Australia news as it happened: Minimum wage lifted by 3.5 per cent; ‘part-time parliament’ to sit for fewest days in 20 years

That’s a wrap on the live national news blog for today. Keep reading the site for updates on the trial of Erin Patterson and other news. We will have more live news coverage for you in the morning.

Australia’s drug and medical device watchdog is suing global medical technology giant Philips after the company sold respirator and sleep apnoea machines with defective insulation foam to thousands of Australians.

Philips was forced to recall every one of its respirator devices in 2021 after the Therapeutic Goods Administration identified a real risk that a polyester-based insulation foam inside the devices could degrade, causing particles to be blown into its customer’s lungs.

A Philips Dreamstation CPAP machine, one of the dozens of models affected by the recall. Credit: Stuart Layt

The recall included all Philips Controlled Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines.

In documents filed to the Federal Court, the TGA alleges that Philips was breaking the law between June 2019 and October 2022 by selling devices that posed a “potentially hazardous and unacceptable” risk to patients and failed to meet Australian safety and performance requirements.
The TGA alleges Philips sold 44,000 devices over this period.

Symptoms of short- and medium-term exposure to the potentially hazardous particles include headaches, asthma, reproductive impacts, irritation of the skin, eyes and respiratory tract, and neoplasia (an abnormal or excessive tissue growth).

If used over the long term, the exposure could be carcinogenic, the TGA said in its court filing.
Philips last year reached a $1.1 billion deal to settle lawsuits in the United States related to its respirator devices.

Returning to the announcement of today’s minimum wage increase which has not pleased everyone, including the Australian Restaurant & Café Association’s chief executive Wes Lambert, who says coffee shops will be forced to increase food and drink prices.

Lambert told the ABC that the Fair Work Commission’s decision to lift the minimum wage by 3.5 per cent will force cafés to raise prices above inflation to meet increased wage bills.

Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association’s chief executive Wes Lambert.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Combined with the potential impact from range of other mooted but not yet introduced charges, Lambert warned cafés could close.

“A barista can only make a certain number of coffees in a certain period of time, there’s only a certain number of seats in a restaurant” Lambert said.

“We’re suffering with a workforce shortage. We’re about 50,000 workers short at the moment and with this 3.5 per cent increase, and the threat of long-service leave, and the threat to junior rates and the threat to the debit surcharges in fiscal, creditor watch has said that one in 10 hospitality businesses have closed over the past year.

“We expect that number to only get worse.”

The Australian share market has notched its highest close since mid-February as the United States narrows its focus on resolving trade tensions.

The S&P/ASX200 jumped 54.7 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 8468, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 54.8 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 8692.3.

The top 200 is within 1.2 per cent of its highest ever close after the White House flagged imminent trade talks with China and called for best-offer tariff rates from trade partners, signalling an urgency to seal trade deals before “Liberation Day” duties are imposed in five weeks.

Nine of 11 local sectors closed higher, as financials led the charge with a 1.1 per cent gain, and CBA notched a new intraday peak of $178.19.

The Australian dollar is weaker against the greenback, buying 64.63 US cents, on par with Monday but slipping after dovish Reserve Bank meeting minutes steeled interest rate cut expectations and sent the Aussie lower.

AAP

Efforts to simplify complex surrogacy laws are being stepped up as more Australians look overseas for help expanding their families.

The Australian Law Reform Commission has released an issues paper seeking input to overcome the problems caused by the mismatch of surrogacy laws across the country, which currently leave some families in legal limbo depending on which state they live in.

Australia’s complex surrogacy laws are being reviewed by the Australian Law Reform Commission.Credit: Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos/Snapper Images

In May, it was revealed that a Brisbane couple who paid for a surrogate mother to give birth to their child overseas may face criminal charges after a Family Court ruling on their bid to gain parental rights.

Last year, the federal attorney-general asked the Australian Law Reform Commission to review the nation’s various surrogacy laws. Commission president, Justice Mordy Bromberg, today said that gaining public submissions would help shape the reforms.

“Surrogacy is an important area for law reform given the lack of consistent laws across Australian states and territories, and because of the growing number of children born via surrogacy, which is increasingly being accessed overseas,” Bromberg said.

