What we learned today, Friday 3 November
Here are the main stories of the day:
Qantas’s annual general meeting erupted with shareholders shouting “shame on you” at the board’s chairman, Richard Goyder, as investors overwhelmingly rejected the embattled company’s executive pay deal
The woman at the centre of a mushroom lunch that allegedly killed three people and left a fourth fighting for his life is also accused of attempting to murder her former partner four times over the past two years, according to court documents
A Senate committee has warned artificial intelligence may have seriously undermined its integrity, after consultancy giant KPMG lodged an official complaint about factually inaccurate information receiving parliamentary privilege
A Western Australian town has stopped playing Wiggles music in a bid to drive homeless people from a community space after an outcry from the band; and
The New South Wales transport minister, Jo Haylen’s, chief of staff has resigned amid another staffing controversy in their political office
We will see you back here for more news tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Updated
Body found in search for missing swimmer
A body has been discovered five days after a swimmer went missing south of Sydney, following an extensive search of a beach and surrounding waters, AAP reports.
A man’s body has been pulled from the water, five days after disappearing from a beach south of Sydney.
The swimmer was reported missing from Fairy Meadow Beach in northern Wollongong on Sunday evening.
He was reported to have entered the water and failed to reappear about 6.40pm, prompting an extensive search of the beach and surrounding waters.
Emergency services were called to Fairy Meadow Beach where the man’s body was recovered from the water about 8am on Friday.
The recovered body is yet to be formally identified.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
NSW transport minister staffer quits amid office controversy
The New South Wales transport minister, Jo Haylen’s, chief of staff has resigned amid another staffing controversy in their political office.
The longtime Labor staffer Scott Gartrell quit on Friday, two months after it was revealed he intervened in Josh Murray’s controversial recruitment to have the ex-Labor staffer shortlisted before Haylen chose him to lead her department.
Gartrell handed in his resignation after reports emerged he had cherrypicked the junior public servant Kieren Ash to be seconded to Haylen’s team, where Ash then engaged in political work on the side.
Ash ran Labor’s unsuccessful campaign in the inner-west seat of Balmain for the state election, before Gartrell reportedly arranged for him to be parachuted into Haylen’s office as a departmental liaison officer (DLO).
Haylen asked her department to look into the matter, which the opposition transport spokesperson, Natalie Ward, blasted as “nothing more than an attempt at a cover-up”.
Given DLOs are supposed to be politically neutral and impartial, Ward said the independent public service commissioner should investigate.
Ward said Gartrell had made the right decision to resign as Haylen’s chief of staff and that Haylen “should do the same”.
Haylen accepted Gartrell’s resignation on Friday. It’s understood she didn’t ask him to quit.
Her office declined to comment further when contacted on Friday evening.
Updated
Palestinian vigil outside Victorian Liberal MPs office urges representation
People are gathering outside the Liberal MP Keith Wolohan’s office, in the second vigil calling him to speak up for the Palestinians in his electorate of Menzies in Victoria.
One hundred people have joined the vigil, one of the organisers, Amin Abbas, says. He confirmed Wolohan has not responded to either vigil.
“We will aim to keep growing our voices and vigils until our representatives start speaking up and representing us,” Abbas says.
Updated
'Probably the most hated man in Australia' wanted on outstanding warrants
Richard Pusey, who was once described by a Melbourne judge as “probably the most hated man in Australia”, is wanted by Victoria police on two outstanding warrants for contravening a court order.
45-year-old Richard Pusey is wanted on two outstanding warrants for contravening a court order.
— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) November 3, 2023
He's known to travel across Victoria by vehicle and public transport.
Anyone with other information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
📞 1800 333 000
💻https://t.co/8AcShAeTnx pic.twitter.com/AIaQnXoGCp
Pusey was driving his Porsche at 149km/h when he was pulled over by police on a Melbourne freeway in 2020.
Four officers who were discussing impounding Pusey’s car were killed when a truck collided with them.
Pusey avoided injury because he was urinating at the side of the freeway at the time.
He rebuffed witnesses’ pleas to help the officers, or shield their bodies with blankets, and instead, made two videos which included him zooming in on their faces and injuries, and making inappropriate comments.
