{"id":816908,"date":"2026-07-22T16:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/816908\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T16:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:38:09","slug":"labor-to-expand-paid-prac-for-frontline-health-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/816908\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor to expand Paid Prac for frontline health workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

People training to be physiotherapists and paramedics are among a group of future frontline health workers who will be able to access hundreds of dollars under a major expansion of the Paid Prac scheme.<\/p>\n

Anthony Albanese will dub the move \u201ca real investment\u201d in the healthcare workers of tomorrow when he announces it to thousands of party faithful at the 50th Labor national conference in Adelaide on Thursday.<\/p>\n

In a world rocked by \u201cone global shock after another\u201d, the Prime Minister will say \u201cpeople have been given every reason to feel like the economy is simply not working for them\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a challenge confronting governments and democracies right around the world,\u201d he will say, according to advanced extracts of his speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why our focus remains squarely on helping with the cost of living, on the practical measures that matter to people and make a positive difference to their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause that is how we demonstrate to Australians that their hard work will pay off, that their effort is worth it, that they can plan and build for their future.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it is how we prove that the status quo is not set in stone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Touting investments in health, Mr Albanese will highlight Paid Prac, which offers nurses, midwives, teachers and social workers a weekly stipend of $338.60 as they undergo practical training.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday I announce we will expand Paid Prac to physio and occupational therapy, clinical psychology, pharmacy and podiatry, speech pathology, audiology, radiography, rehab therapies, and our future paramedics,\u201d he will say.<\/p>\n

\u201cReal help with the cost of living for tens of thousands of Australians.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a real investment in the health care workers of tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how Labor governs. We deal with the here and now in a way that builds for the future too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe navigate the rough seas, while always keeping our eyes on the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The change will kick in from July 1 next year.<\/p>\n

The speech also rejects grievance politics and takes a thinly veiled swipe at One Nation, saying that \u201cwhile you can go a long way in politics, for a long time, by raging against a system that you are a part of, without a plan to fix it\u201d, that approach \u201cdoesn\u2019t build anything\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t change anything. It doesn\u2019t take our country forward,\u201d Mr Albanese will say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t help anyone find a job, pay their bills, or put a roof over their head. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis has always been the fundamental contrast between Labor and all our political opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd never more so than now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taxes, AI and protests<\/p>\n

Thousands of parliamentarians, union leaders and rank-and-file members are gathering in Adelaide for Labor\u2019s national conference, where they will spend days hashing out a new platform to guide the party for the next three years.<\/p>\n

Mr Albanese\u2019s address will open the triennial event before delegates dive into debate, starting with the theme: \u201cAn economy that works for everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n

Taxing gas exports and reining in fuel credits for mining companies are tipped to be hot topics, with a draft platform pledging to \u201censure that the Australian people receive a fairer return from their natural resources including through appropriate taxation arrangements, while securing Australia\u2019s role as a reliable international energy supplier and investment partner\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fronting media on the eve of the conference, Environment Minister Murray Watt accepted there was appetite to discuss a gas export tax, saying \u201cthere will be a whole range of issues debated\u201d but that the Albanese government was \u201cnot exploring a gas tax\u201d.<\/p>\n

Skimming more revenue from capital wealth instead of wages is also expected to generate some discussion.<\/p>\n

The draft platform promised to \u201cdeliver a progressive and sustainable tax system, where taxing work doesn\u2019t subsidise the taxing of wealth\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLabor will reform the tax system to help more Australians achieve homeownership, better align the taxation of income from assets with taxation of income from work and to lower the tax burden on workers,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia\u2019s taxation system should be efficient, simple, transparent and equitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no place for tax evasion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeeting Australia\u2019s economic and fiscal challenges requires everyone, including Australian and multinational corporations, to pay their fair share of tax.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unions have flagged that they will push for stronger artificial intelligence guardrails to protect workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should we trust a technology that\u2019s run by \u2026 four billionaires and the Chinese government, that we\u2019ve got no control over,\u201d Australian Council of Trade Unions leader Sally McManus said last week.<\/p>\n

On foreign policy, activists are vying to influence Labor\u2019s stance on Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s embassy this week criticised the draft platform for unfairly blaming Israel for conflict with Palestinians.<\/p>\n

The draft opposes \u201cillegal settlement activity\u201d and settler violence in the West Bank, and condemns Israeli laws approving the death penalty for Palestinians who murder Israelis.<\/p>\n

It also includes support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International Australia on Wednesday welcomed the draft but called on the conference \u201cto demand the government impose targeted sanctions on key Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for their role in leading the policy of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile delegates gather in Adelaide for the ALP National Conference, Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory continue to endure Israel\u2019s unlawful, state-led and sponsored campaign of ethnic cleansing,\u201d the group\u2019s Palestine spokesman Mohamed Duar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmnesty International\u2019s research has documented settlement expansion, home demolitions, movement restrictions, and escalating settler violence carried out with state support and total impunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese actions amount to the war crime of unlawful transfer and the crime against humanity of forcible transfer and further entrench Israel\u2019s system of apartheid.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its statement on the draft platform the Israeli embassy rejected that settlements violated international law because borders between Israel and a Palestinian state are \u201cfinal-status issues to be resolved through direct negotiations\u201d.<\/p>\n

It also described illegal settler violence as a \u201cmarginal phenomenon\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn contrast to Palestinian attacks on Israelis, which continue frequently and are not even condemned by the PA, Israel condemns any vigilante attacks and acts to bring them to justice,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn most cases, settler violence targets possessions while Palestinian violence aspires to murder or injure Israelis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to the Israeli concern, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday <\/p>\n

the national platform was \u201ca matter for the (Labor Party) to determine\u201d but that the Australian government\u2019s \u201cposition is clear\u201d, suggesting they were totally separate.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International Australia representatives will attend the national conference while the group carries out demonstrations nearby, including a billboard campaign across Adelaide.<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Anthony Albanese<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People training to be physiotherapists and paramedics are among a group of future frontline health workers who 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