Big – phased – pay rises for community workers

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has hailed  big pay rises granted to  community sector workers as “historic” and “a significant advance” for equal pay for women.

Fair Work Australia  granted rises of between 23 and 45 per cent to about 150,000 workers that Ms Gillard said are among the lowest paid in the nation.

The Prime Minister said 120,000 of threse workers are women, working with difficult jobs in a caring industry.

Their work included counseling families in crisis, running homeless shelters and working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Fair Work Australia had previously identified these workers as  underpaid.

The ABC reports that in its ruling today, Fair Work Australia said the highest paid employees would receive a 41 per cent, or $24,000 pay rise, bringing their annual salary to $83,000.

Workers on the lowest award rates will receive a rise of 19 per cent, an increase of around $6,000 per year.

The new rates would be phased in over an eight-year period beginning on December 1.

Ms Gillard said an appropriate phasing in period is “unquestionably needed.”

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Disability Insurance “aspirational” Abbott

Tony Abbott describes the National Disability Insurance Scheme, recommended by the Productivity Commission, as  “aspirational,” telling journalists at the National Press Club that it would have to wait until Federal budgets returned to surplus.

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Private health fund rebate in doubt

The Federal government is, once again, thinking of  means testing  the private health insurance rebate.

Its Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek, said a new report shows that Australia’s private health insurance sector is “healthy and robust.”

The industry had been struggling when this incentive was introduced in 1997.

The government, then, wanted to encourage Australians to take out private health insurance.

Ms Plibersek said it is no longer appropriate to persist with measures that leavelow and middle income earners “subsidising the health insurance of millionaires.”

The Opposition reacted sharply.

Bronwyn Bishop, Shadow Minister for Seniors, described Ms Plibersek’s announcement as “a deliberate attack on senior Australians.”

Ms Bishop said the government would be making its third attempt to apply a means test to private health insurance.

She said older Australians, who have with private health insurance, would be “hit hardest “ as they are likely to be on fixed incomes and are already under pressure from increased cost of living expenses “led by rising electricity costs.”

“The head of the Private Healthcare Australia, Dr Michael Armitage confirmed to me today that should Labor’s means testing go through, premiums would be forced up 10 per cent…,”Ms Bishop said.

However Ms Plibersek said that if the plan applied now individuals earning up to $80,000 a year – and families on incomes of up to $160,000 – would not be affected, by the proposed change.

“Families would need to be earning around $248,000 or more to lose the rebate entirely,” she added.

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Close glaring welfare gaps:ACOSS

There are still “glaring gaps” in Australia’s national efforts to reduce poverty and exclusion, according to the Australian Council of Social Service.

The welfare lobby group is urging the Federal government to remember that Australia’s poor are most at risk, in troubled times.

That’s because structural changes in the economy pose social as well as economic challenges.

The group says Australia’s neediest people should not  suffer through tight restrictions in this year’s Federal budget.

Wasteful spending should be cut, instead.

ACOSS makes these points in a pre-budget statement, setting out its priorities for the new financial year.

Its Acting CEO Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine says:  ‘There is no question that, through good economic stewardship, Australia has fared relatively well during the recent global economic downturn and our unemployment rate remains relatively low.”

However, she adds: “… it is also clear that, at the beginning of 2012, progress in reducing unemployment further has stalled.

” Australia’s economic growth prospects are uncertain in the short term, and structural changes in the economy pose social challenges as well as economic ones.”

Predictably, ACOSS is recommending some extra spending, which it says would cost an estimated $3.6 billion.

These measures would include:-

• · Raising the level of payments for Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance and other Allowance payments for single adults and young people living independently of their parents by $50 per week as recommended by the Henry Review.
• ·Doubling the number of places in the new wage subsidy scheme for long term unemployed people and substantially boost the resources available to Job Service Australia providers to work intensively with this group  and
• ·Developing a national population-based oral health program, in place of the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme and Teen Dental Program.

But it also recommends savings of an  estimated $4.8 billion, that would include:-

• · Removing the private health insurance rebate from ancillary health cover
• · Reforming the tax treatment of private trusts to reduce tax avoidance and
• · Fairer and more consistent tax treatment of lump sum termination payments such as ‘golden handshakes’

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The budget:have your say

If you think you could help Wayne Swan with next year’s Federal budget, now is the time to speak up.

Australia’s builders already have – and they are suggesting a change of direction for the government.

The Treasurer is inviting submissions.

In a  statement just released, Mr Swan said:”… I invite Australian families, individuals, businesses and community groups to submit their ideas and priorities for the 2012-13 Budget.”

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, signalled – just before she went on leave at the weekend – that the government will be looking to monetary, rather than fiscal policy, to boost the Australian economy, if Europe’s troubles make that necessary.

Decoded, that means more rate cuts, not extra spending.

Australia’s builders, though, believe that wont be good enough.

“There is an immediate requirement for direct short term stimulus to new home building, Harley Dale said.

Mr Dale, who is  Chief Economist at the Housing Industry Association, said rate cuts, alone, would not be enough.

Mr Swan, who is also acting Prime Minister, at present, won’t be pleased to hear that.

He is adamant that the  spending phase, which followed the global economic crisis, has now passed.

Indeed, the Treasurer has already signalled that there will have to be substantial spending cuts, in next year’s budget, to get it back into surplus.

Meanwhile, he says, Australia is doing relatively well.

“While Europe is dealing with a sovereign debt crisis, the Australian economy continues to outperform the developed world with solid growth prospects, strong public finances, low unemployment, and a record pipeline of resources investment,” Mr Swan said.

