Australia news LIVE: Right to switch off locked in for workers; Revived push to curb negative gearing

Earlier, Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor was asked about whether the government would consider changes to negative gearing.

It comes as senate crossbenchers called on Labor and the Coalition to scale back the use of negative gearing on investment properties to help tackle housing issues.

O’Connor was asked if the government was looking at changes to those laws, after it revamped the stage 3 tax cuts.

He said the government wanted to ensure that millions of Australians were provided with minimum wages and conditions, and instead pointed to the Closing the Loopholes bill.

“We’re the land of the fair go … and it’s fair enough to expect that people are able to make ends meet, and that’s why that legislation is so important,” he said.

“We’re not – even though we see there’s been indications that there is support, we want to see the passage of that bill [Closing the Loopholes], that will provide real support for workers who are struggling.”

He lashed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who he said opposes changes to the tax proposition but also called for fair and bigger tax cuts.

“Peter Dutton’s holding his nose and voting with the government, it appears, and now … he wants to invent all sorts of things and talk about everything other than the legislation that’s before the parliament.”

O’Connor said the government wants the opposition to give an “iron-clad guarantee” that they do not roll back the tax changes, if they were in power.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape will be the first Pacific leader to address Australia’s parliament and is expected to laud the relationship between the two nations.

Marape is in Australia for a second time in a brief period after inking a security pact and netting $200 million for policing measures in December.

He is set to receive a ceremonial welcome at Parliament House today before addressing a joint sitting of senators and MPs, and meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The 52-year-old leader will also address the Australian National University and take questions from former foreign minister-turned chancellor, Julie Bishop.

Marape’s visit follows deadly riots in his home capital of Port Moresby, and as remarks about policing talks with China cause a stir.

PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko is also in Australia and met with counterpart Penny Wong, reaffirming his nation’s commitment to the security agreement.

He was resolute no security arrangement would be made with China after making headlines last week saying Port Moresby had been approached by Beijing about policing.

“I want to make this very clear, we are not pressing forward with any security pact or agreement with China, and look forward to implementing the bilateral security arrangement with Australia,” he told the ABC.

AAP

Turning now to Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor, who has spoken about the union-backed review into price gouging.

Speaking on ABC TV, O’Connor said the findings former competition watchdog head Allan Fels said in the report was “really important”.

“What he says in these areas, particularly around consumer protection and competition are really important, and we listen to him,” O’Connor said this morning.

He said the government asked former minister Craig Emerson to look at where there’s been sufficient competition or unfair hiking of prices.

“We need to do more there, we need to make sure there’s sufficient competition,” O’Connor said.

“We need to make sure, particularly, the big retailers do not, in any way, unfairly treat their customers.”

The minister said Fels’ review would be considered by the government, and it has a “high regard for his work”.

“We’ll consider those recommendations and make some decisions around them.”

Staying with David Littleproud, who has also spoken about Labor and Greens securing a right to disconnect in the industrial relations law being debated in the Senate.

He told ABC TV that the government doesn’t need to reach into every facet of people’s lives.

“We’re smart people. We should be allowed to use that common-sense,” he said of the right to disconnect.

“Where there’s occupations where it is necessary – well then, there obviously is remuneration that needs to happen. And that’s already happening.”

Littleproud said the Nationals were also concerned about other parts of the legislation, including removing the unions having to provide 24 hours notice to come onto a farm.

Farms are not just there to produce food and fibre. They’re family homes. They’re where children live, but there’s biosecurity risks.

If they roll up there to a piggery or a henhouse and bring in a biosecurity risk because they turn up unannounced, there could be tens of thousands of animals that have to be destroyed.

A farmer’s livelihood being taken away because they want the unions to bowl up. There is a sensible solution to this.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has spoken about the probe into price gouging, saying the former competition watchdog chairman “nailed it”.

“I think Allan Fels has nailed it, to be candid. I think that he demonstrated the need and reinforced what the Nationals have been calling for,” he told ABC TV this morning.

He said there was “clear evidence” around price gouging, and pointed to meat prices dropping at the farm gate by 60 to 70 per cent, but at the supermarket checkout it dropped by 18 per cent.

“What Allan Fels has said in his inquiry is that we need to have more ACCC [the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission] price investigations, where there’s clear evidence. And that’s what we were calling for and the government ignored that.”

He said he believed shoppers paid too much, but there needed to be greater structural reform.

“When there’s too much market concentration, you have too much power. And all we’re saying is that … we want fair prices from the farm gate to the supermarket gate,” Littleproud said.

The Nationals leader said he offered bipartisan support to the competition minister to bring forward reviews, and divestiture powers.

“That’s what the consumers want, what the suppliers want, and transparency and fairness. But there’s too much market power in some of the industry and we need to protect suppliers and also the consumer.”

Turning now to former competition watchdog chair Allan Fels who is speaking about his union-backed inquiry on price gouging on ABC radio.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions commissioned the probe into prices, and he called for more power for the consumer watchdog and for competition laws to be strengthened.

Fels told ABC RN Breakfast that the removal of “unwarranted” import restrictions on electric vehicles would be one thing the government could do that would immediately impact prices.

“If we removed the completely unwarranted import restriction we’d get a price fall of $10,000 on all those cars,” he said.

He said New Zealand got rid of the restrictions, and prices in the country were $10,000 less than in Australia.

“I also believed that with airlines, there’s room to quickly remove many of the anticompetitive restrictions that apply to both domestic and international,” he said.

Fels said he was hopeful former Labor minister Craig Emerson’s review into the food and grocery code of conduct would improve the treatment of suppliers.

That review will probe whether there should be a shift away from the voluntary industry-led scheme, established by major supermarket chains.

“I’m pretty hopeful that the Craig Emerson review will do things to improve the treatment of suppliers, especially farmers, by the big retailers.”

He said the voluntary code needs to be made compulsory.

Senate crossbenchers have called on Labor and the Coalition to scale back the use of negative gearing on investment properties in a new call for action on housing after Treasury revealed the tax deduction cost the federal government $24 billion last year.

Independent senators David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie rebuked politicians on both sides of parliament for holding out against the changes while owning multiple properties and benefiting from the tax deduction.

The issue is emerging as a potential test for the federal government after it broke its election promise to keep the stage 3 personal tax cuts in their original form, raising questions this week about whether it would reverse course on other tax pledges.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton ruled out changing negative gearing this week by saying “no” when asked if he saw any need to curb the practice despite support for the change within the Coalition when it held government.

Catch up on the full story here. 

Back in Australia, workers can take their bosses to the Fair Work Commission to stop being harassed after hours and employers could even incur fines or criminal sanctions if they continued to make unreasonable contact, under new laws locked in by Labor and the Greens.

But employees will be barred from “vexatious” use of their new right in amendments negotiated by independent senator David Pocock in return for his crucial support for Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke’s contentious Closing Loopholes industrial reforms.

Greens leader Adam Bandt and Greens senator Barbara Pocock announced the party had locked in the workplace right, which gives employees the ability to ignore unreasonable contact from employers after hours, meaning the Senate looks certain to pass a package of changes relating to the gig economy and casual workers.

“When you clock off you’ll be able to switch off, thanks to the Greens, after a long push to protect people’s time at home and their time with their families,” Bandt said on Wednesday.

Learn more about the changes here.