracy.

Only 7% of the world’s population live in liberal democracies like Australia.

Source: Democracy Report 2026: Unravelling the Democratic Era?

According to the report, the United States is hurtling towards autocracy. For the first time in 50 years, the US does not qualify as a liberal democracy. Thanks to “President of Peace” Donald Trump, US democracy is now back at 1965 levels, when most African Americans were excluded from voting. Constraints on the executive, protection of civil liberties and equality before the law have been the worst impacted.

The Institute’s founder, Staffan Lindberg, told The Guardian

“For Orbán in Hungary, it took about four years, for Vučić in Serbia, it took eight years, and for Erdoğan in Turkey and Modi in India, it took about 10 years to accomplish the suppression of democratic institutions that Trump has achieved in only one year.”

It isn’t just the US where democracy is under threat. For the first time, the United Kingdom is considered a “new autocratiser”.

But while Australia remains a liberal democracy, it is not immune to democratic backsliding. 

The report reveals that media censorship is the go‑to tactic for governments sliding toward autocratisation. At the same time, self-censorship, media bias, and harassment of journalists are on the rise worldwide—reinforcing why whistleblower protections, free speech, and government accountability matter more than ever.

Work is needed to fortify Australian democracy. Australia has much to be proud of, but cannot afford to be complacent. 

The report warns: “If a democracy begins to autocratise, it is more likely to break down than to survive.”

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Amanda Rishworth:

Our government made a submission again to the Fair Work Commission calling for an economically sustainable real wage increase for our lowest paid workers, this would help almost 2.7 million workers right across the country. Of course, over the term of this Labor government, minimum wages have increased by over $9,000 a year now, as a result of this government’s reforms, we have also made sure that gender equality is at the heart of the Fair Work Act, which has led to the Commission delivering for workers who have been undervalued for too long.

I’m very pleased to inform the House that this morning, the independent Fair Work Commission has ruled that young adult workers should earn adult wages. This government welcomes the decision to abolish Junior rates for 18 to 20 year olds working in retail, fast food and pharmacy. Today’s decision means that 10s of 1000s of young adult workers will earn more at this important time of their lives.

Member for Warringah, Zali Steggall:

Two years after an Israeli air strike unlawfully killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza, Israel has failed to provide transparency, accountability, a formal apology or compensation. The UK and Poland have launched colonial inquiries and commissioned international probes into the deaths of their citizens. What tangible progress has the government made to secure justice for Zomi since meeting with President Herzog and will the government support a humanitarian Peace Prize in Zomi’s honor?

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese:

I thank the member for Warringah for her question. I will meet the member for Warringah this afternoon with Zoe Frankcom’s Brother Mal this afternoon, and I look forward to having a respectful conversation with him and personally expressing my condolences for the tragic loss of life which should, of course, have never have occurred. Zomi Frankcom was an aid worker working for the World Central Kitchen.
Her and six of her colleagues were killed in an outrage, and Australia expressed that view very publicly, and continue to do so tomorrow, tragically, is a two year anniversary of this tragedy, and I have certainly raised the issue very directly, most recently with the Israeli President Isaac Herzog during his visit here to Australia last year, and at the United Nations. When I was there, Australia led the world in launching the declaration for the protection of humanitarian personnel. Penny Wong, our Foreign Minister, has done extraordinary work there, seeking to honor the courage and kindness of zoning Frankham and her colleagues.

I do look forward to meeting this afternoon. This is a tragic loss. We’ll continue to work each and every day to do our best to ensure that there is transparency and appropriate action.

Liberal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and Nationals leader Matt Canavan called a press conference today to announce that they will be opposing any move to expand the size of Parliament.

It has been over 40 years since the last increase in the number of local members, and in the intervening years Australia’s population has grown by 11 million people. That leaves local members stretched thinner than ever.

“This is more spending, more bureaucracy, and more pressure on the budget at exactly the wrong time,” says Mr Taylor.

But in fact, the spending and the workforce have been growing regardless.

Australia Institute research showed last year that the number of political staff has been increasing in line with population – so the political workforce is growing, it’s just harder to get a hold of the person with the power.

Even a large increase in politician numbers, like the 50% increase the Australia Institute has proposed, could be fully accounted for by cutting the number of political staff each MP receives from 5 to 3.

The Coalition’s resistance to an expanded Parliament is perverse because the Liberals are the party that most desperately needs an infusion of new blood and the old talent who have lose their seats over the last two elections.

The Opposition talent pool is now so shallow that shadow ministers and assistant ministers outnumber ordinary backbenchers two-to-one.

Everyone gets a prize.

And as Australia’s population urbanises, regional and rural seats are growing physically larger and larger – worsening the quality of representation for Australians in the country.

