Month: May 2025

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Source: Tasmania Police

Issued: 13 May 2025

Campgrounds within Imbil State Forest and Conondale National Park (Charlie Moreland and Booloumba 4 respectively) will be temporarily closed until approximately 4 June 2025.

Extreme wet weather, amplified by three consecutive long weekends bringing extra foot traffic, has caused substantial damage to camping areas and nearby roads.

During this temporary one-month closure, works will be completed to assist in the recovery, weather permitting.

Campers affected by the closure can consider alternate options in the same area such as B1 and B3 in Conondale National Park and Peach Trees camping area in Yabba State Forest.

Visitors are being urged to check Park Alerts for up-to-date information on protected area closures.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service will continue to monitor the situation and will reopen camping areas when the areas have recovered and are safe.

The public is urged to obey all signs and directions from Rangers.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Strike Force Viper and Dog Operations have arrested two male youths involved in a robbery in Alice Springs CBD today.

Around 12:30pm, police received a report that a female had been robbed while parked in her vehicle on Gregory Terrace. It is alleged the two male youths approached the vehicle, opened the passenger door and stole the victim’s wallet from the centre console. They then allegedly pulled the woman from the vehicle and onto the ground, causing minor injuries to her leg, before fleeing the scene on foot.

Strike Force Viper and the Dog Operations Unit conducted patrols of the CBD, locating and arresting the alleged offenders, aged 14 and 17, on Gap Road.

Both males remain in custody, with charges expected to follow.

Police urge anyone with information about the incident to contact them on 131 444 and quote reference number P25130600. Anonymous reports can be made via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

Peter Stefanovic:

Thank you. Well, the Prime Minister will swear in his new team this morning, which features some familiar faces and some new ones as well. One of those maintaining his role is the federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers who joins us live from Canberra now. Treasurer, congratulations on your re‑election. Thank you for your time this morning.

So you’ll be sworn in, then you do your morning stretches; you’re off and running. What’s the first thing you want in the kit bag in term?

Jim Chalmers:

Good morning, Pete. We’ve been off and running really, more or less since the day after the election. I think I got my first briefing from the Treasury Secretary at 6:45 am on the Sunday after the election. And that’s because a big focus for us is managing all of this global economic uncertainty that you and Tom just ran through a moment ago, not just on markets, but in the global economy more broadly.

We’ve been working hard since the election was resolved a couple of Saturdays ago. I’m looking forward to getting sworn in today, and I’m particularly grateful to the PM for this opportunity, but also for the chance to work with some really terrific people who will be sworn in to the Treasury portfolio today.

Stefanovic:

Yeah.

Chalmers:

Clare O’Neil, Anne Aly, Daniel Mulino, Andrew Leigh, a lot of intellectual horsepower in those colleagues, a lot of energy, enthusiasm and talent, and so I’m looking forward to working with them.

Stefanovic:

Okay. What’s the one thing, the first thing that you want to achieve this term?

Chalmers:

We’ve got a number of priorities – first of all managing that uncertainty, also we’ve got a major focus on productivity, we need to make our economy more productive over time. I think in the most specific sense we’ve got to build more homes.

I’ll work closely with Clare O’Neil to make sure that the billions of dollars that we’re investing as part of our broad and ambitious housing policy builds more homes in our communities right around Australia. So that’s a top priority as well.

Stefanovic:

Okay. Business leaders, they’re not letting you settle in, Treasurer. Some are already miffed that you’d need 2 more terms to boost productivity. Is that timeframe a worst case scenario for you or are you just trying to give some wriggle room?

Chalmers:

A couple of things about that. I don’t think anyone’s surprised to read in The Australian that Chris Corrigan has a different view on productivity to the Labor government.

I’ve had some really terrific engagement with major business leaders in the last week or 2 about our focus on productivity. Overwhelmingly people want to work with us on it.

The point that I’ve made is that productivity is a challenge which has been a feature of our economy for some decades, and it will take more than a couple of years to turn around. I think that’s just a realistic way of being upfront with people, that we can make our economy productive. It’s not one of those areas where you can just flick a switch and all of a sudden the economy is as productive as with want it to be. The problem’s been there for a couple of decades, the worst decade for productivity growth was the decade to 2020, the worst decade in the last half century or more.

