Qantas has apologised to passengers and thanked them for their patience after a Singapore to London flight was forced to land at Baku airport – This blog is now closed
Job agencies join calls to scrap elements of ParentsNext program
Job agencies running the contentious ParentsNext program have called on the Albanese government to scrap compliance from the scheme, with one suggesting the current system is “morally questionable”.
Continue reading...Report, which also recommends linking Sydney to Wollongong and ranks Canberra route as a lower priority, cost taxpayers $390,000
A secret review of high-speed rail options for New South Wales is understood to prioritise lines to Newcastle and Wollongong at speeds of up to 250km/h, but ranks the much-vaunted Sydney to Canberra route as a lower priority.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the findings today but said it had not seen the report.
Continue reading...Governments, peak bodies and advocates set to discuss security and verification polices next month
A criminologist has called for dating apps to introduce criminal history checks on users as the federal government is set to hold a summit into the security measures used by the platforms.
Dr Rachael Burgin, lecturer of criminology at Swinburne law school, said there was a clear need for dating apps to implement robust verification systems and criminal checks.
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Continue reading...Human Rights Commission says aspects of ParentsNext program have the ‘effect of penalising parents, overwhelmingly mothers’
Job agencies running the contentious ParentsNext program have called on the Albanese government to scrap compliance from the scheme, with one suggesting the current system is “morally questionable”.
In submissions to a parliamentary inquiry looking at the employment services system, the Human Rights Commission has also argued stopping social security payments under the program was “contrary to Australia’s human rights obligations”.
Continue reading...Former Liberal MP says problem was party ran a presidential campaign around ‘one of most unpopular leaders in Australian history’
Liberals have hit back at their party’s election review, calling it a “whitewash” designed to shift blame on to defeated MPs in order to downplay the unpopularity of Scott Morrison.
Despite the review acknowledging that the choice between Morrison and Anthony Albanese was “the most influential driver of voting intention”, critics have taken aim at a controversial finding that “some (not all) local members did not maximise the advantages of incumbency”.
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Continue reading...Experts say ‘year after year we see abuse ramp up in December’ and it’s up to men to stop gendered violence
A sharp rise in the number of women allegedly killed by men has prompted calls for greater investment in family and domestic violence prevention ahead of the dangerous Christmas period.
At least 10 women have been killed this month in Australia, more than three times the average rate of one woman per week.
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Wieambilla siege victim Alan Dare to be awarded police bravery medal
An innocent man killed during a violent encounter at a rural Queensland property will be awarded the Queensland Police Bravery Medal.
Well, I think matters about Scott Morrison’s future are best addressed to him.
The review did sign that Scott was personally unpopular and they’ve been very, very effectively demonised in an intense, aggressive and continuing campaign by the Labor party and by the broader green left campaigning apparatus.
Continue reading...Seven or Nine would have to partner with Fox to compete with bid, but they are talking up their ability to promote the game
In the life cycle of a Cricket Australia administration, nothing matters more than the home broadcast deal. There is prize money, ICC distributions, overseas broadcasts, but the value of showing the major summer sport to an Australian audience dwarfs the lot. Everything that CA does depends on that cashflow, as well as keeping cricket in front of as many people as possible. The current contract has another season to run, but with channels Seven, Nine, Ten, and Fox Sports all keen for a slice next time, everyone wants a deal done now.
Last time, in 2018 in the dying months of James Sutherland’s time in charge, was a landmark missed opportunity. Channel Ten had spent the preceding years making a success of the Big Bash League, and with the backing of US giant CBS, offered $960m to put every Australian cricket match on free-to-air. That meant domestic men’s and women’s games, boosting the Sheffield Shield and the 50-over competitions along with internationals and the BBL. But CA wanted to top a billion dollars, and after a verbal agreement with Ten, reneged to split the rights between Seven and Fox for a relatively small increase to $1.18bn, with plenty of that value in contra advertising rather than in cash.
Continue reading...Waratah Coal lodges application to overturn recommendation that lease and approvals be refused
A company owned by Clive Palmer is seeking to overturn a landmark ruling that found its plans to dig Australia’s largest thermal coalmine in central Queensland would infringe upon the human rights of future generations and exacerbate the climate crisis.
The coalition that first brought the case court – led by young First Nations women and environmentalists – is vowing to defend last month’s ruling, which they describe as “the most significant decision on climate change and human rights in Australia”.
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Continue reading...Flight QF1 landed safely at Baku airport and was met by emergency services on the runway
Qantas pilots on a flight from Singapore to London were forced to make an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan as their plane was flying over central Asia on Friday, due to concerns there was smoke in the cargo hold.
Flight QF1 landed safely at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev international airport and was met by emergency services on the runway, after pilots reported 7700 – a code used to communicate an onboard emergency to air traffic controllers.
Continue reading...Communities directly in the path of the cyclone have reported no major damage despite wind gusts up to 100 km/h
Cyclone Ellie, which made landfall in the Northern Territory overnight, has been downgraded to a tropical low but is still expected to dump “months” worth of rain over the next few days.
