GetUp ! ICAC gutted: Don't let them get away with it

A Premier deciding who can get away with corruption and who can't? Australians won't stand for it. 

Add your name to the petition now.

The NSW Liberals just savaged the country's only corruption watchdog. It's an extraordinary move that could have a dangerous chilling effect on a growing push for more accountability and transparency at a federal level. 

That's why we need to make a powerful example of the Premier's crooked move.

We'll do this with a massive petition, signed by tens of thousands of people from right across the country. The petition will be writ large in Premier Baird's electorate with a giant billboard.
What's GetUp's plan to clean up our politics?

Here is GetUp's five point reform plan:

• Stop the money game: Cap the amount any individual or corporation can donate at $1000 per financial year, and introduce expenditure caps on election campaigns to remove incentives to amass huge political fighting funds.
• End the shroud of secrecy: Require all donations above $500 to be publicly disclosed on the internet in real-time, including donations to and from affiliated entities.
• Stop offshore entities buying political influence: Prohibit any corporation or entity not registered in Australia, or any individual who doesn't have citizenship or residency, from making donations.
• A corruption watchdog with teeth: Create an independent federal corruption watchdog with broad investigative powers.
• Close the revolving door: Prevent Members of Parliament from engaging in lobbying work for a period of three years after they leave office.

ACOSS National Conference: Leading the big debates – 17-18 November 2016

November 14, 2016

17-18 November 2016, Australian Technology Park, Locomotive St, Eveleigh, NSW
The future of civil society and public debates on major social and economic challenges will be in focus at the ACOSS National Conference to be held in Sydney on Thursday and Friday 17-18 November 2016.

The annual event, Community: Leading the big debates, will kick off with a major address from the visiting head of the International Centre for Civil Society, Burkhard Gnärig, on the need for community based organisations to re-invent themselves to stay relevant in a fast changing political, environmental and digital landscape.

There will be major speeches from political leaders, including the Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter; Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten; Leader of the Australian Greens Senator Richard Di Natale; and NSW Premier Mike Baird.

One of the highlights of the conference will be a keynote address from Professor Gillian Triggs, the President Australian Human Rights Commission, on Truth Telling: Speaking with Conviction, Living with the Consequences. She will be joined on a panel by community advocates Duncan Storrar, Dan de Sousa and Mariam Veiszadeh, the Founder and President of the Islamophobia Register Australia.

There will also be a keynote address from the Co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, Rod Little. ACOSS CEO, Dr Cassandra Goldie will offer reflections on the two-day conference discussions to conclude and will be available throughout for media interviews.

Other key topics to be discussed include:

• Dangerous new frontiers? : competition policy and human service delivery
• Health or health care? Reducing (health) inequality in Australia
• The role of the Media in public opinion and social cohesion
• Should Australia Implement a Basic Income?
• Education and inequality: bridging the divide
• Getting to net zero : A community-led carbon transition

Another conference highlight will be the annual HESTA Community Sector Awards on Thursday night, celebrating outstanding achievements of individuals, organisations and programs making a difference in the community.

ABS – Australian Wages Growth at Slowest Rate on Record.

According to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, the annual rate of wage growth is now a historically low 1.9%, after slowing noticeably in the September quarter.

The bureau says wage growth is relying heavily on increases to the national minimum wage and modern awards, and regularly scheduled enterprise agreement increases.

It said public sector wages are growing more strongly, at 2.3%, with private sector wages growing at an annual rate of just 1.9% (excluding bonuses).

In the last Reserve Bank board minutes, RBA governor Philip Lowe said Australian wages had been growing more slowly than implied by their historical relationship with the unemployment rate.

“[But] the decline in wage growth had been a helpful part of the adjustment of the economy to the end of the resources boom,” he noted.

The ABS data, released on Wednesday, illustrates how the fortunes of different workers have been affected by the huge shifts occurring in the economy.

They show the mining industry has recorded the lowest wage growth of any industry over the last year, with a meagre 1%.

The strongest wage growth has occurred for workers in the healthcare and social assistance industry, at 2.4%.

CFMEU – 20th anniversary of Gretley Mine Disaster

November 14 marks the 20th anniversary of the 1996 Gretley disaster, when 4 mineworkers tragically lost their lives.

For this significant anniversary, this year's NSW Northern Memorial Day paid a special tribute to the four. Northern District President Peter Jordan reflected on the tragic loss of the Gretley miners Edward Batterham, Mark Kaiser, John Hunter and Damon Murray who were killed on 14 November 1996, when they unknowingly dug into an older flooded mine, causing an inrush of water that swept them to their deaths.

He told the hundreds who gathered at the Service that the four miners should never have been killed. They were given inaccurate maps and were working in an area where they should never have been placed.

Our Union drove the push to get to the bottom of what happened at Gretley and within three weeks of the Disaster an Inquiry was established that found the deaths were preventable.

“Some 43 Recommendations came from that Gretley Inquiry that led to many important reforms”, said Peter Jordan.

“While we mourned the loss of the Gretley miners we did everything to make sure the lessons were learned and that measures are put in place to ensure it can never happen again”.

He reminded the gathering that the annual Memorial Service “is also an opportunity to be mindful of the countless others who have suffered life-changing injuries as a result of the real and ever-present dangers of working in the coal mining industry. And it’s a time that we can reflect back over this past year and know that, with much relief, we have not lost a mineworker in a disaster in our region and thankfully did not need to add any new names to this Memorial Wall."

In closing, Peter Jordan said it was important that “we never forget the mineworkers whose names appear on the Memorial Wall, or those who have suffered serious bodily injuries or illness. Nor should we forget the pain and heartache felt by their families, friends and workmates.

“The passage of time never truly diminishes the grief of those affected by the loss of a loved one. An inquiry or an inquest may mark the end of proceedings for some, but for the next of kin, it will never be over”, he said.

MEAA insists no forced redundancies at News Corp

MEAA has called on News Corp Australia to confirm that there will be no forced redundancies as part of its latest round of cost savings measures. Yesterday the company announced it would find $40 million in savings and said that there would also be job losses as part of the cost cutting.

It is particularly frustrating that the announcement of the redundancies came within hours of voting opening for a new enterprise bargaining agreement negotiated between News Corp and MEAA members over many months – with the company’s management never once indicating that further job losses and cost savings measures were imminent.

The latest cuts come after the Australian operations have already slashed costs by 5 per cent in the second half of fiscal 2016.

MEAA believes that News Corp editorial staff have made enormous sacrifices in cooperative effort to improve efficiencies and productivity in the business. Far too often these sacrifices have been made with little or no recognition or recompense from management. MEAA calls on the company to provide assurances that any redundancies will be on a voluntary basis.

MEAA notes that the company has said the latest cuts are “to allow for continued investment in quality journalism”.

The company’s decision to pursue a more digitally-focused approach must recognise that editorial staff are working harder, over more hours, filing for multiple platforms, and are utilising an extraordinarily diverse set of skills in response to the digital transformation taking place in the industry.

News Corp has benefited greatly from these sacrifices. News Corp must accept that genuine investment in quality journalism must not trample on editorial staff who are the engine room of News Corp’s products.

MEAA will seek meetings with management in coming days and will keep MEAA members at News Corp informed of developments.