I think this is a cynical decision: the Coalition knows that the Labor Government doesn’t need their votes, so they’re leaving Labor to take the pain on a controversial, but long overdue, parliamentary expansion.

More fool them if Labor decides it’s not worth a fight and ends up canning these once-in-a-generation reforms.

Answer 1 – Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese:

Let me make this as clear as I possibly can. I am more than satisfied with both the number of members of the House of Representatives and their composition.

Answer 2 – Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese:

I am satisfied with the current number of seats in the House of Representatives. That’s 150 with 12 Senators from each state.

I’m also very satisfied with the composition of The current parliament, very satisfied with the current composition.

Independent Member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender:

One third of all occupations in Australia are in shortage. Yet. Australia has 253,000 permanent migrants already here that are working below their skill level. This includes 20,000 teachers, 50,000 engineers, 16,000 nurses and 1300 electricians, all unable to teach care and build to their full capacity because of slow and costly skills recognition pathways. What concrete steps will the government take to ensure that skills recognition of migrants is faster, fairer and more affordable?

Treasurer, Jim Chalmers:

I see this as a very important economic issue, but also a social issue, a social justice issue, making sure that when people come to our country that they can participate fully, whether it be in the labour market or in other ways. And it is, as the member well knows as a participant at the economic reform roundtable last year that this is a core part of the productivity puzzle as well, and it’s an essential part of delivering the single national market for workers that we talked about in that forum and have been working hard to implement.

Energy Minister, Chris Bowen:

In New South Wales, out of 2400 service stations, there are currently 247 without diesel, 61 total stock out. And (corrected) Queensland, where we have 1800 roughly, service stations. There are 77 with no diesel, and 39 with no unleaded petrol. Victoria, where we have 1627 service stations, there are 82 with no diesel, 40 with no petrol. In South Australia, where there are 700 roughly, service stations, we have 20 without diesel and 13 without unleaded petrol. In Western Australia, where there are 771 service stations, there are 18 without diesel, 14 with no unleaded petrol. In Tasmania. 294 service stations, eight without diesel, 15 with one or more grades unavailable. In the Northern Territory, 180 service stations, five without diesel, four with no unleaded. The Northern Territory Government does advise me that some of those would be as a result of road closures and flooding, but in the interest of full disclosure I do provide those figures. The ACT, 5 Without diesel two without unleaded. As previously advised, those shortages in the ACT are normally filled within the same day.

Member for Leichhardt, Matt Smith:

How is the Albanese Labor government taking action to assist Australian families, farmers and businesses who are under pressure caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East? What actions have been taken to boost Australia’s fuel security and supply?

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese:

I acknowledge that not only has the Member for Leichardt been dealing with these issues, but also has been dealing with the consequences of the cyclone in his electorate.

We’re working with the National Cabinet, with industry, with producers, with suppliers and farmers taking action. We understand this is an uncertain time, and we understand the Australians are under pressure. But that’s why we’re focused on them. That’s why we want to look after people, that is the Australian way that is our government’s way, working around the clock, looking at every practical measure to make a positive difference, and then taking action.

Angus Taylor, Opposition Leader:

How can Australians have any confidence in the Prime Minister’s leadership through this crisis, when his position changes every day?

Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister:

Every single day I’ve acknowledged that Australians are feeling stretched and under pressure because of the impact of the war in the Middle East. That has been the consistent position that we have taken.

Australia is not a participant in a war in the Middle East, but Australians are feel, feeling and seeing the impact here, at home, at home, and we stand with overwhelmingly, the majority of Australians are absolutely doing the right thing, as they always do. There are some who’ve taken more than what they need.

Midnight Oil, Missy Higgins and around 150 other prominent musicians have added their voices to the growing chorus of Australians calling on the Albanese government to introduce a 25 per cent tax on gas exports.

Read the full story here.

As Australia’s universities continue to wallow in scandal, last night’s 4 Corners looked at the governance crisis affecting the sector. This is not a mere matter of who gets to go to quarterly meetings; poor governance has real-world consequences.  

Last month, the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) announced the establishment of a working group to address  “research integrity”, or when researchers commit professional fraud. This can include things like making up results, manipulating data, and plagiarism.  

Unlike most countries around the world, Australia does not have a Commonwealth agency or independent body to investigate allegations of research misconduct. Instead, we rely on universities and research institutions to self-regulate.  

And they have been doing a poor job. Just this year, the University of Melbourne opened a formal investigation into a prominent education researcher following allegations of hundreds of instances of plagiarism and data errors. But this move came after the university’s internal review found no evidence of misconduct. 

The Australia Institute has documented other prominent cases of research misconduct by Australian researchers. The lack of a coordinated, transparent, national approach to investigations shows the need for an independent research integrity watchdog.  

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler gave a speech yesterday talking up the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

“A sustainable PBS doesn’t just support better health but it can support a stronger, more resilient economy and a more sustainable budget. And it’s delivering some genuine step changes in patient outcomes”, he said.

