About one in seven Australian workers will have their penalty rates increased and their employers will not be able to reduce them, under changes proposed by the Albanese government. 

One of those workers is service assistant Ruth Sumner, who for 25 years had to struggle to provide for her kids. 

Although her children have moved out, she still has to look for deals to pay for her basic needs, sacrificing her quality of life. 

“It’s sad because everything’s going up. It’s your power and everything,” Ms Sumner told AAP. 

“I look at an apple that I really like but if there’s one two dollars cheaper, I’m going to buy the cheaper one.”

She stands to benefit from a bill Labor has introduced to the lower house that seeks to enshrine higher rates of pay for award workers when they work late nights, early hours, weekends and public holidays.

If it is passed, award workers will earn a base weekend penalty rate of about $40 an hour.

While rates can vary depending on an employee’s specific award or agreement applicable to that industry, common pay rates for workers on a Sunday are double time (200 per cent) or time and a half (150 per cent).

A calculation of rates on the Fair Work Commission’s website shows a common penalty for a casual hospitality Saturday shift to be $40.85 per hour, while a Sunday shift could bring in $47.65 per hour.

Ms Rishworth said award workers deserved to have their wages protected.

“Wages of low-paid workers should not go backwards because that’s not fair and not what Australians expect of our workplace relation system,” Ms Rishworth said as she introduced the bill. 

“The bill is designed to be simple, fair, and workable.”

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the bill was anything but simple and fair, calling it a “backwards step” and “out of touch.”

Acting chief executive David Alexander said it made negotiating wage changes harder for employers, especially small businesses who already struggle to work through the “complex” fair work act.

“Tying Australian businesses up in knots around workplace systems has the effect of strangling growth and that means less jobs and lower wages,” Mr Alexander said.

“This bill is at odds with the government’s plans to improve productivity, and instead injects more rigidity and complexity into the fair work laws.”

Peak retail and business groups also put forward proposals for large companies to opt out of providing penalty rates for staff in exchange for a base-level pay rise.

Opposition employment spokesman Tim Wilson said the coalition supported penalty rates.

“We will work through the legislation to make sure we consult the businesses and those it’s going to impact to get the best outcome,” he told AAP.

The coalition also wants to assess how the changes would interact with the Fair Work Commission, which would be required to apply the new rules.

A longstanding inner-city support hub for Aboriginal women will get a big cash injection to protect them from financial abuse.

The Mudgin-gal centre in Sydney’s Redfern has operated for more than three decades, providing a safe space with programs and facilities for women, mothers and families experiencing domestic violence or homelessness.

Sometimes the centre simply serves as a place to drop in for a yarn, and its chief executive Ashlee Donohue says provides a sanctuary for women no matter who they are or what they have experienced.

Mudgin-gal’s important work is expanding with a grant of up to $200,000 and mentoring from the Commonwealth Bank to tackle financial abuse in the community.

The support will allow for culturally safe programs like their trauma-informed sacred circle initiative, which focuses on healing while building financial literacy so women can gain an understanding and independence around money.

“This is a big deal for us,” Ms Donohue told AAP.

“The fact that there’s mentoring with it, we’re not just guessing, we’re getting proper information from the bank, and that’s remarkable.”

The grant is part of the bank’s Next Chapter Innovation program, which invests in First Nations-led initiatives to provide culturally informed, practical responses to financial abuse.

Other program grant recipients include the Queensland-based Mookai Rosie-Bi-Bayan, which provides healthcare and accommodation to women and children in Cape York, the Northern Peninsula Area and Torres Strait.

The Next Chapter Innovation program was established to help “break the cycle” of financial abuse, Commonwealth Bank’s Indigenous business products executive manager Mitchell Heritage said.

“We are proud to back community-led organisations that are delivering real change on the ground,” he said.

Financial abuse can look different in Indigenous communities with family pressure and exploitation of cultural obligations sometimes used to control finances, Ms Donohue said.

Many women who are in a financially abusive situation may not be able to recognise it as such she said, which is why it is important to build financial literacy.

“There’s a need for our women to understand finances better,” Ms Donohue said.

“In reality we’ve always been behind the eight ball with money in this country – our ancestors worked for no wages – so this skilling up and sharing knowledge in this space hasn’t really been done before and that in itself is innovation.”

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The speed of Australia’s decision to lift restrictions on US beef has raised eyebrows in the cattle industry, breeding calls for an independent, scientific review.

The federal government has revealed Australia will allow access to US beef that had been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America.

