Category Archives: Australia news

Fire situation ‘will get worse before it gets better’ – as it happened

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Competition minister Andrew Leigh just spoke with ABC RN about, you guessed it, competition.

Speaking about supermarket prices and concentration in particular, Leigh said he is worried that Australia’s market concentration has “increased over recent decades”.

We’ve got evidence now from very good micro data, which wasn’t available a few years back, that market concentration has gone up, that markups have increased – that is the gap between costs and prices – and that there’s less job switching than there was in the past which is a problem, because switching jobs is one of the best ways people boost their wages. All of that points to a less dynamic economy, and maybe one of the reasons why we just had the lousiest decade of productivity growth in the post-war era.

It’s not a priority that we’re focusing on at the moment.

In London to support Julian Assange’s hearing on whether he can appeal his extradition to the US. Julian’s extradition would strike at the very heart of free speech [and] democracy. Enough is enough. The US must drop the extradition of Julian Assange.

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It may not be winning back many hearts, but Qantas is making serious money

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The airline is flush with enough cash for a $400m share buy-back, a great transfer of wealth from customers to shareholders

It may be slightly less profitable and boast a friendlier CEO who says she does “a lot more listening than talking”, but Qantas remains an airline making serious money that could do much more to win back Australians’ hearts.

The $1.25bn pre-tax half yearly profit unveiled on Thursday, while down 13% on the same period last year, was still 40% higher than the last half-year trading period before the pandemic upended travel.

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Former governors and treasurers advise against removing government’s power to overrule RBA

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Critics of treasurer Jim Chalmers’ proposed reforms say the Reserve Bank is independent enough

Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces an uphill battle to get his Reserve Bank reforms through the parliament – with former treasurers, RBA governors and senior economists criticising key aspects of his legislation.

Chalmers accepted all the recommendations of last year’s RBA review board, including removing the government’s reserve powers to intervene and overrule the central bank if judged necessary, and appoint a second ‘governance’ board of economic academics.

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Australian working in Rafah hospital says all staff are struggling: ‘We have victims caring for victims’

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Médecins Sans Frontières logistics expert calls for immediate ceasefire and fears ‘catastrophic’ Israeli ground offensive

An Australian logistics expert who is working at a hospital in Rafah has warned that “everyone here is struggling” while raising fears of a “catastrophic” Israeli ground offensive in the southern Gaza city.

Lindsay Croghan, who is on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières, also said there must be an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” because a prolonged debate “equates to more deaths”.

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New Woolworths boss faces tough initiation amid rising community anger over prices

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Brad Banducci will face a Greens-led Senate inquiry, but it is Amanda Bardwell who will have to rebuild the supermarket giant’s reputation

Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci is stepping down from Australia’s biggest supermarket chain – but he’s going down swinging.

Against a backdrop of multiple parliamentary inquiries and a year-long pricing investigation, Banducci maintains that the grocery sector is “unbelievably competitive”.

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Job agencies suspending Centrelink payments at an alarming rate, data reveals

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Exclusive: Smaller Workforce Australia providers, including those catering to Indigenous jobseekers, have effectively suspended more than 90% of their caseloads

Some of Australia’s outsourced employment service providers have effectively suspended the Centrelink payments of more than 90% of the jobseekers on their books, new data reveals.

Jobseekers have their payments suspended as part of the mutual obligations regime, which is meant to ensure jobseekers are actively looking and preparing for work. If they do not fulfil activities such as job applications, training courses, interviews and meetings with job providers, their Centrelink payments are suspended.

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Public servants must do more to manage conflicts of interest, APS commissioner tells top bureaucrats

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Exclusive: Letter to department heads does not cite specific incidents but comes after scandals involving government grants and consulting firms

The public service must do more to eliminate conflicts of interest and ensure personal relationships in the workforce are not leading to power imbalances, the sector’s chief has told senior bureaucrats.

The Australian Public Service commissioner, Gordon de Brouwer, outlined his concerns in a letter to the leaders of all government departments, and sought their assistance to identify, disclose and manage all conflicts.

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Greener ‘water batteries’ a step closer thanks to breakthrough by Melbourne researchers

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RMIT team develops method that could replace common lead-acid batteries, offering a safer and more recyclable alternative

An RMIT-led research team has come up with an innovative way to make greener, safer, recyclable “water batteries” that could replace common lead-acid batteries.

There are three key components that make up a battery: a cathode, an anode and an electrolyte. In common lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries, the electrolyte is a liquid chemical solution that, once inserted, cannot be easily recovered.

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New Australian environment laws would not stop widespread deforestation, organisations say

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Three groups familiar with draft conservation laws say they do not go far enough and may allow political influence on development decisions

New national environment laws being developed by the Albanese government fail to address systemic flaws in the existing system and would continue to allow widespread deforestation, according to three organisations familiar with the plans.

Officials representing the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, have been sharing sections of draft conservation laws to be introduced this year in consultation meetings with conservation, business and other groups.

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‘It’s a net zero cargo solution’: could Victoria become home to an airship renaissance?

