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Ryan MP, immediately ending the indefinite detention of refugees

Sam Bernardo
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Ryan MP, immediately ending the indefinite detention of refugees

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Monique Ryan MP


Monique Ryan MP (Kooyong) House of Representatives Matter of Public Importance “Immigration Detention Speech 

I’d like to acknowledge not only the very thoughtful contributions of the
government members here today, which I think have been really helpful but also members of the Asylum Seeker
Resource Centre who’ve joined us to listen to us talking about this really important issue.

Firstly, may I note, as the member for Wentworth did, that in early 2019, this parliament achieved something
remarkable and historic. Representatives from across the political spectrum voted together, with some of them
courageously crossing the floor, to pass Dr Kerryn Phelps’s medevac bill to create a pathway for critically
sick people held in offshore detention to be evacuated to Australia for urgent medical treatment. A majority of
members of this House agreed then that giving medical care to people in Australia’s care should not be subjected
to political interference and that the provision of that treatment should be determined by doctors. I am a doctor,
and I believe the experts who have provided evidence to this parliament on behalf of refugees and asylum
seekers when they say that no one is well after 10 years in offshore detention. The previous coalition government
repealed the medevac law as soon as it could. I speak on behalf of the electorate of Kooyong today in support of
immediately ending the indefinite detention of refugees. This parliament has an opportunity to end the suffering
of the hundreds of people still stranded on Nauru and in Papua New Guinea once and for all.

A recent study into psychological distress in Australian onshore and offshore immigration detention centres
found that detaining a person onshore for more than three months resulted in great psychological stress. Those
detained offshore showed even greater psychological distress on all time frames. The MSF report Indefinite
despair in 2018 showed that, out of 208 refugees and asylum seekers assessed, 62 per cent had moderate or
severe depression, 25 per cent had anxiety disorders, 18 per cent had post-traumatic stress disorder and another
22 per cent had depression, complex trauma or trauma withdrawal syndrome.

In the last decade, 46 people have died in Australian detention centres. Assessments of the causes of these tragic
deaths cite lack of access to medical care, including mental health care, as a core contributing factor, as well as
deplorable living and hygiene conditions and psychological and physical abuse. Twelve people have died while
detained in Australian offshore detention centres. Many of these people are losing their lives to easily treatable
disorders such as sepsis.

Australia’s immigration detention regime causes severe and widespread mental and physical health impacts on
people seeking refuge or asylum in this country. I appeal to other doctors in this chamber to join Dr Sophie Scamps
and me in our calls to bring the people detained offshore here to Australia, to safety. I urge the government and
every member of this chamber to end the financial and moral black hole of offshore detention.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

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Content from this website is attributed to the Parliament of Australia website is provided under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia licence.

Monique Marie Ryan is an Australian paediatric neurologist and politician

Canavan, Labor: ‘Where is our $275 that you promised?

Sam Bernardo
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Canavan, Labor: ‘Where is our $275 that you promised?

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Senator Mathew Canavan (Queensland—Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate): I must give it to the newly elected Labor government: they are already smashing records. Yesterday they broke a major election promise in just their first day at work here in parliament. That must be some kind of record!

At the election, the Labor Party promised—I’m quoting from their own policy—to ‘cut power bills for families and businesses by $275 a year for homes by 2025 compared to today.’ Yesterday, in the Governor-General’s address, there was not a mention of the $275 saving at all; instead, there was just a vague commitment to ‘help save families hundreds of dollars on their electricity bills’. Where has the $275 gone now? Australians are asking the newly elected Labor government: ‘Where is our $275 that you promised?’

This is a massive broken promise that will hurt Australian families already struggling with crushing increases in the cost of living. Since the election, wholesale power prices have increased by more than four times. Soon, every time you go and get a snack from the fridge, you’ll be shocked by how big that bill stuck to the fridge with a magnet is. Electricity bills are going up because we have invested too much in unreliable renewable energy. Australia leads the world in investment in renewable energy. Just the other week, our energy regulator, the Australian Energy Market Operator, revealed that Australia has built four to five times more solar and wind energy per person than Europe, the US, Japan or China. The Labor Party’s response is: ‘Let’s do more! Let’s ignore the higher consequences of this record of shame.’ They want to increase our renewable energy from just 25 per cent today to 82 per cent in just eight years’ time. How is that going to work when the sun sets? We’re in a world where the renewable energy investments must continue until morale improves.