He’s right. The PBS has been a success … so much so that the US pharmaceutical industry hates it.

Common asthma medications are 1.7 times cheaper here than in the US, blood pressure tables 25 times – and drugs to manage cholesterol 125 times!

The $16 billion a year spent on PBS is money well spent.

And guess what? The entire scheme could be funded by a 25% tax on gas exports, which would raise $17 billion a year.

Another reason to start taxing gas properly.

A couple of shots of Zomi Frankcom’s brother Mal, alongside crossbench MPs and Senators, on the eve of the second anniversary of his sister’s murder by the IDF in Gaza.

And more images from Communications Minister Anika Wells, talking about big social media companies flouting age restriction laws.

Great catch by Carrick Ryan:

The Israeli Ambassador is currently speaking at the National Press Club

Given the NPC last year cancelled a speech that was to be given by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, the former Middle East Bureau Chief for the New York Times, Chris Hedges, who is a strong critic of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, it was a curious decision.

The first, second, third and fourth questions should be about how Israel has killed so many journalists:

I’d then follow up on the report that Israel doctored of photo of a journalist it killed in a missile strike to make it look like they were combatant.

All in all, a gross decision by a body supposedly that stands up for journalists.

You’ll be shocked to hear that business groups hate having to pay adults adult rates of pay.  

The decision by the Fair Work Commission to abolish junior rates of pay for workers aged 18-20 (ie people who are adults in every legal sense of the word) has been described by ACCI chief executive officer Andrew McKellar as “a disappointing decision that will make it even harder for young adults trying to forge a career.”

Please. They are annoyed that the cheaper labour option will be gone.

Not sure about you, but I never have noticed someone who serves me at a Bakers Delight or McDonalds or is packing shelves at Woolies is less good at the job because they are 18.

Anyway, this is a great win for unions who have been pushing for this for a very long time. It was just one more reason why we noted last year that younger Australians should be pissed off.

At least that reason is now gone… well will be gone. It will take a while for it all to flow through. But if you are turning 13 in the second half of this year, by the time you hit 18, you will be getting adult rates!

Mike Bowers was at Communications Minister Anika Wells‘ media conference at Parliament House, in which she promised to crack down on the social media giants flouting age restriction rules.

According to the polls, voters don’t want more Anguses and Matts.

Mike Bowers was at today’s Coalition press conference.

Yesterday the government announced a halving of fuel excise from 1^st April to 30^th June. That means a savings of 26.3 cents a litre. Currently the excise on most fuels is $0.526 per litre.

However, since the excise adds to the total price of petrol, it also increases the GST collected on every litre of petrol. So, if excise falls by 26.3 cents a litre, the price plus GST should fall by 28.9 cents a litre.

The Treasurer is reported saying the measure will reduce inflation by half a percentage point in the June quarter and save motorists some $2.55 billion if it fully passed on.

The government announced that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will monitor fuel prices to help ensure that the excise cut is fully passed on to motorists.

The Opposition was quick to claim credit for pushing the Government to the decision.

However, the deficit worrywarts are saying this will only add to demand which increases inflation and will cause the Reserve Bank to increase interest rates.

A well-known deficit worrywart, Chris Richardson, has implied that the demand impact of spending more government money will pretty well nullify the inflation response from the cut in the excise.

That suggests a $2.55 billion extra to government spending of $811.3 billion will make much difference to the price setting behaviour of the likes of Coles and Woolworths.

For the deficit worrywarts we should add that the excise cut is easily affordable from the rumoured tax changes for gas exports.

Previously the ABC has reported that the Government has requested Treasury modelling on options to tax the windfall profits gas companies are likely to make following the invasion of Iran.

A tax on windfall profits from gas would more than pay for assistance to those hard hit by petrol price increases.

Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the murder of Zomi Frankcom who was in a car which was bombed by the Israeli Defence Force.

It was a clearly marked World Central Kitchen vehicle. Seven aid workers died.

All she was trying to do was feed desperate Gazan families who were being starved by their genocidal neighbour.

On the eve of the anniversary, Zomi’s brother, Mal Frankcom, spoke alongside crossbench MP’s in Parliament House.

Mike Bowers captured this moving moment.

Video by Mike Bowers.

The orange halfwit in Washington can’t decide between peace and World War III.

Petrol prices are skyrocketing.

The stupid reserve bank has just raised interest rates again.

But the issue the federal Coalition wants to talk about after this morning’s joint party room meeting is … wait for it … the number of politicians in our Parliament.

I’m not saying this isn’t an important issue. Quite the opposite.

But the genius strategists in Liberal and National Parties decide now is the time to announce they oppose better representation for Australian voters.

So, they put out a media release and call a press conference.

