Hundreds of trains to be cancelled in Queensland amid industrial action
Queensland Rail will reduce hundreds of weekday train services in Brisbane this week due to industrial action by Queensland Rail workers following stalled negotiations over a new enterprise agreement.
The state’s southeast network in and around Brisbane will operate 300 fewer services starting Tuesday, with a timetable resembling a typical Saturday schedule.
Peter Allen, Branch Secretary of the Queensland Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), told ABC News that the industrial action consists of limited partial work bans rather than a strike, and that the union has provided significant notice. He urged commuters not to direct frustration at station staff.
"We’ve got some really serious claims. Now, of course, we would like to see a wage increase that kept pace with inflation. Currently we are being offered below that, and in fact we would like to see Queensland Rail, through the Government, remove the claims that they have which would see our people go backwards.
They want to increase the hours for some people, they want to reduce penalty rates for some, but we would also like them to consider our serious claims about safety at work when it comes to people who are experiencing trauma, the way that we can provide dignity for nursing mums, the way that we can make sure that people who work shift-work are treated fairly and have got at least some access to see their kids on their birthday from time to time, maybe experience the occasional Christmas. These aren’t unreasonable things, and so far we’ve been just getting a flat “no”.
Queensland Rail chief executive Kat Stapleton acknowledged commuter frustration over the weekend, stating she was "frustrated too" and called for unions to return to negotiations.
"We want the unions to come back to the table and seriously consider the fair and reasonable and enhanced offer that we have presented."
Budget won’t extend fuel excise cut beyond June, treasurer says
Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirmed that the upcoming budget will not extend the 26 cent fuel tax cut beyond June.
He noted that Australia remains vulnerable to volatile global oil prices amid the ongoing US-Israel conflict involving Iran. The government has prepared various contingencies to support households and the economy against potential worsening effects of the Middle East conflict.
As the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy board convenes for a two-day meeting ahead of Tuesday’s interest rate decision, Chalmers emphasized the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility.
"This budget will be our most responsible budget," Chalmers said at Parliament House.
"The budget will be calibrated for the conditions, but it will also still be consistent with our ambitions.
The election began a year of delivery, and the budget will begin a year of more ambitious reform, reform which is made more not less, urgent by global inflation and global economic uncertainty."
Use our loan calculator to see how a rate hike could affect you
The Reserve Bank may raise interest rates again on Tuesday, following increases in February and March.
Financial markets estimate about a two-thirds chance of a third hike, influenced by rising fuel prices pushing inflation upward.
For a borrower with a $736,000 loan at a 5.7% interest rate, a rate increase could add approximately $117 to monthly repayments of $4,272.
Use the interest rate calculator to assess potential impacts on your repayments.
‘He shouldn’t have to do this: our government should be escorting boatloads of aid to Gaza’
The parents of Zack Schofield, one of six Australian activists detained by Israel last week after participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla, expressed relief after hearing from their son following his release in Crete on Friday.
Joanne Jaworowski and Peter Schofield addressed crowds in Newcastle on Sunday, where dozens paddled and sailed across Sydney and Newcastle harbours to show solidarity with the Australians aboard the flotilla.
"We were greatly relieved to hear from our son Zack ... Zack was on a borrowed phone, and only had a few seconds to tell us he was in hospital for medical review and that he loves us.
What we really want to know is why our government hasn’t publicly condemned the kidnapping our son and the detaining of him illegally on international waters – and also, when in heaven’s name our government will break their silence and business-as-usual as the genocide of Palestinians is perpetrated by our so-called ally, Israel.
He shouldn’t have to do this: our government should be escorting boatloads of aid to Gaza shores, overland through Egypt and Jordan, breaking the illegal blockade of food and medicine with our true international allies.
Please keep the pressure on our politicians to do the right and moral thing: break the blockade and free Palestine, so that our tender-hearted, unarmed civilians like Zack don’t have to do the work of governments to help the Palestinians."
Australia engaging with UK, France and US on opening Hormuz strait, Wong says
Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed ongoing Australian diplomatic engagement with the United Kingdom, France, and the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to ABC News, Wong declined to comment on US President Donald Trump’s statement about escorting stranded ships through the strait as a “humanitarian gesture.”
"We all want the strait opened. That’s what global energy markets need, that’s what the Australian consumer needs so we do want the strait opened and oil to flow through the strait as it was prior to the conflict.
However, what I’d say on this. Obviously the US has made its intentions clear. We are engaging with the United Kingdom, France and the US on keeping the strait open or making sure the strait is opened. Those diplomatic efforts continue. What I would say is that we all have an interest in this being resolved.