The government has faced pressure from US President Donald Trump to ease restrictions as it seeks an exemption from wide-ranging tariffs.

Its announcement was made early on Thursday morning, less than a day before industry groups were briefed and hours before the full details were made public on the government’s website.

While Australia’s cattle industry groups have remained generally unperturbed, there have been calls for an independent, scientific panel to review the government’s risk assessment.

“We remain concerned at the speed of this – we were a little surprised,” veterinarian and Cattle Australia senior adviser Chris Parker told AAP.

“There’s some bits and pieces that we need to get a very clear understanding of, but we don’t have at this stage due to the speed of this announcement.

“It’s all well and good to say, ‘We branded a cow or a steer, we put a … tag in there’, but what’s the system that actually underpins that?”

The US has been able to send beef to Australia since 2019.

Beef raised in Canada or Mexico was barred because of concerns the latter’s livestock tracking system could inadvertently lead producers to import product from parts of the continent where there were disease outbreaks.

Thursday’s decision was made only after the US introduced more robust movement controls in recent months, allowing for improved identification and tracing throughout the supply chain.

“We have not compromised on biosecurity,” Agriculture Minister Julie Collins told reporters in Canberra.

“(The department) is satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the US effectively manage biosecurity risks.”

But tuberculosis and brucellosis remain significant concerns, Dr Parker said.

Australia is free of the diseases, but both can spread among cows and humans, which means the government must be assured its expanded supply chain is free and safe from them.

The US also implements strict controls over Australian imports, such as regular facility audits and government officials undergoing final inspections, and Dr Parker says Australia should have equivalent arrangements for American beef.

“I’m not saying that US product is not safe – what I’m saying is they have some things we don’t and we need appropriate processes that assure us the supply chain remains safe,” Dr Parker said.

The Nationals have echoed calls for an independent review after its leader David Littleproud accused the government of trading away biosecurity protocols to “appease Donald Trump”.

For months, the government has considered using US beef as a bargaining chip in its attempts to carve out an exemption from Mr Trump’s tariffs.

Asked whether tariffs had influenced Thursday’s announcement, Ms Collins insisted the decision followed a decade-long review process, saying she had kept the industry up to date since the US requested expanded market access in 2020.

Australian Meat Industry Council CEO Tim Ryan said the move was not a surprise, while Cattle Australia chief executive Will Evans acknowledged the importance of maintaining beef export access to the US.

Some have raised worries US beef could affect Australia’s domestic market, but Mr Evans said the imports were unlikely to have an impact.

The US could not even meet its own needs, he said, and remained one of the main export markets for Australian beef.

US Agriculture Secretary Brooke L Rollins congratulated Mr Trump after Australia’s beef deal.

“Gone are the days of putting American farmers on the sideline,” Ms Rollins said.

“This is yet another example of the kind of market access the president negotiates to bring America into a new golden age of prosperity, with American agriculture leading the way.”

Closing a copper smelter that employs hundreds of people would be a “national disgrace”, a state government claims.

Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki has told miner Glencore and the federal government to keep afloat Mt Isa’s copper smelter and refinery in the state’s northwest, as the company claims it could lose $2.2 billion over the next seven years.

Glencore insists it urgently needs government assistance to keep operating, but the Queensland government argues it has made a “genuine and responsible” offer to support the business and retain thousands of jobs.

“It would be a national disgrace if the federal government and Glencore were not at the table working to negotiate here,” Mr Janetzki told reporters in Mt Isa on Thursday.

The former Labor state government threw a $50 million support package to workers at the smelter in 2023 when Glencore announced it would close its copper mining operations in the northwest after 60 years.

The package was announced with the expectation for Glencore to match the bid.

But the latest offer from the Liberal National government remains “confidential” as it looks to the mining giant and federal government to work out the deal.

“Queensland has done its fair share here,” Mr Janetzki said.

A leaked memo on Wednesday revealed Glencore believed it was no longer able to absorb the multimillion-dollar losses and needs a solution in the coming weeks.

“We are running out of time,” it said.

Glencore said it would start preparations to place its Mt Isa smelter and Townsville refinery into care and maintenance if adequate government support didn’t come.

Mr Janetzki did not detail whether other mining companies had expressed interest in taking over the smelter and refinery when asked on Thursday, saying a range of confidential discussions are ongoing.

Mt Isa Mayor Peta MacRae welcomed any other company to take on the smelter to keep it running but in the short term, she said it is up to the government to keep the livelihoods of 17,000 workers afloat.