He admitted to charges including outraging public decency over the Eastern Freeway crash and apologised to the four dead police officers’ families through his barrister.
No further information about the warrants or court order was released by police.
Updated
Human Rights Watch criticises government’s ‘devastating’ decision not to repatriate detainees from Syria
The organisation’s Australia director, Daniela Gavshon, has said she is devastated by a court judgment that found the federal government does not have a legal obligation to repatriate 31 women and children stuck in a Syrian detention camp.
The Australians are the wives, widows and children of slain or jailed Islamic State fighters. Most have been held in the squalid Roj detention camp in north-east Syria for four years. None have been charged with a crime or currently face a warrant for arrest.
Here’s the statement from Gavshon:
The Federal Court’s refusal to compel the government to repatriate Australian women and children from detention camps in northeast Syria is a serious blow to the families who are arbitrarily held in squalid and dangerous conditions.
The court’s rejection of the case, brought by detainees’ families and Save the Children, is devastating for these citizens who are in their fifth year of unlawful detention, further emphasizing just how trapped they are.
But the Australian government does not need a court decision to act. It already has repatriated dozens of Australians and only political will is stopping it from bringing home the rest.
You can read more about the case here:
Updated
Man arrested with gun south-east of Melbourne
A man has been arrested after reports he was in possession of a firearm south-east of Melbourne, police say. Victoria police said in a statement:
Officers attended a residence about 1pm to conduct a welfare check on a man, allegedly in possession of a firearm, only to find the man had left prior in a car.
The man was located by police in Berwick Springs Promenade and was arrested about 3.40pm.
A 51-year-old Narre Warren man was conveyed to hospital with injuries sustained during the arrest. He remains under police guard and is expected to be interviewed by police at a later date.
Updated
WA town stops playing Wiggles after band objects
A Western Australian town has stopped playing Wiggles music in a bid to drive homeless people from a community space after an outcry from the band, AAP reports.
The City of Bunbury had been playing Hot Potato on loop at the Graham Bricknell Music Shell in the centre of the town, south of Perth.
But that was switched off after the Wiggles intervened on Thursday.
The band reportedly said its music was created to bring joy to children and it was disappointed to hear it was being used for another purpose.
The city initially defended its use of music, saying it had received reports of antisocial behaviour and damage at the music shell “due to people setting up camp”.
It said music was a common and passive method used across the state to discourage people from congregating permanently in an area.
It also claimed it had been the victim of a break-in.
“Music has been played at the shell for more than six months without incident, however, it came to our attention (on Thursday) that someone had removed a padlock into the storage area of the shell and turned the volume of the music right up,” the City of Bunbury said in a statement.
The WA housing and homelessness minister, John Carey, said the City of Bunbury’s use of the music at the music shell was “not a constructive way to assist the most vulnerable members of our community”.
Updated
‘An imperfect system’: industry group pushes for FTA consultation process
Industry groups say they are often left guessing how free trade deals will impact businesses, despite their foreign counterparts being consulted more widely.
At a Senate inquiry into how Australia approaches negotiating free trade agreements on Friday, the Australian Industry Group and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for more consultation between government and industry during negotiations.
Ai Group’s Louise McGrath told senators details or certainty were rarely relayed to those affected by them, pointing to free trade negotiations with China as a key example.
We weren’t privy to any of the text, however, we could read online the other free trade agreements that China had signed and so that’s a good example with the anti dumping … we proactively then approached negotiators and counselled them on the risk and what the impact could be … that’s an imperfect system, I think. The best system is when we’re actually part of the negotiation process.
McGrath urged for legislating an FTA consultation process or access to details of negotiations for industry, but conceded it was like “closing the gate after the horse has bolted”.
“We’ve almost got 80% of our markets covered by free trade agreements so whatever we’re negotiating from this point forward is going to be quite marginal.”
The ACCI’s Chris Barnes agreed with many of the points McGrath raised but stressed the need for flexibility as each agreement was different.