We’ve got a lot of work to do and that will take time, and I think that’s understood in the business community, and I’m going to work closely with business, with unions, with the community more broadly to do what we can this term to make our economy more productive over time.

Stefanovic:

Okay. Will you still go after unrealised gains in $3 million plus super accounts?

Chalmers:

We haven’t changed our policy on that. I know that that’s been a focus of some of the commentary since the election. I don’t think it’s particularly newsworthy that we haven’t changed our policy on that. We’ve made it clear that it’s a very modest change, it only affects 0.5 per cent of people with balances over $3 million.

It’s still concessional tax treatment, just a little bit less concessiona. And it’s an important way that we fund some of our other priorities – including strengthening Medicare or providing income tax cuts, helping with the cost‑of‑living and building more homes. It’s an important part of our budget, we haven’t changed our approach to it. We know that there are elements of the media that are very focused on it, but we haven’t made a change there.

Stefanovic:

Well, I mean it’s just the idea of taxing something that hasn’t happened yet, which I think is a legitimate concern. But recent modelling by AMP found it’s not just retirees with over $3 million super, in the long run more and more Gen Z workers will be affected if it’s not indexed. Is that your calculation?

Chalmers:

A couple of things about that. First of all, on unrealised gains, there are other parts of the superannuation system where that is calculated, that’s a common misunderstanding which is repeated too frequently. And the second point about the long run, 30 or 40 years away, that assumes that there are never any changes to the threshold.

There are a number of areas in our tax system where thresholds aren’t indexed, where they are changed from time to time by governments, and I would expect that to be the case again.

It would be a strange assumption to assume that in the next 30 or 40 years nobody ever changes the threshold. That doesn’t happen in other parts of the tax system, and it wouldn’t happen in this part of the tax system over a period that long.

Stefanovic:

You just mentioned that you got some key appointments now in your brains trust, if you like. You’ve got, you know, Dan Mulino, Andrew Charlton as well is another one. How collaborative do you expect those economic discussions to be now?

Chalmers:

Perfectly collaborative, and ‘brains trust’ is a good way to describe them. I’m surrounded by brainiacs in the Treasury portfolio team, and I’m really excited about that.

Mulino is an absolute gun, Andrew Leigh – experience, intellectual horsepower, Clare O’Neil similarly, Anne Aly is going to bring a real dynamism to the small business portfolio. We get to work closely with Katy Gallagher and with the Cabinet more broadly, and I couldn’t be happier with the team that Anthony has appointed, and I’m going to work really closely with them.

I’ve already met with Dan Mulino, I’ve already met with Andrew Leigh, I’ve had discussions with a number of colleagues, and we’re looking forward to getting cracking.

Stefanovic:

But if they were to say to you, ‘Hey, Treasurer, taxing unrealised gains, there’s going to be a lot of blow‑back here, people are worried about the long‑term’, would you change course on that, or would you still plough ahead?

Chalmers:

I think I’ve answered this question already, Pete, you’ve come back to it for a second dig, but I’ve explained to you why we’re doing it.

Stefanovic:

No, but I’m just wondering if there’s more consternation behind the scenes, you know, would you change course at all in terms of that collaborative approach?

Chalmers:

It’s not something that you should anticipate, it’s not something that we’re considering or planning, for all of the reasons I ran through comprehensively a moment ago when you asked me the first time.

Stefanovic:

All right. US and China have paused their trade war for now, Treasurer. What’s your reaction to that, and what hope does that give you in terms of a reprieve for us?

Chalmers:

It’s a really welcome development, and I think the whole world is hopeful that this augurs well for the resolution of this effectively trade war between the 2 biggest economies in the world.

But we have to be realistic about it as well – there’s still a lot of unpredictability, a lot of volatility and a lot of uncertainty in the global economy. This is not resolved, it’s been paused, in welcome ways, and you can see that the markets have reacted to that as Tom ran through with you a moment ago.

These are welcome developments, they are good developments, but the situation is not resolved yet, and if you think about the concerns that we have for the impact of trade wars on the Australian economy, we are especially exposed to a trade war between the US and China. If you look at the analysis that we have done really the biggest part of our concern is the impact on the Chinese economy flowing through to our own economy. So we welcome these developments.

Stefanovic:

Okay.

