Peter Dutton is in Perth for the second time in less than a fortnight , this time to spruik his calls for the Albanese Government to let pensioners earn more money without their pensions being cut back. WA mining magnate Gina Rinehart championed a similar policy before the Federal election as a way to help solve Australia’s worker shortage, but the idea was never adopted by former prime minister Scott Morrison.
The sole SA Nationals candidate Jonathan Pietzsch, standing for the seat of Barker, has called on a returned Coalition government to allow pensioners to work without the threat of losing their pension. He said a National Seniors survey showed one in five pensioners wished to continue working, but only 2.9 per cent were. He said this meant that Australia was missing out on hundreds of thousands of keen and skilled workers, which had a flow on effect to the economy.”Increasing the Pensioner Work Bonus in 2 levels, one for those working in the city, and another for those wishing to work in regional areas where the worker shortage is even more critical, is a viable way to address our immediate labour shortage and will pump billions back into the economy – it truly is a win/win/win,” Mr Pietzsch said.
An explosion of COVID-19 cases in WA is intensifying staffing woes, directly impacting businesses which continue to bear the brunt of skills shortages. As cases soared to a record high of 17,000 on Wednesday — well above the original peak prediction of 10,000 — businesses were left grappling with a surge in virus-related absenteeism. Some are optimistic conditions will improve from here as the case load comes down. However, others are anticipating further disruptions as potential new strains emerge. WA’s resources sector has also acutely felt the impacts of absenteeism.
We Australians are living in a fool’s paradise when we let water that could be nourishing cattle and food crops flow wastefully into the ocean. We are already producing the world’s best beef thanks to outstanding companies like Stockyard, AAco, Stanbroke, and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture. With more dams, more mines and more gas, Australia could become a food and energy superpower.
This year the Queensland Country Women’s Association celebrates 100 years of supporting women, their families and rural areas.
Mrs Gina Rinehart
as Executive Chairman
of Hancock Group.
