Audit also finds CEOs are more likely to be sacked than not get their bonus
Chief executives across Australia’s largest companies are making slightly less money, but are still taking home on average 50 times the pay package of a typical worker.
In its annual audit of CEO pay, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (Acsi) found chief executives at the 100 largest listed businesses averaged $5m in the 2023 financial year, down from $5.2m the previous year.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Internal advice shows Australia never seriously considered voting against resolution to boost status of Palestinian mission, despite positions of US and Israel
It’s an issue that has sparked domestic and international debate and helped fuel the defection of Fatima Payman from the Labor party.
Now, newly obtained internal documents shed light on the Australian government’s conditions for recognising the state of Palestine – and the factors it weighed up before voting “yes” in a highly anticipated UN vote on 10 May.
Continue reading...Donations to school building funds are tax deductible, with Brethren-owned businesses across three states the beneficiaries
Schools set up by the Exclusive Brethren sect have spent millions of dollars with businesses owned by church members on major building projects, including to a company majority-owned by the powerful Hales family, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.
The Brethren’s OneSchool Global (OSG) schools are registered charities in Australia and exempt from income tax. The schools also have building funds endorsed for deductible gift recipient status.
Continue reading...Elizabeth’s father wrote she ‘never said she wanted to stop insulin’, according to messages read to Queensland’s supreme court
Members of a Toowoomba religious sect believed that eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs would rise from the dead after she died of diabetic ketoacidosis due to the withdrawal of her insulin in 2022, a court has heard.
On Thursday the Queensland supreme court held the second day of a trial of the 14 adult members of the group for her murder and manslaughter.
Continue reading...The seats of Blaxland and Watson have higher percentages of Muslim voters than Labor’s 2022 winning margin
Anthony Albanese has appealed to voters in Labor’s heartland seats in western Sydney not to dump the party over the war in Gaza, insisting his MPs are “working hard to deliver” practical improvements.
The leader of the house, Tony Burke, and the education minister, Jason Clare, are among the Labor MPs considered to be vulnerable to campaigns run by new groups known as The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter.
Continue reading...The curfew declaration will conclude at 12.55pm today, local time. Follow the day’s news live
The mayor of Alice Springs, Matt Paterson, spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier as authorities meet to determine whether a three-day curfew on the central Australian town will be extended.
He is “still waiting to hear” whether the curfew will be extended – a decision for the police commissioner. Asked whether he believes it should be extended, Paterson says:
It’s obviously worked in the CBD, but we are hearing that it is pushing crime out into the suburbs. So we’ll wait to see what happens. Ultimately, the community gets to have a breath while there’s extra resources and police in town, so we’ll just wait to see what’s decided …
The curfew is a reaction to events over the past week or so, and we can’t continue to put these in. We need to think about the long-term solutions.
Continue reading...A team led by an Australian researcher captured the pair swimming about 1.5km after two failed attempts
A record-breaking swim by two lion brothers across a predator-filled African river has been documented by a team led by a researcher from an Australian university.
The two-male lion coalition was filmed crossing the Kazinga Channel in Uganda at night using high-definition heat detection cameras on drones.
Continue reading...‘We need to think about the long-term solutions’ to violence, says Matt Paterson
The mayor of Alice Springs, Matt Paterson, says curfews are a “double-edged sword” that must not keep being used, ahead of a possible extension of the town’s three-night lockdown.
A 72-hour stay-at-home order was issued on Monday for the Northern Territory community after a spate of violent incidents, including a brawl involving 80 people and a knife attack on a 42-year-old woman.
Continue reading...Man, 28, facing three domestic violence murder charges and five counts of attempted murder following weekend blaze at Lalor Park
A father has been charged with murder and attempted murder after three of his children died and four more were injured alongside their mother in a house fire in Sydney’s west.
The 28-year-old man was charged with three counts of domestic violence murder, five counts of attempted domestic violence murder and destroying or damaging property with intent to endanger life relating to domestic violence.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
Continue reading...Fire expected to burn for days as local residents warned to avoid nearby waterways
Residents in Melbourne’s west have been told to avoid lingering fumes and potentially contaminated runoff after a chemical factory fire sent toxic smoke billowing over the city.
Firefighters battled the blaze throughout the day and night after a large explosion at the Derrimut factory on Wednesday morning.