Updated
Controversial golf course call made jointly with premier, NSW planning minister says
The New South Wales planning minister, Paul Scully, says he and the premier, Chris Minns, made a “joint decision” to turn half of an inner-Sydney golf course into a public park.
At budget estimates today, opposition MPs grilled Scully over the government’s recent announcement it would repurpose part of the 45-hectare Moore Park golf course from 2026 to create more green space.
Scully said when he last met with the golf club who operate the Moore Park course there “had been no decision” made about turning some of the site into a public park.
The premier’s office was tasked with informing the golf club once the decision had been made, Scully said.
He said he also didn’t consult with Sydney’s lord mayor, Clover Moore, before the decision was made, saying her support for the proposal was well known.
Scully said:
It’s a funny thing about public open space in Sydney or in any city. People have some really strong held views.
In the next little while there’ll be more than doubling of the population around Green Square and those people need public open space. Public open space is important.
The Green Square urban renewal development is taking place across the inner-city suburbs of Beaconsfield and Zetland, and parts of Rosebery, Alexandria and Waterloo.
Updated
Reports on cuts to housing growth targets ‘speculation’: NSW planning minister
The New South Wales planning minister, Paul Scully, says reports the government has cut housing growth targets in some Sydney suburbs are “speculation”.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee at a budget estimates hearing on Friday, Scully was asked about reports Labor had changed the target for number of new homes in Frenchs Forest from 6,000 to 2,000 and revised the target in Brookvale.
Scully said:
Targets are being revised. But none have been released. So anything that may have been reported is speculation.
Under the new national housing accord between the federal government and the states, NSW will have to build 75,000 new homes a year over the next five years in order to reach its agreed share.
On Friday, Scully said the government was “determined to get there” and it would release its suburb-specific targets soon.
Updated
Queensland police seek stolen fire truck
Queensland police say a fire truck has been stolen from a rural fire service in Sarina, just south of Mackay.
According to a statement released on Friday, the force said:
Initial investigations indicate on Tuesday evening, a group of unknown offenders gained access to the Tara Creek Rd building before removing multiple items, including a set of keys.
The group the used those keys to access a yellow Isuzu NPS 300 truck nearby before driving away from the area in the vehicle.
Investigators are appealing for anyone who may have seen the vehicle, which has a distinctive “PLANE CREEK 51” and Rural Fire Service branding or may have any relevant vision of the area near Tara Creek Rd, to come forward.
As always, Weekly Beast is definitely worth a read
Body discovered in WA bushland
Western Australian police say the body of a man who had been reported missing has been discovered in bushland at Mornington, in the state’s south.
The man has been identified as Dustin Turvey, 44, police said. His body was found on Wednesday about 1.45pm off Mornington Road.
Police said in a statement:
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death remain ongoing.
Homicide Squad detectives have carriage of the investigation and forensic officers remain at the scene.
Updated
Quite liked this piece, if you’re after something a little more thoughtful ahead of weekend sporting action.
A very different kind of First Dog today.
Is today the day in Gaza? | First Dog on the Moon https://t.co/GaMFhtJn9X
— The Guardian (@guardian) November 3, 2023
Greens push for action on marine invasive species report
The Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans, senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says the Labor government should act on a Senate report released today into climate-related marine invasive species.
He said the report served as a blueprint for how to tackle species including long-spined sea urchins, which are decimating the Great Southern Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef rightly receives hundreds of millions of dollars to help tackle the invasive crown-of-thorns starfish, while the Great Southern Reef gets next to no funding or support to tackle risks presented by the long-spined sea urchin and other climate change pressures. This is despite 70% of the Great Southern Reef’s species not being found anywhere else on Earth, far more than the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.
The critical Senate inquiry report serves as a blueprint for federal government leadership and action to protect the Great Southern Reef. All sides of politics agree that action is needed to protect the Great Southern Reef and I implore the Albanese Government to urgently consider and implement recommendations handed down today in the Senate inquiry report.”
Updated
NSW prison to return to state ownership
One of the largest prisons in NSW will be returned to public ownership when the state government ends three decades of private operation at the troubled facility, AAP reports.
Junee Correctional Centre, in the state’s Riverina region, has been run by the US-owned GEO Group since it opened in 1993, but the company’s contract will not be renewed when it expires in 2025.
