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Key events
The twitter of Chris Bowen, minister for climate change and energy, seems to have been taken over by his team for a birthday tribute.
In a lovely spam of behind-the-scenes pictures, Bowen pats a camel, is engrossed in a book called Thelma The Unicorn, and gleefully rests on a pillow.
Paul Karp
Opposition responds to wages data
Still on wages.
The Coalition’s acting treasury spokesperson Jane Hume has responded to the Treasury research:
Hume said:
The current wages growth is a result of a strong economy and low unemployment Labor has inherited from the Coalition. When the Coalition came to government in 2013 the unemployment rate left by Labor was 5.7%. Under the Coalition’s prudent economic management and focus on growing the economy to create jobs, and despite having just experienced a once in a century and the associated economic shock, it was 3.7% when we left office.
Under Labor wages have failed to keep pace with the skyrocketing cost of living. As we have seen time and time again, Labor governments get the big economic calls wrong. When the inflation rate called for fiscal restraint, they spent more. After almost a year in office with the benefit of the strong economy they inherited, Labor still doesn’t have a plan to address the cost of living increases that all Australians are feeling.
Flood level to peak at Mackay
Flooding is expected to peak within the hour for the city of Mackay as severe weather continues to pummel Quennsland’s central coast.
Warnings have been reissued, and the Bureau of Meteorology anticipates continued heavy rainfall and flash flooding. The Bureau has forecast up to 300mm of rainfall in some parts this morning.
⚠️ Severe Weather Warning has been re-issued for the Central Coast, Whitsundays and adjacent areas. The trough is expected to drift north, with heavy rainfall during the day. Conditions will ease later as the trough begins to move away. Further details at: https://t.co/YNiJb3RgCz pic.twitter.com/NPppcPRpT1
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 16, 2023
Paul Karp
Wages rise – but not as fast as inflation
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has released Treasury research of ABS data showing the wage price index increased 1% in the September quarter, up 3.1% through the year.
That is the fastest through‑the‑year growth rate since the March quarter of 2013, well above the annual average growth rate of 2.2% over the past five years and 2.3% over the past decade.
However, with inflation reaching up to 8% in the last quarter of 2022 it’s important to note this still represents real wage cuts.
One of the biggest drivers of wage growth for the low paid was the Fair Work Commission’s 5.2% raise in the minimum wage.
Chalmers said:
Our economic plan is all about getting wages growing again, and it’s already starting to work. If there is one thing that drives this whole government, it’s our ambition to deliver the decent wages that Australians need and deserve. The best way to deal with cost of living pressures is to help ensure ordinary Australian workers can earn enough to provide for their loved ones and get ahead.
We are really pleased to see the beginnings of wages growth after a decade of deliberate wage stagnation and suppression under our predecessors. We don’t have an inflation challenge in our economy because wages are too high, we have an inflation problem because of a war in Ukraine, pressure on global supply chains, and other challenges ignored for too long. We said we’d get wages moving again in responsible ways and we are.
Good morning
Top of the Tuesday morning to you! Welcome to a fresh Guardian Australia live blog.
We wake up to the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, releasing new data that shows the wage price index increased 1% in the September quarter, up 3.1% through the year. That is the fastest through‑the‑year growth rate since the March quarter of 2013. But with inflation reaching up to 8% in the last quarter of 2022 it’s important to note this still represents real wage cuts.
And flooding escalates: emergency refuges are being opened in north Queensland as rising waters isolate towns and cut off roads, including the Bruce Highway, leaving motorists and freight stranded. The Bureau of Meteorology said the coast and ranges north of Mackay could be pummelled by up to 400mm through the day.
I’m Rafqa Touma, taking the blog through the day. If you spot something you don’t want us to miss, you can Tweet it my way @At_Raf_
Let’s get started with the day’s rolling news coverage.
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