The national journalists' union has complained to the ACTU over the exclusion of reporters from its national congress dinner in Brisbane, which prevented them from covering a speech by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance put out a statement saying journalists had also had restricted access to other events at the congress.

Media section president Marcus Strom said: “This is the first time anyone can recall journalists being excluded from the Congress dinner.

"It is particularly absurd as journalists are being locked out while attendees are inside live tweeting and posting to social media.

“The ACTU is an important organisation. A speech to the ACTU delivered by the alternative prime minister is an important event. The exclusion of journalists trying to do their job should not have happened and it shouldn’t happen ever again.”

read: https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/journalists-locked-out-of-shorten-speech-to-actu-congress.html

Note: apparently, last night, was the mid-year WALKLEYS Awards for young journalists...

Workers will shoulder a greater burden of Australia's overall tax system unless the government delivers major tax reform, as companies minimise their tax obligations, consumers shun luxury items and fuel tax revenue plummets. 

A review of 15-years of the Australian tax system by the Parliamentary Budget Office has brought key tax vulnerabilities into focus months before the Turnbull government and Labor go head to head over tax in the next federal election.

The report shows a future government is likely to face the politically fraught decision of making motorists pay more for petrol or slugging them with road use charges to make up for billions of dollars in lost fuel excise, after taxes fell by more than 30 per cent due to a decade long indexation freeze until 2014 and a steady decline in petrol use.

To add to revenue concerns, soaring healthcare and education costs - which are GST exempt - have meant consumers battling historically low-wage growth are increasingly restricting their spending on discretionary items that contribute to the GST, weakening the tax base.

Read more:

https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/push-for-tax-reform-as-burde...

Read from top.

and:

no budging on budget...

Mr Morrison said it would be an issue new Jobs and Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O'Dwyer would investigate.

"John Setka is supposed to be the tough guy of the union movement, but uses his children to fight his fights," Ms O'Dwyer said.

"It is beyond the pale. I am disgusted that any father would use his children in such an obscene way to attack a regulator for doing their job.

"The ABCC performs a critical role in stopping thuggery, intimidation and corrupt behaviour on our construction sites and they deserve our support and thanks."

Mr Setka deleted the tweet after Mr Morrison's comments, and sent another saying he "shouldn't have included kids" in the earlier tweet.

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-03/morrison-foreshadows-attempt-to-ba...

---------------------

Remember when politicians seek (re)election and show they are good family "guys", while being complete bastards "at work" in parliament? We've had Tony Abbott and his daughters back then (when they said he was a dag)  — and Morrison with his family displayed at the recent "victory" over his mate Dutton... and oodles more.

Here, John Setka's kids held a sign that was not too savoury for a dad who's doing his ernest for workers that the politicians — especially those of the nasty Liberal (CONservative party) such as Morrison — in the depth of the goodness of their hypocritical religious hearts are screwing into the ground by removing penalty rates, by eliminating decent wages and by encouraging employers to take workers on a casual basis...

Read from top