Chief minister Natasha Fyles said communities directly in the path of the cyclone, including Wadeye, Daly River and Peppimenarti had reported no major damage despite wind gusts up to 100 km/h.
Continue reading...More than half of Brisbane company’s digital assets were deposited with Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange
Collapsed Australian crypto exchange Digital Surge is owed $33m by FTX, one of the biggest cryptocurrency platforms in the world before it collapsed in November.
Brisbane-based Digital Surge passed into administration earlier this month with more than half its digital assets deposited with FTX.
Continue reading...Melbourne airport grounded flights because of flooded terminals and the risk of lightning, as geelong was hit by hail up to 3cm in diameter
Thousands of Victorians have been left without power and Melbourne airport has been forced to ground flights as a major storm front swept across the state’s south.
There was also extreme weather on the way for parts of the Northern Territory and West Australian coasts on Friday as a tropical low deepened over the Timor Sea.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Richard Marles told Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment members have expressed ‘anger and grief’ about the situation
A secret report has warned of morale issues and a “high” demand for mental health support services amongst Australia’s elite soldiers.
The report warns the defence minister, Richard Marles, that some members of the elite Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment have expressed “anger and grief” about the situation. It urges the government to ensure health services are properly resourced.
Continue reading...Police say there’s ‘nothing really to indicate’ that the Wieambilla shooting could be classified as terrorism
Experts have questioned why Queensland police have resisted classifying the murder of two police officers in Wieambilla as terrorism, amid evidence that the shooters had been inspired by fundamentalist Christianity and conspiracy theories.
Queensland deputy police commissioner Tracy Linford on Thursday said the murder of constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold on a remote property was not deemed an act of domestic terror because there was no evidence of a connection to any “particular group”.
“We are certainly not classing it as a domestic terror event. At this point there’s nothing really to indicate that,” Linford said.
“What we can see is sentiment displayed by the three individuals – the three Train family members – that appears anti-government, anti-police, conspiracy theorist-type things.
“But we can’t see them connected to any particular group that they might have been working with or inspired them to do anything. We haven’t located anything like that at this point in time.”
For many struggling to survive on jobseeker payments, the yuletide celebration is just another day
Justin Seymour tries to switch off this time of year. “Around big holidays like Christmas, I try to shut it all out,” he said. “I see ads on YouTube … ‘I’m going to be spending Christmas with my family, I’m going to be having this amazing time.’ It makes me depressed.”
Seymour, 28, is one of about 3.3 million people in Australia, including 761,000 children, who will likely spend Christmas in poverty, according to the latest research from University of New South Wales and the Australian Council of Social Service.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Cameron Dick urges resources council to stop risking coal’s social licence with ad campaign as royalty rise is here to stay
The Queensland treasurer, Cameron Dick, says the state will not back down on recent coal royalty increases, warning the mining lobby its multimillion-dollar advertising campaign opposing the changes may harm the industry.
Dick met with the Queensland Resources Council this week to ensure it was “under no misapprehension” the government would stay the course on the new progressive royalty tiers, which increase when prices are unusually high and companies are making windfall profits.
Continue reading...Bureau of Meteorology expects Adelaide to hit 41C on Tuesday and an elevated bushfire risk in southern NSW
After an unseasonably cold start to the summer, southern parts of Australia are expected to swelter through a heatwave that will peak next week and ease ahead of New Year’s Eve.
The weather on Christmas Day itself will be “perfectly warm and sunny” in most mainland capital cities, said the Bureau of Meteorology’s Jonathan How. “You really could not have asked for anything better.”
Continue reading...Exporters optimistic as Penny Wong raises trade with her Chinese counterpart but many are also wary of being ‘burned again’ by volatile diplomatic relations
Australia’s lobster industry is cautiously optimistic that China could soon remove trade restrictions, but exporters are wary of being “burned again” by sanctions and volatile diplomatic relations.
Many businesses have been paying close attention to foreign affairs minister Penny Wong’s trip to China this week – the first by an Australian minister in three years – where she discussed “trade blockages” with her counterparts.
Continue reading...South Australian SES revises dates for expected peak flows with Renmark and Berri expected to peak today; nurses at two major private hospitals in Sydney to walk off the job at 1pm
Private hospitals nurses to walk off the job for first time in decades
Staying in NSW, nurses at two major private Sydney hospitals will walk off the job later today.
The Australian market regulator and the cap price that people pay for electricity will make their announcement in February about what bills people will pay for next year. And we expect that the move will feed directly through to that and see downward pressure of up to $243 on electricity bills of what it was previously going to be.
How much of a philosophical jump was it for you as a Liberal, to intervene in the market in this way and cap the prices?
Well, it wasn’t a jump at all to stand by people following the illegal war in Ukraine, which is pushing up electricity bills. The government is there to protect the people – not the other way around.
And that’s exactly what we did. We looked at a range of measures to support people to deal with these high electricity prices. And this is the one that the commonwealth government asked us to do and, obviously, our No 1 priority is standing by the people of New South Wales using our balance sheet to support families and businesses. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.
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