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Good morning!
I’m interviewing Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor tomorrow.
He’ll be the person responsible for the economy if the Coalition wins the next federal election (on 3 May, in case you missed it!). I’d love to know if you have any question suggestions for him.
Just hit reply to this email to let me know!
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
"I think there’s a lot of very good work that the ABC does, and if it’s being run efficiently [we'll] keep the funding in place. If it’s not being run efficiently... then I think taxpayers, who pay for it, and who are working harder than ever... would expect us to not support the waste."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton speaking on ABC Melbourne yesterday morning about whether a Coalition Government would cut spending to the ABC. He said it would “reward excellence”.
Stat of the day
$3.5 million
The amount that victims of fraudster Melissa Caddick have settled in court, according to a statement from law firm Mackay Chapman. Victims were collectively defrauded of about $23 million by Caddick, who was an unlicensed financial adviser. The Australian Federal Police raided Caddick's home in 2020 before she later went missing. She has since been presumed dead.
TDA reader’s comment of the week
“No worries. It’s all wilted in bags in our fridges anyway.”
A comment left on TDA’s piece about major supermarkets recalling spinach bags that were potentially contaminated with E.coli – a bacteria that can cause illness in humans.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
New hate speech laws have passed Victoria’s Parliament after the Labor Government reached a deal with the Greens. The new legislation will introduce new criminal offences for serious vilification and strengthen existing protections against vilification. The law will include gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability protections. The Opposition voted against the legislation, saying it will “create issues, clogging up the courts, seeing people pursue each other, rather than working together to educate each other to actually create the society we want going forward”.
Thousands of doctors across NSW will proceed with planned strikes next week, after negotiations with the State Government broke down. Doctors will take industrial action from 8 April to 10 April, with public hospital staffing to be reduced to public holiday levels. According to union organisers, the action means that elective surgeries will be postponed, outpatient clinics and non urgent consultations will be cancelled and non urgent medical procedures will be rescheduled. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said: "I will take the most senior health officials offline for a two-week period to try and see if we can get a better outcome that keeps patients safe, that keeps our doctors in place.”
Recommendation of the day
shared.image.missing_image
Pepsi Max is hosting a pop-up for their bold new blue soft drink
What? Pepsi is bringing the viral Dirty Soda trend (a twist on the Spider) down under to launch Pepsi Max Electric.
Where? Pepsi’s Dirty Soda Shop, 400 George Street laneway, Sydney.
When? This weekend: 12-9pm Friday, 12-6pm Saturday.
I’ve got 1 minute
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Luigi Mangione
Federal prosecutors have been directed to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione.
The 26-year-old is accused of killing insurance company CEO Brian Thompson in December last year.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case, in line with “President Trump's agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again”.
Here’s what you need to know.
Assassination
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was on his way to an investor conference in early December when he was shot and killed in New York.
The 50-year-old had worked at the health insurance company for 20 years and was appointed CEO in 2021.
The incident was captured on CCTV.
Mangione is facing both federal and state charges.
Death penalty
The death penalty is legal in 24 U.S. states, not including New York.
Former President Joe Biden introduced a pause on the death penalty for most federal cases. However, this was overturned on Trump’s first day in office, when he signed an executive order “restoring the death penalty”.
Trump’s decision allows federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione, which the U.S. Attorney General has now recommended.
Bondi, who is the country’s chief legal advisor, said Thompson’s murder was a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination” of an “innocent man and father of two young children.”
To know more about this case and the death penalty, listen to today’s podcast here.
Reporting by Joe Casey.
I’ve got 2 minutes
Labor is pushing for Australia’s minimum wage to be increased
Labor will push for an increase to the minimum wage as part of an independent annual wage review.
Every year, the Fair Work Commission reviews the minimum wage and invites submissions from interested parties.
The current minimum wage is $24.10 per hour.
The Coalition, unions, and business groups are set to put forward their recommendations over the next few days.
Here’s what you need to know.
Wage review
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is the national agency governing Australian workplaces.
It’s responsible for the annual review of minimum wages, including the awards covering one in five workers.
Last year, the FWC raised the minimum wage in line with inflation at 3.75%, meaning a full-time employee earns $915.90 a week at a minimum.
Public submissions for this year’s wage review are due by Friday. Any changes will come into effect on the first day of the new financial year, 1 July.
Labor
In its FWC submission yesterday, Labor is urging an “economically sustainable real wage increase” for awards.
The annual rate of inflation was 2.4% to the December quarter, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.
A ‘real wage increase’ would mean a minimum wage lift of more than 2.4%.
The submission states that Labor believes a wage rise slightly above inflation is “fair” and “economically responsible”.
Coalition
The Coalition is due to put forward its submission to FWC within the coming days.
Speaking to reporters on the campaign trail, Coalition Leader Peter Dutton said: “We support wage increases”, without specifying an amount.
“We want higher wages and we want to make sure we have downward pressure on costs,” Dutton said.
Business groups
Top business and industry groups are expected to release their recommendations within the next two days.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), one of the key peak bodies, is calling for a “wage increase of no more than 2.5 per cent.”
In a statement, ACCI chief executive Andrew Mackellar said: “To be sustainable, any increase in wages must be linked to productivity.”
What now?
Key unions are expected to release their submissions the coming days.
Submissions close on Friday.
The FWC will host consultations in Sydney in late May.
It’s then expected to hand down a decision ahead of 1 July, which marks the beginning of the next financial year.
Reporting by Harry Sekulich.
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Got something to say?
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If you’ve got something you'd like our audience to see, or a service to promote (or know someone from a brand who might!) we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch about partnership options with The Daily Aus here.
Give me some good news
A group of around 20 elderly women who worked in U.S. factories on the homefront during WWII have been honoured with national service medals.
The women were among 5 million workers, known as “Rosie the Riveters,” who worked in industries like welding and weapons manufacturing to aid America’s war efforts. Performing jobs traditionally reserved for me, they were considered women’s rights trailblazers.
The National World War Two museum in New Orleans hosted a ceremony this week, where 18 surviving Rosies received the Congressional Gold Medal. 100-year-old Mary Masciangelo was among the honourees. “I feel proud at what I did,” she said. The museum said the “real-life wartime Rosies” helped “pave the way for future generations.”
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA tidbit
Kamala Harris is set to speak on the Gold Coast in May.
The former U.S. Vice President is making her way down under for the annual Australasian Real Estate Conference, where she will participate in a “moderated conversation” onstage for attendees.
This occasion will mark her first speaking engagement in Australia, where organiser’s have hailed her as “a trailblazer in leadership, equality, and global diplomacy.”
Reporting by Rosa Bowden.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
In case you missed it, the death penalty has returned as the most extreme punishment one can receive for a federal crime in the U.S.
It was one of the many executive orders President Donald Trump made on his first day in office.
And now, it could be used in one of the most high-profile murder cases in the country of the past decade.
Today we’re here to explain the use of the death penalty in the U.S. and why it might be used in the case of Luigi Mangione.
TDA asks