We are a country blessed with energy resources—with coal, gas and uranium. It is a national disgrace and embarrassment that we export our resources to other nations while our old go cold in winter. It is time to put Australians first.

 Attributed as Parliament of Australia website.










The Georgia Guidestones Explosion to Demolition

Sam Bernardo
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The Georgia Guidestones Explosion to Demolition

 

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The Georgia Guidestones Explosion to 

The Georgia Guidestones was a granite monument that stood in Elbert County, Georgia, United States from 1980 to 2022. It was 19 feet 3 inches (5.87 m) tall and made from six granite slabs weighing a total of 237,746 pounds (107,840 kg).The structure was sometimes referred to as an “American Stonehenge“.The creators of the monument believed that there was going to be an upcoming social, nuclear, or economic calamity and wanted the monument to serve as a guide for humanity afterward.

Though initially gaining little controversy, they became subject to conspiracy theories alleging a connection to satanism.On the morning of July 6, 2022, the guidestones were heavily damaged in a bombing. and were dismantled later the same day..embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }


The Georgia Guidestones inscription read:

  1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
  2. Guide reproduction wisely – improving fitness and diversity.
  3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
  4. Rule passion – faith – tradition – and all things with tempered reason.
  5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
  6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
  7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
  8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
  9. Prize truth – beauty – love – seeking harmony with the infinite.
  10. Be not a cancer on the Earth – Leave room for nature – Leave room

Vladimir Putin address at 10th St Petersburg International Legal Forum

Sam Bernardo
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Vladimir Putin gave a video address to greet the participants of a plenary session of the 10th St Petersburg International Legal Forum. This year’s plenary session was themed Law in a Multipolar World. The video address was recorded during the President’s recent visit to St Petersburg.

RBA Hikes rates by 50 basis points to 1.35 per cent.

Sam Bernardo
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RBA Hikes rates by 50 basis points to 1.35 per cent.

 

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Reserve Bank of Australia: At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 1.35 per cent. It also increased the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances by 50 basis points to 1.25 per cent.

Global inflation is high. It is being boosted by COVID-related disruptions to supply chains, the war in Ukraine and strong demand which is putting pressure on productive capacity. Monetary policy globally is responding to this higher inflation, although it will be some time yet before inflation returns to target in most countries.

Inflation in Australia is also high, but not as high as it is in many other countries. Global factors account for much of the increase in inflation in Australia, but domestic factors are also playing a role. Strong demand, a tight labour market and capacity constraints in some sectors are contributing to the upward pressure on prices. The floods are also affecting some prices.

Inflation is forecast to peak later this year and then decline back towards the 2–3 per cent range next year. As global supply-side problems continue to ease and commodity prices stabilise, even if at a high level, inflation is expected to moderate. Higher interest rates will also help establish a more sustainable balance between the demand for and the supply of goods and services. Medium-term inflation expectations remain well anchored and it is important that this remains the case. A full set of updated forecasts will be published next month following the release of the June quarter CPI.

The Australian economy remains resilient and the labour market is tighter than it has been for some time. The unemployment rate was steady at 3.9 per cent in May, the lowest rate in almost 50 years. Underemployment has also fallen significantly. Job vacancies and job ads are both at very high levels and a further decline in unemployment and underemployment is expected over the months ahead. The Bank’s business liaison program and business surveys continue to point to a lift in wages growth from the low rates of recent years as firms compete for staff in the tight labour market.

One source of ongoing uncertainty about the economic outlook is the behaviour of household spending. The recent spending data have been positive, although household budgets are under pressure from higher prices and higher interest rates. Housing prices have also declined in some markets over recent months after the large increases of recent years. The household saving rate remains higher than it was before the pandemic and many households have built up large financial buffers and are benefiting from stronger income growth. The Board will be paying close attention to these various influences on household spending as it assesses the appropriate setting of monetary policy.

The Board will also be paying close attention to the global outlook, which remains clouded by the war in Ukraine and its effect on the prices for energy and agricultural commodities. Real household incomes are under pressure in many economies and financial conditions are tightening, as central banks increase interest rates. There are also ongoing uncertainties related to COVID, especially in China.

