Labor to expand Paid Prac for frontline health workers
People training to become physiotherapists and paramedics are among a group of future frontline healthcare workers who will have access to hundreds of dollars under a major expansion of the Paid Prac scheme.
Anthony Albanese will call the move a “real investment” in tomorrow’s healthcare workers as he announces it to thousands of party loyalists at the 50th Labor Party national conference in Adelaide on Thursday.
In a world shaken by “one global shock after another”, the Prime Minister will say that “people have been given every reason to feel that the economy is not working for them”.
“This is a challenge facing governments and democracies around the world,” he will say later in his speech.
“Our focus therefore remains on helping directly with living costs, on practical measures that matter to people and will make a positive difference to their lives.
“Because this is how we show Australians that their hard work will pay off, their efforts will be worth it, and they can plan and build their future.
“And this is how we prove that the status quo is not fixed.”
Mr Albanese, who has touted health investments, will highlight Paid Prac, which offers nurses, midwives, teachers and social workers a weekly salary of $338.60 while they receive hands-on training.
“Today I am announcing that we will be expanding the Paid Practice to include physio and occupational therapy, clinical psychology, pharmacy and podiatry, speech pathology, audiology, radiography, rehabilitation therapies and our future paramedics,” he will say.
“Real help with living costs for tens of thousands of Australians.
“And a real investment in tomorrow’s healthcare workers.
“This is how the Labor Party is run. We deal with the here and now in a way that also builds for the future.
“We sail through choppy seas, always keeping our eyes on the horizon.”
The change will take effect from July 1 next year.
The speech also rejects the politics of grievance and takes a thinly veiled swipe at One Nation, saying: “Being angry at a system you’re a part of can go a long way in politics for a long time without a plan to fix it,” an approach that “doesn’t build anything.”
Mr Albanese will say: “This doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t move our country forward.”
“It doesn’t help anyone find a job, pay their bills or keep a roof over their head.
“This has always been the fundamental contrast between Labor and all our political rivals.
“And never more so than now.”
Taxes, artificial intelligence and protests
Thousands of parliamentarians, union leaders and rank-and-file members are gathering for Labor at Adelaide’s national conference, where they will spend days drafting a new platform that will guide the party for the next three years.
Mr Albanese’s speech will open the triennial event before delegates dive into the debate, starting with the theme “An economy that works for everyone”.
Taxing gas exports and reining in fuel credits to mining companies are hot topics, with the draft platform promising to “ensure the Australian public gets a fairer return on its natural resources, including through appropriate taxation arrangements, while securing its role as a reliable international energy supplier and investment partner.”
Speaking to the media on the eve of the conference, Environment Minister Murray Watt acknowledged there was a desire to discuss a gas export tax, saying “many issues will be discussed” but that the Albanian government “is not working on a gas tax”.
Raising more income from capital wealth rather than wages is also expected to generate some controversy.
The draft platform promised to “deliver a progressive and sustainable tax system where taxation does not favor the taxation of wealth.”
“Labour will reform the tax system to help more Australians become homeowners, better align the taxation of income from assets with the taxation of income from business and reduce the tax burden on workers,” he said.
“Australia’s taxation system must be effective, simple, transparent and fair.
“There is no place for tax evasion.
“Tackling Australia’s economic and fiscal challenges requires everyone, including Australian and multinational companies, to pay their fair share of tax.”
Unions have said they will push for stronger AI guardrails to protect workers.
Australian Council of Trade Unions leader Sally McManus said last week: “Why should we trust a technology we have no control over that is run by four billionaires and the Chinese government?”
On foreign policy, activists are vying to influence Labor’s stance on Israel and Palestine.
The Israeli embassy this week criticized the draft platform for unfairly blaming Israel for the conflict with the Palestinians.
The bill opposes “illegal settlement activity” and settler violence in the West Bank and condemns Israeli laws that sanction the death penalty for Palestinians who kill Israelis.
This also includes support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Amnesty International Australia welcomed the draft on Wednesday but called on the conference to “demand the government to impose targeted sanctions on key Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for their role in leading a policy of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.”
“As delegates gather in Adelaide for the ALP National Conference, Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories continue to endure Israel’s unlawful, state-led and sponsored campaign of ethnic cleansing,” said Mohamed Duar, the group’s Palestine spokesman.
“Amnesty International’s research has documented settlement expansion, home demolitions, restrictions on movement and an increase in settler violence carried out with state support and complete impunity.
“These actions amount to illegal transfer as a war crime and forcible transfer as a crime against humanity, further entrenching Israel’s system of apartheid.”
In its statement on the draft platform, the Israeli embassy denied that the settlements violate international law because the borders between Israel and the Palestinian state are “final status issues that must be resolved through direct negotiations.”
He also described illegal settler violence as a “marginal phenomenon.”
“Unlike the frequent Palestinian attacks against Israelis, which are not condemned by the Palestinian Authority, Israel condemns all unlawful attacks and actions aimed at bringing them to justice,” the statement said.
“In most cases, settler violence targets property, while Palestinian violence aims to kill or injure Israelis.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday in response to Israeli concerns:
He stated that the national platform was “a matter for (Labour) to determine” but that the Australian government’s “position is clear” and suggested they were completely separate.
Amnesty International Australia representatives will attend the national conference and the group will hold demonstrations nearby, including a billboard campaign across Adelaide.
