Australian news and politics live: Albanese meets Macron, Starmer, Zelensky in call to support Ukraine peace

Australia’s largest airline is staring down the barrel of another nine-figure fine for illegally sacking more than 1800 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Federal Court will hand down a hefty penalty to Qantas on Monday in what will be the latest court blow for the airline after a scandal-plagued recent tenure.

Qantas outsourced its baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff in 2020, in a move the court ruled was designed to curb union bargaining power in wage negotiations.

It appealed the ruling to the High Court but the decision was not overturned, paving the way for Monday’s penalty.

The Transport Workers Union has sought the maximum penalty of $121 million, while Qantas has urged Justice Michael Lee to impose a “mid-range” penalty between $40 million and $80 million.

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has slammed the Opposition for peddling “scored earth” industrial relations ideas.

“The Coalition always think the answer is lower wages or harsher conditions. Or scorched earth industrial relations,” he told reporters in Canberra.

“Never forget that this Coalition took to the last election - this year - a policy for higher income taxes for all 14 million tax-paying working Australians, a policy for lower wages, higher deficits and more debt.

“I think that goes to the lack of credibility when it comes to the Coalition.

“My fear is that they have learned nothing from the last election.”

He also slammed shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien for not fronting media appearances on Sunday, leaving it instead for his colleague Tim Wilson and Alex Hawke.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says productivity has been “bedevilling our economy” for decades and now was the time to act.

“We need cumulative and ambitious effort over time to make our economy more productive,” he told reporters in Canberra on Monday ahead of the roundtable.

“This is not something that has just shown up in the course of the last couple of months or the last few years.

“This productivity challenge has been bedevilling our economy for a couple of decades.

“We have got a lot going for us in this country. We have a lot coming at us from around the world. We have a lot of work to do.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he “doesn’t intend to waste” the opportunities the economic reform roundtable could deliver amid Opposition criticism it could be another talk fest or has come about to rubber stamp Labor pre-determined policies.

Speaking in Canberra on Monday, he told reporters he was looking forward to the three day event starting in the Cabinet room on Tuesday.

“This week is all about building consensus and momentum,” he said.

“We have been working really hard in the lead-up to this roundtable and I am confident that all of the effort that has gone into this has already been worth it.

“This is a really important opportunity, we intend to make the most of it. We don’t intend to waste it.”

Australians fear Donald Trump’s tariffs more than China’s military build-up, according to a major poll.

The US president has mulled whether to slap further levies on sectors that would hit Australian producers hard, such as 250 per cent rates on pharmaceuticals.

While Australia managed to dodge a higher baseline rate earlier this month, exports to the US are still subject to a blanket 10 per cent impost.

Some exports, including steel, aluminium and copper, are hit with separate 50 per cent duties.

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Australia’s workplace ombudsman will be asked to support the right of employees working from home but Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has cautioned Australian remote workers.

The Australian Services Union says it will lodge a submission with the Fair Work Commission to support working from home, where it’s possible to do so.

“Working from home is now a permanent feature of the modern Australian workplace, and our submission will make it clear that the location of work does not diminish its value,” union secretary Emeline Gaske said on Monday.

But federal Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said workers needed to be careful because jobs that can be done from home could be automated by artificial intelligence tools.

“If your job is a keyboard, yourself and a computer, it’s not a myth, AI is coming,” he told Seven’s Sunrise program.

“I’d be doing everything in your power to try and keep your jobs because if people can prove they don’t need to come to the office then the office can prove that they can be replaced by AI.”

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia remains committed to supporting Ukraine in its fight for sovereignty and peace, amid ongoing international efforts to find a resolution to the conflict.

This comes shortly after the recent high-profile meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which focused on the Russia-Ukraine war but ended without a formal agreement.

“Overnight, I joined a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing convened by Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, alongside President Zelensky, other democratic leaders,” Mr Albanese posted on X.

“Australia remains committed to supporting Ukraine and it was an opportunity to discuss next steps in achieving a just and enduring peace.”

On calls to phase out stamp duty ahead of tomorrow’s economic roundtable, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has not ruled out chages but emphasised the tax is state and territory funding.

“Stamp duty is a State and Territory tax. There is a session on over the course of the next three days. We will see what comes up through that,” she told Sunrise.

“When I was chief minister stamp duty in the a tax that State and Territory governments rely on that fund to schools and hospitals. This is one of those discussions around tax, is, you know... It’s easy for some to say ‘get rid of that tax’, harder for others.

“That’s roundtable try to get people together and see if there is an area of consensus.”

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has reiterated the government’s stance on the four-day work week, emphasising flexibility over a fixed reduction in work hours.

The government’s economic reform roundtable, starting tomorrow, will bring together political leaders, union heads, and industry representatives to discuss key topics like tax reform, AI, and workplace changes.

“As the PM and treasurer said last week we have no plans to look four-day week,” she told Sunrise on Monday morning.

“Certainly we support working with unions and others about how to make sure workers have the right flexibility to juggle all the different and competing priorities in their lives and, you know, work-from-home is part of that, how you work your hours are part of that. There’s no plans for a four-day week.”

European leaders said Sunday that they would join President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine when he meets with President Donald Trump on Monday at the White House, as they strive to show solidarity against Russia and avoid being sidelined in peace talks.

“Our goal tomorrow is to present a united front between Europeans and Ukrainians,” President Emmanuel Macron of France told reporters.

“I don’t believe Putin wants peace. I believe he wants Ukraine’s capitulation.”

Mr Macron will be one of at least six European leaders — including Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain and President Alexander Stubb of Finland, two of Mr Trump’s favoured counterparts — travelling to Washington.

The trip highlights the continent’s effort to smooth relations between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky, whose last White House meeting in February descended into a public clash.

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