Anthony Albanese has today marked 100 days in office as Prime Minister of Australia.
It's a major milestone for the PM, who used his address at the National Press Club to outline his government's achievements in this space of time, as well as reflecting on what the future holds.
"Our government is only 100 days into this journey but we are resolved on the destination of a better future," Albanese said, adding "reform" and "renewal" will characterise the next phase of Australia's recovery from the pandemic.
"We are focused on building a fair-wage, strong-growth, high-productivity economy."
The National Press Club appearance had Albanese focusing on many of his government's achievements, but questions were also posed to uncover what areas need further focus in the coming 100 days.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart has been committed to by the Albanese government.
It's been five years since the was delivered.
And now, under a Labor government, it's finally one step closer to being enacted.
The statement, which calls for major change to the constitution, was one of the first points Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised during his victory speech on election night. And he committed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. It's a 12-paragraph statement calling for major changes to the Australian Constitution.
The statement was endorsed by a gathering of 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in May 2017, following a First Nations National Constitutional Convention in Uluru. It proposes three key elements of reform; Voice, Treaty and Truth. For further details on this, you can read our explainer here.
The Albanese government has begun to assess and fix the crisis in aged care.
In August the Labor government passed its first bill through parliament, delivering on its election commitment to reform aged care.
It was the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill. This legislation will replace the outdated Aged Care Funding Instrument with a new aged care subsidy funding model. The legislation will also enable the Department of Health and Aged Care to publish star ratings for all residential aged care services by the end of 2022.
Another key factor is that it will introduce a new Code of Conduct for approved providers, aged care workers and governing persons.
The Albanese government released the Murugappan family from immigration detention, and let them return to Biloela.
In May the Albanese government announced that the Murugappan family were told they could finally go home to Biloela in regional Queensland.
Priya and Nades Murugappan fled to Australia separately in 2012 and 2013 to escape the horrors Tamil people were being subjected to in Sri Lanka – slaughter, abuse, torture and rape. They met here, married, and had kids. Nades got a job in the town of Biloela, Queensland, and the family set up a life for themselves on temporary bridging visas.
But they arrived here 'illegally' by boat. And for that reason, the former-Liberal government had said they'd never be allowed to stay because they are not "genuine refugees".
Watch: Anthony Albanese on the Murugappan family in Biloela. Post continues below.
When Priya's bridging visa expired in 2018, the couple and their young daughters – Kopika, then nearly three, and Tharnicaa, nine months – were taken into immigration detention, where they remained for four years. Sent to Christmas Island in 2019, the family has suffered mentally and physically, as their case has dragged on and on and on.
But in the first week of the Labor party leading the government, they confirmed that getting the Murugappan family back to Biloela was a priority.
Prime Minister Albanese told ABC Radio National: "You can have strong borders without being weak on humanity. This is a family that were welcomed and were a part of the Biloela community, and at a cost of many millions of dollars, have been treated in a way which is not appropriate with Australian values.
"The cost to the health, frankly of these two young girls and their mum and dad – but the economic cost to the Australian taxpayers – has been extraordinary, and that is why there needs to be a clear resolution of these issues. The community want this family back to Biloela and that would be an entirely appropriate outcome," he said.
By early August they were given permanent residency.
The areas where there is room for improvement.
Immigration and refugees.
Although the Labor government has pledged to improve Australia's immigration statistics more so than the former Liberal government, there are calls for greater migration and refugee intakes.
Yes, Australia has one of the lowest unemployment rates to date. But at the same time, the country is experiencing a massive shortage of skilled workers, with plenty of job advertisements going unanswered and employers struggling to secure employees. This has been particularly felt by the aviation and hospitality industries.
With this in mind, there have been calls for the government to raise the annual migration cap to deal with the shortage of workers. The current migration cap is around 160,000 to 200,000 places annually.
Plenty of business leaders, unions and groups have argued a rise in this number would provide an economic boost and help fill labour shortages. Albanese said in his National Press Club address that he is now consulting with relevant groups in regard to this issue.
There is also something to be said for refugee intakes.
During the election, Labor said they would aspire to increase Australia's annual humanitarian intake to 27,000 per year.
Any additional intake is welcome. But refugee advocates have called for greater action.
Just take Afghanistan for example. In a statement to Mamamia, a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs said that as of August 5, 2022, 47,900 humanitarian visa applications have been lodged in Australia by or on behalf of Afghan nationals and remain undecided, comprising more than 211,100 applicants.
Of those humanitarian visa applications lodged, 5,500 Afghan nationals have arrived in Australia on temporary humanitarian visas. The federal government has said there are 31,500 places in Australia available to Afghan nationals over the next four years.
Given there are 211,100 applicants just in Afghanistan, it's sobering to consider the sheer amount of additional applicants across other parts of the world experiencing serious civil conflicts trying to get into Australia.
Cost of living.
A lot of this factor has to do with the former government, inflation and interest rates, stagnate wage growth and difficult events happening overseas that have pushed up prices. But nonetheless, the Labor government is still grappling with the country's rising cost of living problem.
Listen to Mamamia's news podcast The Quicky. Post continues after audio.
Albanese has since conceded he "can't solve everything" when it comes to the soaring cost of living, saying many of the key drivers are out of his control.
The Reserve Bank and Treasury have predicted the inflation rate will potentially go up to around 7.74 per cent nearing the end of the year – and yet wages have only grown around the 2.7 per cent mark.
What's to come for the next 100 days.
Gender pay gap to be addressed.
In his address at the National Press Club, Albanese said gender pay equality will be included as part of the Fair Work Act "this year".
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has said the changes would ensure the Fair Work Commission takes into account the difference between men's and women's pay when considering rules on the rate of pay. The reform would force companies with more than 250 employees to publicly report their gender pay gap.
Currently, the pay gap between men and women is 14 per cent which is about $250 a week when looking at an 'average wage'.
Albanese said: "A success would be a closing of the gap rather than expanding. The recent figures were going the wrong way. We want it to go the right way."
Albanese government promises more action on climate change.
So far, the Albanese government has been able to enshrine emissions-reductions targets for 2030 and 2050 with the support of the Greens and crossbenchers. It was a step in the right direction, considering the climate wars among parties that have taken place over recent years.
As for tangible change, Albanese said in his National Press Club address that further action is on the near-future agenda.
Establishing an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
This is a big ticket item that, if established, will be a major win for the Labor government. But if it isn't passed, then it will mark a very serious loss.
In early August, Albanese announced that a referendum is in the works to enact an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
The question that could be put to Australians is: "Do you support an alteration to the constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?"
The current constitution does not even mention Indigenous Australians. Support for enacting the Indigenous Voice to parliament is currently strong (65 per cent say they would vote 'yes' according to an Australia Institute survey).
Albanese said details about the Voice, such as its function and how it operated, would be worked out following consultation. He said it would only act as an advisory body and not as a third chamber of parliament.
The fundamental aim of the Voice is to make Aboriginal communities safer and close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. While a timeline for the referendum has not been finalised, Labor reportedly prefers holding the vote next year.
If the federal government's referendum works in their favour, it will be the greatest step forward for Indigenous rights in Australia since the High Court's Mabo decision. If the referendum doesn't go to plan, it could set the cause back decades.
But as Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney said, the Voice would have both symbolic and practical outcomes.
"A Voice to the parliament means that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders will be consulted and heard on policies that affect them, practical outcomes that will make a real difference to people's lives."
Feature Image: AAP.
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