Apart from bleating about the cost, the quotes don’t reference the issue at all.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor:

We will protect Australians’ way of life and restore their standard of living, and that starts with living within our means.

What does that sh*t even mean in the context of this issue?

Nationals Leader Matt Canavan:

Now is the time to tighten the belt, not expand the bureaucracy.

And the whole thing ends with a demand:

The Coalition is calling on the Prime Minister to immediately rule out any expansion of the
Parliament and instead focus on Australia’s declining living standards and cost of living
crisis.

Little wonder we can’t have a sensible debate about sensible policy ideas when all these clowns are interest in is wedge politics and a making it all a big game of rule in/rule out.

The RBA has just released its minutes of the March meeting that saw the cash rate rise to 4.1%.

The minutes do not fill me with confidence that the RBA has a clue about what is going on.

Firstly the minutes note that oil prices remining around US$100/bbl would lift inflation to 5% by June

Right now, $100 would be nice

The minutes then note that “Sustained higher oil prices would also boost inflation more broadly over time as input costs for firms rose and some of this effect was passed onto consumers.” Yeah “some of this effect was passed on”. How sweet that they think businesses will not pass on or take advantage of the general sense that prices are rising.

They also had some weird things to suggest about the labour market:

“Members noted that several indicators suggested that labour market conditions in Australia may have tightened a little since the previous meeting. The unemployment rate was unchanged in January, against expectations for some unwinding of the decline in December 2025.”

A reminder that 2 days after this meeting, the unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.3%

“Growth in the private sector wage price index in the December quarter had also been marginally stronger than expected, and revisions to historical data no longer implied that it had slowed over 2025. By contrast, growth in the national accounts measures of average earnings and unit labour costs had eased by more than expected in the December quarter. Members noted that this might be a sign that the labour market had been somewhat looser in late 2025 than assessed, but that it was too early to take much signal from these measures in view of their volatility.”

It’s always interesting how the RBA is able to determine with great surety what things are happening that mean they must raise rates, but things that suggest, hey maybe things are not all that hot, and always volatile and we need to wait and see…

Then there was this absolute beauty. The RBA noted that oil prices going up with hurt Australians. Gee ya think?

But also they note that Australia is an energy (gas) exporter so that will help the economy and increase income!

“The immediate effect of higher energy prices would be to constrain the economy’s productive capacity, depressing output. However, there are offsetting effects that could potentially cushion that initial impact. For example, members noted that while Australia is a net importer of oil, it is a net exporter of energy. As a result, higher petrol prices would tighten household budgets and reduce real consumer spending, but higher liquified natural gas (LNG) prices would lift export revenue and could raise national income in aggregate if Australia’s overall terms of trade were to increase as a result.”

Gee, get excited everyone, your income is going to rise because Woodside and Santos and INPEX are making big gas profits. I shall go wait by my letterbox for that big cheque coming my way.

But they do notes that “the net effect of these opposing forces depends on how different sectors respond to the reallocation of real incomes, but that this could not be known with certainty at this early stage.”

Oh please. We already know the impact. Gas employs around 24,000 workers, most of the extra income will go in profits and little of that will flow through in tax and it certainly won’t increase work or wages.

There was some decent discussion:

“While a near-term increase in inflation was almost inevitable, a persistent or greater disruption could result in weaker growth in aggregate demand as well as supply, with uncertain implications for medium term inflationary pressures. Members noted that, given these uncertainties, leaving the cash rate on hold at the current meeting and monitoring developments over subsequent weeks may help to calibrate the monetary policy reaction more effectively.”

But despite this that desire to raise rate won through and up they went to 4.1%.

The United States and Israel’s war on Iran has been disastrous.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the situation with the Strait of Hormuz, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, why airport security workers in the US aren’t getting paid, and why, despite plenty of evidence suggesting it’s a terrible deal, some Australian policymakers remain committed to the bit with AUKUS.

Mike Bowers was in the Blue Room at Parliament House this morning, as Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced credit and debit card fees would be scrapped on October 1.

This is welcome news for young workers across Australia.

Under junior rates, adults aged 18 to 20 can vote, drink, smoke, serve on a jury and fight in wars, yet they were paid less than other Australians for the same work.

Young people get no discount on rent, groceries or petrol. But their wages are discounted purely due to their age.

The Fair Work Commission ruling abolishes these unfair rates for major employers of young adults, including retail and fast food. This will ensure fairer pay amid rising living costs.

My son and I love a bit of geography trivia – you know, sporcle quizes about maps and population etc.

So this (released by the ABS a few minutes ago) caught my eye.

The population of Australia’s capital cities grew by almost 325,000 people in the 2024–25 financial year, according to figures released today by the ABS.

It shows the surging population of our capital cities is slowing.

