Politics reside: Australia Post chief paid ‘mind-blowing’ bonus; man charged over false Bondi capturing declare | Australia information

Henry Belot

Continuing on from that final publish, Greens senator Barbara Pocock has issued a press release criticising the excessive salaries on the Future Fund:

$2.2 million is an outrageous sum of cash for a single public servant to earn.

What’s extra, we see the variety of extremely paid individuals on greater than 1,000,000 bucks sooner or later fund leaping from 11 to 17, and just one lady amongst them.

Australians throughout the nation, who can barely afford groceries, will share my outrage.”

The federal authorities and the Future Fund have justified the remuneration based mostly on the dimensions of investments being made, the danger concerned, and the necessity to safe the very best capital allocation managers in a aggressive and properly paid finance business.

In the personal sector, senior managers at main Australian banks commonly receive annual bonuses of more than $1m. But these salaries remain controversial with shareholders.

Henry Belot

Million-dollar public servants: Future Fund employees paid greater than $1m jumps from 11 to 17

The variety of federal public servants being paid greater than $1m at one authorities company has elevated from 11 to 17 in a single 12 months.

Earlier this month, Guardian Australia reported 11 managers at Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, have been paid considerably greater than the prime minister. One was paid $1.5m, greater than double Anthony Albanese’s wage.

The Future Fund’s chief company affairs officer, Will Hetherton, has instructed a Senate estimates listening to the variety of employees receiving greater than $1m elevated within the final monetary 12 months.

Hetherton stated one public servant on the fund was paid $2.2m, together with a deferred quick time period bonus and a long-term incentive.

Greens senator Barbara Pocock stated no different Australian authorities worker earned that a lot cash. She requested Hetherton to justify the remuneration:

The strategy to remuneration is ready by the board and has been in place for the reason that fund was established. There have been some tweaks alongside the best way, however it’s largely the identical strategy.

The Future Fund is basically fairly distinct from different companies and departments inside the public service. Our job is to maximise risk-adjusted returns and we function in aggressive world trading floors each for capital allocation alternatives and expertise. The board’s remuneration technique displays that.

Short-term incentives and long-term incentives are tied on to capital allocation efficiency. A big a part of the remuneration that’s paid and reported intimately in annual studies is in danger and displays the robust efficiency of the fund.

Hetherton instructed the estimates listening to the fund had delivered a return of 14.8% within the final monetary 12 months, including $37.4bn to the portfolio.

Cait Kelly

Former secretary paid virtually $900k after being sacked after welfare debacle

Former Department of Employment and Workplace Relations secretary Natalie James was paid an $828,980 “termination profit” after being sacked by the Albanese authorities in February.

James’ contract was reduce quick by 18 months after two commonwealth ombudsman studies discovered the focused compliance framework was working unlawfully and cancelling individuals’s welfare funds when it mustn’t have been.

Despite this controversy, and the massive quantity of stress and monetary concern for a number of the most weak Australians, it was simply revealed in Senate estimates that James bought paid virtually $900,000 on her means out the door.

The cost was a part of DEWR’s $12.9m redundancy prices for the 2025-26 monetary 12 months.

Cait Kelly

Compensation for not less than 50,000 individuals for unlawful welfare cost cancellation

The head of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Simon Duggan, has defended the choice to show nearly all of the focused compliance framework (TCF), the automated system that points welfare penalties, again on.

The TCF was working unlawfully, slicing off or lowering the revenue of an estimated 310,000 individuals between 2020 and 2024. Payment cancellations associated to obligatory actions have now resumed.

Opening Senate estimates this morning, Duggan stated the federal government had begun the method of providing compensation however that anybody who believes they’re affected ought to apply:

The division can be proactively inviting 50,652 individuals to use for compensation, who’ve been recognized by way of knowledge evaluation as most probably to be eligible for compensation underneath the necessities of the CDA scheme.

He stated the deponent is monitoring the system as cost cancellations start to roll out. Duggan additionally stated there have been 4 different components which haven’t been turned on but:

The remaining 4 paused components of the TCF, all of which relate to making sure that legally required human discretion is supported in decision-making, will stay paused till additional safeguards and assurance preparations are in place.

At this stage, these components are anticipated to renew within the first quarter of 2027, topic to completion of complete system decision-making and assurance work.

Patrick Commins

Treasury boss blames increased rates of interest for property stoop

Jenny Wilkinson, the secretary of the Treasury, says the federal government’s tax reforms to capital good points and unfavorable gearing have had “some impact” on property costs, however stated the latest stoop had extra to do with “increased rates of interest, heightened world uncertainty, and weak client sentiment”.

