Australia news live: Chalmers says Cyclone Alfred to add $1.2bn to budget deficit; body of missing six-year-old girl found in bushland
Good morning
Politicians have been warned against “election sweeteners” as economists flag growing fiscal holes in Australia’s budget, AAP reports.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has started feeding commitments to the public ahead of the 25 March budget and is expected to announce disaster recovery funds for Queensland and northern NSW communities battered by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The cyclone is projected to add at least $1.2bn to the upcoming budget, on top of $11.6bn blocked out for disaster support, new figures show. It has already dealt a billion-dollar hit to GDP, could wipe one quarter of a percentage point from quarterly growth, caused the economy to shed 12m work hours, and could put upwards pressure on inflation.
In New South Wales, the body of a six-year-old girl has been found in bushland north of Nowra after as wide-scale search and rescue operation was launched on Sunday. Inquiries are under way.
Still in NSW, the premier, Chris Minns, has announced a mini cabinet reshuffle, triggered by the resignation of former transport minister Jo Haylen last month. Interim transport minister John Graham will permanently remain in the portfolio, and Lismore MP Janelle Saffin will be promoted to a ministerial position.
And arbitration over a mass-resignation of psychiatrists in NSW over industrial disputes will begin today – more on that to come.
I’m Caitlin Cassidy, let’s get into it.
Key events
Body of missing six-year-old found in NSW bushland
A body has been located during a search for a missing six-year-old girl, AAP reports.
The girl was last seen in North Nowra, in southern NSW, on Sunday afternoon.
Police were notified when the girl could not be located, with officers from South Coast police district launching an investigation and wide-scale search for her.
Police said a body was located during the search within bushland in the North Nowra area about 6pm on Sunday.
“While it is yet to be formally identified, it is believed to be that of the missing girl,” police said in a statement.
An investigation into the incident is under way, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Josh Butler
Labor vows to boost price comparison tool for doctor appointments
Labor will spend $7m to boost a costs comparison website for medical specialists, in a bid to help people find cheaper doctors’ appointments.
Health minister Mark Butler will make the announcement today in Perth, with the government pledging to – if re-elected – “fix” an existing price disclosure tool called Medical Costs Finder.
Butler’s office said the website was meant to use Medicare data to show the typical cost of specialists’ appointments. Set up under the former Coalition government in 2019, and continued under Labor, only a small number of doctors had actually uploaded their costs to the site.
Senate estimates heard in June last year that only 20 doctors were disclosing their fees on the $24m website. Butler’s office said today only about 70 had now done so.
Labor’s pledge, to be included in this month’s budget and instituted if the government retains power at the coming election, is that every eligible specialist across all non-GP specialities would have their average fees displayed on the website.
A new $7m cash injection would allow Medicare, hospital and insurer data to be displayed on the site, so as to not impose any extra administrative tasks on doctors. Insurers will also be required to show their data.
Butler:
It’s a service that has been left gathering dust and doesn’t help patients determine specialist out-of-pocket costs.
The Albanese Labor government will help Australians find the best value when they need specialist medical advice and treatment, by upgrading the Medical Costs Finder to give more transparency on fees.
Natasha May
In a statement released ahead of the arbitration beginning this morning in Sydney, the president of the doctors’ union, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (Asmof), Dr Nick Spooner , said:
My psychiatrist colleagues are burnt out, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. They are dedicated to providing the best care for their patients, but they cannot provide safe care under these conditions.
The solution to this crisis is not complicated. It’s about valuing psychiatrists, paying them fairly, and ensuring that NSW has enough doctors to provide the care patients deserve.
The Minns government has a choice—fix the problem or let the system collapse completely.
As part of the arbitration proceedings, Asmof will call on the Minns government to act immediately to fix the crisis by urgently recruiting additional psychiatrists to fill vacancies, fully funding training and registration fees to attract new doctors, and providing a 25% pay increase for psychiatrists to stem the flow of doctors leaving NSW.
They also want to see the establishment of a formal Psychiatry Workforce Committee to oversee staffing and recruitment and implement a structured dispute resolution process to improve working conditions.
Natasha May
The doctors’ union is warning the NSW government’s refusal to take action on the psychiatrists workforce crisis is putting lives at risk, as the matter goes to arbitration today.
Psychiatrists resigned en masse from staff specialist positions last month after the government rejected their proposed solution of a special levy to increase their pay by 25%, similar to that which emergency doctors received in 2015.
With 140 vacancies unfilled before the mass resignation, doctors claimed the rise in pay would stem the cycle of specialist doctors leaving the public system because of the untenable workload for those left, and the moral injury felt being unable to give patients the quality of care they want to.
The NSW government asked the Industrial Relations Commission to urgently intervene in January, with the date for expedited arbitration a full bench of the commission to hear the dispute set from 17-21 March.
Of the 206 who intended to resign, 62 have followed through with resignations but many more have either deferred their resignations or transferred to visiting medical officer contracts whilst they await the outcome of the IRC process.
Good morning
Politicians have been warned against “election sweeteners” as economists flag growing fiscal holes in Australia’s budget, AAP reports.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has started feeding commitments to the public ahead of the 25 March budget and is expected to announce disaster recovery funds for Queensland and northern NSW communities battered by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The cyclone is projected to add at least $1.2bn to the upcoming budget, on top of $11.6bn blocked out for disaster support, new figures show. It has already dealt a billion-dollar hit to GDP, could wipe one quarter of a percentage point from quarterly growth, caused the economy to shed 12m work hours, and could put upwards pressure on inflation.
In New South Wales, the body of a six-year-old girl has been found in bushland north of Nowra after as wide-scale search and rescue operation was launched on Sunday. Inquiries are under way.
Still in NSW, the premier, Chris Minns, has announced a mini cabinet reshuffle, triggered by the resignation of former transport minister Jo Haylen last month. Interim transport minister John Graham will permanently remain in the portfolio, and Lismore MP Janelle Saffin will be promoted to a ministerial position.
And arbitration over a mass-resignation of psychiatrists in NSW over industrial disputes will begin today – more on that to come.
I’m Caitlin Cassidy, let’s get into it.