“We don’t think the state or the feds have the appetite for crashing the North Queensland economy, so we hope that everyone’s going to get in a room and find a solution,” she told reporters.

The federal coalition called for a Senate inquiry on Wednesday into the metals manufacturing industry, saying thousands of jobs could be lost in Queensland if Glencore is not supported.

Glencore employs about 600 workers at its smelter and refinery, with a further 17,000 staff at 25 other operations across Australia.

Activists are urging shareholders in Australia’s largest investment bank to vote in favour of a resolution calling on the firm to disclose the full extent of its stakes in coal, oil and gas.

Environmental group Market Forces gathered outside the Macquarie Bank annual general meeting in Sydney’s CBD on Thursday alongside a four-metre-tall mock gas flare.

The bank is funding one of the biggest gas fracking developments in Australia, Market Forces researcher Kyle Robertson said, referring to the $100 million Beetaloo Basin gas project in the Northern Territory.

“A safe climate is the most financially beneficial option for the whole community,” he told AAP on Thursday.

“A scenario where we warm by catastrophic levels, which is what projects like this will ensure, is going to be disastrous for the community.

“So frankly, we’re here with all these people today to hold Macquarie to account.”

At the meeting, shareholders will vote on Macquarie’s first climate-focused shareholder resolution, calling on the $86 billion company to show how financing of fossil fuel projects aligns with its net-zero commitments.

Mr Robertson was joined at the protest by 19-year-old activist Owen Magee, who said the investment bank’s actions had a huge impact on the climate’s future.

“I am really concerned about how we’re destroying the lands of First Nations people who have been here for over 60,000 years,” he told AAP on Thursday.

“So for me, it’s really important to stand up for my future, but also stand up for communities around the world and across the country.”

Macquarie has more than doubled its financing for oil and gas in the past two years, Market Forces said.

In late 2024, the bank provided the funding for two of the gas companies most active in the Basin, Beetaloo Energy Australia and Tamboran Resources.

Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources says Beetaloo has the potential to rival the world’s best gas projects, and developing it could create thousands of jobs and drive significant economic growth in the territory.

Macquarie board chair Glenn Stevens recommended shareholders reject the climate resolution during Thursday’s meeting.

The company has been consistent in its response to climate change over many years, and accepts the best available science, he said.

“We think that simply shutting down oil and gas today is not viable,” Mr Stevens said.

“We recognise the reality that even as Net Zero is pursued, the world will need carbon-based energy for quite some time.”

Market Forces says four global investors have backed the shareholder resolution: the pension funds of New York City, the UK’s Church of England and the largest private pension fund in Norway, as well as Melbourne-based fund manager ELM Responsible Investments.

A recent jump in the unemployment rate took most economists by surprise but not the Reserve Bank, its governor says.

Tightness in the labour market was a key concern of Australia’s central bank as standing in the way of more rate cuts, but conditions were easing in line with expectations, Michele Bullock said in a speech to the Anika Foundation.

Recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed joblessness surged from 4.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent in June, despite a consensus of economists predicting the rate to remain unchanged.

“Some of the coverage of the latest data suggested this was a shock – but the outcome for the June quarter was in line with the forecast we released in May,” Ms Bullock said on Thursday.

“That on its own suggests that the labour market moved a little further towards balance, as we were anticipating.”

Uncertainty remains over the RBA’s estimate of full employment, being its estimate of the lowest rate of unemployment that can be achieved without contributing to inflation.

The bank estimates this figure is around 4.5 per cent, meaning the labour market would still be out of balance even after the recent jump.

But in its May economic update, the RBA noted labour market conditions could be less tight than previously thought.

“The low rate of job switching may imply less upward pressure on wage growth than otherwise,” Ms Bullock said.

“Nevertheless, the risks we highlighted in May remain.”

Ms Bullock reiterated the RBA’s gradual monetary tightening in recent years was aimed at getting inflation under control without causing unemployment to rise excessively.

While not a major driver of inflation, a post-pandemic surge of international students did contribute to rents spiking, a report published by RBA researchers on Thursday found.

Large swings in foreign student numbers, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, have a particularly strong effect on sectors such as housing where supply is constrained.

The international student population jumped from 357,919 in 2022 to 608,262 at the end of the 2024 financial year following a drop in enrolments during the pandemic, according to research from conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs.

As a “back-of-the-envelope” metric, every 100,000 additional international students in Australia would increase rents by 0.5 per cent compared to the counterfactual, the RBA study said.

