Key posts
Watch: PM, treasurer address the media
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be joined by Housing Minister Julie Collins and local members Andrew Charlton and Sally Sitou for a press conference from Westmead in Sydney’s west.
Watch the presser live:
Albanese slams Dutton’s ‘divisive’ migration plan, touts housing policy
By Olivia Ireland
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s budget reply as “divisive”.
Speaking at a press conference in Parramatta, Albanese said addressing migration policy is done by building homes instead of blaming foreigners.
The prime minister spoke to the media from a construction site where new homes are being built in Sydney’s West.Credit: Oscar Colman
“Peter Dutton, of course, came up with another divisive budget reply last week, looking at dividing Australia, looking at pointing the finger at others, rather than coming up with any fully costed plans,” Albanese said.
Last week on Nine’s Today program, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten questioned Dutton about how many foreign investors have bought homes, revealing it was less than 5000 over two years, which Albanese criticised.
“[We are building] 400 homes right here. This is how you actually get serious policy done by having a housing policy … $32 billion stands in stark contrast to what Peter Dutton has,” Albanese said.
ChatGPT voice paused over accusations it mimics Scarlett Johansson
OpenAI says it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some users said it sounded like Scarlett Johansson, who famously voiced a fictional, and at the time futuristic, AI assistant in the 2013 film “Her.”
OpenAI was quick to debunk the internet’s theories about Johansson in an accompanying blog post detailing how ChatGPT’s voices were chosen.
“We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice — Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice,” the company wrote.
It said it could not share the name of its voice actors for privacy reasons.
But Johansson issued a statement Monday saying that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached her in September asking her if she would lend her voice to the system, saying he felt it would be “comforting to people” not at ease with the technology. She said she declined the offer.
“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” Johansson said.
She said OpenAI “reluctantly” agreed to take down the Sky voice after she hired lawyers who wrote Altman letters asking about the process by which the company came up with the voice.
Johansson also referenced Altman appearing to tap into the comparisons to Spike Jonze’s dystopian romance “Her” in which the actress voices and AI-operating system.
The OpenAI CEO posted the word “her” on the social media platform X the day of GPT-4o’s unveiling.
AP with Josefine Ganko
‘A very hard day’: Telstra CEO speaks after announcing job cull
By David Swan
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady has told a Sydney press conference it is a “very hard day for our people”, whileconfirming up to 2800 job cuts.
Brady said the majority of the cuts announced this morning relate to Telstra’s enterprise unit, which services some of the nation’s biggest companies with connectivity, and that consultation with affected workers would begin today.
“We have to make significant ongoing investments in our infrastructure, our technology and our services to deliver what our customers need today and into the future,” Brady said at a press conference at Telstra’s headquarters.
“Certainly, there are parts [of the business] that are not delivering to expectations. We also haven’t been on track to deliver our cost-cut ambitions. Higher than expected inflation and cost pressures, including energy cost have made meeting this ambition more challenging.
“The actions we are announcing today are difficult, but they are necessary. We need to be a more efficient and sustainable business.”
She said affected workers would receive an “industry-leading redundancy package” including career transition support for six months.
The Communications Workers Union has labelled the cuts a “national disgrace”.
“You can’t slash thousands of jobs without seriously impacting the delivery of services across the country. Telstra has to answer to this,” CWU national assistant secretary James Perkins said.
“This is a national disgrace from our national carrier. This has completely come out of the blue,” Perkins continued.
“There are going to be thousands of workers and their families terrified today about what this means for them and their future. Telstra workers deserve better than this and so do Telstra customers.”
Watch: Telstra CEO addresses the media after job cuts
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady held a press conference after announcing a 9 per cent cull of the telco’s workforce.
You can watch the presser here:
Job market tightens as interest rates bite
By Shane Wright
Growing evidence shows the Reserve Bank’s aggressive string of interest rate rises is hitting the job market harder than expected, with a sharp fall in new ads and a spike in the number of people fighting to fill those on offer.
SEEK’s measure of job advertisements fell by 4.7 per cent in April, the largest monthly decline since October. Total ads are down 18.6 per cent over the past 12 months.
The largest drop in ads last month was in the ACT (down 11.5 per cent). They slipped by 4.1 per cent in Victoria, 5.7 per cent in NSW, 3.1 per cent in Queensland and 3.8 per cent in Western Australia.
Over the past 12 months, ads have fallen by more than 24 per cent in both NSW and Victoria – the two states with the largest average mortgages in the country – and are down in all other states and territories.
Telstra to cut workforce by 9 per cent
By David Swan
Telstra has announced a 9 per cent cull of its workforce, with CEO Vicki Brady confirming that up to 2800 jobs would be affected by the telco’s bid to improve productivity.
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady.Credit: Ben Symons
On Tuesday Brady said that Telstra would make the majority of the job cuts by the end of the 2024 calendar year, and would save the company some $350 million.
“I appreciate the uncertainty proposed changes like this can create for our people, and we will support them through this change with care and transparency,” Brady said.
‘We need specifics from opposition if they want to be taken seriously’: PM
By Olivia Ireland
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to share more detail from his budget reply last week, saying specifics are needed if they want to be taken seriously.
