Australia news live: Penny Wong rebukes Israel over ‘shocking and unacceptable’ treatment of flotilla activists | Australia news

Wong condemns ‘shocking, degrading’ footage of Israeli minister taunting captured activists

Josh Butler

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has condemned the actions of Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who posted a video of himself abusing bound activists captured while trying to sail an aid flotilla to Gaza.

Wong joined international condemnation of the footage, which shows Ben-Gvir waving an Israeli flag, mocking and taunting the detainees, including shouting: “The people of Israel live” in the face of one bound man.

In a statement, Wong said: “The images we have seen are shocking and unacceptable”.

double quotation markWe condemn the actions of Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir – who Australia has sanctioned – and the degrading actions of Israeli authorities towards those detained.

I have asked Australia’s Ambassador to Israel to make representations to Israel, reiterating our call for the release of the detained Australians and for Israel to ensure no ill treatment of any detainees and to act in line with international obligations.

Key events

Melissa Davey

Federal government announces diphtheria support package

As the diphtheria outbreak spreads, the federal health minister, Mark Butler, announced a $7.2m package targeting vaccines and health worker support, particularly in the Northern Territory.

About 60% of the 230 cases are in the Northern Territory, but there are also cases in South Australia, Queensland, and a significant number in the northern part of Western Australia.

The package will support the Northern Territory government and the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector, with $5.2m for the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre to provide a surge workforce to administer booster vaccinations and treatments, and to procure additional vaccines and antibiotics.

A lack of health staff to administer vaccines and booster shots has slowed down the outbreak response to date.

There will also be $2m for culturally safe communications, community liaison and other on the ground public health supports. It is the biggest outbreak since national record-keeping began.

Diphtheria, which can cause either skin (cutaneous) or respiratory disease, is considered rare in Australia following a vaccination rollout that began in the 1930s.

Declining vaccination rates, overcrowding, and adults not receiving booster shots are all thought to be contributing to the spread.

Respiratory diphtheria can be deadly and a significant number of cases in the outbreak are the respiratory type, with one quarter of cases requiring hospitalisation, putting pressure on services.

Shadow treasurer says Australians should keep ‘reward of their work’ in calls to slash top tax rate

Tim Wilson, the shadow treasurer, said he agrees with NSW premier Chris Minns that the top marginal tax rate of 47% should be slashed to ensure Australians can “keep the reward of their work”.

Minns said yesterday the country should do more to “make sure we’re taking urgent action” when it comes to personal income taxes, adding a lot of families were getting “stung”. He took particular issue with the top marginal rate of 47%, paid for each dollar earned above $190,000 annually.

Wilson spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, a day after delivering a budget reply at the National Press Club. He added the recent changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing amounted to a “betrayal of trust”. Wilson said:

double quotation markI will absolutely always focus on how we get not just the top marginal tax rate down, but every tax rate down, because there are so many Australians right now who are working harder than ever, and they don’t feel like their hard work is paying off.

The government has basically gone after a complete assault on the self-starters and small business of this country … and we are going to stand up and we are going to fight for them.

Tim Wilson. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Thousands of childcare workers prepare to walk off job over federal government payment

Krishani Dhanji

As many as 20,000 childcare workers are preparing to walk off the job around the country in July, after the Albanese government failed to extend a key workers retention payment in last week’s federal budget.

In November, the government’s childcare worker retention payment will run out, leaving staff facing a pay cut before the fair work commission’s staged pay rise for the sector takes full effect.

A walk-off is different to a strike – it would not be a sanctioned action, and generally involves workers leaving centres at the same time during the day or afternoon.

The industry widely expected the government to fund the extension in the budget, which has increased worker salaries by 15%.

The federal government’s payment essentially brought forward pay rises for the sector ahead of the FWC’s gender undervaluation review – so instead of the workers reaching the 15% increase by 2028 or beyond, most now already have it. But if the government does not extend the payment, they face going backwards.

The government wrote in the budget that it supports undervaluation review and that “further decisions [are] expected to be finalised this year.”

The United Worker’s Union’s Carolyn Smith says most workers would face a pay cliff of between 4% and 15% if the payment isn’t extended:

double quotation markWe cannot go backwards. Educators fought hard for this and the government had every opportunity in the budget to finish the job. The 15% pay rise recognised that early childhood educators had been undervalued for too long.

Job statistics to be released today by ABS

An uptick in Australia’s unemployment could scare the Reserve Bank off more rate hikes as fears grow about the impact of the Iran war on the economy, AAP reports.

The jobless rate is expected to remain at 4.3%, with another 20,000 jobs added for April, when the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases the results of its latest labour force survey on Thursday.

Money markets were pricing in about a one-in-10 chance of a hike at the next RBA meeting in June but had fully priced in one rate rise by November.

Minutes from the central bank’s meeting earlier in May, released on Tuesday, showed most board members still agreed fighting inflation was the priority, even though the risks to economic activity and employment were gathering. Market economists also warned of worsening impacts on the labour market the longer the Iran war drags on.

That poses a dilemma for the Reserve Bank board, which must balance the dual priorities of keeping price growth under control and targeting full employment.

Wong condemns ‘shocking, degrading’ footage of Israeli minister taunting captured activists

Josh Butler

In a statement, Wong said: “The images we have seen are shocking and unacceptable”.

double quotation markWe condemn the actions of Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir – who Australia has sanctioned – and the degrading actions of Israeli authorities towards those detained.

I have asked Australia’s Ambassador to Israel to make representations to Israel, reiterating our call for the release of the detained Australians and for Israel to ensure no ill treatment of any detainees and to act in line with international obligations.

Good morning

Hello everyone, it’s Nick Visser here once again to hand down the day’s news. Here’s what’s on deck:

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has issued a sharp rebuke to Israel over footage of the country’s far-right national security minister mocking and taunting activists who were captured on the Global Sumud Flotilla this week. Wong said in a statement the images were “shocking and unacceptable”.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is set to release its latest figures on the country’s jobless rate today. Any major uptick will be closely watched by the Reserve Bank and any plans for future rate hikes.

Stick with us, we’ll have more for you soon.

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