Chalmers:

These are good developments, but we need to temper our expectations because there are a lot of issues still unresolved.

Stefanovic:

All right. Just a final one here, I know we’re squeezed for time, but – and this is not your problem – but the Libs’ leadership is up today in a couple of hours’ time. Have you got a thought on that this morning?

Chalmers:

Look, I haven’t given it a lot of thought – I think the 2 people that are up for election today shows that the Liberals haven’t learned a thing from the debacle which was their election campaign.

Whoever wins the battle of the duds today, the Liberal Party will still be the party of lower wages, higher income taxes and nuclear reactors. And Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor, they should be asking their colleagues for forgiveness, not for their votes.

You know, these 2 are 2 of the 3 people most responsible for the Liberal Party’s failure at the election, failure over the last 3 years to come up with anything that resembles a credible, coherent –

Stefanovic:

Okay.

Chalmers:

– economic policy, and so I find it bizarre that the Liberal Party members are being asked to choose between 2 of the worst performers in the Opposition over the last 3 years.

Stefanovic:

All right. Treasurer, I know we’re squeezed for time but thank you for your time this morning as always. We’ll chat again soon.

Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

Jim Chalmers:

I’m really grateful to the Prime Minister for the opportunity to serve as Australia’s Treasurer. Looking forward to being sworn in with my outstanding colleagues later this morning.

I’m especially looking forward to working with the absolutely first‑class Treasury portfolio team that Anthony has appointed. Daniel Mulino is an absolutely first‑rate person to have in our team, working closely with Andrew Leigh, Clare O’Neil, Anne Aly will bring a dynamism to the small business portfolio as well. This is an outstanding team of colleagues. I’m looking forward to working closely with them. They have a lot of intellectual horsepower, a lot of experience, a lot of energy, a lot of dynamism, as I said. And so looking forward to being sworn in.

The hard work has already begun. I think the first briefing I received after the election was at quarter to 7 in the morning, the Sunday morning after the election. And that’s because a big focus for me in the Treasury portfolio and for the government is navigating this global economic uncertainty at the same time as we continue to roll out our cost‑of‑living help and make our economy more productive over time as well, build more houses, get the energy transformation right. These are the priorities for me as Treasurer, but for the economic team more broadly, the Cabinet and the government as well.

We welcome the opportunity to work for the Australian people for another term with a big focus on the economy. The economy was front and centre in the election campaign, it will be front and centre in the second term, just like it was in in the first term. Our Albanese Labor government is defined by responsible economic management and people should expect that to continue.

Journalist:

You said you’re pretty keen to get those superannuation tax changes through. Initially when you put that legislation forward, it was to come into effect by July 1 this year, but the Prime Minister said that parliament won’t necessarily sit until late July. So, when would those tax changes come into effect?

Chalmers:

It’s not unusual for tax changes to be legislated after a start date, there are other instances of that. What I’ve said today is the same point that I’ve made repeatedly, really more or less since we first announced these changes more than 2 years ago now. This is a modest change which impacts a tiny sliver of the population, about half a per cent of people with balances over $3 million in their superannuation. It’s still concessional tax treatment, just slightly less concessional.

And it makes an important contribution to the budget, to priorities like strengthening Medicare, the tax cuts, building more homes. So it’s an important part of the budget as well. The government hasn’t changed its approach to it. We announced it more than 2 years ago. It’s been in the parliament for a long time now. It’s a modest change that impacts a tiny amount of people and still provides concessional tax treatment for people in super.

Journalist:

When you announced those tax changes a few years ago, did you expect the argument that’s happened since then? Did you expect it to generate the attention it has?

Chalmers:

I don’t get it raised with me much out and about in the community, and it wasn’t a big part of the election campaign. I know that it’s the obsession of a couple of newspapers, for example, and it’s an obsession of the Liberal Party. I understand that people have got views about policy changes. I’m respectful about that. I’m realistic about that. People have got views when you make changes. But it is a relatively modest change, impacts a very small amount of people. There are good reasons to go about it this way, and it helps to fund the country’s priorities. From time to time people will have different views about that, I don’t obsess about that, sometimes you have to take difficult decisions.

Journalist:

Mark Dreyfus – sorry, Ed Husic said last night that Mark Dreyfus’ dumping from the Cabinet was gratuitous and he should have been granted more dignity, do you agree?