During Dutton’s budget reply speech, the opposition leader pledged to slash permanent migration to 140,000 a year but has since refused to provide details on what it would cost. The locations of the Coalition’s proposed nuclear power facilities are also yet to be revealed.
Speaking on Central Queensland radio station 4RO, Albanese disputed Dutton’s argument that Labor was not doing enough to reduce migration:
We are halving immigration numbers, his reply had not a single costed policy, just a couple of thoughts thrown out there.
This is his third budget reply and we’re yet to see a plan, including a plan for his nuclear reactors, which we know will have to be there in Central Queensland and other places as well.
On migration, they’re all over the shop as well, they say they’re going to cut students but not cut students from regional areas. We actually need some specifics at some stage from the opposition if they’re going to be taken seriously.”
Hard Rock denies approaching Star
By Clancy Yeates
Casino giant Hard Rock International has denied any links to a group that approached Star Entertainment as part of a consortium regarding a possible transaction.
Overnight, US-based Hard Rock released a statement saying it was not linked to suitors that have approached the Star.
The Star Sydney.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
The statement read:
We want to make it clear that Hard Rock International is not involved in, nor has it authorised, any discussions, activities or negotiations on its behalf in connection with a proposed bid for Star.
Hard Rock International has similarly not authorised the use of the Hard Rock brand in connection with any proposed bid for Star by any third party.
Our brand is built on a legacy of integrity, excellence, and a commitment to our guests, partners, and team members worldwide. Any misuse of the Hard Rock name in unauthorised business dealings is taken very seriously. We are currently investigating this matter and will pursue all necessary legal actions to protect our brand and reputation.”
The statement comes after Star shares surged 20 per cent on Monday after it said it had received unsolicited and non-binding approaches from various parties.
Star told the ASX on Monday that it understood that one member of a consortium that had approached Star, an entity called Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts (Pacific), was a local partner of Hard Rock.
The statement, which was in response to a media report, sparked a surge in Star shares amid investor hopes of a bidding war.
‘You can’t just have rhetoric’: Politicians clash over migration, energy
By Olivia Ireland
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie have clashed over migration policy.
Speaking on a panel for Nine’s Today program, McKenzie said the great Australian dream of owning a home is “becoming a nightmare” while Rishworth accused McKenzie of being “misleading”.
Taking a question on Queensland Labor Premier Steven Miles saying he backs Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s calls for deep cuts to Australia’s migration intake, McKenzie said Labor’s policies have caused house prices and rent to go up.
“Labor’s policies have seen not only that increase in migrants … but also made sure interest rates have stayed higher for longer than they need to be because they haven’t got inflation under control,” McKenzie said through Rishworth’s interruptions.
“The great Australian dream … is becoming a nightmare,” McKenzie says.
Rishworth intervenes: “These migration settings were the migration settings under your government. Nothing changed previously.”
McKenzie asks Rishworth whether the government will support cutting international student numbers.
“We’ve seen a 35 per cent decrease in international students, we have been fixing the mess that you left … that is the difference between us and you,” Rishworth said.
“Bridget, [you] can’t just have rhetoric and not actually back it up with a plan or facts. We have seen a reduction and the projection is in the next financial year that we will see half the peak of migration … don’t go misleading people that somehow there was a change in the powers that you had in government.”
Most Viewed in National
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zbWguY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL2F1c3RyYWxpYS1uZXdzLWxpdmUtaWNjLXNlZWtzLWFycmVzdC13YXJyYW50cy1mb3ItaXNyYWVsaS1hbmQtaGFtYXMtbGVhZGVycy1qb2ItbWFya2V0LXRpZ2h0ZW5zLWFzLWludGVyZXN0LXJhdGVzLWJpdGUtMjAyNDA1MjEtcDVqZjhxLmh0bWzSAasBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuc21oLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9hdXN0cmFsaWEtbmV3cy1saXZlLWljYy1zZWVrcy1hcnJlc3Qtd2FycmFudHMtZm9yLWlzcmFlbGktYW5kLWhhbWFzLWxlYWRlcnMtam9iLW1hcmtldC10aWdodGVucy1hcy1pbnRlcmVzdC1yYXRlcy1iaXRlLTIwMjQwNTIxLXA1amY4cS5odG1s?oc=5
2024-05-20 23:36:15Z
CBMiqwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zbWguY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL2F1c3RyYWxpYS1uZXdzLWxpdmUtaWNjLXNlZWtzLWFycmVzdC13YXJyYW50cy1mb3ItaXNyYWVsaS1hbmQtaGFtYXMtbGVhZGVycy1qb2ItbWFya2V0LXRpZ2h0ZW5zLWFzLWludGVyZXN0LXJhdGVzLWJpdGUtMjAyNDA1MjEtcDVqZjhxLmh0bWzSAasBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuc21oLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9hdXN0cmFsaWEtbmV3cy1saXZlLWljYy1zZWVrcy1hcnJlc3Qtd2FycmFudHMtZm9yLWlzcmFlbGktYW5kLWhhbWFzLWxlYWRlcnMtam9iLW1hcmtldC10aWdodGVucy1hcy1pbnRlcmVzdC1yYXRlcy1iaXRlLTIwMjQwNTIxLXA1amY4cS5odG1s
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Australia news LIVE: Telstra to cut up to 2800 jobs; ICC seeks arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders - Sydney Morning Herald"
Post a Comment