South Australian leaders hashing out ‘draconian’ anti-protest laws by talkback radio, Greens say
Royce Kurmelovs
South Australian Greens MLC Rob Simms says it is “very alarming” that the leaders of South Australia’s two major parties are hashing out the introduction of “draconian” anti-protest laws by talkback radio.
The first I heard of this bill is on talkback radio this morning and the parliament are planning to introduce this into the parliament today.
I think it’s insulting to the parliament and the people of South Australia.
The proposed changes floated by the SA opposition leader David Speirs would include a $50,000 fine and three months in jail. No detail has been released about the changes but a spokesperson for the premier said discussions are currently underway and SA premier Peter Malinauskas has suggested in an early morning radio interview that a bill could be introduced to parliament today.
Simms said:
We close traffic for two weeks for a car race but when people protest for a day suddenly the sky is falling.
It’s pretty chilling when the two major parties are working together to try and curtail democracy.
We saw this happen in NSW and I hope we’re not going down that draconian path here in South Australia.
Key events
Chalmers is calling on the opposition to “do the responsible thing” and support the changes to the petroleum rent resource tax. It comes after the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, yesterday flagged in his address to the National Press Club that the coalition may reject the changes.
Chalmers says passing the changes sooner will be better for industry and for the vulnerable Australians the government wants to be able to help with cost of living measures funded through the tax:
It is not in the interest of the industry for this to drag out in a long and complex political negotiation in the Senate. The industry has made that clear to us as well. No industry wants to pay more tax sooner but what we have been able to do with the PRRT is do it in a way that safeguards investment and supply and are trading relationship.
The best thing we can do is to pass it through the Senate, I think big parties should pass it through the Senate.
It is disappointing but not especially surprising that Peter Dutton wants to say no to the Australian people getting more of the benefits from their resources sooner to fund Medicare and other objectives.
On the uptick on the jobless rate, Chalmers says the economy is still going well overall:
We enter this period of global uncertainty from the position of relative strength. A
nd when it comes to the unemployment rate we are still talking about something like 330,000 new jobs created in the life of this Albanese government, not yet one year old.
This has been a source of considerable strength in the economy, we have expect the unemployment rate to take up a little bit and it has today. But it is still remarkably low given what has come at us from around the world.
Treasurer credits WA for keeping ‘the wheels of the national economy turning’
Chalmers is speaking about the contribution “the great state of Western Australia” makes to the economy and the budget.
The intersection of critical minerals, new sources of energy, increasingly cheaper and more reliable and renewable energy, and the intersection of that with people and skills really does present the biggest opportunity that we have to create a new generation of growth in this country.
I really want to recognise the immense contribution Western Australia makes to the national economy and the national budget.
I’ve had the opportunity while I’ve been here in talking to people and industries and leaders and employers here in the great state of Western Australia, to really convey the nation’s gratitude for the way that Western Australia has kept the wheels of the national economy turning for some time now. And we want that to continue.
When Western Australia make as big contribution to the national economy, the national economy goes better as a consequence.
Treasurer speaks in Perth
And for more on the economy, we have the treasurer Jim Chalmers speaking in Perth.
Peter Hannam
Rising jobless rate might put a question mark over the budget surplus
As mentioned, the labour data requires a bit of nuance to navigate through. The headline April jobless rate came in at 3.7% – more than the 3.5% rate economists had tipped.
To confuse things slightly, the ABS has rounded up the previous month’s jobless rate to 3.6% (rather than the 3.5% it had previously reported). Anyway, the arrow is up.
Among the key states, NSW’s 3.4% unemployment rate is notable since the state accounts for about one-third of the economy. ACT comes in 3% as the lowest anywhere. South Australia’s 4.3% is the laggard, with Victoria, Queensland and Tassie coming in at 3.9% (all seasonally adjusted).
Anyway, for context, the federal 2023-24 budget had pencilled in the June quarter jobless rate as coming in at 3.5%, rising to 4.25% by mid-2024.
Should the unemployment rate be even higher by June, treasurer Jim Chalmers‘ budget surplus could be at risk. It’s interesting that he hasn’t really been talking the surplus up as a given. Against that, it’s possible the revenues from commodity exports might turn out to be a bit higher than the budget forecast – but it’s something to watch.
