What we learned; Friday 21 February
With that, we will wrap the blog for the day. Enjoy your evenings and take care.
Here were the biggest developments of the day:
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has raised the issue of captive Australian Oscar Jenkins with Russia at a G20 meeting in South Africa, expressing that he be treated appropriately and that Russia complies with its international obligations.
Chinese warships have undertaken an apparent live-fire drill in the seas between Australia and New Zealand, diverting commercial flights in the skies above.
Telstra downgraded the upload speeds for thousands of Belong NBN customers without informing them at the time or lowering prices, a federal court has found.
Poker machine losses in NSW hit a record high of $8.64bn in 2024, surpassing the record losses of the previous two years and reinforcing concerns that government harm-minimisation measures haven’t gone far enough.
The NSW health minister has admitted “we’ve catastrophically let down” the family of Joe Massa the toddler who waited hours in a Northern Beaches emergency department and died of cardiac arrest.
And south-eastern Australia is in for some hot, windy weather this weekend, prompting an extreme fire danger in parts of Victoria and South Australia.
Updated
E-scooter rider dies after crash in Gold Coast park
A person has died on the Gold Coast after a fatal e-scooter crash, Queensland Police have confirmed.
Police are investigating after the crash occurred at Highland Park today.
Initial information indicates a member of the public walking through a park on Gloucester Court discovered the rider unresponsive near the crashed e-scooter.
Paramedics performed CPR on the rider; however, they were declared deceased at the scene.
Investigations will be conducted by the Forensic Crash Unit to try and determine the cause of the crash.
In 2024, eight people were killed on e-scooters in Queensland, and more than 1,000 presented to emergency departments after e-scooter rides.
Updated
‘No imminent risk’ to Australia from Chinese warships drills, Albanese says
The prime minister has appeared in Wollongong to address the media following an apparent live-fire drill undertaken by Chinese warships in the seas between Australia and New Zealand.
Anthony Albanese said China had issued an alert that it would be conducting the activities, including the potential use of live fire.
It’s outside of Australia’s exclusive economic zone. Australia and New Zealand ships and aircraft have been monitoring the Chinese fleet while they have been travelling down the coast of Australia off the coast, as you would expect us to be doing.
Albanese said he had spoken with the chief of the defence force, the defence minister and foreign minister, while also reaching out to New Zealand’s PM this afternoon.
He said when such drills occurred, airlines were notified to stay out of the area. Airservices Australia has also been informed and taken action.
According to the chief of the defence force … it’s not clear whether there was any actual live fire used in this area. But it is consistent with international law.
Asked what his level of concern was, Albanese said the activity occurred in waters consistent with international law, with notification.
There, according to defence, there has been no imminent risk of danger to any Australian assets or New Zealand assets.
Updated
NSW vilification laws ‘misguided reaction’ to rise in racism, Amnesty says
Amnesty International Australia says the NSW government’s decision to pass laws restricting protest and criminalising vilification is a “misguided reaction” to the recent rise in racism and vilification.
Nikita White, Amnesty International Australia Strategic Campaigner, said the government justified its rush to pass these laws by citing recent antisemitic attacks, but criminalising peaceful protest was “not a solution”.
It is a dangerous suppression of people’s human rights. Restricting fundamental human rights, such as the right to peaceful protest, will not address the root causes of hate.
The Crimes Amendment (Places of Worship) Bill removes limitations to NSW police’s “move-on” powers, making it easier to issue these orders to protesters near places of worship.
This bill also imposes up to $22,000 in fines or two years in prison for conduct near places of worship deemed as “harassment.”
White:
We urge the government to adopt a more comprehensive approach to protecting communities from vilification, ensuring the safety and security of all communities.
Updated
Risk of tropical cyclones forming off the coasts of WA and Queensland
Two tropical cyclones could form in the Australian region from early next week, Weatherzone has forecast, a week after Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia made landfall.
The two areas of low pressure near northern Australia are being watched closely by meteorologists due to the risk. One is located to the north of WA and has been showing “clear signs of rotation” over the past two days.
Weatherzone says if it continues to strengthen, another tropical cyclone could develop of WA’s north coast.
The Bureau of Meteorology gives this system a 60% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone on the weekend. The Bureau has also started issuing forecast track maps for the system, showing that it could become a category three severe tropical cyclone early next week.
At this stage the soon-to-be tropical cyclone is expected to remain away from the Australian coast, although its forecast track may change in the coming days.
The other developing tropical low is over the northern Coral Sea, to the east of northern Queensland. It’s expected to develop more slowly, with a 55% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone during the first half of next week.
Updated
Worst weekly loss in two years for Australian share market
The local share market has suffered its worst weekly loss in more than two years after giving up ground each day, while the local currency climbed to a two-month high, AAP reports.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Friday shed 26.6 points, or 0.32%, to 8,296.2, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 30.8 points, or 0.36%, to 8,570.9.
For the week, the ASX200 shrank 3.03% in its biggest weekly plunge since a 3.9% loss for the week ending 2 September 2022.
In currency, the Australian dollar earlier traded above US64¢ for the first time since 10 December.
Late Friday afternoon it had dropped slightly below that level, buying US63.95¢, up from US63.64¢ at 5pm AEDT on Thursday.
Updated
Wong expressed ‘importance of Oscar Jenkins’ condition’ to Russian foreign minister at G20
The Russian foreign minister is expected to attend the G20 meeting.
Asked if Wong has spoken to him and raised the issue of captive Australian Oscar Jenkins, Wong says Australia has halted engagement with Russian officials at a senior level since the invasion of Ukraine but made an exception for that on Thursday.
I wanted to express very clearly to Mr Lavrov the importance of Oscar Jenkins’ condition. I expressed to him the importance we associate with Mr Jenkins being treated appropriately, and [that] Russia comply with its international obligations.
I’m not going to disclose more than what is in Mr Jenkins public interest that I can say to you that Mr Lavrov understood that our view was Mr Jenkins needed to be treated appropriately and Russia needed to comply with its international legal obligations.
Asked if she “shirt fronted him”, which you may remember from the days of Tony Abbott, Wong says she “spoke to him as you would expect I would speak to him on such a matter”.
At the time, Abbott’s threat to Vladimir Putin was dismissed by a Russian embassy official as “immature”. They said while Abbott may be a fit cyclist, the Russian president was a judo champion.
Updated
Australia capable of navigating Trump administration
Yesterday on Afternoon Briefing the former prime minister Malcom Turnbull did not mince his words on Trump, suggesting Australia cannot, and should not, rely on America any more for geopolitical stability.
Asked if she agrees with his assessment, Wong says America has been Australia’s “principal strategic partner and strategic ally for many decades”.
She does, however, note that Trump is charting a “very different course”, which is one way of putting things.
That alliance has stood the test of time and it has stood the test of political change. It is an alliance and a relationship which has been fostered by and carried by administrations and governments of both political persuasions.
It is the case that president Trump is charting a very different course too, and he said he would, and we should expect that, we should also have some confidence in our capacity to navigate that.
I was very pleased and honoured to be the first Australian foreign minister to be invited to a presidential inauguration … This is a very deep relationship, it is a relationship that is important to both countries.
Updated
Australia continues to back Zelenskyy and Ukraine: Wong
Turning to Donald Trump, Wong is asked about false comments made by the president that the Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy is a dictator.
Does that language alarm you?
Wong says: “I don’t believe he is.”
What I’ve said very clearly for many years now is Russia is the aggressor here. Russia is engaged in an illegal war against Ukraine, it has contravened the UN Charter. As a permanent member of the Security Council it used its veto to protect itself so it could continue to conduct this war.
We stand very firmly in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. I have the opportunity to briefly meet president Zelenskyy when I was in Poland recently, and I made very clear to him that we, the people of Australia, the country of Australia, continues to stand with him and the people of Ukraine in their struggle for their sovereignty.
