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Key events
Albanese on cost-of-living pressures
The PM was asked a series of questions by assembled journalists, including one on whether the rising cost of living will hurt Labor’s chances of winning the seat:
It was pleasing the results, the trend, going in the right direction this week with the figures, but we know cost of living pressures are there. That is why we have done measures like the reduction in costs of pharmaceuticals and cheaper childcare.
That is why we support people on the minimum wage not continuing to go backwards. During the federal election campaign a year ago, when I said that if the Fair Work Commission granted a pay increase of a dollar an hour to people on the minimum wage, then I would welcome that.
The opposition, the then-government, the Liberal party, said that the sky would fall in. It is no wonder they don’t support solar energy because they are always saying that the sky will fall in.
Anthony Albanese held a door-stop in Aston just now, beginning by saying today’s byelection is an opportunity to “send the Liberal party a message”.
The PM also sang the praises of Labor candidate Mary Doyle, saying she is a local, a single mum who knows the pains of the cost of living crisis, and is a cancer survivor.
I have been here now, this is my fifth visit to the area, and on every one of them I have been impressed by the work that Mary has done, following on from the work that she did in the last election campaign.
It is about time that the opposition recognised that they need to do more than just say no to everything. When I was the leader of the Labor party in opposition, I put forward constructive ideas – cheaper childcare was a commitment that we made. Action on climate change, the National Reconstruction Fund, manufacturing jobs were all commitments that I made very early on in my leadership of the party.
The opposition, under Peter Dutton, just are sitting there saying no. They have become the observers rather than the participants in our national parliament and that is why I want Mary Doyle to be elected today.
It is tough, oppositions generally get swing. When Labor was in government, the byelection swings have been between 5-6% towards the opposition. No government has won a seat off the opposition in a byelection for over 100 years. We are giving it a crack today.
Bungled surgeries among serious incidents on rise in WA hospitals
Western Australia’s hospitals have recorded an uptick in preventable serious incidents including medication errors and bungled surgeries, AAP is reporting.
Data released by WA Health highlights an increase in sentinel events – serious and wholly preventable clinical incidents that caused or could have caused serious harm or a patient’s death.
There were 26 sentinel events resulting in two patient deaths in 2021/22, up from 19 events and six deaths the previous year.
Both deaths in the most recent year were linked to medication errors, while a further 12 medication-related incidents resulted in serious harm.
There were five instances where a patient had surgical or other invasive procedures performed on the wrong site, two of which caused serious harm.
Other serious incidents involved the wrong procedure being performed on a patient and the “unintended retention of a foreign object in a patient” after surgery or other invasive procedure.
Sentinel events are included in the total number of “SAC 1” events – clinical incidents attributable to healthcare provision, or lack thereof, that could have caused serious harm or death.
There were 574 SAC 1 incidents in 2021/22, a 2% decrease from the previous year.
Of those, 139 resulted in death, compared with 147 in the prior financial year.
Those outcomes may have been influenced by “multiple contributing factors” including complex medical conditions, WA Health said.
Health service providers recorded a 3.6% increase in inpatient activity as measured by hospital bed days.
The chief medical officer, Simon Towler, said other indicators of patient safety highlighted improvements in the health system, including a drop in hospital-acquired complication rates for patients in recent years.
WA Health continues to be committed to improving patient safety by reviewing incidents or potential incidents and developing clinical strategies to prevent these occurring in the future.
Almost two-thirds of confirmed clinical incidents … had a patient outcome of no harm.
However, we need to consider every potential incident as an opportunity to examine where we can improve.
Mark Latham doubles down on homophobic tweet
Sticking with NSW this morning, One Nation senator Mark Latham has doubled down on his homophobic tweet, saying “boo-hoo Alex Greenwich”.
In a statement published by the Saturday Telegraph, Latham appears unrepentant after tweeting a homophobic insult directed towards Greenwich, an independent NSW MP.
Latham’s comments come after he was called a “disgusting human being” when violence erupted last week outside a church in Belfield where Latham was speaking.
Latham, it appears, has dug his heels in:
Sometimes in public life when you throw out insults they come back at you harder and truer … So boo-hoo Alex Greenwich.
When he calls someone a disgusting human being for attending a meeting in a church hall, maybe attention will turn to some of his habits.
Greenwich goes into schools talking to kids about being gay. I didn’t want to be accused of anything similar, leaving that kind of content on my socials.
NSW premier signals pay rises to essential workers above 3%
The new premier of NSW, Chris Minns, has given another indication the government will give pay rises to essential workers above 3% this financial year and the next.
Speaking to The Weekend Australian, the premier said he would negotiate with the unions “in good faith” and would consider the rising cost of living in any agreement.
That is a floor, not a ceiling, and obviously we are not going to go below that [3%]. It needs to be done by mediation and negotiation but we are confident, having heard from union leadership since the election campaign, that we can get a landing on these issues.
Unions have got a right to sit down with the government and negotiate on these things – that’s what we promised in the election campaign. The private sector is running in front of the public sector when it comes to wage increases in NSW. So that should be seen in context.
Secondly, we have to make sure there is help for small business. That’s one of the reasons why we are going to implement our rebate for small businesses with $315 to cope with rising energy bills.
Good morning
Good morning everyone, and welcome to this Saturday’s live blog.
We begin in Victoria, where the Aston byelection could make or break Peter Dutton’s leadership of the opposition. Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell is still expected to narrowly hold on to the seat, in Melbourne’s south-east, but Labor’s Mary Doyle is pushing hard. The seat, vacated by scandal-plagued former minister Alan Tudge, offers voters a chance to weigh in on Dutton’s leadership, and we will see how things play out.
Elsewhere, One Nation senator Mark Latham has spoken out for the first time after he posted a homophobic tweet earlier this week that sparked widespread condemnation. The senator, whom NSW premier Chris Minns labelled a “bigot”, tweeted last night, saying “never apologise, never explain”. It comes as experts say that a sacking is “unlikely” but that Latham could face a vilification complaint for his tweet.
Counting continues in NSW after last week’s election, with Labor’s majority under threat. AAP is reporting that three seats, Ryde, Terrigal and Holsworthy all remain in the balance, with Labor on 45 seats and needing two more to form majority. All eyes will be on when the count ends.
Finally, it is April Fools’ Day today, so any and all jokes/pranks are welcome to be sent in. We will keep an eye out for any that stand out, as well as everything else that’s happening across the country.
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