There’s nothing explaining why – presumably a lower migration rate. Perhaps the low birth rate. Maybe the standard of living in our sprawling, painfully expensive, slow moving major cities just isn’t the attraction it used to be.

Phil Browning, ABS head of demography said:

Australia’s capital cities grew by 1.8 per cent last financial year, adding 324,700 people. This was almost 100,000 people less than in 2023–24, when the capital cities grew by 2.3 per cent.

Net overseas migration remained the main driver of capital city growth despite falling by 109,400 people compared with the previous year.

Perth had the highest growth rate of all capitals (2.4 per cent), followed by Brisbane (2.1 percent) and Melbourne (2.0 percent). Darwin was the only capital that grew faster (1.7 percent) than the previous year (1.5 per cent).

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has called out the Coalition’s Trumpist nonsense about drilling for oil, during a doorstop in the Parliamentary press gallery:

These things should always be determined on economics and engineering, not on ideology. If there’s oil there that can be easily and cheaply extracted, sure, and it replaces oil imports – great. But there have been many attempts to do this. You know, Matt Canavan issued licenses for the Great Australian Bite, for example, and companies gave them back, because they couldn’t make it work, because it was too deep and too expensive.

Mr. Canavan had a go. It didn’t work.
So I don’t think this is a matter of ideology or, you know, culture wars. If there’s oil there that can be economically extracted and meet all the relevant tests, sure. But I’ve got to say too, I’m not having go at Queensland here about this. That’s ten years away, before any oil comes out of there. With the best will in the world. It’s not going to help us in this immediate situation.

A few things stood out to me in the Four Corners episode on universities that aired last night.

The first is that apparently it’s harder to run a university than it is to run a state.

Surely that’s the only reason why 300 executives in Australian universities are paid more than their state Premiers.

Next there was a fleeting reference to legal immunity Australian consultants enjoy. For context, unis spend some $1.8 billion on consultants every year. As Four Corners revealed:

“Australia is the only country that has provided practical legal immunity for the ‘Big Four’ over everything they do. It means they have no liability, no accountability.

“The firms that have this protection that operate as consultants are Deloitte, EY, PwC, KPMG, KordaMentha, BDO.”

As whistleblower and former KPMG principal, Brendan Lyon, put it, these are “consultancies that masquerade principally as accounting firms”. 

How? Well, that’s allowed under the Professional Standards Acts in each Australian jurisdiction. So it’s all the profit and none of the accountability. 

In 2023, the ANU, spent over $50 million on consultants. Last year, Deloitte got a handsome sum of some $185 million to oversee the Adelaide University merger. That contract gave Deloitte the equivalent to the yearly salary of 420 professors and 420 senior lecturers. 

And yet where is the liability, where is the accountability for the advice they gave?

The time has come truly to re-evaluate how universities engage with consultants.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just been on radio in Melbourne.

Raf Epstein, ABC Melbourne:

What did you think when you heard the news yesterday that Dezi Freeman had been shot dead by police?

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese:

Good, in a word.

This reprehensible criminal who murdered two police officers, Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart. I attended the funerals of both of those police officers and I’ll never forget it.

I felt honoured to be there at such a solemn and sad farewell for two police officers, one of whom was just weeks away from retirement, another a very young man, their family and friends there at the police academy there in Melbourne.

And I will never, I hope, be in a room with so many tough, hardened people who are distraught and emotional. The tears as we walked through with Premier Allan and with the Police Commissioner there in
Melbourne.

We have some breaking news on a decision by the Fair Work Commission this morning.

Read the ABC coverage here.

We’ll have expert analysis shortly.

Video by Mike Bowers.

Surcharge fees on debit and credit card transactions will be ditched, despite strong opposition from businesses.

The Reserve Bank’s review of merchant card payment costs recommended the fees be scrapped on EFTPOS, Mastercard and Visa transactions because they don’t help consumers make more efficient payment choices and cost shoppers about $1.6 billion a year.

Business groups panned the suggestion and said it would simply drive up prices and reduce transparency.

But the central bank on Tuesday said extensive public consultation had not dissuaded officials from making the move.

“Consumers are estimated to be paying $1.6 billion of a total $1.8 billion in card payment surcharges charged each year on designated card networks,” the RBA said.

“The surcharging framework, introduced more than two decades ago, is no longer achieving its intended purpose of steering consumers towards making more efficient payment choices.

“The increased prevalence of businesses surcharging all cards at the same rate, challenges with enforcing the current surcharging framework, and consumers using less cash have reduced the effectiveness of the surcharging regime.”

Consumers would prefer payment costs be incorporated into advertised prices, the Reserve Bank added.

The central bank will also lower the caps on interchange fees paid by Australian businesses, saving consumers about $1.2 billion.

The fee is paid by a business to a customer’s card issuer when a transaction occurs.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers previously flagged the government was prepared to ban fees on debit transactions before the central bank recommended extending that measure to credit as well.