Should Wong then be concerned that the US is refusing to co-sponsor a draft UN resolution that demands Russia withdraw its troops?
Wong says, “The US can make its decisions and can articulate the reasons for it.”
Updated
Wong: ‘concerns about transparency’ over Chinese military exercises
Wong says Australia has “concerns” about transparency with China’s notice and will discuss this with the foreign minister when she meets them.
Obviously, this is an evolving situation but I can talk about what the practice is, which is countries including Australia and others can conduct military exercises in international waters.
The advice to me is this is what China is doing. When they conduct those exercises, obviously, notice is provided to ensure that that is available to anyone in the area and that is what Airservices Australia is doing. We have concerns about the transparency associated with this at the notice.
Asked if this is a “deliberate show of force by China”, Wong says that is just commentary.
As the foreign minister, what I need to articulate is Australia’s interest and Australia’s interests are in transparency and the observance of international law including the law of the sea, what we always articulate, for example, in relation to the South China Sea.
Updated
Australia monitoring Chinese warships conducting military exercises off east coast ‘very closely’, Penny Wong says
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing from Johannesburg, where she is visiting for the G20 meeting of foreign ministers.
Wong is expected to meet China’s foreign minister later today.
Pointing to breaking news that commercial pilots have been warned of a potential hazard in the airspace between Australia and New Zealand, where three Chinese warships are conducting military exercises, Wong says it is a Chinese task group that the deputy prime minister has previously spoken about.
We are aware of this task group, we are monitoring this task group very closely [that is] as I understand it, operating in international waters. We will be discussing this with the Chinese, and we already have, at official level in relation to the notice given and the transparency provided in relation to these exercises, particularly the live fire exercises.
Asked why Airservices Australia are telling commercial pilots not to fly over the area, she says it’s an “evolving situation” but it would be normal practice where a task group is engaging in exercises for there to be advice given to vessels and aircraft in the area.
Updated
Dutton’s food-only business lunch policy would cost taxpayers $500m, according to Treasury
Despite opposition leader Peter Dutton attempting to clarify that his policy for tax-deductible lunches and entertainment for businesses applies to food only, Treasury analysis suggests even excluding entertainment the plan will cost taxpayers half a billion dollars a year.
The Coalition’s tax-deductible entertainment and lunches policy would cost between $1.6bn and $10bn a year, the Labor government claimed according to costings Jim Chalmers commissioned from his Treasury department earlier this month.
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, claimed it would be far less than the government said, but is yet to release the opposition’s costings for the policy. But Guardian Australia understands that even if only meals are eligible under the plan, it would cost $500m a year.
Updated
Gambling regulator warns Sportsbet its advertising may breach the law
Victoria’s gambling regulator has warned Sportsbet its ad encouraging people to bet on this weekend’s Blue Diamond Stakes may be in breach of the law.
The ad on the gambling giant’s homepage encourages people to “back the winner” of race eight at Caulfield Racecourse this weekend “and get a share of $1m in cash”.
The ad, which can be viewed by people who do not have a Sportsbet account, states the “offer applies to your first fixed odds win bet”.
Section 4.7.10 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 states: “A wagering service provider must not offer any credit, voucher or reward as an inducement to open a betting account.”
A Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission spokesperson said it was “concerned that inducements are being offered that encourage people to open betting accounts”:
Accordingly, we recently started a consultation process with industry to provide stronger guidance on complying with the law on inducements.
We will make relevant inquiries in relation to the example provided to ensure the provider complies with its legal obligations, as appropriate.
Sportsbet was contacted for comment.
Updated
‘Future of public education at stake’ in election, Clare says
The education minister, Jason Clare, has told the Australian Education Union (AEU’s) national conference that the “future of public education is at stake” in the upcoming federal election.
Speaking to the conference on Friday, Clare said education “changes communities … and changes countries”, with public education doing most of the heavy lifting:
There is really only one job in politics I have ever wanted. And this is it. There is one reason more than anything else I wanted to do it. To do what we are doing right now. Fixing the funding of our public schools and what it will do.
Clare has secured deals with every jurisdiction bar New South Wales and Queensland to fully fund public schools by the end of the decade, with Western Australia signing on first 12 months ago.
Since I last spoke at this conference, something else just as important has happened. We’ve doubled what we’re offering the states. We will fund the full 5%. What you’ve always asked for.
I can promise you as long as I am in this job, I will not stop fighting for this. What I can’t promise you is that this will survive if Peter Dutton becomes prime minister. That’s not a threat, it’s just the truth.
Updated
Peak of fire danger in SA and Victoria on Saturday, and risk will extend to Tasmania
Still on the weather, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for Australia’s south-east, similarly projecting extreme fire dangers amid a “burst of heat and gusty winds”.
Meteorologist Jonathan How said high fire danger ratings were already in place for Victoria and South Australia on Friday afternoon, as winds and heat rose.
He said the peak of the fire danger would arrive on Saturday, where the risk would also extend to Tasmania as an ongoing bushfire burnt in the north-west of the state:
We are also forecasting the possibility of dry lightning, which may ignite new fires across the landscape.
Maximum temperatures on Saturday will reach six to 12 degrees above February average … it will reach the high 30s to low 40s across inland parts of the mainland … For many people, it will be a bit of a shock, particularly given the cool conditions across south-eastern parts of the country.
It will be a sweltering night for Melburnians, not dropping below 25C to Sunday morning.
Updated
Hot, windy weather in the south-east
South-eastern Australia is in for some hot, windy weather this weekend, prompting an extreme fire danger in parts of Victoria and South Australia.
That’s according to Weatherzone, which projects strong northerly winds will drag hot inland air through to Sunday. Adelaide and Melbourne Airport had already reached 30C by 2pm today, while Saturday is forecast to be even warmer.
Temperatures are expected to rise to 38C in Adelaide and Melbourne, Weatherzone forecasts, and in excess of 40C further inland.
Weatherzone:
The combination of hot and windy weather on Saturday is expected to cause extreme fire danger ratings over parts of central and western Vic and central and south-eastern SA.
This has prompted the CFA to declare total fire bans in the Mallee, Wimmera, South West, North Central and Central (includes Melbourne and Geelong) districts of Victoria on Saturday.
A southerly change isn’t expected to arrive until Saturday evening in South Australia and Sunday afternoon in Victoria.
Updated
Esteemed colleague Caitlin Cassidy here. It’s Friday afternoon, and you know what that means! News.
I’m going to hand you over to my esteemed colleague Caitlin Cassidy now, who will take you through the rest of the afternoon’s news.
Extreme fire danger expected in parts of SA and western and central Victoria, including Melbourne
South-eastern Australia can expect extreme fire danger this weekend, with high temperatures and strong winds forecast for Saturday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
High fire danger ratings were already in place in much of the south-east on Friday, but conditions are expected to peak on Saturday, with extreme fire danger expected in parts of South Australia and western and central Victoria, including Melbourne, meteorologist Jonathan How said this afternoon.
Tasmania would also see high fire danger, with bushfire still burning in the north-west of the state.
Dry lightning was also a possibility over the weekend, worsening the risk of new fires.
Forecast temperatures for the region on Saturday include 36C in Melbourne, 38C in Adelaide and up to the low-30s in Tasmania. Inland on the mainland temperatures are expected to reach into the low 40s. Sydney can expect 28C on Saturday.
A cool change is expected on Sunday but it’s unlikely to be accompanied by much rainfall.
Updated
Bird flu detected at third property in Victoria
A highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has been detected at a third property in Victoria, with farmers warning it could exacerbate Australia’s egg shortage in coming months.
Agriculture Victoria on Thursday said the H7N8 strain of avian influenza had been detected at a third poultry farm at Euroa in Victoria’s north-east.
Thousands of chickens were euthanised after the outbreak was detected at the first two properties earlier this month.
