"The Week on Wednesday" with Van Badham & Ben Davison

Weekend Wrap 15th May 2022: Albo calls for wage rises on Insiders, Morrison promises to change and delivers more of the same and Dutton’s lies

Ben Davison looks at Albo's Insider's interview and the key point that Australians with jobs are now having to rely on food banks while Morrison argues for more pay cuts and against a $1 an hour wage increase.

Morrison ended the week promising to change but immediately doubled down on all the same old policy positions. The Liberal campaign launch shows a weakening grip on older voters and Dutton says things that are untrue about China and the USA.

While Ben attended a union organised choral protest against Morrison at a community centre where the staff slipped a subtle protest of their own into Morrison's birthday cake photo op. You can join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow

Today Ben Davison is live at the Queenscliffe Literary Festival where Van Badham will be hosting a panel on the ABC this afternoon.

Huge thanks to all our supporters on www.buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday 

Episode 87: Morrison demands workers take pay cuts, voting has started and the 3rd leaders debate

Van Badham and Ben Davison look at why Morrison is demanding that Australian's accept pay cuts of $2,000 each as he rails against the idea that wages should keep pace with inflation.

Since Morrison responded to Albo's question on whether or not every worker should be paid the minimum wage with "it depends" the focus of the election has been on wages.

Workers in aged care, hospitals and education have all recently taken action to lift wages, Australian Unions have increased their minimum wage claim (don't forget to join your union for better wages and more secure work australianunions.org.au/join) and this week Albo responded to whether wages should keep pace with inflation, currently 5.1%, with "absolutely"

Van and Ben breakdown the facts, the evidence and the commentary on wages in Australia to see what's real, what's spin and whether there is anything government can actually do to increase wages. 

Spoiler there's lots governments can do, wage increases don't automatically create inflation and the people who say "nows not the time" say that all the time.

Voting has started with pre-poll opening to record numbers of early voters.  Ben and Van discuss why universal voting is important and how Morrison is cutting off thousands of Australian's from being able to vote.  With misinformation flying around social media and into letter boxes civil society forums and union sources of information are vital.

Luckily Van Badham is teaming up with Francis Leach, from On the Job, and Australian Unions to do a 3rd debate watch along TONIGHT (May 11th).  Thousands of people watched the fun loving crew during the 2nd debate and this one promises even more good times and great analysis.

This weeks good news is about offshore wind turbines and coral reefs and was sent to us by the Communications, Electrical, Plumbing Union of Australia (CEPU). 

Plus we give shoutouts to our www.buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday Cadre and Extending the reach supporters.

Weekend Wrap May 8 2022: Waleed gets it wrong on Insiders, Tanya nails workplace reforms, Medicare scandal and 2nd debate

Ben Davison covers why Waleed was wrong to suggest we need more wage cuts to control inflation as Australian workers have already lifted productivity by more than 10% points since 2013 and Treasury tells us that for every 1.5% lift in productivity we can sustain 4% increases in wages WITHOUT impacting inflation.

And wages have been going backwards.  Ben looks at why inflation is happening despite wage cuts and what can be done about it as he reviews Tanya Plibersek's Insider interview promises for workplace reform.

There's been a lot of coverage about discussing the NDIS so Ben looks at what some of the NDIS issues actually are, as opposed to the coverage of the coverage, and suggests we focus on the policies in the folder rather than the folder itself.

Ever hear bulk billing stats and think "but I pay out of pocket all the time?!?" Turns out there is a scandal in Medicare with patients being charged out of pocket but it not being recorded.  The Morrison government claims around Medicare are now in doubt.

The 2nd debate is on TONIGHT and will be covered LIVE on Facebook and YouTube by Van Badham and Francis Leach for Australia Unions. Check them out from 8pm. Join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow 

And it being Mother's Day we wish all mother's a happy day and cover some of the Mother's day election special policy announcements. 

Episode 86: Halfway through election 2022 who is winning? Morrison or Albo?

Van Badham and Ben Davison are joined by the host of hit political podcast, Socially Democratic, Stephen Donnelly to discuss the 2022 election...so far.

The crew examine some big questions:

Is Labor's polling lead translating on the ground?

Has Morrison lost control of the economic and national security narratives?

Have Australian Unions turned "economic management" into a discussion about "managing wage growth and lower prices"? 

Is the mainstream media losing its influence or is it just shifting?

What role will minor parties play in the end?

With pre-poll opening on Monday is it all over in the next few days or is the most dangerous time for disinformation just beginning?

So tune into this fascinating "crosspod" as Van, Ben and Stephen explore Election 2022 so far and what we might expect in the next three weeks.