Chalmers:

I do feel for those 2 guys, Mark and Ed, I respect them both and I understand how unhappy they would be. I think today will be a difficult day for them to see the colleagues sworn in at Government House. And so, Ed has a view about that, and he’s got a right to express his view. I think all of us understand his unhappiness about this, and he’s reflected that with his public comments.

Journalist:

Do you think Marles is a factional assassin?

Chalmers:

I don’t use those words to describe him. I work very closely with Richard. Richard is a very good Deputy Prime Minister. He works very hard for the people of Australia in his portfolio. And as Deputy Prime Minister, he works very closely with us in the Cabinet. And I wouldn’t use those words to describe him. But again, it’s not for me to kind of engage in a running commentary on Ed’s comments. I understand why Ed’s unhappy. I’d be unhappy too, if I was Ed and if I was Mark.

It was a messy week last week, but I want to assure people that the overwhelming focus of the government is on the economic challenges before us at a time of extreme global economic uncertainty and opportunity for Australia. This is what happens when you’ve got more good people than you have spots in the Ministry and in the Cabinet. People will miss out from time to time.

And this is the difference really between our team and our opponents. Our opponents are scratching around for a half‑credible person to lead them and can’t find one. We’ve got 60 or 70 or 80 people who could be good Ministers right away in our team. So, inevitably people will miss out and they’ll be unhappy about that. I do genuinely understand that. I do genuinely feel for them, particularly today.

Journalist:

Can I ask as well, are you considering or will you consider increasing the Jobseeker rate in this term again?

Chalmers:

That’s not something that we’re considering now, we’re rolling out cost‑of‑living help in other ways. It’s also important to remember, I think it’s frequently forgotten, that I did raise the Jobseeker rate, working with the colleagues. We have increased in a permanent way Jobseeker in addition to the indexation.

And when we can find room to help people with the cost of living we’ve shown an ability to do that in all 4 of our Budgets. Whether it’s the permanent increase to Jobseeker, the increases to Commonwealth Rent Assistance, the change we made for single parents, the energy bill rebates, the tax cuts, the efforts on the minimum wage. We’ve shown across the board a willingness to help people with the cost of living. That’s one way that we can do it and we have done it. But there are other ways as well.

Journalist:

Any tips for the Liberal leader?

Chalmers:

I think whoever wins the battle of the duds today, the Liberal Party will still be the party of lower wages, higher income taxes and nuclear reactors. And this choice that the Liberal Party room is being asked to make today is a choice between 2 of the 3 people most responsible for the debacle which was the last 3 years in the Coalition. Not just the campaign, but the 3 years. Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor shouldn’t be asking their colleagues for votes, they should be asking them for forgiveness. Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor are 2 of the co‑architects of one of the worst performances we’ve ever seen from a major political party.

Now in the last term they were asked to come up with a coherent, credible, costed economic policy and they weren’t able to do that. So, I think it’s strange and unfortunate that the Liberal Party is being asked to choose from these 2 who are as responsible as anyone for what we saw happen to the Coalition a couple of Saturdays ago.

Now, obviously we don’t underestimate our opponents. I don’t underestimate anyone, and I don’t accept this commentary that says that the next election is already determined. I think elections in Australia are typically close, the last one notwithstanding. And so, we will take seriously whoever they elect, we don’t underestimate our opponents but the Liberal Party is effectively choosing from the reserve grade team. And the last opposition was the dregs of the Morrison government and now this is the dregs of the dregs of the Morrison government. And so, I think it’s a very strange and unfortunate choice that the Liberal Party is being asked to make today.

Thanks very much.

Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

Sarah Abo:

Well, the new Labor Cabinet will be sworn in this morning after a cut‑throat reshuffle saw several MPs booted from their portfolios.

Joining us live from Canberra to discuss this is Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Congratulations to you, Treasurer, you are back, and hasn’t your second term started without a hitch? Should we be worried about you – apparently there’s an assassin in your midst?

Jim Chalmers:

Good morning, Sarah, I don’t think I’m going to come at that, but I’m going to accept with good grace your congratulations. I appreciate it, looking forward to be sworn in today, and also I’m grateful to the PM for the first‑class team that he has assembled – including in my own Treasury portfolio – I’ve got some wonderful colleagues there, and I’m looking forward to working with them.