Meg Parkinson, the president of the Victorian Farmers Federation Egg Group, said the latest outbreak would extend the timeframe of supply issues that are being seen at supermarkets and grocery stores across the nation:
It just means that it’ll take longer for the shelves to fill up.
Parkinson said it would take six months for the impact of the latest outbreak to flow through to stock on store shelves:
It just depends on what happens. Hopefully this will be the end of it, but if there’s more [outbreaks] it will take longer.
Read the full story here:
Updated
RBA says Australia ‘not as exposed as other countries’ to impact of tariffs
The impact of US tariffs are factored into the Reserve Bank’s forecasts but Australia is less vulnerable than other countries, politicians have been told and AAP reports.
Australia’s gross domestic product will be impacted negatively by America’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium, but the central bank assures it will be “relatively small”.
“We’re not as exposed as other countries,” assistant governor Sarah Hunter told a parliamentary inquiry on Friday.
Tariffs can have really dislocating impacts in the short term, and that’s what can generate these big downturns in the economy, and have implications both for GDP and for inflation.
Here, our trade patterns are different.
Australia has relatively low tariffs and trade barriers, and in the past the exchange rate has been a “substantial” buffer. This means the impact of the US tariffs, which come into effect in March, depends on how it plays out with other countries.
The Reserve Bank is expecting a further escalation with China but if Beijing can no longer export to the US, it might choose to engage in cheaper trade elsewhere and Australia could benefit.
Updated
Dutton ‘wants to tell teachers what to teach and how to teach’, education union boss says
Haythorpe also pointed to Donald Trump’s agenda in the US, including his declaration to dismantle the department of education, significantly cut annual funding to the sector and crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Why should we care here? There is much at risk for preschools, schools and Tafe if a Dutton government is elected.
Peter Dutton has spent three years attacking and undermining teachers, making clear he will address what he sees as ‘woke agendas’ and ‘indoctrination’. He wants to tell teachers what to teach and how to teach it. That includes mandating explicit direct instruction in every classroom.
The politicisation of education – such as attacking a ‘woke agenda’, as Peter Dutton puts it - sends a dangerous message about the role of knowledge in society.
Turning to policy, Haythorpe said Tafe had experienced an “extraordinary turnaround” under Labor with the rollout of fee-free places, while also backing commitments to fully fund public schools within the decade.
We must ensure that every parent, principal, teacher and support staff member knows when they vote what is at stake in early childhood education, in schools and in Tafe … See you on the campaign trail.
Updated
First Nations justice ‘at stake’ with ‘risk of a Dutton government’, education union head says
The federal president of the Australian Education Union, Correna Haythorpe, has told the body’s annual federal conference that First Nations justice is “at stake” this federal election with the “risk of a Dutton government”.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, education minister, Jason Clare, and Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne are in attendance.
Haythorpe:
We cannot allow rightwing governments to pull back from their responsibility to the First Nations peoples and communities that they purport to represent and serve.
Peter Dutton has built his career in politics by stoking culture wars. His recent and vocal refusal to stand in front of the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flag is just the tip of that iceberg.
Frankly, these are blatant attempts to revive the Howard-era culture wars that are divisive and destructive and need to be left where they belong - in the ash heap of history.
Haythorpe said education was a powerful tool that could “challenge biases, dismantle stereotypes, and create inclusive environments”.
With that opportunity comes immense responsibility – to unflinchingly examine the truth of colonisation, and to ensure that the complexities and contradictions of contemporary Australian society are understood in the classroom and beyond.
Updated
Jacinta Allan on ‘appalling’ alleged behaviour of students
Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has called the alleged behaviour of two students at Gladstone Park Secondary, who have reportedly been suspended over explicit AI images, “appalling”.
Speaking to local media in Bendigo this afternoon, she said:
This behaviour is appalling. This behaviour is outrageous and it has no place in our classrooms here in Victoria, it has no place in any room or any community in our state. Young girls and women deserve to feel safe and respected in the classroom ...
This behaviour breaches that trust, breaches that respect, it holds not just women and girls back, it holds boys and men back too. That is why police will do their investigations into this outrageous, appalling behaviour, but it’s also why it’s just so important that the programs we’ve got rolled out in our schools like respectful relationships, dealing with this toxic culture that we see led by the Andrew Tate types that are not providing the role models for anyone of any gender.
It’s about working with boys and girls, women and men, in classrooms and in communities, about how we can provide a safe and respectful environment for everyone.
Updated
Neighbours cancelled for second time
The long-running Australian soap Neighbours has been cancelled – again, just two years after it was revived by streaming giant Amazon.
“We are sad to announce that Neighbours will be resting from December 2025,” read an official statement from the show on Friday morning.
Production on Neighbours will wrap in July, its producer, Fremantle, confirmed. New episodes will continue to air on Amazon Prime Video globally and Australia’s Channel Ten four times a week until the end of 2025 – “with all the big soapie twists and turns that our viewers love”, the statement read.
Neighbours first ended production in 2022, capping off a record 37-year run, when Fremantle failed to secure another UK broadcaster after Channel 5 withdrew support. The subsequent outpouring of affection for the show after the cancellation led to Amazon announcing a few months later it would reboot Neighbours for its now-defunct Freevee streaming service, with Neighbours: A New Chapter launching in 2023.
Channel 5 backed out for financial reasons, but the show had continued to rate well in the UK’s busy soap market, attracting 1.5 million UK viewers a day in 2022.
With Amazon withdrawing now, Neighbours is yet again dependent on locking in another international sale or streaming deal to save it, as Ten has previously said it was not commercially viable for it to fund production alone.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan was asked this afternoon about the decision not to renew the contract of deputy police commissioner, Neil Paterson, just days after Shane Patton resigned as top cop.
Allan said:
I’d like to acknowledge the significant period of service deputy commissioner Neil Paterson has provided to both Victoria police and also to the wider Victoria community. We thank him for his service. It is absolutely clear that we are entering a period of transition for Victoria police, and we’ll continue to work and support the Victoria police, as we have done in providing them with the tools and the resources and the powers and the support they need that they do in turn to keep our community safe.
She would not say whether it was the government or the new acting chief commissioner Rick Nugent’s decision not to renew Paterson’s contract.
Allan said:
I’m not going to go into detailed discussions that may be occurring with the leadership of Victoria police.
Dutton says he is ‘completely opposed’ to nationalising the steelworks
Dutton:
The company is not going to be sustainable. A new buyer is not going to be willing if they’ve got the government in the boardroom.
Asked if he would face similar challenges with his nuclear power plant proposal, Dutton says:
No, if you look at what has happened in other comparable economies, 19 of the top 20 have nuclear power and Australia is the only one that has not signed up to it.
Updated
Dutton is asked if Coalition will provide same amount of money for Whyalla steelworks
Dutton responds:
We’ll provide the same amount of money for packages that will provide support to the steel industry and South Australia. That’s our commitment. But not the green hydrogen hoax product. It’s just not going to work. And no investor is going to invest when there’s no certainty about the premier’s own position.
The premier’s walking back from the prime minister’s position at a million miles an hour. There’s a huge divide between where the premier is and the prime Minister. I’m with the premier to support those workers who need to keep their jobs and to keep that steelworks open. But let’s be serious about it. It’s going to require gas, and it’s going to require a significant amount of gas. And the prime minister is talking about hydrogen - not because it’s a commercial reality. Look at what’s happened in other projects - in Queensland, in Western Australia, in Europe - it’s not commercially viable. One day it might be. And - fantastic. But it’s not.
And this dream and the emotion needs to be replaced with reality. Because people’s livelihoods are on the line here. People are going to lose their jobs if Anthony Albanese keeps prioritising the interests of Green voters in inner-city Sydney and Melbourne over the workers of Whyalla.