Anyway, you can follow on at home here too:
Royce Kurmelovs
SA police chief frustrated over Extinction Rebellion protesters
SA police chief Grant Stevens expressed his frustration at a protest on Thursday where a demonstrator slung themselves form the Morphett Street bridge.
The ropes are fully extended across the street. So we can’t, as much as we might like to, cut the rope and let them drop.
South Australian leaders hashing out ‘draconian’ anti-protest laws by talkback radio, Greens say
Royce Kurmelovs
South Australian Greens MLC Rob Simms says it is “very alarming” that the leaders of South Australia’s two major parties are hashing out the introduction of “draconian” anti-protest laws by talkback radio.
The first I heard of this bill is on talkback radio this morning and the parliament are planning to introduce this into the parliament today.
I think it’s insulting to the parliament and the people of South Australia.
The proposed changes floated by the SA opposition leader David Speirs would include a $50,000 fine and three months in jail. No detail has been released about the changes but a spokesperson for the premier said discussions are currently underway and SA premier Peter Malinauskas has suggested in an early morning radio interview that a bill could be introduced to parliament today.
Simms said:
We close traffic for two weeks for a car race but when people protest for a day suddenly the sky is falling.
It’s pretty chilling when the two major parties are working together to try and curtail democracy.
We saw this happen in NSW and I hope we’re not going down that draconian path here in South Australia.
Chinese ambassador expresses ‘personal sympathy’ for Cheng Lei
Daniel Hurst
Asked for an update on the cases of Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, ambassador Xiao says they are both national security-related cases, and that means they can take more time:
I hope that our Australian colleagues can understand that.
But Xiao says he has “personal sympathy” to Cheng and her family based on humanitarian grounds.
He says has “been trying” and will keep trying to enable Cheng to have access to her partner and friends and family:
I hope the case will have a solution as early as possible.
Daniel Hurst
China ‘not a threat’ to Australia, says ambassador, as he criticises Aukus
The Chinese ambassador, Xiao Qian, ramps up his criticism of Aukus, declaring that is China “not a threat” and will not be a threat to Australia.
He says spending a huge amount of money targeting China is “absolutely unfounded” and indicates it is not a good use of hardworking Australians’ tax revenue.
Xiao says the money could be better spent to fund “infrastructure, reduce the cost of living and give the Australian people a better future”.
Speaker of the House receives Stuart Robert’s resignation
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Milton Dick, has officially received a letter of resignation from Stuart Robert.
(Those following along yesterday will remember the PM blasted Robert for his non-attendance in parliament and failing to clarify when he would be stepping down.)
Dick is now considering possible dates for the byelection for Robert’s electorate of Fadden and says an announcement will be made “in due course”.
Jobless rate edges higher to 3.7%, easing RBA rate rise concerns
Peter Hannam
The increase in the jobless rate last month to 3.7% is not a big surprise even if the market was pencilling in a 3.5% result.
There was 4,300 jobs lost for the month, compared with the 25,000 extra that economists had been expecting. Within that number, though, the loss of 27,100 full-time roles was more interesting and a reason why these numbers will be seen as on the weak side.
Australia’s jobless rate rose to 3.7% last month, where it was in January. A small drop of 4300 jobs masked a decline of 27,100 full-time positions, a move that will give the RBA some comfort that it won’t need a rate rise on these numbers. pic.twitter.com/DbURjdTNwO
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) May 18, 2023
And the markets back that up in spades. The Australian dollar dropped about a quarter of a US cent immediately to about 66.36 US cents, and the ASX extended its gains for the day for another 0.2% or so.
Investors, in other words, pared back their expectation that the Reserve Bank will lift its interest rate again (or at least cut it sooner).
More soon…
Daniel Hurst
Asked about a possible visit by Anthony Albanese to China, Xiao says both sides are in talks about finding a convenient date.
Daniel Hurst
‘I don’t think the Quad is a good idea,’ Chinese ambassador says
The Chinese ambassador, Xiao Qian, is warming up. He says of the Quad:
Personally I don’t think the Quad is a good idea. It’s an even worse idea when it’s trying to target China.
Turning to the G7, Xiao describes Japan as the “loser in the second world war”.
He adds:
We didn’t bomb Darwin like Japan did.