As always we give a shout out to our supporters from www.buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday and remind people that joining your union is the most effective way to lift your wages and improve your job security so join at australianunions.org.au/wow

Weekend Wrap: May Day 2022, James Campbell’s Insiders embarrassment, Labor’s campaign launch & Morrison’s campaign chaos

This May Day Ben Davison gives a 20 minute wrap up of James Campbell's embarrassingly fact free appearance on Insider's where he dismissed the democratic rights of two thirds of Australian's and everyone who has experienced wage cuts over the past two years.

Remember union member's have more secure jobs and earn more so join at australianunions.org.au/wow

Ben looks at Labor's promise to launch a RoboDebt royal commission and the justice it may bring for nearly 400,000 Australian families.

Labor launched their campaign in Perth.  Ben looks at the big announcements and how many jobs, homes and TAFE places will be created while childcare, aged care, medicines and renewable energy all will be cheaper.

Morrison's campaign of chaos has continued with a minister demanding a pay rise..for himself, more "grants" for companies with Liberal connections, an on again/off again PBS pricing change and Morrison himself demanding that people in isolation with COVID should be working harder.

April was another record month for the Week on Wednesday, the fourth in a row since we launched our supporter page, and if you'd like to help us continue to grow check out our supporter page at www.buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday like, share, comment and subscribe.

Episode 85: Morrison bungles the economy, Labor launches economic policy and chaos in the coalition campaign

Van Badham and Ben Davison look at how Morrison has bungled the economy.  Despite his many promises he is set to increase taxes for 10 million households, has overseen a 5% spike in inflation (just two months after promising it wouldn't go above 4.25%) and is delivering a $2,000 real wage CUT.

Van and Ben look at how the inflation spike, wages cuts, impending interest rate rise and ongoing job insecurity shows Morrison's economic ideology that "government can't do things" is built of false assumptions and the proven fallacy of trickle down economics. 

With United Workers Union (UWU) member's set to take action in aged care facilities around the country and NSW Teachers Federation members to walk off the job the team discusses how workers shape wages through government policy as well as directly, in union, and how joining your union (at australianunions.org.au/wow ) is still the best way to get lift your wages wages, make your job more secure and workplace safer.

Labor seized on the awful economic numbers for the Morrison government by launching their own economic policy today.  The three point plan aligns to what Van and Ben have been saying about public sector jobs, taxing multinational corporations and stopping the rorts and waste of the past decade.

The Coalition campaign chaos picked up a gear today with the Liberal Treasurer suggesting they were better economic managers because they kept the animals at the zoos and aquariums fed, Canavan being told to "pull his head in", the home affairs minister making wild and baseless claims about the Solomon Islands, a Liberal candidate in a safe seat courting cookers and a Queensland senate candidate basically calling the citizens of Australia fat and lazy.

We give a big shout out to our Cadre and Extending the Reach supporters who make sure we keep growing our audience and getting the message out there, you can check out www.buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday to make a contribution. 

Weekend Wrap: Morrison’s ”blessing” a curse on NDIS, Barnaby’s Insiders sell off plus wage theft & pork barrelling

Ben Davison looks at Morrison's explanation that his debate response to a mother who's child has had their NDIS support cut that he was "blessed to not have had to go through that" was about the difficulties in navigating the NDIS, rather than a comment about children with a disability.  Even if we take Morrison at his word it is, at the very least, a condemnation of his own failure to properly deliver the NDIS. 

Plans have been cut by an average of 4%, appeals to the AAT have doubled, foreign private equity backed unregistered and unregulated "platforms" that "connect" workers and participants in, what has been described as, digital sham contracting arrangement are taking 14% margins out of the tax payer funded system. 

As the campaigns head into the Northern Territory it is timely to remember that HALF of NDIS plans in the NT have been cut in the last six months.

Insiders discussed in detail the failures of the Morrison government on the Solomon Islands and Ben explores how Morrison spent the end of the week setting up another pork barrel program while refusing to answer questions about Australia's largest foreign policy blunder in the pacific for over 70 years.

Barnaby Joyce was the Insiders guest from the government and he made it clear that their only plan is to let multinational corporations sell our resources overseas.  While sitting in Gladstone, where people have to fly to Brisbane to get medical treatments as billions of dollars of resources depart the docks, Barnaby was asked what the government's plan for the future "If they want to buy it we will sell it" was his response.

This ideologically lines up with the findings of two major pieces of work from the Australian Union movement this week. 

The ship building company Austal received a Morrison campaign visit and a $124M contract after having been found to underpay its workers. The union, ETU, won the money back but Morrison wouldn't even acknowledge the request for safeguards to prevent this from happening again on government funded projects.