Updated
Peter Dutton holds press conference
Federal opposition leader Peter Dutton has been holding a press conference in Adelaide in the wake of the prime minister Anthony Albanese announcing a $2.4bn state-federal support package for the Whyalla steelworks. It’s meant a $600 million hydrogen plant there has been effectively scrapped.
Dutton said:
The fact is that the prime minister has made a decision in relation to green hydrogen which has made it harder for the workers at Whyalla, and it’s been a decision that he’s taken because he’s trying to please Green voters in Sydney and Melbourne. Let’s be honest about it. And that’s happened in relation to aspects of salmon farming in Tasmania. It’s happened in relation to mining in WA, where the prime minister’s prioritised Green voters in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of people of South Australia and, in this case, Whyalla.
Updated
Telstra misled some customers over NBN speeds, court finds
Telstra downgraded the upload speeds for thousands of Belong NBN customers without informing them at the time or lowering prices, a federal court has found.
In May 2020, NBN Co introduced a new wholesale speed tier of 100Mbps down and 20Mbps up, in addition to the existing 40Mbps upload speed tier, at a wholesale price of $7 less for Telstra.
In a federal court judgment today, it said Telstra company Belong analysed the customers on the existing 100/40 plan and found 8,897 (or approximately 98.5%) of Belong’s 9,038 premium customers had never or rarely used upload speeds of more than 20Mbps.
Nearly all of these customers were moved to the lower upload speed without informing them in October and November 2020. The court found Telstra did not begin notification until March 2021, at which point a “goodwill credit” of $90 was offered to around 2,500 customers. For another 6,000 customers, the court found Telstra never disclosed the upload speed, but customers would have reasonably construed the service was the same upload speed.
ACCC commissioner Liza Carver said:
There was no reduction to the price Telstra charged its customers even though the cost charged by NBN Co to Telstra was $7 a month less for the new lower-speed service.
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, consumer redress, costs and other orders to be determined at a later date.
Updated
Blacktown students to get guaranteed co-ed access
Students in Blacktown will have guaranteed access to a place in a co-educational high school from next year as part of the NSW government’s commitment to give all families a co-ed option from 2027.
Intake areas for nearby co-ed high schools in Sydney’s west will be adjusted to include students living in the current catchment for Blacktown Boys and Blacktown Girls high schools.
Consultation with the school community found a preference for Blacktown Boys and Girls high schools to remain as single-sex schools, the Department of Education said. Intake areas of nearby schools will be updated in March.
Deputy premier and minister for education, Prue Car, said the re-adjustment of intake areas would apply to hundreds of students.
The Minns Labor government promised to consult with each community on access to co-education, and this is another step towards delivering access for all families in NSW.
Updated
AFP seizes alleged methamphetamine precursor chemicals from western Sydney property
Australian federal police have seized more than 11 tonnes of precursor chemicals from one of New South Wales’s “largest clandestine drug lab operations” after executing a search warrant on a commercial property in western Sydney.
The AFP says the seizure is linked to the arrest of five people last month for their roles in an alleged failed plot to import more than half a tonne of illicit drugs into Australia last year.
Police will allege the precursor chemicals, which include ethyl acetate, toluene, hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, were likely to be used to manufacture methamphetamine.
Further enquiries led law enforcement to execute an additional search warrant at a house in Eastwood, where investigators seized a further 72 litres of alleged precursor material and a large quantity of an unknown yellow powder.
AFP acting commander, Peter Fogarty, said it was one of the agency’s most significant seizures of alleged drug paraphernalia.
Criminal syndicates go to great lengths to conceal their activities, and the AFP is concerned about criminal groups which try and manufacture or extract drugs in Australia to avoid the risk of their finished drug products being intercepted at the border.
Inquiries into the syndicate remain ongoing.
Updated
Student taken to hospital after tree branch fell on group visiting Government House, Canberra
A student has been transported to hospital in a critical condition when a tree branch fell on a group during a trip to Canberra’s Government House.
In a statement, the ACT Emergency Services Agency confirmed the incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon, with a triple zero call made at 2.43pm.
Two patients were assessed for minor injuries by ACT ambulance services and one was transported to hospital in a critical condition.
Updated
Lebanon president calls on diaspora in Australia to take part in ‘revival and reconstruction efforts’
Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay and Sheikh Malek Zeidan addressed the Parliamentary Friends of Lebanon event last night, marking the election of Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun, at NSW parliament with MPs and community and religious leaders of the Lebanese diaspora in Australia.
In his address, Tarabay called on the Australian government to strengthen ties with Lebanon through infrastructure, healthcare, education and support of the Lebanese army:
I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak, not only on behalf of my own flock, but also for the many Lebanese of diverse religious and cultural backgrounds who have chosen to make Australia their home ...
[Lebanon] is a significant haven of diversity, freedom and tolerance, where more than 18 religious communities co-exist, forming a cultural and spiritual mosaic. While we rejoice in this diversity, we must also note that in 1975 a civil war broke out, and Lebanon became a collateral victim of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
After 50 years since the beginning of the war, Lebanon desires no more conflict and hatred. Lebanon seeks peace and stability. Lebanon should not be taken hostage by any regional or internal armed forces. Instead, Lebanon should adopt active and positive neutrality as a guiding principle to promote pluralism and guarantee its citizens the right to pursue their dreams and ambitions in a sovereign state.
We turn to our [Australian] government and say this is an ideal moment to assist our beloved Lebanon with the expertise for which Australia is internationally renowned. We do not ask for financial aid but for specialists in infrastructure, renewable energy, medicine and healthcare, environmental care, economic management, education, advancement of women’s rights, scientific development and support for the Lebanese army. Such expertise can form strong and enduring ties between our two nations.
Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, also addressed the event in a video message, acknowledging Australia as a “friend to Lebanon” and calling on the diaspora in Australia to “take part in the revival and reconstruction efforts”.
Updated
AustralianSuper chief: ‘our process wasn’t comprehensive enough’
Following on from the below, AustralianSuper’s chief executive, Paul Schroder, apologised for the conduct that attracted the $27m fine, saying the company had noted the mistake and compensated affected members.
Schroder said in a statement:
Multiple member accounts are a problem across our industry and for several years our process wasn’t comprehensive enough to meet our obligations to members.
We’ve fixed that now and we continue to review and improve our services, so we provide members with the support and guidance they expect and deserve.
AustralianSuper has more than 3.5 million members, with responsibility for 14.6% of member accounts across the nation.
Updated
AustralianSuper fined $27m for undisclosed duplicate accounts
Australia’s largest industry superannuation provider has been fined $27m for failing to notify members of their duplicate accounts.
Federal court justice Lisa Hespe on Friday made the ruling against AustralianSuper, finding it contravened the Superannuation Industry Act.
The company admitted that between July 2013 and June 2022, more than 90,000 of its members had multiple accounts that should have been merged.
As a result, those members incurred approximately $69m in losses through multiple administration fees, insurance premiums and lost investment earnings.
Hespe said in her judgement:
AustralianSuper is Australia’s largest industry superannuation fund. It is inexcusable for it to not have had processes and systems in place to ensure compliance with a specific legislative requirement.
AustralianSuper reported the issue to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission in December 2021, and Justice Hespe noted it cooperated during the investigation and federal court proceedings.
Asic and AustralianSuper had jointly submitted that the $27m penalty was appropriate, and Justice Hespe agreed:
The penalties in this case need to be large enough to deter other superannuation fund trustees from failing to diligently discharge their duties to act in members’ best financial interests.
I am satisfied that AustralianSuper is unlikely to engage in this contravention again given the remedial action it has taken and its acceptance of its wrongdoing.
Continued in next post
Updated
Labor MP Andrew Charlton: Australia “owes Lebanon a debt”
Labor’s Andrew Charlton said Australia is committed to being “a good mate to Lebanon in its hour of need” at an event hosting Lebanese community and religious leaders at NSW parliament last night.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, and opposition leader, Mark Speakman, were also among politicians present at the Parliamentary Friends of Lebanon event, joining Maronite bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay, sheikh Malek Zeidan and community leaders in marking the election of general Joseph Aoun as president after a two-year vacancy.