“The budget is on track to return to surplus in 2012-13 despite the significant global headwinds that have reduced government revenues by around $140 billion over five years,” he added.

He pledged that the Government would ”continue its disciplined approach to spending,”

However Mr Swan said it would  also be “providing the necessary social protections for the most vulnerable in our community and ensuring our nation is prepared for long-term challenges such as the transition to a clean energy future and the ageing of the population.”

“Community views are a vital part of the development of Government policies and the budget process,” Mr Swan said.

The deadline for your submissions is Friday, January 27 next year.

Submissions should be posted to the Budget Policy Division Department,  the Treasury Langton Crescent PARKES ACT 2600

Or emailed to: prebudgetsubs@treasury.gov.au

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Keeping Christmas food safe

Three quarters of Australian homes don’t have a meat thermometer – a device that can help you avoid food poisoning – when cooking the Christmas turkey.

That advice comes from the Food Safety Information Council.

The council says  that although meat thermometers  reduce the risk of food poisoning, only  23 per cent of Australian households own one.

And among those who do, only a third of those with a one have used it in the past month.

The council’s Chairman, Dr Michael Eyles, says there are several ways to lower the risk of food poisoning over Christmas.

“A meat thermometer ensures the safe cooking of poultry, and meats,” Dr Eyles added.

” It is also a vital piece of equipment if you want to get consistently good results from your cooking.

“It is not just about safety – remove the guesswork and be a better cook with a meat thermometer,” Dr Eyles said.

“There are an estimated 5.4 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year, including 120 deaths,” he added.

” The risk of your family getting food poisoning increases around Christmas time as the weather warms up and we prepare food for larger numbers of people, some of whom may be in the high risk groups of the very young, pregnant women and the elderly. Using something as simple as a meat thermometer can reduce this risk,” Dr Eyles said.

The council also urges Australians who love picnics to:-

• Pick up a new Esky or insulated food container with plenty of refreezable cold packs.
• Buy a new picnic set with plates and cutlery that are easier to wash than the ancient ones.
• Give plenty of plastic containers with lids that will separate foods in the Esky and stop meat and chicken juices leaking on to foods which won’t be cooked such as salad vegetables and fruits.
• Some hand wipes or alcohol sanitizer to keep hands clean when picnicking away from running water.

And it says school children should have a bright insulated lunch container with a freezable drink container or ice brick to keep school lunches cool and safer (good for adult workers too)..

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Why your rebate’s at risk

The Federal government is likely to revive its plan to means test the present private health insurance rebate.

This is a direct result of Julia Gillard’s victory last week, in elevating a former Opposition member, Peter Slipper, to the Speaker’s chair in Federal parliament.

That has given her minority government one extra vote, as the former speaker, Harry Jenkins, will be returning to the floor of the House, to vote with fellow Labor members

It also takes a vote from the Opposition, as the Speaker traditionally abstains from voting on major issues, in normal circumstances.

The government has made no secret of its belief that the rebate should be means tested.

However, it has been unable to apply that test, so far, because it did not have the numbers to push that measure through parliament.

Its ability to do that is still in doubt, but the task will, at least, be easier, with just three independents, instead of four, to convince.

And the government is under pressure, on all sides, to find whatever savings it can, to get its budget, for the new financial year, into surplus.

The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, admits that instability on world financial markets is slowing parts of the Australian economy.

That reduces revenue flows.

The government has already shown that it is prepared to resort to unattractive options, to raise extra cash, as it did with its deferral of a promised tax break, on overseas bank transactions.

The government will be sorely tempted to means test the private health insurance rebate.

The rebate cost it $3 billion in 2004-05.

So it’s a big ticket item.

It would, of course, face bigger bills for public hospital treatment, if it did so.

However those would be  much lower than the savings it would make on the rebate.

And Mr Swan is making no secret of the fact that he believes he is trapped between a rock and a hard place, right now.

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Stressed out? You too?

Tired of struggling to balance work and personal commitments?

You are not alone.

New research shows that both men and women are working longer, than Australians generally did, back in 1985.

The study, conducted by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling, with help from the AMP, confirms that this is producing a great deal of stress.

“Balancing work and family remains a big issue for Australian men and women, with around 40 per cent of women and 30 per c ent of men feeling often or always rushed or pressed for time,” the study says.

It shows that men are now working an average of 42.3 hours a week, 2.8 more than they did, in 1985.

Women are now spending 38.6 hours a week, in full time work, against the 36.4 they did, back then

And despite advances made by women’s liberation, the study found that traditional gender roles are still deeply entrenched in Australian life.

“ And women are even less happy with the help they get with household tasks – with 11% actively dissatisfied. In contrast, only 4% of men are dissatisfied with their partners’ efforts around the home.,” the report says.

The report also found:-

Women spend more time buying goods and services, while men have more free time

Each day, on average:

Women spend 59 minutes on child care, compared to 22 minutes for men

Women spend 2 hours, 52 minutes on domestic activities and men spend one 1 hour, 37

minutes;

Women spend 58 minutes purchasing goods and services while men spend 38 minutes; •

Men spend 4 hours, 33 minutes on employment-related activities, while women spend 2

hours, 21 minutes.

The report also has something to say about Australia’s Federal public servants, who hate being called fat cats.

“ Canberrans enjoy some of the highest salaries in Australia, and they also enjoy the lowest average full-time hours of work each week – 37 hours, 42 minutes,”  it finds.

Related stories:

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