That meant rents grew about 1.25 per cent faster than they otherwise would have if the international student population had not grown by 250,000 from 2022 to 2024.

The effect might have been greater than that, given the especially tight rental market during that period, with the vacancy hitting a record low of 0.7 per cent in February 2024, according to Domain.

But it’s still a drop in the bucket compared to the overall growth in rents, which have jumped more than 40 per cent in the past five years to reach a national average of $665 per week, according to property research firm Cotality.

The RBA report found the rise in international students likely only accounted for “a small share of the rise in rents since the onset of the pandemic, with much of the rise in advertised rents occurring before borders were reopened”.

“The increase in international students was just one of many other forces at play in this time that drove demand above supply in the economy, and hence higher inflation,” the authors said.

“For instance, supply-side factors were the biggest driver of the increase in inflation in 2022 and 2023, while strong domestic demand arising from supportive fiscal and monetary policy also played an important role.”

US President Donald Trump, a strong critic of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is planning an imminent visit to the central bank.

Trump has lambasted Powell repeatedly for not cutting US interest rates more aggressively, referring to him as a “numbskull” and musing publicly about firing him.

The White House has released a schedule to media saying Trump would visit the Federal Reserve on Thursday.

The schedule did not say whether Trump would be meeting with Powell.

A Federal Reserve official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House deputy chief of staff James Blair said earlier this week that administration officials would be visiting the Fed on Thursday but did not say the president would join.

Trump’s visit represents an acceleration of the pressure he and his advisers have put on Powell and the bank, traditionally viewed as an independent institution.

Several Australian women allegedly forced to submit to invasive strip searches at Doha’s Hamad airport have been given the go ahead to sue Qatar Airways after a “long and stressful struggle”.

The five women, who cannot be legally named, were among hundreds of women alleged to have been forcibly removed from aircraft at Doha on October 2, 2020 as officials searched for the mother of a newborn found in a bathroom at the terminal.

Taken off planes by armed guards, many allege they were forced to conduct non-consensual gynaecological or intimate physical examinations.

One passenger was forced to undergo a strip search holding her five-month old son, the lawsuit claims. 

Another, who is elderly and legally blind, was directed out of the aircraft but was not subject to a search.

The women, three of whom were allegedly subjected to invasive searches, launched legal action against Qatar Airways, the airport operator and the government-owned Qatar Civil Aviation Authority. 

After an initial ruling barred them from pursuing the airline and the QCAA, the Federal Court ruled on Thursday that the suit against Qatar Airways and the airport operator could continue.

The women’s lawyer Damian Sturzaker said his clients were relieved with their win after “a very long and stressful struggle to bring this to court”.  

“Unfortunately the case against the state of Qatar was unsuccessful, however this has always been an issue against the airline,” he said outside court.

“We’ve now got an opportunity to have a full hearing with all of (the women’s) evidence coming out and, in those circumstances, we’re very very pleased with the outcome today.”

The women are seeking compensation for mental stress, for alleged assault and for the alleged false imprisonment during the airport incident nearly five years ago. 

They claim the airline and the airport operator were negligent and breached their duty of care to passengers who were forced off the plane and subjected to searches. 

A judge previously dismissed the women’s claims against Qatar Airways as having no prospect of success because the searches didn’t occur when disembarking or embarking the plane. 

However, the Full Court determined on Thursday there was “no sufficiently high degree of certainty” that was the case and ruled it is an issue that should be decided at trial. 

Chief Justice Debra Mortimer, Justice Angus Stewart, Justice Stephen Stellios upheld the primary ruling that the women could not sue the QCAA because it has immunity as an entity of a foreign state. 

Qatar Airways was ordered to pay the legal bill accrued by the women during the appeal. 

The court battle between the two parties is not expected to be heard this year. 

Outside court, Mr Sturzaker said he was confident in his steadfast clients’ case against the airline and the airport operator. 

“They always would have liked to see a resolution to the matter but if that can’t be achieved then of course the matter will go to hearing,” he said. 

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A historic international court ruling could open the door to Australia being sued by its Pacific neighbours over inaction on climate change.

The International Court of Justice at The Hague in the Netherlands has stated countries have an obligation to prevent climate change harm and redress damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

The non-binding advisory opinion has significant ramifications for Australia, Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said.

“The decision will reverberate across the world and around Australia – in courtrooms, boardrooms, parliaments and international negotiations,” she said.

“The court makes it crystal clear that all countries have significant legal responsibilities to prevent further climate harm by slashing their climate pollution rapidly and deeply.”