“Public feedback on the issues paper, particularly from those who have experience of surrogacy, is vital to informing our reform thinking.”

Surging construction prices that have hit Australia since 2021 pose a risk to the first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has acknowledged.

Speaking at Victorian budget estimates, the premier was quizzed about a 2024 meeting of an SRL East committee made up of the heads of multiple departments.

Premier Jacinta Allan is pushing ahead with new contracts for the controversial Suburban Rail Loop despite the absence of funding certainty.Credit: Joe Armao

Minutes from the meeting, released to the opposition through freedom of information rules, show the committee discussed “the importance of keeping the program on track while resolving cost issues”.

When asked what these issues were, Allan said the discussion was focused on the fact that since 2021, Australia had recorded a 22 per cent increase in the cost of construction.

The $34.5 billion price tag for SRL East was announced in 2021 with the release of the project’s business and investment case, prompting questions from Liberal MP Richard Welch about whether this figure was still accurate.

Allan said no project was immune to these cost pressures but the job for the government was to deliver the rail loop within the range already announced.

“That is the task of the interdepartmental committee, the minister responsible for the project and the authority delivering that project.”

About $2.37 billion will be spent on early works on the project alone.

Allan said these works were part of the project’s total price tag.

Independent federal agency Infrastructure Australia in March released an evaluation of SRL East which said it had low confidence in the $34.5 billion figure.

Now for a change of pace, let’s take a look at sport where Brittany Bush reports that Oscar Piastri may not only be Australia’s top sports earner, but he’s also in pole position to be the most marketable.

With a fresh McLaren contract, the 24-year-old is the nation’s highest earner in sport, however, he is yet to overtake retired motorsport champion Daniel Riccardo and Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins in the marketability race, according to data from sports and entertainment consultancy Gemba.

Oscar Piastri is on track to become Australia’s most marketable sports star.Credit: Getty Images

Gemba’s head of insights Simon Berry said winning a world championship this year could propel Piastri to the top.

“Success helps people shift up in their marketability. And then it’s about how do you make hay while the sun shines and your and your marketability is high?” Berry said.

“For brands, it’s about how do you try and identify people on the way up ... [which] is much more affordable and appealing than having to wait until they have ultimate success … when the fees that they would charge would be astronomical.”

The Greens are facing their “most serious test” as a party following the defection of a senator to Labor after a poor federal election result.

West Australian senator Dorinda Cox is quitting the minor party to sit with Labor in the upper house after approaching Anthony Albanese about making the switch.

Anthony Albanese and Greens defector Dorinda Cox.Credit: AAPIMAGE

Head of Politics at Monash University Zareh Ghazarian said the loss of another Indigenous senator, following Lidia Thorpe’s split with the party in February 2023, spoke to the Greens as a party.

“This is the most serious test that the Greens are facing as an organisation,” he said.

“On the back of a fairly poor election result … it’s really an opportunity for them [the Greens] to explore their internal operation, their structures, and how they get them going forward.”

Dr Ghazarian said the strong growth in support the party had enjoyed came with the challenge of clarifying what it stood for.

AAP

Here’s a quick summary of the top stories today.

Child support ‘weaponised’ against parents: Ombudsman

Fair Work Commission lifts minimum wage by 3.5 per cent

Troika running NSW Liberal Party seeks extension

ASIC sues insurance comparison website Choosi for allegedly misleading customers

Greens leader says defecting senator gave her one hour’s notice

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson returned to the witness stand today. She is accused of deliberately poisoning her in-laws with a meal containing death cap mushrooms. You can follow our live blog here.

Good afternoon all, my name is Grant McArthur and I will be steering the blog until stumps today.

So far today we have seen:

• The Fair Work Commission lifted the minimum wage by 3.5 per cent so the nation’s lowest-paid workers will receive $24.95 an hour.
• Turmoil over US President Donald Trump’s tariff war prompted the Reserve Bank to cut the interest rate as the “path of least regret”.
• Parents experiencing financial abuse feel abandoned and let down by the child support program, according to a report released by the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
• Australia’s corporate watchdog is suing insurance comparison provider Choosi for allegedly misleading customers shopping for funeral and life insurance