Corrective Services NSW will take over responsibility for the operation of the prison, a mixed-security facility that houses more than 1,000 male inmates.
No decision has been made on unwinding agreements for the state’s two remaining privately operated prisons, Clarence Correctional Centre near Grafton and Parklea Correctional Centre in Sydney.
The contract for Parklea’s operation also expires in 2025, but no decision has been made on its future.
Corrections minister Anoulack Chanthivong said each contract would be assessed as its end date neared.
“No two correctional facilities are the same, they are very different in their risk profiles, in their facilities, in their operations, so we will make those decisions when the contracts fall due,” he told Sydney Radio 2GB.
The operators of the Junee prison have been criticised at multiple coronial inquests into inmate deaths.
Updated
And with that I leave the blog in the hands of Nino Bucci, thanks for reading.
Qantas shareholders in huge protest vote over executive pay plans
Qantas has received one of corporate Australia’s biggest ever protests against its executive pay plans, with 83% of votes cast against its remuneration report at its annual general meeting on Friday.
The huge protest vote rivals those lodged against some of the country’s big banks after an inquiry exposed widespread misconduct in the financial sector in 2018 and 2019.
“This is obviously a very clear message from shareholders,” outgoing Qantas chair Richard Goyder said.
Qantas has been grappling with several potentially costly issues, including a compensation bill for illegally outsourcing ground handling jobs and regulatory action over allegations it sold tickets to thousands of already-cancelled flights.
There has also been fierce anger at the high levels of pay received by former chief executive Alan Joyce.
The vote against the airline’s pay plans is well above the 25% required for a first strike. The airline is now vulnerable to a second strike next year, which could trigger a board spill.
The 83% of votes cast against the remuneration report represent those lodged by shareholders and major advisers ahead of the meeting, which means the number of protest votes could rise further.
Updated
Innes Willox: ‘economically vital’ that Australia has a stable relationship with Beijing
Innes Willox, chief executive of the national employer association Ai Group, has welcomed the upcoming China visit by the PM, and called for a shift in focus in discussions on trade.
Wilcox told the Guardian that it was “heartening” to see signs that a “broad economic relationship” is being re-established with China, adding that it has been a difficult time for some businesses and industries.
Wilcox went on to say the realities of the past decade have meant many sectors and businesses have had to shift their thinking on China:
For many, those difficulties have meant they have shifted their focus away from China to other markets and sources as part of what is known as a ‘China plus one’ strategy.
However, given the size and strength of the market and the fact that we enjoy a trade surplus with China, it remains economically vital that Australia has a stable political and diplomatic relationship with Beijing. That is why the prime minister’s visit to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations is so important to the long-term interests of Australian industry.
The government is right to downplay expectations of the visit given how febrile the relationship had become. The strains the Chinese economy currently faces as it seeks to reshape itself should also not be underestimated.
Updated
Todd Sampson re-elected to Qantas board
Marketing guru Todd Sampson has been re-elected to the Qantas board, surviving a strong protest vote from shareholders who felt he “misread the zeitgeist” turning against the airline in recent years.
Sampson, a veteran of the advertising industry and also known as a panellist on ABC’s Gruen series, was appointed to the Qantas board in 2015, and was running for re-election on Friday in the face of advisory group opposition.
Speaking about his decision to run for re-election, Sampson the only board member dressed casually in a long sleeve T-shirt, looked nervous when saying:
Our brand and reputation have suffered considerable damage, damage that we can and will repair and I’ve spent a career helping other clients in similar brands situations that we now find ourselves in … Of all times in Qantas’s history, especially with a new CEO, this is when my experience will be most valuable.
Shareholders then asked questions about Sampson’s experience. “What reasons does Mr Sampson have … for completely misreading the zeitgeist over the past several years?” one questioner asked.
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder defended Sampson, saying “it is wrong to think that there wasn’t visibility on the issues”. “The challenge has been fixing the issues as quickly as we wanted to and doing it in a way that has brought our customers with us.”
