Episode 156: Wages rise, Duttons dangerous disinformation, why school funding is a targeted use of the surplus and good news for stone workers

Van Badham and Ben Davison dig into the best wage rise numbers in more than 20 years, discuss why many people will still be going backwards and, as the ACTU Price Gouging Inquiry wraps up, what we can do to help stop the profiteering. 

The union movement wins on minimum wage, awards, for aged care workers and improved collective agreements are lifting wages so if you want to see your pay get above the cost of living join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow 

Peter Dutton is back on the disinformation train, this time using a High Court decision to score political points at the expense of at least 74 innocent people.  Indefinite detention has been ruled unconstitutional and the rules that Dutton put in place during his time in government have been exposed as not just morally without basis but also without legal standing.  As Labor moves to fix these issues Dutton has ramped up mis vitriolic disinformation.  Could it be a handy distraction from his party voting against returning $9 billion in unpaid workers wages? Or the loss of another of his moderate MPs to the cross bench? Or is it just that he bought the Trump/Bannon franchise and is determined to play it out?

There's talk of another surplus budget and the ideas are already flowing.  Ben and Van discuss why Albo's targeted cost of living relief is, in general, the right approach and also why supporting the 98% of public schools that are currently not funded to the MINIMUM level needed for every child is both targetted cost of living support and an investment in the future.  Show your support for properly resourcing every school at https://www.foreverychild.au/postcard 

The good news is that the CFMEU and the broader union movement is winning the campaign to ban engineered stone.  Ikea has joined Bunnings in announcing they won't stock the killer products in the future. A national policy is on the horizon and the campaign to prevent workers dying for bench-tops continues.

Van acknowledges our Cadre and Extend the Reach supporters who have signed up at www.buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday to help us get this podcast into even more ears each and every week.