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It's Friday (finally)

All the news that's fit to mint

Jenna ClarkeEditorial Director
5 min read
7:31PMMay 19, 2022.
Updated 12:49PMMay 21, 2022
The Oz
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All the news that's fit to mint

One more sleep. 

Congratulations everyone. We made it.

I mean, we all feel like Winona Ryder in the final scenes of Heathers, but come Saturday night there may be a new (red wearing) "sheriff" in town.

A new man in the Lodge could be a reality if all the final polling is to be trusted with Labor just ahead in the two party preferred race. But, as we know, the only survey that is correct is the poll on polling day. 

After six weeks, the federal election will wrap up tomorrow. So it's over to you to do your thing for democracy.

However the Australian Electoral Commission is as stressed as a bride the night before her wedding. As Covid, that guest no one wants, has gatecrashed #ausvotes22.

More than 53,000 new cases were reported yesterday which means those with the spicy cough will miss out on voting in person on Saturday.

If that's you, you'll have to vote via the telephone. But just be prepared there could be a bit of a wait.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson will join you.

Hanson, who is not vaccinated, tested positive for Covid on Thursday and tweeted her news.

Brass taxes

The Opposition released the costings of its election promises on Thursday. 

They plan to spend a lot, but it was sold by shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers and opposition finance spokeswoman Katy Gallagher as a slew of "investments" for the country that will generate profits and boost productivity.

The numbers were interesting but the language was more so. Debt spun as "investment" is the political equivalent of saying "I basically saved money as I brought it on sale".

The deficits would rise by a "modest" $7.4bn over the next four years in order to pay for the ALP's election policies like childcare, transitioning to renewables and supercharging local manufacturing. 

"The costings plan, which does not capture Labor’s $52bn in 'off-budget' election promises, said 19 savings and revenue measures would drive $11.5bn in improvements to the bottom line and see deficits 'decline both in dollar terms and as a percentage of the economy each year,'" The Australian, the Cady Heron to our Aaron Samuels, reports.

Labor deficits would be $8.4bn larger to fund $18.9bn in new "investments" over four years. That is compared to the Coalition - the same team which added an estimated $5.5bn to our taxpayer bill when they abandoned that deal to buy French submarines - and its costings plan. Which also promised a $1bn improvement to our bottom line.

Can't stop, won't stop being employed 

While a Budget surplus is a long way off, we've got more jobs than people right now.

The unemployment rate is now  3.9%.

It's the lowest level since 1974.

In places like WA the rate is as low as 2.9%.

There were bout 4000 new jobs added in April which was fewer than the 20,000-30,000 expected. 

So what does less people out of work (and a slight) increase in wages, as announced earlier this week, mean in the real world?

Watch this to save your brain turning into scrambled eggs.

@theoz.com.au

We got pay rises! But it doesn’t really help us… #news #moneytok

♬ original sound - The Oz

The 'right to choose' rises again

Historic voluntary assisted dying laws have passed the NSW parliament. Bringing the country's biggest state in line with the rest of the nation as NSW is the last state in the country to legalise it.

An issue which is set to reignite debate around a special federal parliamentary Bill which prevents territories from even debating the topic of assisted dying.

For 25 years, a piece of legislation best known for the Liberal politician who brought it into being, has prevented the ACT and NT from making its own euthanasia laws.

It's called the Andrews Bill, which was introduced by former Lib MP Kevin Andrews after the NT government, back in 1995, passed laws to allow doctors to end the life of terminally ill patients at their request.

It went down like a lead balloon in the wider Federation and thus the Commonwealth intervened and overruled the law, via a campaign spearheaded by Andrews.

Unlike the states, the Commonwealth has plenary - or absolute - power over the two territories, meaning it can overrule laws passed by the NT Parliament and ACT Legislative Assembly.

When pressed about scrapping the legislation if successful on Saturday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said "nah".

"There are differences between territories and states and that is under our Constitution and we're not proposing any changes to that," Morrison said.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was asked if a federal Labor government would reinstate territory rights and said: "I'll set the priorities according the priorities I've put out during the election campaign, not according to a press conference two days beforehand."

Home to Bilo?

Not on Morrison's watch. On Thursday the PM said there is "no protection owed" to the Murugappan family and indicated they won't be allowed back to Biloela if he's re-elected.

Leaky cabinet

Last year Foreign Minister Marise Payne suggested Australia should double its Pacific aid funding to "counter rising Chinese influence". 

The proposal  - that would have seen the aid increase from $1.44bn a year to about $2.88bn a year by 2025-26 - was knocked back for being too expensive by Cabinet. It instead approved two less expensive elements of the strategy she put forward.

Payne reportedly argued that Australia needed to dramatically increase its support for regional partners to prevent them being co-opted by Beijing. This happened in November, months before the Solomon Islands signed that controversial strategic partnership with the Chinese Communist Party.

Crowe 4 the 'Kok

We're not the only ones voting over the weekend.

Bangkok is staging its governor election. It'll be the first governor poll in almost a decade - the first significant election since those pro-democracy rallies a few years ago.

Actor, NRL owner and ALP voice over enthusiast Russell Crowe has participated in a candidates round table, beaming into Thailand's version of 730, overnight.

Get it girl

AFLW players have secured a 94% pay rise in a new one-year deal. 

Top-tier AFLW players will now be paid $71,935, while the minimum wage will increase from $20,239 to $39,184.

Under a new one-year collective bargaining agreement, pays will almost double for players and the season will start in August.

The next hurdle for AFLW players will be seeing the length of the season expanded, preferably to a 17-game season where each team plays each other once, plus finals, as they campaign for the league to reach full professionalism within four years.

Belly-autiful

2022 is the year of the blooming belly.

Model Adriana Lima debuted her baby bump, Rhianna-style, on the red carpet in Cannes during the film festival festivities, almost upstaging the new Top Gun flick and definitely overshadowing the renaissance of Tom Cruise.

Now let's liberate muffin tops.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/the-oz/news/its-friday-finally/news-story/765f470370fd45fa4d2d55501f1ee6c7