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Sydney volunteers feeding families fleeing Gaza:

Palestinians arriving in Australia on visitor visas are facing hardship – and community organisations are stepping in to help

“Without their generosity, we would struggle to eat at all,” he says.

“I have brought my family here three times this week, each time they are more than accommodating. They even call me and ask if I am coming today. We are indebted to them.”

Alaa has asked to remain anonymous, concerned that his words could affect his family’s application for refugee status. He is on a student visa and brought his family to Sydney on visitor visas as the death toll from Israel’s onslaught on Gaza continued to climb. More than 32,000 people are reported to have died so far.

As his three children quietly eat their dinner, and with a buzzing buffet in the background, Alaa explains how difficult it has been since they arrived.

“Since they are on visitor visas, they do not receive any kind of support – we are out here on our own, trying to make it work.”

Arrivals from Palestine have been trickling into Australia, many on visitor visas and without legal or financial support.

Into this void have stepped community organisations. Some have organised donation drives to provide people with essential items including clothes and furniture, some have worked to provide food, alongside legal and settlement services.

Shanglish, a restaurant and cafe chain in Bankstown, has shut down one of its branches and repurposed it as a soup kitchen for the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast from dawn until sunset.

Community Care Kitchen organised the recommissioning of Shanglish, paying the rent and staff salaries for a month, and using it to provide families from Gaza food packages to break their fast.

Sana Karanouh, one of the leading volunteers at the organisation, says the repurposed cafe cannot meet the demand.

“We are spending upwards of $5,000 a day, feeding up to 45 families a night,” she says. “We have faced an influx of people, struggling without government support and amid this cost-of-living crisis.

“The families who are fed by the program are extremely grateful, they tell us it’s the only good thing happening to them at the moment.”

Above left | Karima Hazim and Bake for Gaza volunteers prepare ma’moul biscuits for baking at a Sydney cafe

Federal judge condemns ‘normalization’ of January 6 while sentencing defiant rioter:

A federal judge on Wednesday blasted a convicted January 6 rioter for downplaying the US Capitol attack and using the kind of revisionist rhetoric that former President Donald Trump often uses on the campaign trial.

“This cannot become normal… We cannot condone the normalization of the January 6 US Capitol riot,” US District Judge Royce Lamberth said while sentencing Taylor James Johnatakis to more than seven years in prison.

The judge warned of a “vicious cycle … that could imperil our institutions” if Americans, upset with future election results, resort to the “vigilantism, lawlessness and anarchy” that occurred on January 6, 2021.

He did not reference Trump by name while sentencing Johnatakis, but the comparisons were clear. After Johnatakis’ conviction in November, he has mirrored Trump’s rhetoric in interviews about the insurrection, saying “everything about January 6 is just overblown,” and referring to the jail in Washington, DC, as a “gulag.”

Trump has used what “January 6 hostages” front and center in his campaign.

He has pledged to pardon some of the people facing charges for their role in the insurrection.

PM signals budget help for families, small business

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 4 April 2024 - Original article by James Massola - Portmac.News Summary

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will use a speech on Thursday to state that small businesses and families will be 'Front and centre' again in the federal government's budget on 14 May.

He will note that assisting families and small businesses with their energy bills was a key priority of the 2023 budget.

Albanese's comments in his Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia speech will heighten expectations that the government is set to extend its Energy Bill Relief fund, which is slated to end on 30 June.

He will also emphasise the importance of small businesses to Australia's future prosperity, noting that they are job creators, innovators and early adopters of technology such as clean energy.

PM's fury at Israel raises Jewish fears

The Australian - Page 1 & 5 : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Ben Packham - Portmac.News Summary

PM Albanese says the Israeli airstrike that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her colleagues was "Completely unacceptable".

Albanese discussed the botched airstrike with Netanyahu on Wednesday, stating that he told Netanyahu that Australians are outraged by the tragedy; he also demanded full accountability for the incident, in which three humanitarian aid vehicles in Gaza were targeted by Israeli drones.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has reiterated the federal government's call for a ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution; however, Jewish community leaders in Australia who are concerned that a ceasefire would leave Hamas in control of Gaza and would stop the ongoing murder of Palistinian's by Israel.

AUKUS subs construction delayed by years says US navy

The Australian - Page Online : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Adam Creighton - Portmac.News Summary

The federal government's deal to acquire US nuclear-powered submarines via the AUKUS alliance is under renewed scrutiny following revelations that the construction of Virginia-class vessels is 2-3 years behind schedule.

An internal investigation by the US Navy has found that work on building every class of vessel is behind schedule at present, while deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell notes that the submarines program is continuing to be affected by supply-chain disruptions arising from the pandemic.

Campbell has also downplayed concerns about the future of the AUKUS alliance if Donald Trump wins the presidential election.

How will Sam Mostyn's career-long advocacy shape her role as governor general?

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Amy Remeikis - Portmac.News Summary

Business and community leader Sam Mostyn will be sworn in as Australia's 28th governor-general in July.