Charlton, MP for Parramatta and co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Lebanon group, celebrated the election of Aoun, and as prime minister judge Nawaf Salam, as “pivotal” at a time of “great hope, but also one of great challenge”. He continued to commit to being “a good mate to Lebanon in its hour of need”:
Mateship has always been a cherished part of the Australian character ... On behalf of the Australian government, I want to say to you tonight that Australia is committed to be a good mate to Lebanon in its hour of need ... We will give Lebanon every support to turn this moment of hope into lasting and positive change.
The Lebanese people have rebuilt before, and they will rebuild again, but my message is they should not have to rebuild alone ... Australia has a duty to stand by Lebanon, not just because it is right, but because we owe Lebanon a debt of gratitude. For generations, Lebanese people have helped build Australia ... and they’ve contributed across every sector ... now Lebanon needs us. It’s our turn to give back.
Australia can play an important role in Lebanon’s recovery, by providing skills and capability in education and health and engineering and science and innovation, by providing support for displaced people, by supporting economic partnerships that create jobs and build stability, by increasing investment in Lebanon and advocating in forums around the world to ensure that Lebanon gets the resources that it needs.
Charlton’s address comes months after Israel’s bombardment of southern Lebanon with a wave of airstrikes on alleged Hezbollah targets which left the country with its highest daily death toll since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. At the time foreign minister Penny Wong said “Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza” but Lebanese Australians condemned government inaction.
His address also comes in the leadup to the federal election, after a tight race against Liberal candidate Maria Kovacic in his electorate of Parramatta in 2022, with the vote swinging in his favour by just 1%.
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NSW poker machine losses hit record high of $8.6bn
Poker machine losses in NSW hit a record high of $8.64bn in 2024, surpassing the record losses of the previous two years and reinforcing concerns that government harm-minimisation measures haven’t gone far enough.
Quarterly data from Liquor and Gambling NSW showed a 7% increase in net profit for the state’s pubs and clubs over the year. Australians lose more money per capita to gambling than the population of any other country.
Chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Martin Thomas, said the losses represented “social harm on an industrial scale” across NSW.
Thomas said:
Frequent polls have shown that Australians want real gambling reform including the banning of all gambling ads – which has the support of more than 70% of the community.
While the NSW government should be applauded by banning gambling ads from its transport network, there is no excuse now for it not to implement a carded system of play for all poker machines in the state. It is a move that Victoria has committed to, it’s now time for NSW to act.
And as we approach a federal election we must also see the implementation of the Murphy report which included a recommendation for the ban of all gambling advertising implemented over three years.
The alliance is also calling for mandatory cashless cards with pre-set loss limits, which was a recommendation of the NSW Crime Commission.
Updated
IVF clinic apologises after data breach
IVF clinic Genea has apologised to clients after suffering a cyberattack where data was accessed.
The ABC reported on Wednesday that phones and patient access had been limited in what was a suspected data breach, and clients had not been informed of the extent of the attack.
In an email to patients on Friday, seen by Guardian Australia, Genea CEO Tim Yeoh apologised for the incident and said the company takes privacy and data security seriously.
He said the incident was being investigated urgently after suspicious activity had been detected on Genea’s network, and immediate steps were taken to contain the incident and secure systems:
Out of an abundance of caution, this included taking some of our systems and servers offline while we investigated the incident. These are now being restored while we continue our investigation.
Yeoh said Genea was still investigating the extent of data that had been accessed, and what personal information may have been accessed. Once that is determined, patients will be informed as to whether they’re affected.
He said treatment schedules should continue as normal, unless patients are advised otherwise by their local clinic.
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Matthew Guy expresses doubt about contactless ticketing rollout
Victoria’s opposition spokesperson for public transport, Matthew Guy, has expressed doubt that Labor will roll out contactless public transport ticketing in 2026.
He said the announcement by Gabrielle Williams only came after a week of scrutiny over the government’s “failure to deliver” several public transport promises:
The Metro Tunnel isn’t open after 10 years, nor is the West Gate Tunnel, and every major project initiated by this government is either delayed, over budget, or both. Given that history, it’s no surprise that Victorians are sceptical about this latest contactless ticketing promise actually being delivered on time.
Updated
NT and Tasmania to lose private maternity units
The Northern Territory is losing its only private maternity service, while Tasmania will be down to only a single private maternity facility in the state after Healthscope announced the closure of two wards.
Darwin Private hospital’s maternity unit will close on 17 April while Hobart Private hospital’s maternity unit will close on 20 August, with the private hospital provider citing declining births and workforce shortages as the reason for the closures.
In a statement released on Friday, the Australian Medical Association said it is deeply concerned by the planned closures of maternity services, as the latest in a long list of private hospitals that have closed or downgraded their services in maternity care, mental health and reconstructive surgery.
A government review of the private hospital sector’s financial viability highlighted obstetrics and mental health as two services which were becoming increasingly difficult for private hospitals to offer. The peak body for obstetricians and gynaecologists said the closure of maternity units was a symptom of the gender bias in the funding for private health services, where procedures for men attract higher rebates.
AMA’s president, Dr Danielle McMullen, said:
The importance of maternity services simply cannot be overstated, and those who purchase private health insurance deserve do so with the confidence they will get the care they need.
Maternity services are like the canary in the coalmine and these latest closures announced by Healthscope should further emphasise the urgent need for reform to the private health sector.
Updated
Bullock defends decision to allow filming at board meeting
The RBA governor, Michele Bullock, was questioned by a parliamentary committee over the central bank’s decision to allow television cameras into Tuesday’s boardroom meeting.
The question came about because some people saw the presence of cameras as a sign the RBA was going to cut rates, a popular decision for mortgage holders and the government, before the official announcement was made.
Rate decisions are a closely guarded secret before they are publicly released, given they can dramatically move currency and equity markets. Investors look for any sign to get ahead of a decision so that they can set up profitable trades.
Bullock told the committee the decision to allow filming and photography was made because it was a “historic occasion”.
Next month, the RBA will split into separate boards for rate setting and governance, following a review.
Bullock said:
We felt that it was appropriate to mark that by just having some footage of the last ever meeting of the Reserve Bank board.
The governor then explained that the board members had not yet made a rate decision when the cameras were present.
Domain shares jump after takeover bid
Domain shares have jumped in value since the announcement that the Nine-owned real estate portal has received an unsolicited takeover bid from US property giant CoStar.
At the time of posting, the share price was at $4.34 – its highest value since 2022 – after closing on Thursday at $3.12.
CoStar was offering to buy out shareholders at $4.20 a share.
Updated
NSW health minister: system 'catastrophically let down' toddler's family
The NSW health minister has admitted “we’ve catastrophically let down” the family of Joe Massa the toddler who waited hours in a Northern Beaches emergency department and died of cardiac arrest.
Ryan Park spoke with 2GB radio this morning after Joe’s parents, Danny and Elouise, shared their story on the program yesterday morning. Park said:
We let Joe down. We let Joe’s family down, and the system has erred in a way that has had catastrophic outcomes. And that will never be lost on me. I hope it is never lost on the team at Healthscope, and it certainly won’t be lost on the secretary, Susan Pearce, and our staff.
This is a massive tragedy, a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened, a tragedy that at multiple steps along the way could have been intersected and changed. And the biggest one, having read through the report now four or five times, the biggest one that comes out all of the time is a failure to listen to Mum, and that is a catastrophic outcome as a result of that ignorance.
Park acknowledged the hospital, whose emergency department is operated by the private hospital provider Healthscope in a public-private partnership (PPP), is “not the best model of healthcare”.