Abo:

It’s not quite the perfect start you were hoping for though, I imagine.

Chalmers:

I think inevitably when you’ve got so many good people to fit into a limited number of positions, then unfortunately, there are people, including very good people, who can get left out. And that’s what we saw last week; it was messy, and nobody would want that to happen, particularly to 2 people who are respected in our team.

But my focus is on the colleagues I’ll be working with in the economic team. We’ll be sworn in today, and we’re already hard at work.

Abo:

Would you describe the Deputy PM as a factional assassin?

Chalmers:

No, I don’t describe my colleagues like that, but again, people can choose their own words and their own language. I understand that if you’ve missed out on the ministry, including the 2 guys that you’re referring to I think in your questions, then I feel for them. I respect them, and I feel for them, and they’ve got a right to say what they think about that. I choose different words.

Abo:

Ed Husic did double down on that last night saying it was gratuitous to dump Dreyfus. Let’s have a quick listen.

[Excerpt]

Ed Husic:

Mark has been a big contributor, he should have been given dignity, there should have been some class extended to Mark frankly. I feel really bad for the way that he’s gone.

[End of Excerpt]

Abo:

That’s twice now he’s gone on the public record to make the way he feels known. Does he have a right to air his grievances in such a way?

Chalmers:

I think Ed’s entitled to his view, and –

Abo:

It does make you wonder though, I guess, Treasurer, whether the Albanese government does have a problem with dissent?

Chalmers:

I think that would be an unusual conclusion to draw given the totality of the last 3 years. Yes, it was a difficult week last week, yes it’s hard when good people are excluded from a very strong team. I think I’ve acknowledged that in a number of different ways today.

Our focus is on the team that we’ve put together, the hard work that we need to do for the Australian people at a time of global economic uncertainty, and that’s what I’ve been focused on, not on the internal machinations.

Abo:

All right. Well, let’s look at that new team in your Cabinet sworn in today. It does seem, I mean you can’t ignore it, some allies have been rewarded, others seemingly demoted. Did Tanya Plibersek get a bit of an unfair whack turfed from the environment portfolio?

Chalmers:

Not at all, and I’m delighted you asked me about this, Sarah. I spoke to Tanya yesterday; Tanya is absolutely delighted with this role. The social services role in a Labor government is absolutely key, and I see it and she sees it as a really terrific opportunity for Tanya.

As I’ve said, I’ve spoken to her about it already, the work that we will do together in that portfolio, she’s replacing a wonderful Cabinet Minister in Amanda Rishworth who was on the show before me, and Tanya’s really looking forward to it.

I read with a bit of curiosity this analysis about Tanya’s new job. In our government that job is absolutely key, and I think that she’s looking forward to getting stuck into it and I’m looking forward to working with her.

Abo:

Good to see her and the PM have kissed and made up then. All right. Well, meanwhile, China and the US have reached an agreement to pause tariffs for 90 days. Surely, Treasurer, the PM has to prioritise sitting down with Trump to talk trade now?

Chalmers:

We’re engaging with the Americans on trade, as you’d expected, we’ve been doing that for some time. The Prime Minister’s had a number of conversations with the President of the United States.

What we saw between the US and China in the last day or so is a very welcome development, a very pleasing development, reassuring in a way. But we also need to recognise that it’s not resolved yet; this is a pause, not a resolution. It means that there’s still a lot of uncertainty, volatility, unpredictability in the global economy, and that’s impacting us here in our own economy as well.

We’ve got a lot of skin in the game when it comes to a trade war between the US and China, we want to see these issues resolved in a permanent sense, not just in a temporary sense, but the developments of the last day or so have been very welcome and very pleasing.

Abo:

You have touched on that global uncertainty for a while, we know it was bad leading into this election, it’s unlikely to get much better in the months and perhaps years to come. But your portfolio has got some business leaders a little bit unhappy this morning. They reckon your timeline for improving productivity isn’t good enough. Are you dragging your feet here? You want a third term to fix this situation.

Chalmers:

Oh, there’s a business leader in The Australian called Chris Corrigan, we wouldn’t be surprised he’s got a different view of productivity to a Labor government. I’ve been engaging with business leaders on productivity, a number of them have reached out to me in the last week and a half to say how much they’re looking forward to working –

Abo:

It’s not just him, there are others. I mean you wanted to get this done, you wanted productivity lifted within this – by this second term. You’re now saying it might not be until the third?

