Israel, Hamas agree to extend truce for eighth day

Thanks very much for reading Need to Know this Friday, December 1. Here are today’s biggest developments:

- Israel, Hamas agree to extend truce for eighth day: Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group have agreed to extend a temporary truce for an eighth day, in a deal that will involve the release of more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian officials.

- Federal government locks in 11.2pc public sector pay deal: The federal government has won key union support for a three-year sector-wide pay deal, after 68 per cent of Community and Public Sector Union members endorsed the 11.2 per cent three-year pay offer.

- Labor is committed delivering on cost of living, says PM: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off concerns support for his government is waning, saying he’s committed to delivering Labor’s election promises and relieving cost-of-living pressures.

- Chalmers ‘looking forward’ to negotiating budgets with states: Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he is looking forward to negotiating with the states at the federal financial relations meeting, reiterating his view that the states have “done really well” out of the Albanese government.

- Mining union splits from CFMEU: The Mining and Energy Union has officially split from the CFMEU following its rupture with the construction division and controversial Victorian leader John Setka.

- French ministers head to Indo-Pacific, Australia in diplomatic push: France’s defence and foreign ministers travel to the Indo-Pacific next week as part of a diplomatic offensive to strengthen political and military ties, and rebuild its relationship with key partner Australia.

Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group have extended a temporary truce for an eighth day, in a deal that will involve the release of more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing Egyptian officials.

There was no immediate comment from Israel or from Hamas.

The extension of the truce follows the release of another group of Palestinian prisoners on Friday during the seventh day of the ceasefire.

Hamas freed six hostages hours after releasing two Israeli women on Thursday afternoon. All were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza after eight weeks in captivity. They were brought to Israel for medical evaluations and to be reunited with their families, the Israeli military said.

A busload of 30 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel was welcomed home in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Dozens of men, some holding green Hamas flags, greeted the prisoners. The men were hugged as the crowd chanted: “God is great.”

The cost of Christmas is set to be pushed higher by shipping bottlenecks and conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, but consumers’ losses may be gains for local farmers and fishmongers as families turn to fresh food markets.

Prices for canned tuna are up 25 per cent since July last year, frozen vegetables are up by an average of 18 per cent, canned tomato prices have increased 12 per cent and canned beans are up by 11 per cent, new analysis by KPMG Australia shows.

KPMG’s global supply chain leader, Peter Liddell, said shopping basket prices will stay high through the Christmas period and into 2024, reflecting international delivery challenges and disruption from conflict in the Middle East and Europe.

“Produce is being purchased from markets where consumers perceive they are getting better value,” Liddell said.

Read more here.

United Airlines is adding more services from Los Angeles and swapping to larger planes as it surpasses Qantas as the most frequent flier between Australia and the United States.

The airline, one of the largest in the US, will now fly three times a week to Brisbane from Los Angeles. It says this – and flights to Sydney and Melbourne added earlier this year – is the biggest expansion for a US carrier in Australia. United will operate 66 weekly flights, up 50 per cent on 2023.

It has also begun flying larger planes into Melbourne in response to demand.

“When we thought about building up our capacity and our international plans in Australia and other parts of the world over the last few years, you just had a very big shift in some of the industry dynamics,” Matt Stevens, United’s vice president of global network planning, told AFR Weekend.

Read more here.

An end to wage caps, fairer wage negotiation and dispute resolution are a step closer under landmark new industrial relations laws in NSW.

Hundreds and thousands of workers from health workers and paramedics to teachers and police are set to benefit after an industrial relations reform bill passed parliament on Friday.

The legislation will overhaul the state’s Industrial Relations Commission, removing the power to cap wages, and reinstates a specific court to deal with work health and safety breaches.

Voluntary interest-based bargaining will mean agencies and unions will be required to sit down together to find mutually agreed improvements to pay and conditions.

A re-established Industrial Court will preside over workplace health and safety matters and underpayments.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the changes will signal the start of genuine, meaningful public sector bargaining.

“It has been a long, difficult 12 and a half years for public sector and essential workers in NSW – but that is now at an end,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“The wages cap is gone and workers will be able to negotiate for a fair and decent wage increase.”

Efforts to turn away boat-arriving asylum seekers could be undermined by the government’s recent mishandling of immigration policy, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says.