Park said he opposed the privatisation of the hospital when it was introduced many years ago but “the parents in that community don’t want to hear that now. They want to hear what we’re going to try and do to fix it. This is not about passing the buck”.
Park apologised to the parents in a phone call yesterday and said he wants to meet with Eloise and Danny, together with the premier, “to see if there’s other things that they might want us to consider”.
Updated
Williams questioned on deputy police commissioner Neil Paterson
Victoria’s transport minister Gabrielle Williams was asked about deputy police commissioner Neil Paterson’s contract not being renewed. She denied there was a “sweep out” occurring at the force but referred questions to the police minister, Anthony Carbines.
She was also asked about a report by former Labor state secretary Stephen Newnham into the Werribee byelection, which showed if the Liberals preference the Greens above Labor, the opposition would benefit from a 16% swing, giving them the 45 seats needed to form government.
Williams said Labor had learned lessons from the Werribee byelection and acknowledged that people were “doing it tough” and it would to do more:
I’m not going to comment on who’s a credible analyst or not. What we need to do, as any good government should, is focus on how we’re delivering for our community, on understanding where their pressure points are, and we’re acutely aware that many in our community are under a significant amount of financial pressure, cost-of-living pressure, and we’re working day in and day out to support those communities, to support working families through a range of different initiatives, and of course, always looking at how we can do more, and we’ll continue to do that.
Updated
Victorian contactless ticketing to begin with full-fare customers
Williams:
I’ll note that in Sydney, for example, their tap and go technology has only ever been available to full fare customers. They’re actually currently out to market at the moment for the sorts of functionality that we’re currently building now …
We’ve always been really clear that the rollout would need to be careful and considered and therefore incremental, starting with that full fare product and then moving towards an account-based ticketing system being the sort of end stage and moving into other fare types … as well as other modes of transport, as I outlined previously, starting with rail and then moving across our network. Similarly, starting with adult full fares and then broadening out that offering to other groups as well.
Updated
More on Melbourne’s public transport ticketing announcement
Transport minister Gabrielle Williams was asked why the government was installing the old ticketing machines across the five new stations of the Metro Tunnel, which will open later this year, and how much it will cost to remove them when ticketless travel begins.
Williams said it was part of the commissioning process to allow them to open on time. She said:
As a part of commissioning those stations, we need to have all the appropriate infrastructure in place that includes ticketing infrastructure. Because when we talk about the testing and trialing that goes on in the Metro Tunnel, people are often focused on the trains, what we’re also testing is all the surrounding infrastructure, from platform screen doors to elevators and escalators to the integration of the ticketing system within the station precinct.
All of that has to work and function well through that commissioning process, and in the lead up to us switching on Metro Tunnel.
She said three stations were commissioned last year, with Town Hall and State Library to be completed in the coming months:
That ticketing infrastructure had to be in place at a point in time that was quite early on in, in CBTS taking over the ticketing contract in parallel and building us this new ticketing system.
But what I will say is as a part of our new ticketing system contract, we have provided for the replacement and rollout of new ticketing readers across the network.
So that doesn’t require us to replace all the surrounding infrastructure at the Metro Tunnel stations. For example, that gate infrastructure and those sort of pillars for whatever better word that the readers rest on - we simply just have to swap out the readers themselves.
Williams said Victorians may see new readers installed over the coming months:
I believe it’s 22,000 - might even be 28,000 readers - that have to be replaced across our public transport system. I’ll get you the exact figure, but it is obviously a very large-scale project to work through our networks and replace one by one those new ticketing readers - that will start in coming months.
It will obviously take a bit of time to get through those sort of tens of thousands of assets and replace them, but we’ve been keen to ensure we can turn on the Metro Tunnel later this year. It will be turned on later this year, and of course, then the new ticketing system on our rail network will roll out from early ‘26.
All readers across the train network will be installed by 2026, she said.
Priority must be given to getting them rolled out across our rail system. But that is an incremental process of getting that new ticketing asset rolled out across our rail, bus and tram networks.
Updated
Bullock says Trump tariffs 'definitely negative for growth' but inflation impact 'less certain'
The RBA governor, Michele Bullock, has told a parliamentary committee that while Donald Trump’s tariffs are bad for economic growth, it’s unclear how the import duties will affect inflation in Australia.
Bullock told the House of Representatives economics committee today:
The bottom line is that it’s definitely negative for growth … The impact on inflation is less certain. It does depend.
Bullock went on to explain that the tariffs could prompt China to export goods more cheaply elsewhere, including to Australia.
This would be disinflationary.
On the other hand, the Australian dollar may lose value against the greenback, which could rise in value due to the higher import duties.
This would be inflationary because a lower Australian dollar makes imports more expensive.
Updated
More from Victorian transport minister Gabrielle Williams
Williams mentioned the current trials of tap and go on buses in Wangaratta, and said there will be further trials on trains soon, including for public transport staff:
There will be further closed trials across our rail network as well and we will be talking about that more in due course. There will be further trials ... involving PTV staff testing and using that technology in advance before we make it available to the broader Victorian community.
It’s important that we start with our rail network, 70% of Victorian commuters use our rail network, we know it’s heavily relied upon by the Victorian community. Having this new technology available on our rail system is very impactful for the great majority of the Victorian community and from there, we will roll out the technology across those other modes.
Updated
RBA governor strikes cautious tone on rate outlook
The Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, has told a parliamentary committee that future cash rate decisions will be guided by “our evolving assessment of the risks” after striking a cautious tone on any future cuts.
The RBA cut the cash rate by a quarter-point on Tuesday to 4.1%, the first cut since the early days of the pandemic. Bullock, who took over as governor in late 2023, warned at the time the cut did not imply there was a string of further cuts to come this year.
Bullock told the House of Representatives committee today the cut represented a rewinding of a rate hike that occurred in 2023, which was taken at the time as “insurance” against the risk of rising inflation.
Bullock told the committee:
The board’s decision on Tuesday to unwind the November 2023 increase reflects its assessment that this insurance is no longer required ...
Looking ahead, the board is committed to being guided by the incoming data and our evolving assessment of the risks.
The November hike in 2023 came after a quick-fire series of 12 increases.
The RBA’s interest rate outlook is more cautious than forecasts provided by economists at Australia’s major banks, who expect up to three more cuts this year.
The central bank has raised concerns over the potential for inflation to rise again.
Updated
Victorian transport minister confirms ticketless Myki rollout
The Victorian public transport minister Gabrielle Williams held a press conference this morning, where she confirmed the rollout of ticketless travel will begin next year.
She told reporters more than 20,000 new Myki readers would be installed across the train network that would eventually allow travellers to tap and go without a Myki card. It would then roll out across buses and trams:
We’re taking a very considered and cautious approach to how we do this rollout because we know that we need to both build this new system and keep the current system operating so that we’re not unnecessarily disrupting commuters in their day to day travels through our city and state.
But we are very excited to be able to announce that the new ticketing technology – that tap-and-go technology – will be starting to roll out across our network from early 2026, starting with our rail network and then gradually incrementally rolling out across the broader network from there.
We will have more updates for the Victorian community throughout the course of this year as we head to that period of time.
The move has been long awaited, with Sydney becoming ticketless in 2019 and Queensland in 2020.
Updated
US property firm bids to take over Nine-owned Domain
Nine-owned real estate portal Domain has received an unsolicited takeover offer worth $2.7bn from US property behemoth CoStar.
The proposal is to acquire 100% of the issued capital of Domain at $4.20 a share. The closing share price for Domain Holdings on Thursday was $3.12, giving it a market cap of $1.97bn, and meaning the CoStar offer includes a 34.6% premium.
In a notice to the ASX, Domain said it had been advised by CoStar that it had acquired 16.9% of Domain’s ordinary shares on Thursday at $4.20 a share, and it stated that its proposed price of $4.20 a share would be offered to all Domain shareholders entirely in cash.
The offer would still need to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board, but CoStar said it already had financing in place for the buyout.