The high-profile climate change and gender equality advocate will be only the second woman to take up the role.

Mostyn's career has included a stint working as a communications policy adviser to former prime minister Paul Keating, while she has served on the boards of companies such as Virgin Australia and Transurban.

Fellow gender equality advocate Professor Rae Cooper says Mostyn will handle the role of governor-general "Quite differently to the way that anyone else has ever done it".

However, critics of her appointment note that Mostyn has described 26 January as 'Invasion Day' on social media; she has also previously expressed support for Australia becoming a republic.

Taxes eating up to 45pc of income : study

The Australian Financial Review - Page 6 : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Michael Read - Portmac.News Summary

The Centre for Independent Studies has forecast that federal, state and local government tax revenue will rise to 30% of GDP in 2023-24; this would be the highest level since the 2000-01 financial year.

CIS senior fellow Robert Carling also estimates that taxes now account for 35-45% of household gross income; he adds that although there are at least 125 different taxes in Australia, just 10 of them account for 90% of government revenue.

He notes that the benefits of the stage-three personal income tax cuts will be gradually eroded by bracket creep.

Staff shared around in first multi-employer deal

The Australian Financial Review - Page 3 : 4 April 2024 - Original article by David Marin-Guzman - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union has struck the first multi-employer agreement in the private sector since the federal government's industrial relations reforms were enacted.

The in-principle deal with air-conditioning manufacturers is also said to be the first enterprise agreement that allows employers to use a shared labour pool during peak periods.

This will require an employer to offer extra work to the permanent staff of other companies that have signed the new agreement.

However, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has expressed concern about such workplace arrangements.

Jobless low but queue for welfare growing

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Geoff Chambers - Portmac.News Summary

Data from the Department of Social Services shows that the number of people nationwide who receive JobSeeker and Youth Allowance payments rose by 49,660 between September and February, to 876,020 in total.

The data also shows that the number of JobSeeker recipients has fallen by 19,820 since the federal government delivered its May 2023 budget.

However, people are now on JobSeeker for an average of 183 weeks, while more than 66,000 people have been on the dole for more than 10 years. Australia's official 

Farming lobby calls for poultry industry code of conduct

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Aston Brown - Portmac.News Summary

Australia's poultry industry is the latest sector to come under scrutiny over concerns regarding alleged abuse of market power.

The National Farmers' Federation contends that a mandatory code of conduct is needed for chicken processors, given that they have enormous bargaining power in negotiations with chicken farmers.

The chicken processing industry is dominated by Inghams Enterprises and Baiada Poultry, which supply about 70% of the nation's poultry meat.

The NFF's report notes amongst other things that lack of competition and unfair contract terms are issues of concern for poultry producers.

Rio Tinto takes over uranium mine clean-up amid spiralling costs

The Age - Page Online : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Nick Toscano - Portmac.News Summary

Energy Resources of Australia had initially estimated that rehabilitation work at its defunct Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory would cost $500m and be completed by 2026.

ERA subsequently advised in September 2023 that cleaning up the site will cost at least $2.2bn and is unlikely to be finished before 2028.

Rio Tinto has announced that it has reached agreement with ERA to take over management of the rehabilitation program; the mining giant has an 86.3% stake in ERA.

Pitting coal against human rights

The Australian - Page 4 : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Sarah Elks - Portmac.News Summary

Whitehaven Coal is facing a legal challenge to its proposed open-cut metallurgical and thermal coal in Queensland's Bowen Basin.

The Environmental Defenders Office is backing legal action by the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Mackay Conservation Group to overturn the state government's decision to grant environmental authority for the Winchester South coal mine.

The plaintiffs will contend that the project should be blocked on human rights and climate change grounds; they will cite a precedent set by the Land Court in late 2022 in rejecting Clive Palmer's proposed coal mine in the Galilee Basin.

Fix tax, planning to speed build-to-rent projects

The Australian Financial Review - Page 33 : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Nick Lenaghan - Portmac.News Summary

US-based property group Greystar currently has six build-to-rent projects in its development pipeline in Australia, comprising about 2,500 apartments in total.

Greystar executive Sean Ryan contends that the federal and state governments need to do more to encourage the development of the sector in Australia.

He notes that the federal government has yet to release the details of its proposal to reduce the 30% withholding tax rate for overseas investment in the BTR sector, despite announcing the measure in its May 2023 budget.

Ryan adds that state and local governance planning laws are a hindrance to the nascent BTR sector.

ASX drops 1.3% as property, tech sell off

The Australian Financial Review - Page 26 : 4 April 2024 - Original article by Joanne Tran - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket retreated on Wednesday, following a negative lead from Wall Street; the S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.3% to close at 7,782.5 points.

Westgold Resources was down 14.8% at $2.36, Xero fell 5.7% to $125.01 and Scentre Group finished 3.6% lower at $3.26. However, Mighty Craft rose 25% to $0.025.