Wilkinson, talking at Senate estimates this morning, stated it was “vital to tell apart between the cyclical and structural drivers of the housing market”.

“Interest charges have a very robust cyclical impact as a result of Australia’s excessive share of variable charge mortgages means financial coverage passes comparatively shortly to present and new debtors,” she stated.

The price range tax reforms are anticipated to have a extra structural impact by way of their impression on the relative attractiveness of housing to traders, as outlined within the price range papers, the impacts of the tax measures on home costs and hire are anticipated to be modest over the medium time period, whereas shifting the possession of the housing inventory in direction of owner-occupiers.”

Home values have been down 5.2% from their March peak, however they have been nonetheless 6% increased than “a few years in the past”, Wilkinson stated.

The value declines have been sharper than within the early levels of most different housing slowdowns over the previous 20 years, however the run-up in home costs was additionally extra important.

Catie McLeod

Woolworths claims demand for Ooshies helping in 6.9% improve in earnings

Woolworths, Australia’s largest grocery store, has had a powerful begin to the monetary 12 months, with virtually $15bn in grocery gross sales amid cost-of-living pressures.

The firm posted its outcomes for the primary quarter of the monetary 12 months (July to September) to the ASX a short while in the past, forward of separate inflation knowledge being launched by the federal government later this morning.

Woolworths has attributed its robust outcomes to development in buyer demand for groceries amid the continued success of its Ooshies collectable marketing campaign fairly than rising shelf costs.

Across the Woolworths group, which incorporates shops in New Zealand, the corporate offered $19.4bn value of merchandise, a rise of 4.7% from the identical three-month interval final 12 months.

Most of the earnings got here from Australian meals gross sales, which amounted to $14.8bn, a 6.9% improve in contrast with the corresponding interval.

Woolworths will maintain two calls with journalists and traders this morning, and we’ll deliver you extra updates after that.

Sarah Basford Canales

Continued from the earlier publish …

At a short look late final night time, the Australian federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, revealed the pressure had acquired 785 protecting safety studies relating to antagonistic content material towards federal parliamentarians within the first six months of this 12 months.

Barrett stated ladies politicians have been thrice extra more likely to report receiving offensive or threatening contact that was sexualised or gender-based in nature whereas these from culturally and linguistically various communities have been additionally extra more likely to expertise “frequent and different offensive contact”.

Sarah Basford Canales

Death menace emails acquired throughout Senate estimates, WA senator reveals

The Western Australian senator, Fatima Payman, revealed she had acquired one more threatening e-mail in a Senates estimates listening to final night time, inflicting her to cancel an area occasion this weekend.

Federal politicians are persevering with to sound the alarm about security fears after the brutal alleged assault towards Helen Haines final week.

Payman stated her workplace had acquired an e-mail yesterday night, saying “watch your again, c***. You’re going to die very, very quickly. You canine c***.”

Now, that is one thing we obtain each day, however this weekend we have been resulting from maintain a neighborhood stall at an area market. We have needed to cancel it as a result of my employees instructed me they don’t really feel protected after the AFP suggested us, and I quote: “An evaluation of all out there info has been undertaken, and sadly, at this stage, the AFP gained’t be in attendance to help.” Can you please inform me how this evaluation was made and with what rationale?

The AFP’s deputy commissioner, Scott Lee, responded he couldn’t go into operational particulars however stated:

I do know our crew is actually seeking to speak to your workplace and your employees as a matter of precedence on that evaluation.

Australia Post chief paid ‘mind-blowing’ $1.2m bonus

Josh Taylor

The outgoing chief govt of Australia Post, Paul Graham, was paid a $1.2m bonus on high of his $1.64m base wage within the final monetary 12 months, after the $139.4m sale of property owned by Australia Post pushed the organisation right into a revenue for the 12 months.

Graham, who introduced this month he’ll retire after 5 years on the helm in June subsequent 12 months, confirmed to Senate estimates on Tuesday night time he had been paid the bonus based mostly on two efficiency elements, with one part associated to the “property technique we needed to execute”.

He stated the technique was essential to Australia Post’s transformation:

We do have the good fortune of sitting on property that has been within the community for a while, and it was vital for us to get an articulated, clear technique … releasing these non-core properties from our portfolio and guaranteeing that they supplied the cashflow that not solely bought us again right into a worthwhile place, however enabled us to make the substantial investments we’re making as a part of our transformation.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson instructed Graham it was a “mind-blowing sum of money”.

Australia Post reported a revenue earlier than tax of $31.8m, however had the property gross sales been excluded, Australia Post would have reported a loss earlier than tax of $107.6m, because the letter volumes fell an additional 14.7% within the 2026 monetary 12 months.