CoStar is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Exchange. It describes itself as the world’s largest real estate information company and has a market value of A$51bn. Domain would be its first Australian asset.
Updated
Opposition says government using Victoria police departures as 'scapegoats'
The shadow minister for police, David Southwick, has released a statement after news of Neil Paterson’s contract not being renewed. He has accused the government of using Paterson and Shane Patton as “scapegoats”:
It is clear the Allan Labor government is using some of Victoria police’s most senior and experienced executive officers as scapegoats for the crime crisis their own mismanagement has created.
This worsening leadership crisis will do nothing to reopen the 43 closed stations closed across the state, fill the 1,000 frontline vacancies, end Labor’s cycle of offend, arrest, bail repeat or equip police with the powers they need to keep Victorians safe.
Updated
About Neil Paterson
Some background about Neil Paterson, the deputy commissioner of Victoria police, whose contract will not be renewed.
Paterson joined Victoria police in 1988 and has since worked across several units, including the homicide squad, the arson squad’s road policing unit and as a divisional commander in Frankston. He was promoted to chief of staff to then chief commissioner Graham Ashton in 2015.
He is being investigated by the state’s anti-corruption commission over an alleged road rage incident during school pickup at a Melbourne college campus in 2024.
In November, when the existence of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigation was first reported by the Age, Paterson defended his conduct, telling the publication that it was another parent who had been agitated and he had acted professionally throughout.
Updated
GYG upsizes profit amid strong burrito sales
Mexican-themed restaurant chain Guzman y Gomez has reported a 23% boost in sales across its network over a six-month period, and a big jump in profit.
The fast-food outlet, which has a handful of overseas stores to complement its expanding Australian business, has enjoyed a stellar share price run since listing on the ASX mid last year, with its stock price up more than 50%.
GYG, which is its acronym and stock market ticker, recorded a 91% increase in profit over the half year to $7.3m, according to financial results released today.
GYG had 239 stores at the end of December.
The huge increase in stock value has drawn warnings from some analysts, given a large number of its shares are tied up in escrow and unable to trade, increasing demand for the remaining stock.
Updated
Nurses' strike at eight private NSW hospitals suspended
Hundreds of nurses and midwives at eight private hospitals across NSW had planned to strike for 26 hours today – but the strike won’t go ahead after an emergency decision by the Fair Work Commission.
Healthscope, the country’s second-largest private hospital operator, lodged an urgent application to suspend the protected industrial action in the commission yesterday afternoon, with an emergency hearing held into the evening.
The commission made a decision to suspend industrial action at the birth suite in Newcastle private hospital, according to the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA).
Because any suspension order means all protected industrial action in relation to an agreement is “unprotected”, according to the Fair Work Act, the strikes across all eight hospitals have been called off.
NSWNMA acting general secretary, Michael Whaites, said the union was disappointed by the decision and would meet with members as soon as possible to discuss next steps:
Our members are in pursuit of pay equity with their Queensland counterparts and minimum safe staffing levels in all Healthscope hospitals.
Updated
More on Paterson leaving Victoria police
In an email to staff, seen by Guardian Australia, Neil Paterson said he had “committed his life” to the force:
I have been committed to serving the Victorian community for over thirty-seven years, by detecting and apprehending offenders, supporting victims and helping those in need of assistance. That’s the reason I and every other police officer joins policing and turns up every day.
He thanked his husband and children and said he was proud of his work to improve the mental health of officers but conceded more needed to be done to make the community safe:
This past year has seen a significant rise in crime to record high levels. Our hard-working police officers have never arrested more people or helped more victims, a very sad reality.
Policing is only a part of the justice system, and in effect, the justice system requires strong legislation and appropriate accountability in the courts.
Police own the piece in the middle; they enforce the legislation provided by governments and front offenders before the court.
Paterson said he had taken a period of leave prior to his contract ending in July.
Updated
Victoria police deputy commissioner Neil Paterson ousted
Victoria police’s deputy commissioner, Neil Paterson, has become the second senior officer to leave the force within a week.
In an email to police on Thursday afternoon, Paterson said the acting chief commissioner, Rick Nugent, informed him the government would not renew his contract when it expires in July.
Nugent has only been in the top job for three days, after Shane Patton resigned on Sunday evening after a no-confidence vote by 87% of rank-and-file officers last week.
Updated
Victoria to offer contactless public transport tickets from next year
Victorians will be able to use their phones, bank cards or smartwatches to pay for public transport travel from “early next year in a staged approach”, according to reports.
The news follows a trial last year of buses in Wangaratta that were fitted with new machines that enabled contactless payment instead of cash and physical tickets, with 79% of commuters using the new system.
A government spokesperson was quoted in the Age this morning as saying:
Following a successful start of a ticketless bus trial in Wangaratta, the Allan Labor Government will begin switching on tap-and-go technology across Victoria’s public transport network from early next year in a staged approach – meaning some passengers will soon be able to use their bank cards, phones and smart watches to travel on full fare tickets.
The new ticketing system will continue to be underpinned by extensive technical testing and will be carefully rolled out starting with rail from the beginning early next year – allowing full fare passengers more ways to pay for their travel.
Victorians may be forgiven for expressing scepticism about this announcement and its timeline. My colleague Josh Taylor put together this neat write-up of some of the issues with the ticketing system a couple of years ago:
There’s also state envy: Sydneysiders have had fully contactless, ticketless public transport since 2019, though the rollout began a couple of years earlier than that, and smart ticketing has been rolling out in Queensland since 2020.
Updated
Hybrids outsell EVs
Sales of hybrid vehicles continued to exceed those of electric vehicles in the last three months of 2024 despite losing market share, according to the nation’s peak motoring body.
Hybrid sales fell in all states and territories, except for Tasmania. Nationally, they were down 11.73% from Q3 2024 (from 48,282 to 42,618). This reduction of 5,664 vehicles was largely due to weaker sales for Toyota, which were down 6,337 sales on Q3.
While the market share of hybrids fell from 16.70% in the September quarter to 14.83% in the December quarter, they still outsold EVs, which increased their market share to 7.42% of sales – up from 6.59%.
The figures cover the final three months before the federal government implemented its new vehicle efficiency standard, which is designed to drive greater sales of EVs and more fuel-efficient vehicles. The scheme took effect in January, and reporting of its effects will start in July.
Updated
Woman accused of assaulting Muslim women in Melbourne released on bail
A woman accused of the Islamophobic assault of two Muslim women at a shopping centre has been released on bail, AAP has reported.
Suzan Gonulalan, 31, is charged with intentionally and recklessly causing injury, unlawful assault and aggravated assault in relation to her alleged attack on two women wearing hijabs inside Epping shopping complex in Melbourne’s north on Thursday.
Police allege she targeted the victims because of their head coverings.
The accused appeared in Melbourne magistrates court on Thursday, where magistrate Justin Foster granted her bail.
Foster described the offending as serious given the “alleged racial overtones” of the assaults.
Updated
Former Treasury secretary says governments should be ‘forced’ to stop ‘punishing younger workers’
Former Treasury secretary Ken Henry has been speaking on radio this morning after a speech at Per Capita’s community tax summit yesterday where he said governments have carried out “wilful acts of bastardry” and created intergenerational inequality and environmental destruction that will leave younger voters worse off.
As part of his speech he recommended indexing tax thresholds to inflation. Freezing tax thresholds increases people’s taxable income as wages go up with inflation. This results in additional revenue to the government, in a phenomenon called “fiscal drag”.
Henry told ABC RN this morning that:
I really never thought I would make such a recommendation, and for many years, didn’t need to.
I remember back in the 1980s, the second half of the 1980s, every time a new CPI number came out, then-treasurer Paul Keating had to convince a sceptical media that taxpayers were still paying less tax than had the tax scales being indexed for inflation. That is, that he was not relying upon fiscal drag to fix the budget so that every CPI release this had to be demonstrated. You know, the media was keeping treasurer Keating honest.