The international court’s opinion was unprecedented in breadth and future precedent, Australian National University international law expert Donald Rothwell said.

“The court’s opinion will pave the way for political and diplomatic exchanges between climate change-impacted states and large polluting states over reparations,” Prof Rothwell said.

“If settlements are not reached there is now a clearer pathway forward for international climate litigation by the specially impacted states.”

Importantly, all states – not just signatories to the Climate Change Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement – would face obligations under the court’s advice.

While no judgment had been issued, advisory opinions could still be very influential in the interpretation and development of international law.

“In this way, the ICJ advisory opinion does not only clarify existing rules, it creates legal momentum,” said Sebastien Duyck, senior attorney at the Center For International Environmental Law

“It reshapes what is now considered legally possible, actionable, and ultimately enforceable.”

ActionAid Australia executive director Michelle Higelin said the ruling was clear.

“Australia must do all it can to keep global heating to 1.5 degrees,” she said

“This is not a choice, this is an obligation to take stronger and more urgent action.”

ActionAid wants the government to “urgently” transition away from fossil fuels and increase funding to low-income countries, including those in the Pacific, to support climate adaptation efforts.

Oxfam climate change policy lead Nafkote Dabi agreed.

“Rich countries have to increase their financing to Global South countries to help them reduce emissions and protect their people from past and future harm,” Ms Dabi said.

“This is not a wish-list – it is international law.”

Global science and policy institute, Climate Analytics, which has an Australia-Pacific region office, said the finding foreshadowed potentially serious legal penalties.

Action could be taken under customary international law if countries climate targets undershoot the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Australia’s current commitment to the Agreement includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

The court’s finding came after a campaign spearheaded by Vanuatu University law students and backed by Vanuatu’s government, arguing Pacific island countries unjustly bore the brunt of climate change compared to high-emitting economies.

“The degradation of the climate system and of other parts of the environment impairs the enjoyment of a range of rights protected by human rights law,” presiding judge Yuji Iwasawa said, handing down the court’s opinion.

The court decision “confirms that states’ obligations to protect human rights require taking measures to protect the climate system … including mitigation and adaptation measures,” Judge Hilary Charlesworth, an Australian member of the court, said in a separate opinion.

A response is being sought from the federal government.

Vanuatu Minister for Climate Change Adaptation Ralph Regenvanu described the court’s opinion as a “very important course correction in this critically important time”.

“For the first time in history, the ICJ has spoken directly about the biggest threat facing humanity,” he said at The Hague.

A post-pandemic surge of international students contributed to rents spiking but was not a major inflation driver, central bank research finds.

Large swings in foreign student numbers have a particularly strong effect on housing costs, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers said in a paper published on Thursday.

That’s because the market has a limited ability to quickly add new supply to meet rapid increases in demand, due to constraints such as skills shortages and approval delays.

The international student population jumped from 357,919 in 2022 to 608,262 at the end of the 2024 financial year, following a drop in enrolments during the pandemic, according to research from conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs.

Rental costs were disproportionately affected because international students are more likely to rent than the general population.

As a “back-of-the-envelope” metric, every 100,000 additional international students in Australia would increase rents by 0.5 per cent compared to the counterfactual, the Reserve Bank of Australia study found.

That means rents grew about 1.25 per cent faster than they otherwise would have if the international student population had not grown by 250,000 from 2022 to 2024.

The effect may have been greater than that, given the especially tight rental market during that period, with the vacancy hitting a record low of 0.7 per cent in February 2024, according to Domain.

But its still a drop in the bucket compared to the overall growth in rents in recent years.

Rents have jumped more than 40 per cent in the past five years to reach a national average of $665 per week, according to property research firm Cotality.

The RBA report found the rise in international students likely only accounted for “a small share of the rise in rents since the onset of the pandemic, with much of the rise in advertised rents occurring before borders were reopened”.

“The increase in international students was just one of many other forces at play in this time that drove demand above supply in the economy, and hence higher inflation,” the authors said.

“For instance, supply-side factors were the biggest driver of the increase in inflation in 2022 and 2023, while strong domestic demand arising from supportive fiscal and monetary policy also played an important role.”

Prospective homebuyers hoping for lower mortgage rates could get a clearer indication of the RBA’s next move on Thursday when governor Michele Bullock speaks for the first time since a surprise surge in unemployment data last week.

Ms Bullock will talk about the central bank’s dual mandate of maintaining low inflation and unemployment in a speech to the Anika Foundation in Sydney.