We know this has affected Australians at the petrol bowser, it’s affected our economy and it’s made our need to source fuel from elsewhere imperative, which is obviously why we have been – I was in north Asia last week, in Korea, Japan and China …
We have certainly been engaging with the US and others about efforts to open the strait and to keep the strait open but obviously details of this will become clearer over to coming days."
Chalmers says Labor has appetite for more childcare reform ‘when we can afford to’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher spoke in Canberra about the upcoming budget, with Gallagher noting that savings will be made across all portfolios.
Responding to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent comments about reconsidering universal childcare plans, Chalmers highlighted the government’s substantial progress in early childhood education and care reform.
"We’ve taken some very substantial steps already when it comes to the reform of early childhood education and care, probably more than any other government when it comes to affordability and access, and recognising that early childhood education and care is more than child care, it’s more than babysitting.
And so we have substantially reoriented the way that this country thinks about early education. We’re very proud of that. And from the prime minister right down, there is an appetite to do more in that regard when we can afford to do so."
Families of victims to take stand at royal commission into Bondi shooting
The royal commission into antisemitism commenced public hearings this morning, with families of victims from the Bondi terror shooting among the first witnesses to testify.
The commission released its witness list on Sunday, naming Sheina Gutnick, daughter of Bondi terror attack victim Reuven Morrison, as the first scheduled witness.
The hearings began at 10am and are being live streamed.
Also appearing on Monday is Alex Ryvchin from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. The witness list includes 12 individuals, three of whom will testify under pseudonyms. Each witness will share their "lived experience" of antisemitism.
The initial hearings, running through to 15 May, will focus on both historical and contemporary antisemitism, including its impact on Jewish Australians.
The commission reported receiving nearly 6,000 submissions to the inquiry, with almost 2,000 submitted in the previous week alone.
"More than 4,000 submitters identified as Jewish, more than 1,000 didn’t identify as Jewish, and the remaining submitters preferred not to say.
The commission said submissions included “an overwhelming amount detailing lived experience of antisemitism across various sectors including education, employment, media, health, the arts, sport and online."
Japan's PM arrives in Australia for her first visit
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in Australia for her first visit as leader, as both countries aim to strengthen energy and defence cooperation.
Takaichi was welcomed by Foreign Minister Penny Wong upon landing in Canberra on Sunday evening ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House.
The visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Nara Treaty, which established relations and cooperation between Australia and Japan.
While the original treaty was negotiated during the 1973 Middle East oil shock, this visit occurs amid a fuel crisis linked to the US-led conflict involving Iran.
A critical minerals agreement is anticipated, and Takaichi is expected to seek assurances regarding Australian gas supply stability.
During her stay, the Japanese leader will also visit the Australian War Memorial to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Takaichi, a conservative leader inspired by Margaret Thatcher, secured a significant election victory in October, providing a mandate to pursue key reforms, particularly in defence.
Although Australia and Japan do not have a formal alliance, their relationship remains close, especially in security cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region.
This is the first visit by a Japanese prime minister to Australia since Fumio Kishida’s trip to Perth in late 2022.
It will be the fourth meeting between Albanese and Takaichi, who last met during the G20 Summit in South Africa in November.
Jim Chalmers says budget will be 'our most responsible yet'
The government announced plans for significant savings in the upcoming budget, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers describing it as having "more restraint".
"Responsible economic management has been a hallmark of this Albanese Government and the May Budget will be our most responsible yet."
The budget, scheduled for release next Tuesday, is expected to include larger-than-usual gross savings and marks the second consecutive budget where the government reports saving more than it spends. Any increases in revenue will be used to reduce debt and improve fiscal health.
"There will be more savings and more spending restraint helping to pay down more of the trillion dollars of debt that the Liberals left behind," Chalmers said.
"We’re getting the budget in better nick because that helps to fund the things that Australians need and deserve like Medicare, aged care and cost-of-living relief.
In this Budget you’ll see more responsible economic management and more restraint from the Albanese Government."
In response to inflation concerns and the impact of government spending, Labor aims to maintain real spending growth within controlled limits.
Good morning
Welcome to your Monday live news blog. I’m Stephanie Convery and I’ll be with you until early this afternoon.
The Australian government plans to implement larger-than-usual savings in next week’s budget, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers indicating his fourth budget will demonstrate "more restraint."
The royal commission into antisemitism begins public hearings today, with families of victims from the Bondi terror shooting among the first witnesses.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has arrived in Australia for her first visit as leader, with a focus on strengthening energy and defence ties. She will meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra today.
Make yourself a coffee, and I’ll bring you more on all of these stories shortly.