Chalmers:

Not quite right, Sarah. We’ve got a productivity agenda, we’ve always said that it takes time to turn productivity around. This is a challenge that’s been in our economy for decades now, and it will take more than a couple of years to fix. We’ve been upfront about that all along.

We work closely with the business community and with others to make our economy more productive over time. We’ve already got an agenda on skills and infrastructure and technology and energy and the care economy, but we know that we need to do more.

Abo:

It’s dropping though, Treasurer, I mean it’s the weakest it’s been in the last 35 years.

Chalmers:

Well, actually, the weakest decade for productivity growth was the Coalition decade to 2020. If we want to introduce those facts, Sarah, the weakest period for productivity growth was the wasted decade under our predecessors. And we’re working hard to turn that around. And I’ll work closely with business leaders, I already am, and I will continue to do that because living standards in our economy do depend on us making it more productive over time. And that’s why it’s a big focus, not just of me as Treasurer, but the whole Labor government.

Abo:

All right. You’ll be hoping to wipe the slate clean, I’m sure, today once Cabinet is sworn in, but what about the other side? Do you care who the Coalition chooses as their leader?

Chalmers:

I haven’t given it a lot of thought, but I think it’s unusual that 2 of the 3 people most responsible for the debacle which was the Coalition over the last 3 years have put their hands up for leader. I think it’s strange that instead of asking their colleagues for forgiveness, they’re asking their colleagues for votes.

Abo:

Ooh. Maybe it should be Tim Wilson then. Is that an endorsement to the re‑elected Tim Wilson?

Chalmers:

I don’t think that would be an improvement. I think whoever wins this battle of the duds today –

Abo:

Oh, battle of the duds.

Chalmers:

– the Liberal Party will still be the party of lower wages, higher income taxes and nuclear reactors. And that will show that whoever wins this ballot today, they haven’t learned the lesson of the last 3 years.

Abo:

Wow. Shots fired from the Treasurer. I like it. All right. Strap yourselves in, folks, it’s going to be an interesting 3 years ahead. Thank you so much for joining us, Treasurer, appreciate it.

Chalmers:

Thanks, Sarah.

Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

Bridget Brennan:

Hello Treasurer and welcome back to News Breakfast.

Jim Chalmers:

Thanks very much, Bridget.

Brennan:

Tell us about your biggest challenge as you enter a second term as Treasurer.

Chalmers:

I’m very grateful to the Prime Minister for asking me to serve again as Australia’s Treasurer and my immediate focus is all of this global economic uncertainty but also over the medium term and longer term trying to make our economy more productive as well.

We’ve got a lot of work to do. Australians have made a lot of progress together in our economy over the course of the last 3 years but there’s lots more work to do because people are under pressure, the global environment is uncertain, our economy’s not productive enough. And so that will be the focus not just of me but this wonderful new economic team that the Prime Minister has appointed, and indeed the whole Cabinet and the whole government.

Brennan:

We’ll just let you get your earpiece set. Look, you’ve got a number of reports coming to you this year in terms of recommendations on how to boost productivity. What are some things you can do immediately to start getting to work on productivity?

Chalmers:

We’ve already got a big productivity agenda. Our agenda around skills and training and human capital is all about making our economy more productive and making sure there are more opportunities for more people. We’ve got an agenda when it comes to abolishing non‑compete clauses, a national regime for occupational licensing, the energy transformation, infrastructure investment.

We’ve got a big agenda already for productivity, but there’s a real enthusiasm to do more and some of that work of the Productivity Commission will help us consider the next steps as well. There’s no switch that you can flick to instantly make an economy like ours – a complex economy – more productive overnight. It will take time, but we’ve already started, and we’ve got more work to do as well. And there’s a real difference here I think between the way that we’ve thought about productivity.

Traditionally, the way our political opponents think about productivity in quite a narrow way, making people work longer and harder for less, versus the Labor way of making our economy more productive, which is investing in people, their ability to adapt and adopt technology, getting the energy transformation right, the care economy, our competition policy to make our economy more dynamic – all of this is part of our productivity agenda and I’m really looking forward to advancing that agenda through the course of this Parliamentary term.

