Key events
Greens call for workplace racial equality agency
Krishani Dhanji
The Greens have called to establish a workplace racial equality agency to document experiences of racism in workplaces and improve racial equity.
The agency would collect data and public information on indicators such as representation in the workforce and in governing bodies, record instances of racism, and would try to improve equality in hiring practices, pay and workplace training.
The minor party says they would put forward almost $100m to support the agency in the medium term and it comes on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The deputy Greens leader, Mehreen Faruqi, says the agency will help “provide the proactive focus needed to eliminate racism in workplaces”:
Systemic and entrenched racism in workplaces is not going to go away by itself, it needs concerted effort.
As Dutton and the Liberals mirror Trump to ramp up their attacks on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, we must double down on strong action for racial equity to address deep-seated racism.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then my colleague Emily Wind will take you through the day.
Australia’s rapidly changing relationship with the United States is the subject of two of our top stories this morning. First, former chief of the defence force Chris Barrie has warned that “the vandals in the White House” are no longer reliable allies and urged the Albanese government to reassess its strategic partnership with the US.
At the same time, some of America’s biggest tech companies such as Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon and Elon Musk’s X have lodged a formal complaint urging the Trump administration to target “coercive and discriminatory” Australian media laws.
Closer to home, meanwhile, the long-awaited competition watchdog’s report into the big supermarkets says the retailers raised prices in the cost-of-living crisis to help them become among the most profitable in the world. In a 441-page report released last night, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission made 20 reform recommendations to the federal government, including forcing Coles, Woolworths and Aldi to publish all prices on their websites, and notify shoppers when package size changes in a bid for transparency around “shrinkflation”. Reaction coming up.