He noted the Reserve Bank would be able to make all the flagged changes under existing powers and would not need legislation to be passed.

Lowering the cap on interchange fees by businesses is predicted to benefit small businesses the most, because they often pay higher fees.

When releasing the recommendations in July 2025, the central bank found small businesses would be $185 million better off under the changes, with 90 per cent of them benefiting.

Better transparency achieved by forcing card networks and large acquirers to publish what fees they are charging has also been recommended to foster competition between networks.

The surcharge removal will kick in from October 1.

Patriotism is often seen as “the last refuge of a scoundrel”; giving cover for racists and isolationalists.

But in recent years, Australian politicians have articulated a positive patriotism: one that cares about the Australian people, recognises Australia’s strengths and good qualities, and allows the country to reach its full potential.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese debuted the “progressive patriotism” slogan after the 2025 election, linking it to “Labor reforms in housing, Medicare and childcare to help grow the economy” and adding: “Here in Australia, we can be a microcosm for the world.”

This month, independent Allegra Spender told the ANU National Security College that “inclusive patriotism” (coined by political scientist Yascha Mounk) could hold diverse democracies like Australia together.

Australian politicians and commentators do not always talk up Australia. After President Trump imposed arbitrary tariffs on Australia, right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs declared “Frankly, we got off lightly and should be grateful the Trump administration didn’t hit us harder.”

And after the United States waded into a counterproductive war with Iran, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said Australia should have joined the conflict.

By contrast, Senator Jacqui Lambie has declared “Australia comes first”, specifically criticising President Trump’s contemptuous attitude to Australia.

She calls for a more independent defence policy, including investment in missiles and drones – but speaks respectfully about the international rules-based order which was “designed to stop major conflicts” until President Trump “ripped it up”.  

To head off One Nation, Labor is talking again about patriotism – although “progressive” has become an optional addition. Proudly centrist South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas says:

“One Nation project patriotism in their form: we shouldn’t sneer at it. It opens up an opportunity for others to talk about patriotism in a way that I think reflects our country.”

What kind of patriotism? Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles “talked up” AUKUS, the nuclear submarine program that ties us closer to an erratic United States.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy says the “heart of the progressive patriotism agenda the prime minister took to the people” was:

“Aussie-made steel leading to Aussie-made missiles.”

With more politicians, commentators and experts thinking about what patriotism means in the 21st Century, I hope Australia can find a form that cares about the rest of the world, while putting the interests of Australians ahead of those of multinational corporations, the American alliance and how the Washington Consensus says an economy should be organised.

Breaking🚨 The Albanese Government has breached its own rules for deploying Australian Defence Force personnel to conflict zones when it sent forces to the UAE earlier this month. More below👇

— Senator David Shoebridge (@davidshoebridge.bsky.social) March 31, 2026 at 10:05 AM

Australian musicians get it. This one’s worth sharing around, big time.

Some of the nation’s best known musical acts have joined the call for a flat 25% tax on gas exports.

More than 100 prominent artists including King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Amyl & the Sniffers, Jimmy Barnes, Yothu Yindi, Barkaa, Montaigne, Nick Allbrook, John Butler, Mama Kin, Ben Lee, Emily Wurramara, The Amity Affliction and DOBBY have released a statement joining the call for action.

The list of artists also includes many of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s favourite Australian bands including Angie McMahon, King Stingray, Ruby Fields & Lime Cordiale, alongside 19 ARIA Award winners, many triple j Hottest 100 regulars, global touring artists and even Eurovision Song Contest contestants.

Mitch Galbraith from Ocean Alley, who have regularly featured in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Spotify Wrapped, said:

Come on mate, everyone wants that tax and it’s only going to make our communities greener and fairer.

The artists have been brought together by Green Music Australia which, in a statement, said:

With war in the Middle East contributing to rising energy prices, gas corporations are reaping windfall gains while Australians face increasing cost-of-living pressures.

During the Ukraine war, major exporters including Woodside, Santos, Chevron and Shell more than doubled their profits, generating over $92 billion in 2022 alone.

A 25% tax on gas export revenue could raise more than $17 billion annually – revenue that could help ease cost-of-living pressures and fund critical climate action.

Berish Bilander, CEO of Green Music said:

The music sector is already experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis, with more than 50 Australian festivals cancelled since 2015 due to extreme weather. If even a small fraction of that revenue was redirected to the music and the arts, it could revitalise culture in Australia at a time when it needs support.

Communications Minister Anika Wells is spruiking the government’s crackdown on tech giants, threatening fines for the likes of TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

We’ve all heard stories of kids getting around the ban, so we’re doing something about it. We’ve spent summer gathering the evidence of how that is happening so the eSafety Commissioner can move to enforcement. Big tech is responsible for this, and big tech will be held accountable for this.

