Nationals member for Mallee, Andrew Broad, will not contest the next federal election because of a sex scandal. Speaking on Tuesday, Broad said “it is clear that the people of Mallee will be best served in the next parliament by a different Nationals candidate” and that he had “let them down”. Broad’s resignation came after deputy prime minister Michael McCormack said Broad should “consider his position”. McCormack was criticised for claiming he had known about Broad’s behaviour for “a couple of weeks”, despite an Australian Federal Police statement confirming Broad had referred his conduct to them on November 8.
Federal Labor has pledged to ensure the Fair Work Commission prioritises closing the gender pay gap if it wins government. At its national conference in Adelaide, the party voted on Tuesday to compel the FWC to consider gender equity in pay orders, with a priority on traditionally low-paid, female-dominated professions. “One of the key drivers of the gap is the fact work in traditionally female-dominated industries is undervalued”, deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said. “The average woman working in the most feminised industries, such as healthcare, social assistance and education, is paid around $30,000 less than the average man working in the most male-dominated industries such as mining and construction.”
In the United States, president Donald Trump’s charitable organisation, the Trump Foundation, has been ordered to dissolve as part of a lawsuit by New York attorney general Barbara Underwood. In a statement, Underwood alleged “a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation – including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more. This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests”. The agreement means the foundation’s assets will be distributed, under judicial supervision, to other charities. New York attorney general-elect Letitia James, who takes office next month, has vowed to investigate Trump’s business interests, real estate holdings and presidential campaign.
And the headquarters of the New South Wales Labor Party has been raided by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Members of the NSW Labor executive were caught unaware by the raid, because they were in Adelaide attending the party’s national conference. In a statement, a NSW Labor spokesperson said the raid related to “an investigation into historic political donation matters”, reportedly a Chinese Friends of Labor fundraising dinner held before the 2015 state election.
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