RBA’s view on ‘full employment’ suggests things are still pretty tight
Reaction to today’s jobs figures (as reported here) has been a bit “meh”. Given a lot of the other signs of a weak economy, an increase of almost 28,000 full-time jobs is not a bad outcome.
In fact, some commentators such as KPMG economist, Michael Malakellis, reckon the number won’t “ease the RBA’s ongoing concerns about excess demand in the economy and labour market”.
The unemployment rate remains low, and the labour market is displaying resilience.
The RBA, as it happens, released its monthly bulletin at the same time the jobs figures dropped, including a section on what “full employment” looks like:
The RBA has offered a bit of perspective on where it thinks 'full employment' sits. By most measures, including today's 3.8% jobless rate for March, the labour market is relatively tight compared with the past couple of decades. pic.twitter.com/Y5rWwKMXvi
The central bank has two main goals: getting inflation down to its 2%-3% target range, and achieving full employment. By many of the RBA’s measures, the labour market remains on the “tight” end of the spectrum - at least by recent history.
That’s one reason why even a fairly steady labour market result – like today’s – mean a cut in official interest rates looks like be some way off.
Queensland parliament has just passed a groundbreaking 75% carbon emission reduction target into law.
A packed gallery including dozens of tradies, green groups and clean energy developers watched on as 84 MPs voted for the legislation, with just three people voting no, including two Katter Australian Party MPs and a single One Nation MP.
The entire Liberal National Party backed the carbon target, but not a second bill on renewable energy.
The Greens tried to amend a second bill debated at the same time to require renewable energy projects be state-owned, but it failed.
The emissions reduction bill creates a legislated target of 30% reduction below 2005 levels by 2030, 75% below 2005 levels by 2035 and net zero emissions by 2050.
Progress will be overseen by an expert panel and require annual reporting to the parliament.
Man granted bail after being charged for allegedly taking part in Wakeley riot
Mostafa Rachwani
The first person arrested and charged for allegedly taking part in the Wakeley riot has been granted bail on strict conditions.
Nineteen-year-old Dani Mansour was charged with riot, affray and destroying or damaging property as part of the mob that attacked police in the aftermath of the stabbing of bishop Mar Mari Emmanual, at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd Church.
At Blacktown court today, Mansour was told by magistrate Aaron Tang that he was charged with “serious offences” but that he was satisfied concerns for community safety and any chance of reoffending were mitigated by the restrictions.
Tang also mentioned the risk to ongoing investigation into the rioters posed by Mansour’s release, specifically that he could contact other alleged rioters and undermine any investigation.
The Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley. Photograph: Jaimi Joy/Reuters
Tang mentioned that police had based their investigation into Mansour on videos posted to his Instagram page, allegedly showing him taking part int the riot and damaging police vehicles.
Mansour allegedly damaged two police cars as part of the riot, which Tang described as wanting to enact “vigilante justice” on the alleged attacker being held in the church.
There is no place for vigilante justice in our society. Whilst the court acknowledges the traumatic impact of the stabbing of the bishop on the church community, those involved in the riot acted reprehensibly.
The actions of the alleged rioters were at odds with helping the bishop and of the tenets of Christian faith.
As part of his bail conditions, Mansour will not be allowed to access social media at all, he must present his phone to police once a week, he cannot contact anyone involved in the riot, can only travel to and from work, cannot enter Wakeley, cannot attend the church, and he must report to police every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Peter Dutton says Australia will ‘unite at period of national grief to emerge stronger’
Earlier this morning, opposition leader Peter Dutton shared some images from Bondi Junction Westfield, where he attended to pay his respects to the victims of the mass stabbing.
Posting to X, Dutton said:
To the many people affected by this horrible act, please know Australians in their millions have you in their thoughts and prayers. We are grateful for the heroic acts of complete strangers who risked their own lives to protect and care for others.
Thank you to the police, ambulance and other emergency service workers. The bravery of a single policewoman saved the lives of many more. We live in the greatest country in the world and we unite at a period of national grief to emerge stronger.
To the many people affected by this horrible act, please know Australians in their millions have you in their thoughts and prayers.
We are grateful for the heroic acts of complete strangers who risked their own lives to protect and care for others.
Aid agency calls for increase in humanitarian funding as defence allocation grows
Save the Children Australia says it is “unconscionable” for the government to invest vasts amount of money into defence while not increasing its humanitarian spend.
In a statement, the aid and development agency noted the government’s $50bn defence spend for the next decade and said in comparison, Australia provided $4.77bn in foreign aid during 2023-24.
This resulted in “Australia ranking a lowly 26 out of 31 among likeminded, wealthy countries” in terms of foreign aid spend, the agency said.
The CEO, Mat Tinkler, said spending vast amounts of taxpayer funds on defence, while not increasing investment in “peace and prosperity”, is “unconscionable”.
The National Defence Strategy has core objectives to contribute to the ‘collective security of the Indo-Pacific’ and ‘maintain a global rules-based order’. This can’t be achieved through defence and deterrence alone Australia can and must invest in the stability and prosperity of our region at the same time, and that requires a commensurate investment in aid and development.
Spending more money on weapons, submarines and military bases, without also investing more in our humanitarian effort, is tone deaf when we are seeing the terrible impacts that weapons are having on Palestinian, Ukrainian and Sudanese children.
