Millions of working Australians have been dealt a crushing blow about what their pay packets will look like for the next year. Follow this live coverage by News Australia and reporting on 9News Nigeria.
Live Breaking News: Millions of Aussies to have pay frozen
Millions of working Aussies have been dealt a crushing blow about what their pay packets will look like for the next year.
Australians working in industries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic could be dealt another blow with yet another possible delay to a rise in the minimum wage.
The Fair Work Commission is looking at whether to delay pay rises for 2.2 million Australians on the minimum wage across 2021-22 for a second consecutive financial year.
Businesses struggling to recover from the pandemic have called for a 12-month minimum wage freeze or to delay pay increases in the worst-affected industries by up to seven months.
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4h agoApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT
Millions of Aussies to have their pay frozen
Benjamin Graham
Australians working in industries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic could be dealt another blow with yet another possible delay to a rise in the minimum wage.
The Fair Work Commission is looking at whether to delay pay rises for 2.2 million Australians on the minimum wage across 2021-22 for a second consecutive financial year.
With inflation steadily rising, the decision to freeze the minimum wage will effectively mean the salaries of millions of Aussies will shrink.
Businesses struggling to recover from the pandemic have called for a 12-month minimum wage freeze or to delay pay increases in the worst-affected industries by up to seven months.
At least at 75 per cent of workers on the minimum wage already waited at least three months for a 1.75 per cent rise, while those in hardest-hit sectors didn’t see an increase in their weekly pay packets until February this year – a seven month wait.
They included workers in the accommodation, food services, arts, retail trade, aviation and tourism sectors.
Currently the minimum wage is $753.80 per week, for a 38 hour week, or $19.84 per hour.34m agoApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT
Nazi graffiti spotted in Brisbane playground
James Hall
Counter-terrorism detectives have raided three properties after racist neo-Nazi graffiti was spotted near a playground in Brisbane’s south.
It will be alleged a footpath at the Calamvale District Park was spray painted with racist material, while a neo-Nazi banner was hung from a nearby tree in early February.
Officers from the Counter-Terrorism Investigation Group seized a number of items after carrying out three warrants in Brisbane’s southern suburbs on Friday, but no charges were laid.
Read more1h agoApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT
Fundraiser set up to help save boat blaze victim
Benjamin Graham
A friend of a woman who suffered critical injuries after a boat exploded on the Hawkesbury River over the Easter break has described the victim as “beautiful and energetic”.
Slovakian-born Mirka manages an organic retail store and is “loved by her friends and the local community which she gives so much to”, a friend wrote in a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her ongoing treatment.
Mirka remains in the Royal North Shore Hospital, where she has been subject to multiple surgeries and treatments.
Hanson lashes PM over Aus Post announcement
Benjamin Graham
Outspoken senator Pauline Hanson has blasted the new appointment of Australia Post boss Paul Graham.
The Woolworths executive was announced as the new chief executive on Monday after Christine Holgate last year resigned following revelations senior leaders were gifted expensive Cartier watches.
But the One Nation leader said the announcement, one day before a probe into the circumstances leading to Ms Holgate being stood down, undermined the inquiry.
Read more from NCA NewsWire2h agoApril 12, 2021
Horror moment drug dealer murders US cop
Natalie Wolfe
The horrific moment a drug dealer ambushed a US police officer, shooting him dead on the side of the road, has been caught on camera.
New Mexico police officer Darrian Jarrott, 28, was conducting a routine traffic stop in February of this year when he was ambushed by Omar Felix Cueva.
Cueva, 39, was pulled over by Mr Jarrott because his window tint was too dark.
Read more3h agoApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT
What new NZ case means for travel bubble
Lauren McMah
A new case of COVID-19 in Auckland has cast a cloud over Australia and New Zealand’s travel bubble, just one week before it is due to begin.
It comes just before the start of the long-awaited trans-Tasman travel bubble, with travellers from Australia able to arrive in New Zealand without having to quarantine from April 19.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned last week the two-way travel bubble could pop should an outbreak occur in either country. Australia briefly suspended the travel arrangement amid a small outbreak in Auckland in February.
However, there is no word from either country that next Monday’s opening of the travel bubble will be affected by the new development in Auckland.3h agoApril 12, 2021
Ben Roberts-Smith hits back at 60 Minutes
Rohan Smith
Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has released a lengthy statement claiming a bombshell report aired on Sunday night was “not supported by any evidence”.
The report, which ran on 60 Minutes and in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers claimed Mr Roberts-Smith buried hundreds of incriminating photographs from his time in Afghanistan in a lunch box in his Queensland backyard.
It was alleged the USB contained hundreds of lewd images showing soldiers drinking from the prosthetic leg of an Afghan man was killed by an Australian soldier.12:58 amApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT
‘Wrong direction’: Devastating US virus trend
Benjamin Graham
Despite a massive vaccination push in the USA, it is being warned that parts of the the nation are headed in the “wrong direction” as cases and hospitalisations rise for a third straight week.
In the past week, the US averaged more than 68,000 new cases every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University – that’s up more than 20 per cent since the March 10 seven-day average.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that, as cases have increased, more Americans age 18 to 64 have gone to emergency departments for COVID-19 complications.
Map from CDC showing the level of community transmission across the US.
Particularly badly-hit states include Florida, which has the highest number of reported variant B.1.1.7 cases, according to the CDC, followed by Michigan, which is reporting thousands of new cases daily.
Another state seeing cases rise is Ohio, where governor Mike DeWine said the number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions in his state are also rising.
“We’re moving now in the wrong direction,” DeWine said Thursday. “More than half of our counties, 53, have seen increases,” he told CNN.
“We can still turn this around if more people continue to get vaccinated. This is a race. We are in a race. And it’s a life-and-death race.”12:36 amApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT
Aus Post appoints new CEO
Benjamin Graham
Australia Post has appointed a new chief executive to replace Christine Holgate, who was ousted late last year after awarding four senior executives Cartier watches worth almost $20,000.
Woolworths’s chief supply chain officer Paul Graham will take the helm in September after more than four decades of logistics experience.
Ms Holgate’s exit has been bitterly contested by her and the postal service. The dispute will be laid before a Senate inquiry on Tuesday, with Ms Holgate and Australia Post chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo to detail their conflicting accounts.12:28 amApril 12, 2021
One overseas case in Queensland
Benjamin Graham
Queensland has recorded one new case in hotel quarantine.