Today’s increase in interest rates is a further step in the withdrawal of the extraordinary monetary support that was put in place to help insure the Australian economy against the worst possible effects of the pandemic. The resilience of the economy and the higher inflation mean that this extraordinary support is no longer needed. The Board expects to take further steps in the process of normalising monetary conditions in Australia over the months ahead. The size and timing of future interest rate increases will be guided by the incoming data and the Board’s assessment of the outlook for inflation and the labour market. The Board is committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that inflation in Australia returns to target over time.


Above Media release: Statement by Philip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision

Source: Reserve Bank of Australia 2022

Dan Andrews Pandemic Declaration extended

Sam Bernardo
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Dan Andrews Pandemic Declaration extended

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Premier Danial Andrews

As part of Victoria’s continued response to the coronavirus pandemic and as we continue to manage the challenges winter presents, I have extended the pandemic declaration to apply to the State of Victoria from 11.59pm Tuesday 12 July for three months.

The pandemic declaration gives the Minister for Health the authority to make pandemic orders she considers reasonably necessary to protect public health after considering the Chief Health Officer’s advice and other relevant factors, including social and economic factors.

Recently, a number of modest and sensible changes to pandemic orders were made to allow Victorians to live safely with COVID-19 while reducing transmission and hospitalisations.

This extended declaration will enable those key settings to remain in place over winter, protecting Victorians and our health system.

The declaration was made under section 165AE of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 after consultation with, and consideration of advice from, the Minister for Health and Acting Chief Health Officer.

In making the declaration, I am satisfied on reasonable grounds that there continues to be a serious risk to public health throughout Victoria due to the coronavirus disease which requires continued public health and other protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission and hospitalisation.

There are 94.6 per cent of Victorians over 12 years who have received two vaccine doses against coronavirus and over 68.4 per cent of Victorians over 16 years who have received a third dose.

This most recent extension will expire at 11.59pm, 12 October 2022 and subsequent extensions can last for up to three months.

I have also requested that the Minister for Health and the Chief Health Officer provide further advice by the end of winter as to whether there continues to be, at that time, a serious risk to public health arising from COVID-19.

The extended declaration underpins the continuation of the Independent Pandemic Management Advisory Committee of experts and community representatives who advise on pandemic response and management.

The Statement of Reasons, and the advice of the Acting CHO and the Minister for Health, will be tabled in Parliament.

Source: Victoria Government Media release

Reserve Bank increased the interest rate by 50 basis points

Sam Bernardo
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Reserve Bank increased the interest rate by 50 basis points

 

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Reserve Bank: At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 85 basis points. It also increased the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances by 50 basis points to 75 basis points.

Statement by Philip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision

Date 7 June 2022

At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 85 basis points. It also increased the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances by 50 basis points to 75 basis points.

Inflation in Australia has increased significantly. While inflation is lower than in most other advanced economies, it is higher than earlier expected. Global factors, including COVID-related disruptions to supply chains and the war in Ukraine, account for much of this increase in inflation. But domestic factors are playing a role too, with capacity constraints in some sectors and the tight labour market contributing to the upward pressure on prices. The floods earlier this year have also affected some prices.

Inflation is expected to increase further, but then decline back towards the 2–3 per cent range next year. Higher prices for electricity and gas and recent increases in petrol prices mean that, in the near term, inflation is likely to be higher than was expected a month ago. As the global supply-side problems are resolved and commodity prices stabilise, even if at a high level, inflation is expected to moderate. Today’s increase in interest rates will assist with the return of inflation to target over time.

The Australian economy is resilient, growing by 0.8 per cent in the March quarter and 3.3 per cent over the year. Household and business balance sheets are generally in good shape, an upswing in business investment is underway and there is a large pipeline of construction work to be completed. Macroeconomic policy settings are supportive of growth and national income is being boosted by higher commodity prices. The terms of trade are at a record high.

The labour market is also strong. Employment has grown significantly and the unemployment rate is 3.9 per cent, which is the lowest rate in almost 50 years. Job vacancies and job ads are at high levels and a further decline in unemployment and underemployment is expected. The Bank’s business liaison program continues to point to a lift in wages growth from the low rates of recent years as firms compete for staff in a tight labour market.

One source of uncertainty about the economic outlook is how household spending evolves, given the increasing pressure on Australian households’ budgets from higher inflation. Interest rates are also increasing. Housing prices have declined in some markets over recent months but remain more than 25 per cent higher than prior to the pandemic, supporting household wealth and spending. The household saving rate also remains higher than it was before the pandemic and many households have built up large financial buffers. While the central scenario is for strong household consumption growth this year, the Board will be paying close attention to these various influences on consumption as it assesses the appropriate setting of monetary policy.

