Your five-minute guide to today’s hot issues

As we go about our busy lives – jobs, family, hobbies – it can be difficult to keep up with everything happening in the world.

Not everyone has time to read the papers cover-to-cover every day (although we thoroughly enjoy this morning ritual), so we’ve pulled together a snapshot of today’s key issues. Think of this as enough to get you through a dinner party conversation or just your weekly dose of current affairs.

Politics

There are so many policies, regulations and legislation being discussed at any one time. You can be forgiven for being easily overwhelmed by the chatter! A lot of people also tend to switch off to politics outside of election time and underestimate how political issues impact their everyday lives.

Here are some of the key issues currently being discussed by our federal politicians and why they should be important to you.

Same Job Same Pay

The Albanese Government passed multi-employer bargaining laws in December last year but it’s their second tranche of IR reforms, so-called Same Job Same Pay rules, that have sparked nationwide backlash from heavy hitters in the business community.

If you are an employee or employer, this controversial policy could have a big impact on you. The government argues the reform will create fairness for all employees by requiring employers to pay labour hire workers the same pay as direct employees doing the same job. The government says it is closing a loophole where employers are using labour hire, rather than actually employing people, simply to reduce wages.

Those opposing the policy, including the Business Council of Australia and the Minerals Council, argue the policy fails to consider a person’s experience or duration in a position. The opposition argument is best summed up in this comment from Minerals Council chief executive Tania Constable – “Our workplaces should be about fairness, reward for effort and experience – not a blanket approach that fails to understand that all workplaces are unique and worker ambition and values varied.”

Consultation with stakeholders is ongoing but judging by the campaigns being waged, this discussion has a long way to run.

Big Tech

The federal government is preparing legislation to crackdown on the “spreading of misinformation and untruths” on social media. Under the proposed changes the government watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), would be given powers to force companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter and TikTok to prevent misinformation or disinformation from spreading and stop it from being monetised.

ACMA would not have the power to take information down or sanction individual posts, however it could fine platforms that fail to monitor or combat intentionally “false, misleading and deceptive” content that could cause “serious harm”.

The real difficulty lies in defining what content is or isn’t ‘misinformation’. As such, ACMA will not be given powers to determine what information is true or untrue.

The former government picked a fight with big tech and it didn’t end well for the then Treasurer. Let’s see if this regulation has smoother sailing.

Cost of Living

Politicians and media love to throw this phrase around – it’s often followed by the word “crisis” – but what does it really mean? Yes, all our costs are going up – electricity, fuel, groceries – but at the same time, wages remain stagnant. The RBA has increased the cash rate to 4.1 percent, with 12 increases since May last year – the fastest rise in decades.

Inflation is high – meaning there is money following through the economy – yet every time we open the newspaper or turn on the TV we are confronted with stories of hardworking Australians doing it tough and struggling to make ends meet. Most of us are feeling the strain on our weekly budgets every time we put petrol in the car or feed our family for the week – so why is inflation so high?

Economists explain that inflation comes down to an imbalance between supply and demand. A pandemic fuelled stimulus package coupled with a post-pandemic surge in demand has resulted in demand outstripping supply and therefore soaring price rises. We are now feeling the impact of inflation and it is hurting our hip-pocket.

On Tuesday, the RBA kept the cash rate on hold at 4.1 per cent, welcome news for mortgage holders, however the language in their statement indicates that further rises are likely.

Global Events

War in Ukraine

It has been more than a year since the war in Ukraine broke out and sadly it looks likely to continue with no end in sight.

There was a sign of division in Russian forces recently when the head of the Wagner mercenary group defied orders to integrate his forces with the Russian military. However, after the Wagner leader marched his troops with 200kms of Moscow, Putin was the one who was forced to backdown. The whole incident has demonstrated cracks in Putin’s control and exposed his vulnerabilities.

Many Western allies have provided significant assistance to Ukraine, including Australia, however with their enormous reserves of manpower and resources, Russia has not backed down. Some believe Russia has the means to sustain this conflict for years to come.