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French startup hoping to develop Ballarat manufacturing hub says its dirigibles will transport freight too cumbersome for road

They’re huge, can float through the air, and are synonymous with one of history’s most notorious transport disasters – but airships could be set for a cargo-oriented, green renaissance.

French startup Flying Whales has a vision to begin manufacturing its airships – which instead of the hydrogen-filled Hindenburg, will rely on 180,000 cubic metres of helium – by 2025, with an eye to gaining regulatory certification to begin operating in skies by the end of 2027.

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Australia news live: wages rise by 4.2% over 2023 in highest growth since 2009; flight cancellation crackdown

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Transport minister Catherine King unveils overhaul to legislation governing Sydney airport, to significantly increase transparency over allocation of take-off and landing slots. Follow the day’s news live

Man dies after electric unicycle crash in Victoria

A man has died after crashing his electric unicycle in Bellfield yesterday evening.

We have concerns for his health. We have been working consistently since coming to government, particularly behind-the-scenes, to say that we believe Mr Assange should be returned … These sort of issues of diplomacy are not always best done through a megaphone, but we will continue to advocate for an end to this and see Mr Assange returned home.

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Victorian minister criticises electricity supplier’s delay over power outage payments

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Lily D’Ambrosio says it’s ‘unacceptable’ that AusNet’s website cannot take applications from those still without power

Victorians cut off from the power grid for seven days after destructive storms are still waiting to apply for compensation, with the state government criticising one supplier for its delays.

The state government previously announced prolonged power outage payments of $1,920 a week for households, and $2,927 a week for businesses, after the storms on 13 February.

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Tasmania’s unique electoral system means all bets are off on the Liberals’ future

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Though the state’s ruling party has been marked by defections and dissent, the opposition has struggled to make its mark

For the second term in a row, Tasmania will head to the polls about a year before an election is due after Australia’s last remaining Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, called an early election for 23 March.

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Taekwondo master arrested after married couple and young son found dead in Sydney

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Bodies of woman, 41, and boy, 7, discovered in Lion’s Taekwondo Martial Arts Academy in North Parramatta after 39-year-old man found dead in Baulkham Hills home

A taekwondo instructor has been arrested over the “cataclysmic” deaths of a married couple and their seven-year-old son in Sydney.

New South Wales police said the 49-year-old man, a taekwondo master at a martial arts school in North Parramatta, went to Westmead hospital with stab or slash wounds to his chest, arms and stomach on Monday just before midnight.

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Woman found father dead after he took assisted dying drugs meant for someone else, Queensland inquest hears

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Man aged in his 80s kept the substance in his home after it was no longer required for another person, coroner told

A man who took a voluntary assisted dying substance intended for someone else was found dead at home by his adult daughter, an inquest has heard.

“I thought he was asleep in the chair. I put my arms around him. He was cold,” the woman said.

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Yang Hengjun will not appeal suspended death sentence in China, family says

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The Australian writer was found guilty on espionage charges in February after spending five years in prison

Australian writer Yang Hengjun will not appeal against the suspended death sentence imposed by a Chinese court, with his family saying further legal challenges would be detrimental to his welfare.

Yang was found guilty on espionage charges in China in February after spending five years in prison.

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Melbourne AFL player Joel Smith accused of cocaine trafficking

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The utility has been charged with three anti-doping violations by Sports Integrity Australia

Suspended Melbourne AFL utility Joel Smith has been accused of trafficking or attempted trafficking of cocaine by Sports Integrity Australia.

Smith has been provisionally suspended since October, when he was notified of a positive cocaine test following the Demons’ round-20 win over Hawthorn on 20 August.

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Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka steps down after nearly four years in top role

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Hrdlicka’s abrupt departure comes as airline’s owners plan to push ahead with relisting on stock exchange

Virgin Australia’s chief executive, Jayne Hrdlicka, has abruptly stepped down after almost four years in charge, raising questions about the timing of the airline’s much-hyped relisting on the stock exchange.

On Tuesday, the airline announced that Hrdlicka had the support of the Virgin Australia board in deciding to “the time was right” to move on. She will stay on as chief executive while a global search for her replacement begins.

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Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey reveals health issue behind apparent slurring in Senate estimates

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Senator says two emergency operations in 2019 after abscess erupted behind her tonsils have left her with speech challenges

The Nationals deputy leader, Perin Davey, says a medical incident almost five years earlier is behind an incident at a Senate estimates hearing where she appeared to slur and stumble over words.

The Coalition frontbencher, who admitted to having two wines before the incident but insists she was not inebriated, also said she felt personally attacked and claimed someone “selectively” clipped a video of her appearance to imply she had been incoherent throughout the hearing.

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‘How many chances do they get?’: second review into Star’s Sydney casino may lead to its licence being revoked

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While analysts are asking why the licence was not cancelled after the first inquiry in 2022, thousands of jobs are at stake

The Star Entertainment Group may be about to find out how low it can go before its casino licence is cancelled.

Almost 18 months since Star was fined $100m after being found unsuitable to run a casino, and after the appointment of an external manager and criticism for not taking its responsibilities seriously, the New South Wales regulator has taken action – with another review.

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