The ACTU released research showing that while 100 countries put limits on the use of "fixed term contracts" Australia is not among that group of 100 nations and that casuals in Australia are being paid up to $350 LESS than ongoing workers doing the same job.

Ben urges everyone to join their union at australianunions.org.au/wow and to put the Liberals last (with a brief explanation of how the ballot papers work)

Episode 84: Morrison promises wage cuts, Labor to reform NDIS, COVID rules changing and good news on solar storage

Van Badham and Ben Davison look at Morrison's promises on workplace laws and what the real impact will be for working people. They also give a roundup on the changing COVID rules and election state of play.

Morrison's campaign continues to take place in workplaces where workers are being offshored, wages cut, temporary migrants exploited and former Liberal Minister's chair the board.  The work of unions in exposing these travesties while also fighting for better wages, safer workplaces and more secure jobs might be why Morrison wants to double the fines on unions, it is certainly why you should join your union australianunions.org.au/wow

Van and Ben look at how Morrison could put forward policies that will cut wages by up to $14,000 when wages have already been going backwards and we are in a cost of living crisis.  They explore how the cashless debit card, and Morrison ideological framework for "welfare", combine with his anti-worker agenda to create the kind of trickle up society he wants for Australia.

Labor has announced their NDIS reform agenda.  Ben shares the story of GT to demonstrate how broken the NDIS has become for participants, workers and families.  Van shares her experiences with the MyAgedCare system. The need for Labor's changes to get rid of the "cowboys" is highlighted by one foreign private equity backed "platform" making a 14% margin from NDIS and Aged Care services!

The good news is about solar power being stored on a microchip that lasts for up to 18 years!

As always we give shoutouts to our Cadre and Extending the Reach supporters who've gone to www.buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday to make regular contributions.  

 

 

Weekend Wrap Easter Election: Insiders calls out Morrison’s bigot strategy, Morrison dodges ICAC, a new health minister & disinformation warfare

Van Badham joins Ben Davison for an election special weekend wrap.  The end of the first week of the election campaign has seen a change in the way the media reports the campaigns, the topics that are being covered and the insights being offered.

On ABC's Insider's program the panel openly discussed Morrison's decision to install a bigot into a seat he does not expect to win in order to help gain communities in other seats. Meanwhile his own Foreign Affairs Minister refused to endorse the candidate during their interview on the program.

Van and Ben discuss the Morrison agenda, laid out so far, as being almost entirely based on fear, continuing to drive down wages and job security, avoiding anti-corruption commissions being established and creating disinformation about Labor.

The expected announcement of Anne Ruston as Morrison's pick to be Health Minister, if he wins the election, is analysed with her recent extreme ideological positions against women, unemployed workers, taking advice and Medicare raising concerns for her suitability.  

Van discusses the "Disinformation window" beginning to open.  For Morrison to tell a big lie about Albo and Labor on election day he needs to have created an openness to that lie within the electorate.  People are already reporting lies about policy, statements, people and Labor's agenda.

Ben and Van are both still sick but manage to get through the whole episode with only one or two coughs (we just couldn't edit them all out)!

Don't forget two of the three ways you can increase your wages and job security involve joining your union at australianunions.org.au/wow and the third is a combination of natural talent, lifetimes dedication and the vagaries of popular sport.

We also give a shout out to our supporters who have been making a contribution at www.buymeacoffee.com/WeekOnWednesday to help us keep reaching new audiences despite the election period.

Episode 83: Morrison ”hosts” the media, election campaign highlights and low lights, good news about solar panels at night

Van Badham and Ben Davison discuss "horse race" political journalism in light of the revelations that Morrison is "hosting drinks for the media" during the campaign and that the "cash rate gaffe" was based on a question asked after a visit to a nursing home that needed nurses but where the media wasn't interested in asking about aged care policy.

With disinformation campaigns having shaped national elections in Australia, the UK and the USA in recent years Van and Ben discuss why trust in the media is so important and how recognising the potential for bias by being up front with your views, values and interactions is so critical to democracy.

There have been some policy announcements in the first days of the election, on Medicare from Labor and on jobs from Morrison (though the details might be better news for workers in Vietnam than in Western Sydney). There have also been revelations about Liberal travel rorts and George Christensen locking in his $100k severance by jumping into an unwinnable senate spot for One Nation.

Australian Unions have put out a secure jobs policy paper which shows 1 in 3 workers in Australia currently has no job security.  Union jobs are more secure jobs and you can join your union at Australianunions.org.au/wow

The good news is that solar panels are being designed that collect energy at night!  

Plus we give a huge shoutout to our Cadre and Extending the Reach supporters who have allowed us to keep promoting the show, despite the spike in advertising costs due to the election.  Check out www.buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday to make a contribution and read the posts.