Continue reading...Premier Chris Minns says government is still ‘grappling’ with issue that has already been outlawed in most states
The New South Wales government has been accused of failing renters by delaying legislation to end no-grounds evictions as demand for legal aid spikes across Sydney.
Despite both major parties pledging to abolish no-grounds evictions in the 2023 election, the government is yet to introduce legislation to implement the much-anticipated reforms.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Australian helicopter was outside Chinese territorial waters when forced to manoeuvre to avoid fighter jet flares in ‘unsafe’ operation
An Australian helicopter was flying south-east of China’s Shandong peninsula but outside its territorial waters when a Chinese fighter aircraft released flares in its path, new documents show.
Guardian Australia can reveal that Australia’s HMAS Hobart warship was also being shadowed by a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy destroyer and another Chinese helicopter at the time of the 4 May standoff.
Continue reading...Customers left out of pocket who placed orders have now become, in effect, unsecured creditors
The administrators handling the collapse of Booktopia have announced that orders placed with Australia’s largest online bookseller will not be filled – and there may be no refunds either.
It means out of pocket customers who placed orders prior to the company entering voluntary administration have now become, in effect, unsecured creditors – which voids store credits and gift cards too.
Continue reading...Members of Toowoomba religious group the ‘Saints’ face judge-only trial on murder and manslaughter charges
A religious group accused of killing an eight-year-old girl believed “God would heal” her diabetes after they withheld life-saving insulin, a judge has heard.
The group of six men and eight women, including the girl’s parents, refused to enter pleas to either murder or manslaughter in the Brisbane supreme court on Wednesday.
Continue reading...UBS analyst says tech firms must ensure datacentres have ability to power up and down like aluminium smelters
Soaring electricity demand from datacentres could strain supplies and contribute to much higher prices unless tech firms agree to act like aluminium smelters that can power up or down to support the grid, an energy analyst says.
The demand, fuelled in part by the growth of energy-hungry artificial intelligence services, could require between 3.3 and 5 gigawatts of additional capacity by 2030, or about 15% of total load, according to Tom Allen, an analyst with investment bank UBS.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Flights have been cancelled or delayed out of Brisbane airport this morning as thick smoke blankets the city.
According to the Brisbane airport website, nine domestic flights and two international flights have been cancelled. On social media, the airport wrote that widespread fog across Brisbane was “slowing movements on ground and limiting visibility.”
Flights are still departing but there are delays due to the reduced visibility.
Participants will be able to check accessible scorecards that will show what services DES providers offer and how they rate for quality and effectiveness, helping them make an informed choice when selecting their provider.
Continue reading...Humanitarian worker was among seven killed in drone strikes carried out by the Israeli Defense Force in Gaza on 1 April
The Australian government has received a highly anticipated report from former defence force chief Mark Binskin on the killing of Australian humanitarian worker Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues in Israeli military drone strikes in Gaza.
Guardian Australia understands the government has received the report regarding the 1 April incident and is now working with Binskin to “action” his recommendations.
Continue reading...Emma Hurst blasts ‘absurd turn of events’ and calls for public reassurance after damning allegations dog deaths are higher than thought
The greyhound racing industry in New South Wales will face a government inquiry but not a ban after the resignation of the industry body’s chief executive and the release of a scathing report alleging welfare issues for the dogs.
The chief executive of Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW), Robert Macaulay, resigned after the report’s release on Tuesday in a decision his board described as “an amicable one, and one he felt was best for the industry at this time”.
Continue reading...Ride-hail giant is lowering the starting point for negotiations under the closing loopholes regime, one driver claims
Uber drivers say looming cuts to fares will squeeze them even more in a cost-of-living crisis, arguing the ride-hailing giant is reducing what they are paid before new standards under the government’s closing loopholes legislation are determined.
Last week, Uber told drivers that rider fares would be cut from 7 August. The company has not told drivers the exact amount, but it is understood it would be an average of less than 5%.
Continue reading...Australia’s electricity sector was fast to cut carbon pollution due to renewables as alternatives to coal and gas – until lately
Australia’s electricity sector has long been the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the economy, accounting for more than a third of the national total.
The industry was one of the fastest to cut carbon pollution because of the availability of wind, solar and hydro power as alternatives to burning coal and gas – until lately.
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