The Board will also be paying close attention to the global outlook, which remains clouded by the war in Ukraine and its effect on the prices for energy and agricultural commodities. Real household incomes are under pressure in many economies and financial conditions are tightening, as central banks withdraw monetary policy support in response to broad-based inflation. There are also ongoing uncertainties related to COVID, especially in China.

Today’s increase in interest rates by the Board is a further step in the withdrawal of the extraordinary monetary support that was put in place to help the Australian economy during the pandemic. The resilience of the economy and the higher inflation mean that this extraordinary support is no longer needed. Given the current inflation pressures in the economy, and the still very low level of interest rates, the Board decided to move by 50 basis points today. The Board expects to take further steps in the process of normalising monetary conditions in Australia over the months ahead. The size and timing of future interest rate increases will be guided by the incoming data and the Board’s assessment of the outlook for inflation and the labour market. The Board is committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that inflation in Australia returns to target over time.

Source: Reserve Bank of Australia RBA Material is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0 Licence) and may be used in accordance with the terms of that licence

AlBo incredibly honoured and humbled to have been sworn in as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister

Sam Bernardo
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AlBo incredibly honoured and humbled to have been sworn in as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister

PM Anthony Albanese Press Conference
PM Anthony Albanese Press Conference


PM ALBO: Thanks very much. This will be a short press conference for reasons that are obvious for those of you who are travelling with us to Tokyo.

I am incredibly honoured and humbled to have been sworn in as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister. Australians have voted for change. And my Government intends to implement that change in an orderly way.

This morning, we had sworn in the interim Ministry that you see before you here in order to enable myself and Senator Wong to visit Tokyo for the Quad leaders meeting. In Tokyo, we will also have important bilateral meetings with President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida and Prime Minister Modi. I received a phone call last night and had a very fruitful and positive conversation, renewing my acquaintance with President Biden. The relationship with the United States is our most important, along with our relationships in the region and our multilateral commitments as well. The meetings that we will have, not just with the United States, but importantly with our hosts in Japan and India are going to be very important, in a good way, to send a message to the world that there’s a new Government in Australia and it’s a Government that represents a change, in terms of the way that we deal with the world on issues like climate change, but also a continuity in the way that we have respect for democracy and the way that we value our friendships and long-time alliances.

The Caucus will then meet next Tuesday. We will then have a swearing in of the full Ministry next Wednesday morning. And then I will convene the first meeting of the new Ministry. We just had an informal meeting of this group. We will have a meeting of the Ministry next Wednesday, along with meetings of the appropriate Cabinet committees, including the NSC and the ERC.

I met with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet yesterday. And I thank them for their professionalism. It was a reminder, as a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister, of how valued our public servants are. We won’t be sacking public servants either. We will be valuing public servants and respecting them. The fact that we were able to have discussions and put measures in place to allow whatever the outcome of the result on Saturday, for those arrangements to be put in place, says a lot about how professional our public servants are. We should not take it for granted.

We will return on Wednesday and set about implementing our agenda. Our agenda that’s received the endorsement of the Australian people. Our National Reconstruction Fund, our Powering Australia plan to deal with the opportunities that come with acting on climate change. Our full implementation of the Respect@Work report recommendations. Affordable child care, fixing the aged care crisis, strengthening Medicare.

I said on Saturday that the ‘how’ was just as important as the ‘what’ and indeed it is. I want to bring people together and I want to change the way that politics is conducted in this country. We will establish a National Anti-Corruption Commission. And I have asked for that work to begin already. I will bring together an employment summit. And I thank those people in the business community and in the trade union movement for the discussions that we have had already about the way that can be progressed. And we will, of course, be advancing the need to have constitutional recognition of First Nations people, including a Voice to Parliament that is enshrined in that Constitution.

I look forward to leading a Government that makes Australians proud. A Government that doesn’t seek to divide, that doesn’t seek to have wedges, but seeks to bring people together for our common interest and our common purpose. I think that is one of the messages that came through on Saturday. People do have conflict fatigue. They want to work with people. And I will work with people, whether it’s the cross benchers, or the Opposition, to try to, wherever possible, get agreement. It is the way that I ran the Labor Party from the day that I became Labor Leader, not Opposition Leader. I do believe that we can do politics better. And I hope to do so. Happy to take just a few questions.