Brennan:

You would have been watching closely overnight as the US and China hit pause at least temporarily on high tariffs against either nation. What opportunity is there for Australia in this news, is this a positive development at least in the short‑term?

Chalmers:

Oh, it’s a very positive development, a very welcome development, but we shouldn’t pretend that all of the issues in these trade tensions around the world have been resolved with this decision. There’s still a lot of uncertainty, a lot of volatility, a lot of unpredictability in the global economy but this is a welcome development.

Now when it comes to Australia’s exposure to these trade tensions around the world, really the biggest concern for us is a trade war between the US and China, and what that means then for our own economy. So like the rest of the world, we welcome this announcement. But it’s tempered a little bit by the understanding, the realisation that there’s still a lot of uncertainty which is playing out in our own domestic economies around the world.

Brennan:

Today we’ll see that full reshuffled Cabinet sworn in. Was it a bit unedifying to see the factional war play out in the first week after you got that massive mandate? What sort of a taste do you think it left in voters’ mouths and minds when they saw 2 quite senior Cabinet ministers pushed aside by the factions?

Chalmers:

I do think it was unfortunate, and I think it was messy, I think that’s self‑evident. This is what happens when you’ve got more good people than you can fit into a Cabinet or a ministry or the broader ranks.

I feel for those 2 guys in particular, and nobody really wants to see people left out in that fashion but this is what happens when we’ve got so many good people that we’ve got to fit into this Cabinet. We’ve got to strike the right balance between experience and new energy, new faces. We’ve more or less struck an effective balance there. So at a human level I feel for Ed and Mark and in the government, I think it reflects the strength that we have in personnel.

Brennan:

Just on Mr Dreyfus particularly before we let you go, obviously we’ve heard what Ed Husic has had to say, we haven’t yet heard from Mr Dreyfus. Do you think he was treated with dignity?

Chalmers:

I’m reluctant to go much further than I have already, Bridget. I appreciate the opportunity to say that both of those guys are good people, and like a lot of people in our team, they made a good contribution last term. No doubt this was a difficult decision for the party room to take. Beyond that, I don’t want to engage in a running commentary about that. I feel for those 2 guys today – and it will be a hard day for them today to see ministers sworn in.

My focus today is on the really quite extraordinarily strong team that the Prime Minister has put together being sworn in at Government House and I’m especially grateful to him for the team that he’s appointed to the Treasury portfolio with all of this intellectual horsepower and talent and energy – Daniel Mulino, Andrew Leigh, Clare O’Neil, Anne Aly – these are really quite extraordinary people appointed and being sworn in today to the Treasury portfolio and I’m looking forward to working with them – that’s my focus.

Brennan:

All right, thanks for your time, Treasurer, and best wishes for today.

Chalmers:

Thank you.

Source: New South Wales – News

Major Crime detectives have released a new image of Melissa on the anniversary of her disappearance hoping to spark public interest in this particularly disturbing cold case.

Rosemary, 33, and Melissa, 15, were last seen in Blair Athol at about 2.30am on Saturday 13 May 2000.

Rosemary’s handbag was discovered later that day in Stirling Street, Northfield. It was not handed into police until 23 May 2000 after a public appeal about the missing women.

Sadly, on Sunday 2 July 2000, Rosemary’s body was discovered in mangroves at Garden Island.

Melissa has never been found and is believed to have been murdered.

Acting Detective Superintendent Andrew Macrae, Major Crime Investigation Branch, emphasised SAPOL’s ongoing commitment to solving this case, recovering Melissa’s body and bringing justice to Rosemary, Melissa and their family.

“Despite the passage of time, we remain dedicated to uncovering the truth and holding those responsible accountable.  We encourage anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward. Your assistance could be crucial in helping us piece together the events surrounding this tragic incident,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au – you can remain anonymous.

A reward of up to $1,000,000 is on offer for information and assistance that leads to the conviction of those responsible for these murders.

Source: New South Wales – News

The alarm was raised about 11.15am this morning (Tuesday 13 May), after reports of two people missing in the water near Back Beach Road.

Eyre Western Police are at the scene and will be assisted by Water Operations Unit and local SES to conduct a search.

Further information will be provided when known.