But Dutton has been accused of seeking to conflate two issues for political gain.

In early November, the High Court unanimously ruled indefinite immigration detention to be unlawful, overturning a two-decades old precedent that the justices found had given politicians powers that should have been reserved for the judiciary.

This prompted the release of about 140 detainees as the government rushed through legislation in an effort to contain and trace them.

Though some newly freed immigrants were convicted of serious offences such as child abuse and murder, others had faced charges for traffic offences, and all had served their entire sentences before being placed in unlawful immigration detention.

Dutton said the government’s inept response to the court decision could send a signal of a broader malaise in the border control system.

“This whole debacle is likely to unwind Operation Sovereign Borders because they’ve admitted to the people smugglers that they don’t have control of the system,” he said.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said Dutton was running a “massive misinformation and fear campaign”.

“The High Court has made some serious decisions – it’s up to us as a parliament to consider how to respond to those in a sober manner,” Bandt said.

“My message to Labor is don’t give in to Peter Dutton … he has made a career out of punching down, of demonising people who are doing it tough, and he’ll keep coming back for more.”

The major banks are “bullies” who are abandoning rural communities and leaving vulnerable customers at risk of financial scams, a Senate inquiry has been told.

Nearly 800 bank branches have closed in regional and rural Australia since June 2017, according to the latest data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

A long-running inquiry is examining the effect of closures on rural towns and considering possible mandates to keep a minimum number of country branches open.

When a bank shuts, customers are usually directed to the local post office for limited financial and cash services offered through Bank@Post.

Australia Post has told the inquiry there are about 1150 rural communities with post offices, but no banks.

The LPO Group, which represents post office licensees, is pushing for the establishment of a government-backed postal bank using Australia Post’s vast regional network.

Co-chair Scott Etherington said three of the four major banks pay Australia Post for transactions, but post offices have to manage customer’s banking enquiries for free.

“How much longer should our members continue subsidising the banks?” Etherington told the inquiry.

“These bankers are not clever businessmen. They’re bullies.”

Universities are reporting historically high applications from international students to study in 2024, but a dramatic rise in visa refusals for non-genuine students will likely slow the overall numbers coming into Australia.

Following stratospheric demand in 2023, which resulted in over 725,500 people living in Australia on a student visa, universities say overseas interest in places is still rising but at a slower rate.

The rise in foreign student numbers has underpinned a surge in migration since pandemic border restrictions eased, which has helped push rents higher. Changes including a drop-off in COVID-era visas suggest migration has peaked, but the issue has become politically fraught for the Albanese government as rents contribute to cost of living pressures for voters.

Read more here.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he is looking forward to negotiating with the states at the federal financial relations meeting, reiterating his view that the states have “done really well” out of the Albanese government.

“I’m looking forward to a discussion with the state and territory treasurers to help frame up some of the issues for national cabinet,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“The states and territories have done really well out of the Albanese government and we’re proud of that, because it means we’re trying as best we can to deliver for the people that we jointly represent.

“We do recognise the pressures on some state budgets and territory budgets, and we ask our colleagues to recognise the pressure on the Commonwealth’s budget as well.

“It’s not unprecedented, it’s not surprising, it’s not especially troubling that states and territories would like more money from the Commonwealth – that’s a story as old as Federation itself.

“We will continue to work with people in the usual considered and collaborative way, and we’ll try and do the best that we can for the Australian people, wherever they may live in the Commonwealth.”

The Mining and Energy Union has officially split from the CFMEU following its rupture with the construction division and controversial Victorian leader John Setka.

The MEU finalised its divorce on Friday after more than two years of legal action, and following complaints the CFMEU had been reduced to “macho posturing and chest beating”.

While only recording 21,000 members, the mining union has some of the CFMEU’s biggest assets, with its latest financial report recording net assets of $102 million. It is also cashed up after recording a $25 million surplus last year.

MEU general president Tony Maher said “today, we are a brand-new union as well as being one of the oldest unions in Australia”.

MEU general secretary Grahame Kelly said the transition from CFMEU to MEU would be seamless for members, with all the day-to-day work and structures of the union remaining unchanged.

“The significance of our independence will be felt over time, with the ability to make our own decisions based entirely on our members’ interests.”