JOURNALIST: Congratulations, firstly on your win. What will you do, Prime Minister, have you had discussions already about – you don’t have a majority – have you already had discussions with the cross bench and minor parties about confidence and supply?

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks for that question. I am hopeful that we will receive a majority of Members of the House of Representatives. At this stage, that looks most likely. But counting continues. But my expectation is that we have a majority in the Labor Caucus. I have received and have had discussions with the existing members of the cross bench and received confirmation from Rebekha Sharkie, Bob Katter, Andrew Wilkie, Helen Haines and Zali Steggall, that they would not support any no confidence motions against the Government and that they would also secure supply. It is important that we respect the outcome of the election on Saturday. I have stuck to what I said before the election, as have they. They will consider legislation on its merits. I expect that to be the case. I will treat them with respect.

JOURNALIST: When do you want Parliament to resume? And how are you feeling? Are you ready?

PRIME MINISTER: I am ready. I have been getting ready for some time. And Parliament – I have had discussions with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet about a timetable. I read in one paper this morning that the Liberal Party might have its Caucus meeting if Parliament sits next week. I can confirm that Parliament won’t be sitting until the writs are returned, which won’t be certainly next week. We will sit at some stage before the end of July. But we will wait. It may well be much earlier than that. We will await the advice of Prime Minister and Cabinet. There are a range of issues. There is a number of international events, some of which are public, some of which are not, which need to be accommodated. The other issue is I will try to run a family-friendly Parliament. There are school holidays in July that have been pointed out as well. But we will resume Parliament in a very orderly way.

JOURNALIST: You said a minute ago that the incoming Labor Government is not going to sack public servants. You indicated you wanted new leadership at the head of PM&C. I am interested in whether you have a candidate in mind? Labor will have done a transition to government plan. I am quite interested in what you are able to tell us about machinery of government changes, or reallocation of portfolios. What is your thinking of both of those points?

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks. Stephanie Foster is the Acting Head of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, as of yesterday. I will be making an announcement at an appropriate time after we go through the formal procedures, which are in place, for the appointment of a secretary of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

JOURNALIST: One of the big issues for you in this term is China. My question is to you or the Foreign Minister, or both of you, now you are in office, do you see an opportunity to maybe cool things down? You have said they are more aggressive. Everyone agrees they have been aggressive and so on. On this crucial issue for our nation, do you see a chance to try and take a bit of the heat out of it?

PRIME MINISTER: What I have said, and we maintain, is that the relationship with China will remain a difficult one. I said that before the election. That has not changed. It is China that has changed, not Australia. And Australia should always stand up for our values. And we will in a Government that I lead. You will not get the call earlier because you yell. On day one, get that clear. Can I make the point though, that what we should do is put Australia’s national interests first and not attempt to play politics with national security issues. I think we saw some politics played with national security issues on Saturday afternoon. And there are millions of Australians who received text messages on Saturday afternoon that demonstrated that is the case. What I will do as the Prime Minister, and my Foreign Minister, Senator Wong will do, is put Australia’s national interests first, put Australia’s values first. And now, on that note, speaking of overseas, we have a plane to catch. Thank you very much. See you there.

Source: Licensed from the Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.

The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the content of this publication.

Prime Minster of Australia

Queensland Disaster assistance has been extended to the three Local LGA’s

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Queensland Disaster assistance has been extended to the three Local LGA’s

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Queensland Floods


Disaster assistance has been extended to the three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Charters Towers, Flinders and Richmond following the intense rainfall and flooding throughout Northern and Central-Western Queensland over the past month.

The assistance is made possible through the joint Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and will help these councils to cover counter-disaster operations, such as clean-up and sandbagging, and the cost to repair essential public infrastructure damaged during the event between 21 April and 12 May 2022.

Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience, Bridget McKenzie, said the Australian Government would always stand with Queenslanders after a natural disaster.

“The DRFA extension to Charters Towers, Flinders and Richmond LGAs will assist the communities to recover from the effects of the recent deluge. We will continue to work with the Queensland Government to ensure that people affected receive the support they need,” Minister McKenzie said. 

Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Mark Ryan said, “The assistance would help more impacted communities recover from this extreme weather event.

“Northern and Central-Western Queensland experienced multiple days of heavy rain in late April 22 that damaged public infrastructure and caused disruption to the local communities,” he said.