Sampson was re-elected. However, according to votes lodged ahead of the meeting, he received a sizeable protest vote against his re-election, at 34%.
But given several advisory groups had indicated they would vote against Sampson, his re-election will come as a surprise to some shareholders who had expected the marketing expert and television personality would fall short of the votes required.
– by Jonathan Barrett, Cait Kelly and Elias Visontay
Updated
More than a million new cars bought in Australia in 2023
New car sales are speeding up despite challenging economic conditions, with figures revealing Australians are buying more and bigger vehicles, AAP reports:
Motorists keep driving the economy forward, with new figures revealing Australians have purchased more than one million vehicles in 2023 – a rise of more than 20 per cent.
And the popularity of large vehicles is behind the increase, with figures revealing utes and large SUVs made up more than one in three vehicles sold during October.
Data released by the Federal Chamber for Automotive Industries (FCAI) on Friday also showed the popularity of electric vehicles had taken a dip, down to 5.7 per cent during the month from a high of 8 per cent in April.
Electric cars also failed to secure a spot among the nation’s top 10 most popular vehicles.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the one million vehicle milestone represented a U-turn for the industry after a difficult period and showed the supply of vehicles had improved.
“After some challenging years through Covid, this milestone speaks to the range of vehicles available to consumers,” Mr Weber said.
“In the past six months, five have broken all-time sales records compared with previous years and in October 106,809 new vehicles were delivered to Australian customers.”
The FCAI’s figures showed Australians purchased 1.006 million vehicles in the year to October – more than 100,000 vehicles or 22.3 per cent more than the previous year.
Sales soared across every state and territory, with the greatest increases in Victoria (32 per cent), NSW (22 per cent), Tasmania (20 per cent) and South Australia (20 per cent).
Big vehicles made up the biggest proportion of sales, with light commercial utes and large SUVs representing 38 per cent of new models sold in October and dominating the most popular vehicles.
Utes ranked as the top three best-selling vehicles in Australia during October, with the Ford Ranger taking out top spot followed by Toyota’s HiLux ute and the Isuzu D-Max.
Updated
Albanese: Bill Hayden ‘lit the road ahead’ for modern Labor
Current PM Anthony Albanese also stepped up to pay tribute, saying Hayden “lit the road ahead” for the modern Labor party:
He made it possible for Labor to return to its core mission of governing in the national interest and lifting the lives of his fellow Australians … we can be grateful that this child of the depression, turned-police officer, joined the Australian Labor party to advance his values.
On behalf of the Labor family, I express my deepest sympathies to his family who so generously shared him.
Updated
Keating on Hayden’s view of Anzus
Keating has gone on to detail Hayden’s time as foreign minister, and included some remarks I am sure he believes are relevant to the current government:
Bill suggested that Australia presenting as a sycophant or supplicant would carry unacceptable risks where our interests would simply be subsumed by Washington.
This was a huge position for him to map out. He said at the time he sought to bury the erroneous notion that Australia is totally dependent on ANZUS, which was very much the case at the time, and that diversity of opinion and attitude would not, in his view, affect the fundamental solidarity underlying the treaty between the United States and Australia itself.
It wasn’t just a big position by Bill but a very brave one.
Updated
Keating speaks at Bill Hayden’s state funeral
Paul Keating is speaking at the state funeral for former governor general and Labor leader Bill Hayden and, as is characteristic of the former PM, is throwing some barbs in there.
Keating began by outlining Hayden’s time as leader of the Labor party, where he assembled, and I quote, “the most competent cabinet grouping ever assembled in the country”:
To name a few: John Dawkins, Peter Walsh, Ralph Willis, Susan Ryan, Lionel Bowen, Nick Young, Neil Blewett, John Button, Don Grimes, Gareth Evans, John Kerin and Michael Duffy and it was at Bill’s pleasure that he included me in this grouping.
This period of Bill’s leadership was hugely successful for the Labor party. Not a lot of Labor leaders have this much success and can turn a party around so rapidly and quickly but he was hugely successful as Labor leader, rebuilding the Labor party as a parliamentary force and competent opposition … enabling it to represent itself as a credible alternative government. So within three years of him taking the leadership of the opposition he returned the Labor party into a truly confident alternative.