This isn’t just being a police officer on the beat, pointing a speed radar at a car and issuing an on-the-spot fine. The eSafety Commissioner has to go to the Federal Court and ask them to issue a fine, so we’re building the evidence. And we’ve published the compliance report today because I want parents to know we get it, we know, we’re hearing those same stories that you are experiencing, and we are building that evidence case.

It is not good enough for big tech to offer kids multiple attempts to get in through photo scanning. It’s not good enough for big tech to say do you want to check your age ahead of 10 December coming in? And the biggest reason that kids haven’t been thrown off social media platforms, as you see in the compliance report, is because big tech hasn’t even asked their age to begin with.

Greenpeace has disrupted the Australian Domestic Gas Outlook conference in Sydney, unveiling a large banner in the main foyer outside the conference room.

The three-metre wide banner was unfurled by activist Alex Saurin who says:

It feels powerful to take a stand against these gas corporations that have been trampling over the Australian people and our environment for far too long.  

Gas giants like Santos and ConocoPhillips have spent years blocking renewable energy and dodging fair taxes to protect their record profits. While families struggle to pay the bills and the climate crisis accelerates, these companies continue to demand free right to do whatever they want.

It is beyond time for our leaders to shake off the gas industry’s grip and start taxing these corporations fairly while clearing the path for the renewable energy we desperately need. They need to start making decisions for our people and our planet — not just for us now, but for the generations to come.

Senator Barbara Pocock said in the Senate yesterday afternoon, “you can’t find an economist who thinks it’s a good idea”. 

What could possibly unite a notoriously contrary group of people? Why it’s the government’s 5% deposit for first-home buyers scheme. 

When it came out in April last year, Senior Economist Matt Grudnoff said it would put pressure on prices and lo and behold it came to pass. 

What would really help is ditching Howard-era perks for property investors. Polling shows that people across the political spectrum agree. 

Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Foreign Minister Penny Wong did the radio rounds this morning.

Nothing stood out, particularly, in terms of breaking news.

This was nice from Bowen on RN, referring to himself in the third person:

I get it. People say, well, hang on, there’s no fuel at the service station and Bowen says there’s plenty of fuel. He must be wrong. But in fact, I also have to tell the truth. There’s been no cancellations of shipments to Australia in terms of every ship that we’ve expected to arrive has arrived. There were six cancellations of forward orders. They’ve been replaced, more than replaced. So the supply of fuel to Australia remains strong. But, you know, we are in a highly volatile international situation where 20% of
the world’s oil has been impacted and more of the world’s oil that’s used by the Asian refineries has been impacted. And so we do have to be ready, and we are ready, and we have taken steps to maximise Australia’s preparedness should the situation continue and or worsen.

Wong trotted out the usual lines on AM … a call for de-escalation … military operations are “entirely a matter for the US” … we would not be involved in “boots on the ground”.

On the issue of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, she was slightly less circumspect:

We remain deeply concerned about escalation in Lebanon, the displacement of so many civilians. Hezbollah chose to drag Lebanon into the war by striking Israel. And we saw the Lebanese authorities, including the Lebanese President, make comments about that, expressing their concern. And Hezbollah must disarm in accordance with the agreements from last year. But continued escalation, we would say, is not in Israel’s interests and certainly not in the interests of the civilian population of Lebanon.

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Last night’s Four Corners showed that 38 Australian universities spent $1.8 billion on external consultants and contractors in a single year.

It’s an all too familiar story. Last year, the Australia Institute found that 27 public universities spent roughly $410 million on consultants in a year.

While there’s obviously some important differences in how we reached our quite different totals, the methodology matters less than the fact that no one can really say just how much unis spend on consultants, because most don’t clearly disclose this kind of information.  

Disclosure laws in Victoria and Queensland require public universities to publish their consultancy spending, and in the case of Victoria, individually for contracts above $10,000.

This means that the public can see the project categories and costs of specific consulting contracts.

But other states have no such transparency requirements, which means that universities can report their consulting expenditure as an annual sum without disaggregating by item, project type or contract worth.

All of which means that students, staff and the public know very little about where funds go.

To make matters worse, an increasing number of consultants sit on university governing councils.

These councils do not have to publish the minutes of their meetings, which means staff, students, and the public are in the dark about decision making process that too often lead to budget, staff, and course cuts. How’s that for universal public education?

Want to read more about what can be done to fix universities in Australia? Check out Professor George William’s essay ‘Aiming Higher: Universities and Australia’s future.’

We’ve been writing about how Rio Tinto and BHP’s lobbyists are misleading on tax claims.

A deeper dig into the claim shows that the MCA is conflating “tax and royalties.” The physical ads only refer to “tax,” while the online claim is extended to “tax and royalties”.