“In mid-May of 2022 another severe weather event rolled through, causing further damage and impacted more communities in Central Queensland.

“By extending the DRFA assistance to Charters Towers, Flinders and Richmond, we are ensuring these communities will receive the financial support they need to cover the costs of the clean-up and counter-disaster operations such as sandbagging, in addition to the repair of essential public infrastructure such as roads.”

Minister Ryan said, “Seventeen Local Government Areas had now been activated for DRFA assistance in response to the Northern and Central-Western Queensland rainfall and flooding event from 21 April – 12 May.

“This latest DRFA activation extension will provide certainty to councils so they know they will be reimbursed for the eligible clean-up activities and reconstruction costs they incur as they help their communities recover,” he said.

“This disaster season has been unusually long, with extreme rainfall impacting our state well into what would normally be Queensland’s dry season.

“Queensland has now experienced eight natural disasters in 2021-22 that have necessitated the activation of DRFA assistance.

“But no matter how many disasters we face our communities can be assured we will continue to work with them to provide all available support to assist with their recovery.”

In response to the Northern and Central-Western Queensland rainfall and flooding event from 21 April – 12 May, DRFA assistance has already been activated for the following LGAs: Barcaldine Regional Council, Barcoo Regional Council, Blackall-Tambo Regional Council, Boulia Shire Council, Burdekin Shire Council, Charters Towers, Cloncurry Shire Council, Cook Shire Council, Douglas Shire Council, Flinders Shire Council, Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council, Longreach Regional Council, McKinlay Shire Council, Mornington Shire Council, Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council, Richmond Shire Council and Winton Shire Council.

Sources and Information on disaster assistance can be found on the Queensland Reconstruction Authority’s website at www.qra.qld.gov.au    

Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services

The Honourable Mark Ryan

Australia’s unemployment rate drops to 3.9 per cent lowest in 50 years

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Australia’s unemployment rate drops to 3.9 per cent lowest in 50 years

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Man at Work ( Welder )
Image by Mike Flynn from Pixabay 

(ABS) The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April 2022 was 3.9 per cent, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said: “In April, we saw employment rise by 4,000 people and unemployment fall by 11,000 people. As a result, the unemployment rate decreased slightly in April, though remained level, in rounded terms, with the revised March rate of 3.9 per cent.

“3.9 per cent is the lowest the unemployment rate has been in the monthly survey. The last time the unemployment rate was lower than this was in August 1974, when the survey was quarterly.”

The unemployment rate for males fell by 0.2 percentage points to 4.0 per cent, its lowest level since October 2008. For females, it remained at 3.7 per cent for a second month, which is the lowest it has been since May 1974.

The participation rate also decreased in April, down by 0.1 percentage points to 66.3 per cent, but remained close to the historical highs in February and March.

Employment and hours worked

Employment increased by 4,000 people in April, the sixth consecutive monthly rise.

The employment to population ratio remained at 63.8 per cent for a third month, the highest it has been and 1.4 percentage points higher than March 2020.

Seasonally adjusted hours worked increased by 1.3 per cent in April, largely reflecting a bounce back from the March falls in flood affected areas.

Seasonally adjusted employment and hours worked, indexed to March 2020

Line chart with 2 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Index. Range: 89.00500000000001 to 1Index March 2020
End of interacource: Labour Force, Australia Tables 1 and 19

“Hours in New South Wales and Queensland increased in April following the impacts of the floods in March. The number of people working fewer hours than usual due to bad weather dropped from its March peak of over 500,000 to around 70,000 people in April,” Mr Jarvis said.

In line with rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in April, the number of people working reduced hours due to illness continued to be high, reflecting ongoing disruption associated with the Omicron variant.  

“Around 740,000 people worked reduced hours in April because of illness, almost double what we usually saw in April before the pandemic. Of these people, around 340,000 worked no hours, which was around triple what we would usually see.”

Underemployment and underutilisation

The underemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 6.1 per cent and the underutilisation rate, which combines the unemployment and underemployment rates, decreased 0.3 percentage points to 10.0 per cent. These were at their lowest levels since 2008.

Today’s release includes additional analysis of hours worked and historical charts showing data back to 1966.

Further information, including regional labour market information, will be available in the upcoming April 2022 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, due for release on Thursday 26 May 2022.

The ABS would like to thank Australians for their continued support in responding to our surveys during such a difficult time.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) material licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence required.

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