Tag Archives: oceania

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Thunderstorms, hail expected with rain to drench most of the country

Much of the country is set for a soaking this week, with meteorologists warning a "La Nina-like" weather system could dump heavy rains across all major cities.

Meteorologist Ben Domensino said the rain will be caused by a negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and a positive Southern Annular Mode, while a broad low-pressure trough and cold front mixed with an unstable atmosphere will cause widespread thunderstorms.

The uncharacteristic Winter thunderstorm outbreak will likely hit this afternoon and early evening after storms stretched 3000km across most of the country early this morning.

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https://twitter.com/Ben_Domensino/status/1564037088449703936

Thunderstorms and heavy rains are likely in seven states later this afternoon and evening, with flood watches issued in parts of Victoria.

The flood watch includes minor warnings across the Kiewa, Latrobe and Yarra Rivers.

Storms and rains will likely impact parts of the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania with warnings of damaging winds, large hail, and heavy rain.

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Supercell thunderstorms could also trigger destructive winds and giant hail across western New South Wales later today.

"Monday's storms are being caused by a broad low pressure trough and cold front interacting with moisture-laden air and an unstable atmosphere," Domensino said.

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https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1564047268826828802

"This instability is being enhanced by a large temperature contrast between an unseasonably warm air mass over the Australian continent encountering a much colder pool of air travelling up from the Southern Ocean."

The most intense thunderstorms are likely to hit Monday afternoon, with storms likely to continue in parts of the NT, Queensland, NSW, and Victoria tomorrow.

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The brutal super gap facing Aussie women

Australian women will miss out on $684 billion in superannuation contributions in the time it takes to achieve gender pay equality, a new report claims

The nation's gender pay disparity currently sits at 14 per cent which equates to around $260 a week difference between men and women.

For every $1 a young female worker puts into their super it is worth $4 in retirement, the Aware Super report claims.

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Aware Super CEO Deanne Stewart said women are retiring with 30 per cent less super than men.

"There's the now – which is when Australian women are being paid less for the same roles than men – and then there's the future which is one where that lower wage means a lower starting point and will be leaving them with a smaller retirement income to live on," Stewart said.

"When women are paid less than men, it sets up a domino effect of disadvantage for life – all the way to, and then through retirement."

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Albanese government plans to reform gender pay gap in the workplace

Stewart said addressing the gender pay gap and the subsequent superannuation gap is up to employers to act on.

"Time is up for organisations which do not tackle the gender pay gap head-on, because the future of our women's retirement security is at stake," Stewart said.

She said to address the gender pay gap employers should: have policies to enshrine equal pay for equal jobs; use a super guarantee if women leave the workfroce to have children and introduce affordable and accessible childcare to allow women to return to the workforce sooner.

"Employers have the power to make positive change today through a range of initiatives such as pay equity audits, or making their organisation's gender pay equity policy available to all staff," Stewart added.

Meanwhile, the federal government is set to overhaul the country's Fair Work Act to make "pay equality" a specific objective by the end of the year.

This means it would be easier to order wage increases in low-paid female-dominated industries and force employers to be transparent about wage gaps.