ACT

• Additionally, the Company added a full-service Ford dealership, Rush Truck Centers – Chicago Light- and Medium-Duty, in the fourth quarter of 2023.
• In the fourth quarter of 2023 we sold 37% more used trucks than we did during the fourth quarter of 2022,” said Rush.
• The Company’s absorption ratio was 130.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to 136.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
• Lease and rental revenue increased 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

• Another year, and another Closing the Gap report comes before the parliament and the Australian people.
• The 2024 Closing the Gap report is the first since Australians resoundingly rejected the proposal to enshrine a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Constitution.
• With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that in this year’s Closing the Gap report, the government outlines that just four of the 19 targets are on track to be bridged.
• It’s also committed to building remote training hubs and improving community wifi services for around 20 remote communities.

‘What’s next?’ is the wrong question to ask

• This question has become a staple of pundits and commentators trying to look smart following a referendum process during which they fundamentally failed on the civics, the politics and the journalism of Indigenous issues.
• Before we ask about what comes next though, we must ask what has come already, and whether efforts at closing the gap over the past three years, since the agreement was overhauled by the Morrison government, have worked.
• The Agreement requires government decision-makers to accept that they do not know what is best for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Closing the Gap in 2024

• The one thing to understand about the gap in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples is that it is not something that ever needed be this way.
• As the Productivity Commission found, “it is a direct result of the ways in which governments have used their power over many decades”.
• There is also the National Skills Agreement, which includes a dedicated stream of funding for closing the gap to support community-controlled registered training organisations.
• Also, next time you run into one of the many MPs and shadow ministers who campaigned against a Voice to Parliament, ask them what their plan is to close the gap and empower Indigenous peoples and communities.

James Blackwell is a Member of the Uluru Dialogue at UNSW.

• The latest HILDA survey shows Australia’s gender gap in employment continuing to close, with progress beginning on the earnings gap.
• Remarkably, the progress has continued notwithstanding the disruptions caused by COVID; there are indications they may even have helped.

Employment lifting

• For men of that age, the proportion in paid employment has changed little during those two decades, fluctuating between 80% and 84%, allowing the gap in employment between men and women to narrow eight percentage points.
• Most of the gain has taken place since 2009 when one in ten women of that age were in paid employment, a figure that has since climbed to one in four, not too far off the one in three men of that age employed.
• While men remain well ahead in full-time employment, that gap is narrowing too.
• If the gender gap in employment is to be eliminated, it is clear couples with children will need to share the load more equally.

Wages lifting

• In 2001, women employed full-time earned on average 79% of what men earned.
• Average female earnings have climbed from 66% of male earnings in 2001 to 75% in 2021.

How COVID might have helped

• HILDA shows the proportion of employees working from home in 2020 and 2021 has increased substantially.
• The proportion working any hours at home climbed from 25.1% in 2019 to 37.3% in 2021.
• There are health risks from working from home while unwell and also career risks from working at home.
• “Out of sight” can mean “out of mind” when it comes to promotions.

Some small steps on sharing the caring

• The improvement accelerated slightly in 2020 and 2021, via both an increase in the hours worked on domestic chores by men and a slight decrease for women.
• In 2021, mothers of dependent children were still spending 75% more time on unpaid housework and child care than their male partners.

Roger Wilkins receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

• This special segment will highlight the innovative solutions and sustainable advancements Aduro is making in the chemicals and energy sectors.
• The feature on Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid offers Aduro a highly recognised platform to showcase its patented Hydrochemolytic™ Technology (HCT) to a global audience.
• "Our participation in the Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid series represents a significant opportunity to demonstrate the transformative potential of our Hydrochemolytic™ Technology on a prestigious and widely recognized platform," said Ofer Vicus, CEO of Aduro.
• The Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid series is known for its insightful exploration of innovative technologies and breakthroughs that are shaping our world.