This is important because royalties and taxes are different.

Taxes go to the Commonwealth and can fund programs like Medicare. Royalties are paid to state governments as payment for extracting publicly owned resources. They are not taxes – they’re more like input costs (see this Fact Check for an excellent explanation).

And they don’t fund Medicare.

But even if you include royalties, the picture doesn’t improve much. State governments spent around $586 billion on health over the decade from 2015-2024 – far exceeding the roughly $167 billion collected in mining royalties.

The mining industry is a significant taxpayer. But the claim that it could fund Medicare on its own doesn’t hold up. It relies on selective years, blurred definitions, and a misunderstanding of how Australia’s tax and health systems work.

In policy debates, details matter.

Five social media platforms are under investigation for potentially breaching Australia’s world-first social media age limit.

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube may have allowed children under 16 to access their apps after the age restrictions took effect in December, Communications Minister Anika Wells said in a statement.

Some children have been allowed to create new accounts straight after their previous one was deactivated, or repeatedly attempt age verification until they pass, the online watchdog has found.

Other platforms did not provide appropriate pathways for underage users to be reported, the eSafety Commission said in its first compliance report since the ban kicked in.

Ms Wells said the alleged breaches were unacceptable.

“The kind of tactics we’re seeing deployed by social media platforms to undermine Australia’s world-leading law are right out of the big tech playbook,” she said.

“If eSafety finds these companies have systemically failed to uphold their legal obligations, I expect the commissioner to throw the book at them.”

Systemic breaches of the age restriction laws can be punished with fines of up to $49.5 million.

When the ban took effect, some children said their accounts had not been deactivated.

Others reported being able to bypass age verification with relative ease.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has long conceded not every young person would be kicked off social media, but enough would be for the restrictions to be effective.

A number of other countries are now considering following suit and barring children from social media, including Austria, France, Denmark, Spain, Greece and Malaysia.

Indonesia also began blocking under 16s from having accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, Bigo Live and Roblox on Saturday.

Updated analysis by The Australia Institute reveals that a fair and appropriate increase to the minimum wage, and accompanying increases to award rates, would not have a significant effect on inflation.

The analysis examines the correlation between minimum wage increases and inflation going back 30 years, and finds no consistent link between minimum wage increases and inflation.

It also reveals that such an increase to award wages could be met with only a small reduction in profit margins.

The report, authored by Chief Economist Greg Jericho, based on previous work by both he and Jim Stanford that has previously been cited by the Fair Work Commission, finds that an increase to the National Minimum Wage and award wages of between 7.5% and 11.1% in the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review, due in June, is required to restore the real buying power of low-paid workers to pre-pandemic trends.

In this context the ACTU’s claim for a 5% increase is clearly modest given even the 7.5% increase would not significantly affect headline inflation.

Key findings of the report include:

• Last year’s decision, which lifted the minimum wage and award wages by 3.5 per cent, offset the inflation of the previous year but still left those on Modern Awards with real earnings below what they were in 2020.
• By June this year, the real value of Modern Award wages will be more than 4 per cent below what they were in September 2020
• There has been no significant correlation between rises in the minimum wage and inflation since 1995.
• Raising wages by 7.5 to 11.1 per cent this year is needed to offset both recent inflation and restore real wages for award-covered workers to the pre-pandemic trend.
• Even if fully passed on by employers, higher award wages would have no significant impact on economy-wide prices.
• A 7.5 per cent increase in award wages could be fully offset, with no impact on prices at all, by a 1.5 per cent reduction in corporate profits – still leaving profits at pre-pandemic levels

“Australia’s lowest paid workers have been hardest hit by inflation over the past 4 years and are set to be hurt the most from rises due to the Iran War,” said Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute.

“The price rises of necessities always hurt those on low incomes more than those on average and high incomes. This analysis shows there is no credible economic reason to deny them a decent pay raise above inflation.

“It’s vital the Fair Work Commission ensure that the minimum wage not only keeps up with inflation but also returns the value to the real trend of before the pandemic.” 

The pressure on the government to introduce a flat 25% tax on gas exports is growing, with some of the nation’s biggest musical artists adding their voices today.

It follows the government last night supporting the Greens to set up a Senate inquiry into gas tax, which will report back before the May 12 budget.

The Australia Institute’s Gas Giveaway Tracker, launched yesterday, hits the road today, reminding those going in and out of Parliament House how much the nation is losing every day the government does nothing to properly tax gas exports.

Expect to see empty petrol stations today. Not empty of fuel, thankfully … empty of cars, with motorists waiting until tomorrow to fill up, when the halving of the fuel excise kicks in.

There are reports today that tech giants Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat are under investigation for flouting the social media age ban.

There are calls today for the nation’s lowest income earners to get an above-inflation pay rise this year.

A lot to get through. Let’s get into it.