TRANSCRIPT
- A substantial pay rise proposed for the incoming Governor-General Sam Mostyn
- Armaguard gets a $50 million bailout
- The United States beats Bolivia two-nil in their opening match at the Copa America.
The Albanese government has proposed a $214,000 pay rise for incoming Governor-General Samantha Mostyn.
Ms Mostyn is set to become Australia’s next Governor-General on July 1, replacing the incumbent David Hurley.
The federal parliament is proposing to take the salary from $495,000 to $709,000.
The government says the planned wage rise is to reconcile Ms Mostyn's income, who has no military background, with previous Governors General who get some Commonwealth entitlements.
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Former New South Wales treasurer Matt Kean will chair the federal government's Climate Change Authority.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement today, just days after the former Liberal MP quit NSW parliament.
Mr Kean, seen to be one of only a few Coalition M-Ps to heed the warnings of a climate emergency, will take up the role with the authority responsible for providing advice to government on climate change policy in August.
Mr Kean says he's looking forward to the job.
"The Climate Change Authority has an important role to play in providing independent advice to the Government of the day based on facts, science, evidence, engineering and economics. And I intend to follow that tradition and continue to carry myself as I did as the New South Wales Energy and Environment Minister, as the Treasurer of New South Wales who oversaw a $115 billion Budget."
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Shoppers could pay lower prices for higher quality produce as the government cracks down on anti-competitive behaviour at the major supermarkets.
Australia's supermarkets will be required to abide by a strengthened and mandatory code of conduct.
The federal government has adopted all 11 recommendations of a recent probe into the voluntary Food and Grocery Code of Conduct to protect suppliers and encourage competition in the grocery sector.
Under the increased sanctions, supermarkets with an annual Australian sale of over $5 billion that violate the code could face a punishment of up to $10 million, or three times the advantage gained from the contravening conduct or 10 per cent of turnover in the previous 12 months.
Dr Craig Emerson, who headed the review, says it will be one of the strongest codes of conduct in Australia but supermarkets should not be too worried.
"If the supermarket's behave properly, they shouldn't be too worried about this because it's designed to make them behave properly. So it's not as if they will live in fear every day just treat the suppliers decently and don't put the supplies in such a difficult position where they do fear through retribution that their products will be moved from a really nice spot on the shelf down the back of the aisle or delisted altogether."
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The cash transport company Armaguard will keep operating, after coming to a deal with its largest customers, worth 50 million dollars.
Armaguard, which employs 1,400 people, is Australia's sole distributor of cash.
Amidst declining use of cash, there have been fears for the future of the company, and in turn, Australia's cash economy.
But now, Armaguard will receive monthly payments in return for meeting key performance indicators, which will include efficiency and restructuring requirements.
The deal is being funded by the big four banks, Coles, Woolworths, Bunnings, and Australia Post.
The deal also gives these companies time to come up with an alternate plan in case Armaguard ultimately fails.
Only around 13 per cent of transaction in Australia now are done in cash.
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In football,
Christian Pulisic's third-minute goal set the stage for a convincing 2-0 victory for the United States over Bolivia in their opening Group C match at the Copa America.
The U-S adopted an aggressive strategy from the start against Bolivia, who have just one win in their past 31 Copa America matches.
U-S coach Gregg Berhalter says it was a good start to the tournament.
"That's the important thing about the first game of the tournament. We've been together for almost a month now and itching to get going and you come out and you're never exactly sure how it's going to go. But I think the guys never put it in doubt and were really focused from the onset, showed a lot of intensity, a lot of hard work. And for us, it's just about building. Building on this performance. Next game is our focus. Our sole focus is how do we prepare for Panama."
The U-S will face Panama on Friday morning in Atlanta.