The media doesn’t behave in that way today. And in fact, if they were to do so, they would discover that every Australian government since has relied upon fiscal drag to do much of the heavy lifting.
This is punishing young workers, and so I think it’s got to the point where we have to force governments to act responsibly. And one way to force governments to act responsibly is to index the tax scales, to remove fiscal drag, so that this is no longer a lazy form of revenue raising for lazy government.
My colleague Cait Kelly has more on Henry’s speech yesterday here:
Updated
‘There’s a principle here, which is weekends matter’
Employment minister Murray Watt has been doing the media rounds this morning on the back of his intervention in the penalty rates case, as my colleague Dan Jervis-Bardy noted below.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast a little earlier, Watt said the government felt compelled to intervene as “some of the biggest retailers in the country like Coles and Woolies, try to slash the penalty rates of some of the lowest-paid workers in the country”:
I have noticed that the retailers have tried to portray this as being about managers in their stores. We need to remember that we’re talking about people who are earning as little as $54,000 a year. Beyond that, there’s a principle here, which is weekends matter.
Watt said while it wasn’t unusual for employers and workers to sometimes negotiate trade-offs of conditions in exchange for higher pay through the enterprise bargaining process, this appeal from the retailers was an attempt to undercut the minimum standards for all workers:
What we’re talking about here is an attempt by big business to change the minimum safety net, the award provisions, the safety floor that is supposed to provide minimum rates and conditions for workers.
And what we’re saying is that if employers want to have those sort of changes, they should negotiate with their employees as a whole rather than try to take them away from minimum conditions.
Updated
Reserve Bank to face parliamentary questioning today
The Reserve Bank governor will shed new light on her board’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years when she faces a parliamentary grilling today.
Michele Bullock said inflation had slowed more than expected, convincing the board it was appropriate to slightly ease monetary policy after its meeting on Tuesday.
But her caution to the market to lower its expectations for more cuts may raise the eyebrows of parliamentarians, some of whom have been calling on the bank to slash rates for months.
Conversely, some economists argued the board was too premature in cutting rates, such as University of NSW professor Richard Holden, who argued underlying inflation was still too high.
RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser – who will appear before the committee alongside Bullock, the bank’s chief economist Sarah Hunter and assistant governor Brad Jones – said the decision to cut was not a “slam dunk”, as the market had expected.
Labor MP Jerome Laxale will continue to press the RBA on its progress in removing unnecessary surcharging from card payments.
ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb told a parliamentary hearing last week the consumer watchdog had no power to stop service providers from overcharging on debit card transactions by blending fees with credit cards.
While a small business may pay about 0.3% or 0.4% to provide debit card services, they were being slugged up to 2.9% by some providers.
Laxale told AAP:
It’s a hot topic and I think people are hungry for reform. Debit is the new cash and should be treated the same.
He will also question the central bank over its stance on cryptocurrency after Bullock said last year she didn’t understand what role it could play in Australia’s economy.
– AAP
Updated
Queensland nurses protest against pay offer
Queensland’s nurses will march on the headquarters of the state government today in protest at what they call an inadequate pay offer by the state government.
The Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union is the first to negotiate a pay agreement with the new Liberal National party government, the first conservative government in a decade. Their enterprise bargaining agreement expires in March.
Union members will march on 1 William Street, the executive building for the state government. They plan to hand deliver a letter to the premier, David Crisafulli, and the health minister, Tim Nicholls.
Under the previous LNP government led by Campbell Newman, 1,800 nurses’ jobs were among 14,000 public service jobs slashed, sparking widespread protest by Queensland unions.
Nurses union secretary Sarah Beaman said the Crisafulli government’s wages policy, which has not been received in writing, caps pay increases at a maximum 2.5% in 2026 and 2027.
She said it includes the “possibility” of a maximum annual wage rise of 3.5% if inflation rises to that level or above:
The government’s state wages policy falls significantly short of what is necessary to uphold the LNP government’s commitment to maintain nation-leading wages and conditions for Queensland Health nurses and midwives.
We are seeking urgent clarification from the government on how they will deliver on their commitment to the QNMU.
Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Jacqueline King said the public service unions had been presented with the government’s “wage policy” in a meeting on Wednesday.
She said if the offer were final it would be inadequate:
We would consider that that’s an early offer from the government, which we will consider as unions, but there’s still a way to go.
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Townsville death from flood-related disease
An elderly person had died of melioidosis in Townsville while three new cases of dengue virus have been discovered in the community, Queensland Health has confirmed.
Melioidosis has claimed four lives further north in Cairns, with the region recording a total number of 41 cases since 1 January. The disease is associated with the wet season and is spread through contact with contaminated water, soil and air, causing death in up to 20% of treated cases.
An investigation is also under way after three new dengue virus cases from two adjacent houses in South Townsville were discovered.
North Queensland is reeling from record rainfall that triggered flooding, claiming two lives and forcing hundreds to evacuate their homes, and more rain may be on the way with a cyclone potentially heading toward the north Queensland coast mid-next week.
Melioidosis cases in Cairns are believed to have doubled compared with 2024. The Townsville community is being reminded of the wet season’s health risks.
Townsville public health unit director Dr Steven Donohue said:
Melioidosis cases have increased throughout the wet season, in some cases leading to hospitalisations. Melioidosis is a very serious infectious disease which is caused by soil bacteria in northern Australia.
The disease can occur when cuts or wounds come in contact with contaminated mud or water and when people breath in muddy droplets. Symptoms include fever, cough and difficulty breathing, while skin infections or abscesses can be another sign.
February 2025 is officially the wettest month in history for some north Queensland towns, with Paluma near Townsville recording more than two metres of rain – double what Sydney receives in a year.
To combat melioidosis infection, locals have been urged to wear gloves, shoes and protective clothing when cleaning up.
– AAP
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Employment minister to fight retailers on penalty rates
The federal government is intervening to fight a push from major retailers to wind back conditions for workers.
The employment minister, Murray Watt, will file a submission to the Fair Work Commission on Friday arguing against the Australian Retailers Association’s bid to rewrite the industry award.
Among 17 proposed amendments backed by supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths, the ARA wants to allow employers to exempt senior staff from penalty rates, overtime, allowances and leave loading if they pay them more than 25% of the minimum base rate of pay.
The association has said the changes were designed to create a “more flexible, modern system” that balanced the needs of workers and bosses.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has blasted the proposal as “corporate greed”, warning it would be used as a precedent to cut wages in other industries.
The federal government agrees, using the FWC submission to launch another attack on big business in the lead-up to the federal election.
Watt said:
If you give up your nights and weekends to keep Australia fed and clothed, you deserve your penalty rates.
We’re focused on helping Australians earn more, while the big supermarkets and retailers are trying to cut their penalty rates.
If employers want to agree with workers to trade-off award entitlements, then they can do this through enterprise bargaining, not through variations to awards.
Awards are supposed to be a safety net to protect all workers. They should not be varied to remove crucial entitlements like penalty rates for low-paid workers.
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Welcome
Good morning. My name is Stephanie Convery and I’m going to be taking you through all the live news this fine Friday morning.
First up: one person in Townsville has died from melioidosis, a disease that has been linked with heavy rain, after the disease claimed four lives in Cairns this year, as north Queensland grapples with heavy rain and flooding. Three cases of dengue virus have also been found in Townsville, and areas near there have recorded more than 2 metres of rainfall this February. We’ll have more for you on that story shortly.
We’re also expecting Michele Bullock, the governor of the Reserve Bank, and other RBA big-wigs to face something of a grilling today as they are questioned in the House of Representatives. It comes after the RBA decided this week to cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years, after inflation slowed more than expected.
We’ve plenty more coming your way this morning, so grab yourself a coffee and stay tuned.
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