Australia news LIVE: Construction trades miss out on fast-tracked immigration; Unions vow to boost women’s pay after minimum wage decision

Yoga instructors, martial artists and dog handlers have beaten some construction trades to a spot on the government’s draft priority skills list for migrants, despite the dire need for workers to tackle the nation’s housing crisis.

As the government faces a shortfall of 90,000 construction workers to meet its target of 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade, the latest list of occupations that can be fast-tracked into the country includes wellness professionals, while trades including plumbers, bricklayers and cabinetmakers remain under consideration.

Parliament is locked in a fierce argument over the role of migration in housing affordability, with a debate over who qualifies for the overseas skills list being fought at the same time as the government strives to drive down the total number of people arriving in Australia while increasing the supply of homes.

It follows a fight between the government and the building sector in December when tradies were left off the streamlined, high-skilled professional visa category amid union calls to ensure Australian jobs were prioritised.

Read more of this exclusive story here.

The campaign for Josh Frydenberg turned into a rapid retreat on Monday when the former treasurer doused talk about returning to politics and pledged his support for the Liberal woman who aims to win the seat he once held.

Frydenberg took to social media to declare his plans. “I am not rushing back to politics,” he said. “I will continue to support the Liberal Party and our local candidate Amelia Hamer.”

Hamer, the Liberal choice to contest the seat of Kooyong in the wealthiest parts of Melbourne, can now focus on trying to defeat the teal independent, Monique Ryan, without worrying about being pushed aside for Frydenberg.

This means Frydenberg has no realistic way to contest the next election. Could he try for Kooyong after that? In theory, that makes him a potential candidate in 2028 – a far distant future.

Read more of David Crowe’s analysis here.

Good morning, and thanks for your company.

It’s Tuesday, June 4. I’m Lachlan Abbott, and I’ll be steering our live coverage for the first half of the day.

Here’s what’s making news this morning:

• Unions have vowed to use a 3.75 per cent rise in the minimum wage announced yesterday to push for higher pay for workers in industries dominated by women after the Fair Work Commission used its decision to warn against increasing wages well above inflation.

• Pharmacies will be paid an extra $4.80 by the government every time they give out a 60-day medicine script, in a major concession from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese inked yesterday that will stave off a pharmacy campaign against him at the next election.

• Former Labor leader Bill Shorten says he will use an appearance at a high-profile global peace summit to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be allowed to win the war in Ukraine as it would embolden autocrats around the world.

• In NSW, the Labor government will spend $111 million in this month’s budget on a sweeping package to support community mental health after Premier Chris Minns acknowledged that the Bondi Junction stabbing attacks highlighted cracks in the system.

• In Victoria, The Age has revealed new law courts for Melbourne’s booming western suburbs will sit empty after they are built this year because the state government has not provided the funding to run them.

• In Queensland, the driver of a bus that crashed in the Brisbane CBD in March, killing pedestrian Tia Cameron, will be formally charged over her death, police revealed yesterday.

• In Western Australia, the brother of murdered Floreat mother Jennifer Petelczyc has shared his anger over the deaths of his sister and niece, taking aim at WA Police and the state government over the “systematic failures” he believes enabled it.

• In business news, the Australian sharemarket is expected to lose ground this morning as US stocks edged downward overnight, with data indicating the economy is slowing.

• In international news, Claudia Sheinbaum won a landslide victory yesterday to become Mexico’s first female president.