Save the Children is calling on the government to increase its humanitarian funding allocation in the upcoming federal budget to $1.08bn.
Independent Tasmanian senator backs calls to alleviate pressure on student debt
Independent senator for Tasmania Tammy Tyrrell has backed calls to alleviate the pressure of ballooning student debt.
Following reports today that student loans are set to increase by more than 4% when next indexed in June, Tyrrell says it “doesn’t make sense” debt can increase before taking into account money paid throughout the year.
She’s urging the federal government to prioritise changing the timing of indexation so Hecs/Help loans are recalculated after yearly repayments are taken off, in favour of reforming the rate of indexation itself.
It doesn’t make sense to me that someone’s debt is indexed before taking into account the thousands of dollars they’ve paid throughout the year. Imagine if banks did that with your home loan - took your money, charged you interest but the repayments don’t come off the outstanding balance.
No matter what the indexation rate is, it’s not a fair system when you’re indexing badly. We need to change the timing, not the rate.
Independent senator Tammy Tyrrell. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
More of the findings from Queensland’s youth crime inquiry
The government should begin reporting on when they are used within three months, the report finds.
It should also publicly report on the number of children and young people detained in watch houses, and how long they have been detained, on a weekly or real-time basis and develop a statewide Code of Practice for the management of young people in watch-houses.
It otherwise it steers clear of any political hot-button issues and makes dozens of worthy recommendations about various issues, from suggesting the state hire more magistrates and expand the state’s Murri Court system to that it review police staffing levels.
It also recommends the state “urgently improve the transparency of Children’s Court of Queensland proceedings by allowing victims of crime, their families and media access to courts”. Courts are often closed by judges under the current standard that public access be in the interests of the child.
Inquiry has 'significant concerns' about use of police watch houses in Queensland
Andrew Messenger
Queensland’s youth crime inquiry had “significant concerns” about the use of police watchhouses to hold children, particularly disabled and mentally ill children accused of crimes. The report reads:
While this is sometimes necessary to protect the community, it creates risks for the children, young people and staff involved and has negative consequences to a child of young person’s health and wellbeing. The committee believes that while this practice is occurring it’s imperative that sufficient monitoring and oversight is available.
The committee recommends the state government “immediately” investigate alternatives to the watch house of detention centre for children with a significant mental health condition.
It also recommends better staffing at youth detention centres, to “eliminate the need to use ‘separations’ or ‘night mode’ as a result of staff shortfalls” and set “clear and enforceable limits” on the use of them.
Final youth justice report tabled by Queensland parliament
Queensland’s youth justice inquiry has determined that evidence for removing the principle that detention of children should be a last resort was unclear and other measures are likely more effective.
The committee’s final report was tabled in parliament this morning, after the government quashed the parliamentary inquiry because it was unable to come to a bipartisan consensus.
It is a draft version, with the three LNP members not signing up. It’s understood they wanted the inquiry to recommend the measure.
Instead the committee recommends the government “review” the section “to determine whether the central principle of community safety is being overshadowed by the principle of ‘detention as a last resort’ as it relates to sentencing.”
This review should seek input from the department of justice and attorney-general, the department of youth justice, and expert legal stakeholders.
The report makes 59 other recommendations, which we are reading through now.
Independent MP Sandy Bolton. Photograph: Russell Freeman/AAP
Independent chair Sandy Bolton wrote an initial draft report after six months of hearings and dozens of submissions. Normally members of a parliamentary committee would suggest amendments or if consensus cannot be reached, write their own dissenting report.
Detention as a last resort is a principle in the United Nations convention on the rights of the child, which Australia has signed and ratified. The opposition has vowed to eliminate the rule from the state’s youth justice act if elected in October.
Victorian environment minister plays down asbestos taskforce
Victoria’s environment minister, Steve Dimopoulos, has played down a decision by the Environment Protection Authority to set up an “agency command team” in the days before the first discovery of asbestos in a Melbourne park.
Yesterday evening, the EPA confirmed asbestos fragments had been found in at least 11 parks across four council areas since the start of April. It said it had set up an agency command team to respond to what it called “significant incidents” on 27 March, days before the first reports of asbestos contamination.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Dimopoulos said this was in response to events in NSW:
On the back of NSW, the EPA straight away … investigated 59 mulch suppliers right through to Victoria and found them to be of an extraordinary high standard. I think there are about six that needed a little bit of improvement but no contamination found, nothing. It was absolutely the right thing to do and was found to be what it should be, which is a high level of sanitation and sorting and supply.
Now, beyond that, they wrote to every single land manager … asking them to appropriately go out and search particular sites [and] their supply chains. But if you think about the concept of going to every one of the 59 mulch suppliers, then going to the land managers and saying to them, ‘please go out and search for and make sure that you risk mitigate’. They have every resource they need and they’ve been on the front foot from day one.
Fencing and warning tape around a Melbourne playground earlier this month. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Dimopoulos said the EPA has the resources they need to handle the investigation:
Whether you call it a taskforce, we call it normal operating procedure … I’ve spoken to the EPA CEO several times and he has not once said he needs anything more to do the good work the EPA do.
