Unemployment rate for May remains steady at 4.1 per cent
The unemployment rate for May has been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The latest jobs data shows the unemployment rate has remained steady at 4.1 per cent.
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ABC News
29 minutes ago
- ABC News
End of an era as Bunbury rollerskating rink set to close
Finances and challenges with remote management are forcing one of Western Australia's last remaining purpose-built rollerskating rinks to close its doors. Bunbury's The Rink opened in 1999 and has since churned out some of Australia's best skaters, including the country's top male artistic skater Andrew Beattie. However, co-owners Susan Brooks and Ozzy Kilgallon, who both live in Perth, have announced the business will close on June 30. The building in Davenport, Bunbury's industrial area, is being advertised as "a great investment opportunity" with offers now being accepted. The announcement of the venue's closure is already being felt across Bunbury, particularly for those who compete in the sport. Denice Seymour, recently named WA's 2025 State Champion in the Masters Ladies Figures division, has been skating at the Bunbury venue since it opened 26 years ago. Her daughter, son and granddaughter have all skated there as well. "Having The Rink here in Bunbury was the best thing because I wasn't missing out on what I absolutely loved doing," Seymour said. Seymour will compete in the 2025 Australian Roller Sports National Artistic Championships in July. However, she was fearful the Bunbury rink closure would mark the start of the end of her career. "I've been trying to picture my life without skating and I don't know, it's hard," Seymour said. "It concerns me for the future of skating here because where are people going to go? The venue opened 26 years ago when Susan Brooks, an artistic skating coach, saw an opportunity to transform an old indoor volleyball centre. She co-owns the Bunbury venue with Ozzy Kilgallon, who also runs the Morley Rollerdrome in Perth. He told the ABC "changing circumstances" led to the decision to sell the building. "Finances were one factor, but the other one was having management from here was proving more difficult than expected," Mr Kilgallon said. "We weren't going forward, we weren't going backwards, but down the track, rates come in, insurance goes up and if we couldn't keep it affordable for families, it couldn't exist. "In the end, we decided it's in our best interest to sell the building, and The Rink business goes along with that." June 29 will be the venue's final public skate session, with the Artistic Skating Club to continue using the site until it is purchased. Mr Kilgallon said he could not thank the community enough for their support over the last 26 years.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Noosa on a green mission as businesses and council voluntarily ban single-use coffee cups
The Queensland beachside town of Noosa has voted to phase out disposable coffee cups in the region despite the council lacking the power to enforce a ban. Noosa Shire Council this week adopted a plan to encourage a voluntary, industry-led transition away from single-use cups and remove them from council headquarters. A rubbish audit in 2023 found coffee cups accounted for about 20 per cent of litter items in bins at Noosa Main Beach. Many of these cups are lined with plastic and cannot be recycled. Councillor Amelia Lorentson brought the motion to Thursday's council meeting saying it was important for the council to lead by example to reduce landfill. She said she was inspired to raise the issue following the recent Noosa Eat and Drink Festival. "No-one had anything except reusable cups," she said. The event was organised by businessman Ben Clarke whose Noosa cafe supports transitioning away from single-use, plastic coffee cups. "He's leading the charge. It's voluntary and it's industry-led," Cr Lorenston said. "We're just enabling these sorts of programs where the industry shows other cafe operators how to transition out of coffee cups." The motion passed four votes to three and the council believed it to be the first such initiative in Queensland. In December, the small town of Bermagui on the NSW South Coast adopted a similar approach. The majority of cafes there have joined forces to eliminate disposable coffee cups from their businesses. Customers who do not have their own vessels pay a $3 deposit for a recycled reusable cup. That deposit is refundable at any of the other participating cafes. Some Noosa councillors questioned the relevance of trying to stop cafes from using disposable cups when the council lacked the authority to force businesses to adopt the measure. Councillor Tom Wegener said that the motion did not have the "meat and bones" to make a difference. Cr Lorenston respectfully disagreed. "There are coffee shops that are already doing this," she said. Cr Lorenston said the volume of plastic and litter at Noosa Beach following ex-tropical cyclone Alfred inspired the motion. "The motion was about empowering and encouraging businesses," she said. "The responsibility lies with all of us residents and also our visitors. "I've got my little keep-cup coffee cup that sits in the car all the time." Griffith University consumer behaviour expert Graeme Hughes said the success of the initiative would depend on its simplicity and the buy-in from local businesses. "It does necessitate those cafes to support this," he said. "If there's any friction in that process consumers are not going to be happy and find other solutions. "If there was an early incentive of a 50 cent reduction in your morning coffee that's a win-win scenario." Dr Hughes said the reusable cups were "quite trendy" a few years ago and the movement needed a "reinvigoration".
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Should not be punished': Queensland decries GST carve up
Cash-strapped state governments are looking west with envy as Western Australia pulls in its large slice of the GST carve up despite the healthiest books in the country. Resource-rich WA posted a $2.5bn operating surplus on Thursday – it's seventh budget surplus in a row. From Friday it is set to receive its share of the GST pool of 75 cents in the dollar, despite its strong revenue stream from its resources sector. State premiers and treasurers have been agitating for changes to the GST distribution, since the final figures were announced in March, and ahead of the funds formally being dished out on Friday. WA is still enjoying the windfalls of a 2018 GST deal struck under previous Coalition government by then-treasurer Scott Morrison and backed in by the Albanese government, where WA is guaranteed 75 cents of every dollar paid in GST. Without this benchmark, WA would have received as little as 18 cents back. The WA Premier and Treasurer credited their economic management for this week's operating surplus and healthy debt forecasts. Iron ore prices are hovering at $US95 while the state government has done its forecasting with an expectation of $US72 a tonne. But every state and territory except WA has been posting deficits since the 75 cent distribution reforms in 2018. The Queensland Treasurer feels short-changed, as strong coal royalties pad the state coffers. Victoria and NSW's slices of the GST pie are set to expand while Queensland's portion gets a trim. 'This money belongs to Queenslanders and we should not be punished because of our support for industries that underpin our national wealth,' state Treasurer David Janetzki said. The impending Queensland state budget, to be delivered on Tuesday, will show the effects of a dip in coal prices after an $8.8bn royalties windfall during the past four years. Despite the Sunshine State's royalty take coming down, Queensland's GST payout this year falls by $1.1bn to $16.5bn. In a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who has historically opposed raising the GST rate, left the door slightly open to raising it from 10 per cent – the amount the excise has remained for the past 25 years. 'I've, for a decade or more, had a view about the GST,' he told The Conversation. 'I repeated that view at the Press Club because I thought that was the honest thing to do, but what I'm going to genuinely try and do, whether it's in this policy area or in other policy areas, is to not limit what people might bring to the table.' This year, Queensland is the only state or territory getting less than previous years, while every other jurisdiction is getting more. Victoria is set to become a net-recipient of the GST pool for the first time as well. 'It used to be the case that our friends in Victoria would help us shoulder the burden in supporting all the other states,' NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said last month. 'Victoria is now a recipient state, to quite a large degree, $1.07 (per dollar taxed) is what they're getting. 'I'm going to continue to speak out, particularly about the fact that NSW is now carrying the federation when it comes to GST distribution.' The Northern Territory receives $5.15 for every dollar it contributes, far and away the largest return. Despite having the second largest population, Victoria receives the largest portion of the total pool, getting 27.5 per cent; with a $3.6bn year-on-year increase this time around.