The Australian Government continues to support Ukraine and has committed 70 military vehicles, artillery ammunition and funding for humanitarian efforts. The latest commitment took total support for Ukraine to $790 million.

Trump

Earlier this month, Trump was indicted for a second time – this time it is federal charges in relation to an investigation into his handling of classified documents. Trump is the first US leader in history to face federal charges.

Federal prosecutors have unsealed the indictment (making it publicly available) which details how Trump kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. There are 38 felony charges brought against Trump – 31 relate to withholding national defence information, 5 relate to concealing possession of classified documents and 2 relate to giving false statements.

Trump has called the indictment an abuse of power and an attempt to stop him becoming President again. He claims he declassified the documents and was entitled to keep them.

While experts state the case will take some time to play out, neither the indictment nor a future conviction prevents Trump from running for president.

In good news for Trump, in the 24 hours after his indictment was made public, his campaign announced they had raised $4 million.

Unrest in the city of love

On Tuesday 27 June, a 17-year-old driver was shot dead by police after it is alleged that he failed to stop at a traffic stop. This has resulted in France enduring its worst unrest in decades with more than 2,300 rioters arrested.

President Macron has described the teenager’s death as ‘inexplicable’ and the officer involved is believed to be facing manslaughter charges.

After five nights of heavy rioting, it appears authorities have taken back control. However, in those five days, rioters torched cars, looted stores and damaged town halls and other facilities. The mayor of a Paris town and his family were also attacked inside their home while sleeping on Saturday night.

With so many Aussies enjoying a European summer vacation, it is important to stay up to date with global events like this.

A Little Fun

Pop culture has always been one of our favourite subjects so we couldn’t go past including a couple of highlights – but we’ve also made them a little educational.

Taylor Swift mania hits Australia

While Aussies might have spent $126 million on securing tickets to see the music icon of a generation in concert, The Eras Tour is believed to have cost the Australian economy even more. It is suggested the millions of Australians waiting online to get tickets cost the economy more than $217 million in productivity losses.

However, it isn’t all bad news for the Australian economy. Some are arguing that this once-in-a-lifetime concert will help keep Australia out of a recession. With hundreds of thousands of Australians having to spend money on flights and accommodation to see the shows, there will be an injection of tens of millions of dollars into the economy.

As huge fans and some of the lucky ones to secure tickets, we believe it’s money well spent.

Ashes tour

While touring England to try to retain the Ashes, the Aussies dismissed Jonny Bairstow in the last test in what some fans describe as controversial fashion.

Aussie wicketkeeper Alex Carey stumped Jonny on the final day of the second Ashes test at Lord’s and it has been the talk of the cricket world since. Jonny left his crease before the umpire ended the over and Carey seized the opportunity to take Australia’s seventh wicket. The stumping has attracted diplomatic attention with both the UK and Australian Prime Minister’s weighing in.

While the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, issued a statement agreeing with England cricket captain and his criticism of the manner in which the Aussies won, the Australian PM tweeted “Same old Aussies – always winning!” – a cheeky take on the criticism English fans were yelling at the Aussies. Albanese went even further on Tuesday when he said “…he must not have had the same lessons I got in primary school at St Joseph’s Camperdown – ‘stay in your crease’.”

Barbie movie banned

While most of the world seems to have Barbie fever, one country has taken action to ban the new film. Vietnam has cited an “offensive image” as the reason for the nationwide ban.

A scene in the film that features a map including the highly contested South China Sea is apparently the culprit. Several countries, including China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia, have competing claims of where national boundaries lie in the South China Seas.

It is alleged that the image used in the film includes the so-called “nine dash line” which is a U-shaped boundary used in Chinese maps to illustrate their claim over the strategically important body of water.

Media reports indicate the Philippines is also considering a ban or restriction of the film.

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They say we shouldn’t discuss politics or religion – but we strongly disagree. We just need to be better informed and be able to have respectful conversations that challenge ideas or perceptions. Keeping up to date with what’s going on in the world helps us to open our mind and ideas. Remember, knowledge is power.