For a self-effacing person not driven by egotism, Bill’s re-establishment of federal Labor as a real and genuine force is, without doubt, the crowning achievement of his long public life. Bill is not with us to take a bow but he certainly earned one.
Updated
The federal government does not have a legal obligation to repatriate 31 Australian women and children who have been forcibly held in a Syrian detention camp for four years, a court has ruled.
The Australians are the wives, widows and children of slain or jailed Islamic State fighters. Most have been held in the squalid Roj detention camp in north-east Syria for four years. None have been charged with a crime or currently face a warrant for arrest.
Several of the children were born in the camp and know no life outside it. Conditions are “dire”, the Red Cross says, illness and malnutrition is rife and the security situation “extremely volatile”.
You can read more at the story linked below:
Shareholder asks if any Qantas board members have flown economy recently
Shareholder Greg Harper was just up at the Qantas AGM. He asked how many of the board had taken an economy class flight recently. People in the room clapped.
The mood here is serious, the huge room at the convention centre is dotted with shareholders and members of the media.
Harper says he recently took a flight back home from LA, “that was a shambles”. He asks the 11 board members lined up on the stage to “put yourself in the shoes of the average Joe and ask what experience they are having”.
Board member Antony Tyler on the far left raised his hand but did not get to speak. Chairman Richard Goyder said Vanessa Hudson, who is sitting on his left, had but that he wouldn’t go into it. He thanked him for the question.
Questions from shareholders continue.
Updated
Qantas shareholders shout ‘shame on you’ at chairman Richard Goyder
Qantas shareholders have shouted “shame on you” at chairman Richard Goyder, as he shut down a question about former CEO Alan Joyce’s shares and defended the ethics of the airline’s board.
Chris Maxworthy, a shareholder at the airline’s annual general meeting in Melbourne on Friday morning, asked a question in which he raised “concerns about the ethics of the board” in making decisions about appealing a federal court decision about illegally outsourcing ground handlers to the high court. Qantas lost its appeal, and is in negotiations to compensate the 1,700 former staff, in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Maxworthy said “to me it’s an ethical issue. OK, you might have justified at the time on a commercial basis, and we are paying for your lack of ethics now, or we will be shortly once negotiations [for compensation] are completed”.
Goyder responded:
We would never as a board or executive, and this goes to your question on ethics, would never ever do anything that we felt was illegal. And so we felt it was the right thing to do … One thing that I’ll stick up for me and the board is the ethics of the people sitting up with me. I’ve got absolutely zero concern about the ethics of the people who sit alongside me on the Qantas board.
After Maxworthy followed up with questions about Joyce selling off shares ahead of negative news regarding legal action for selling tickets to flights that had been cancelled, Goyder asked for Maxworthy’s microphone to be turned off.
Guardian Australia’s Cait Kelly, who is at the AGM, reported multiple attendees then shouted “shame on you”.
Updated
WA Australian of the Year 2024 is Mechelle Turvey
AAP is reporting that Mechelle Turvey, the mother of the fatally bashed Indigenous teenager Cassius Turvey, has been named WA’s 2024 Australian of the Year:
Turvey became an advocate for victims of crime after her 15-year-old son was assaulted coming home from school in Perth in 2022. He died in hospital 10 days later.
His death sparked a national day of action across Australia, with his mother leading the march in Perth.
She gave a powerful speech about her son, calling for calm and non-violence and the need for proper care for victims of crime and their families.
In 2023 Turvey began training WA Police Force recruits in dealing with victims of crime with empathy and support.
“Through her life, 57-year-old Mechelle has volunteered to support her community, including helping people in prison,” a statement announcing her receipt of the honour said.
“She has donated much of the money raised for Cassius to youth organisations. Her courage, care and compassion for others are exemplary.”
At the award ceremony in Perth on Thursday evening Turvey said: “I’m here because of my son and I hope I have made him proud.”
The 2024 Australian of the Year Award recipients for WA were announced at a ceremony in Perth on Thursday evening.
Charles Bass, founder of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation, was named Senior Australian of the Year for WA for mentoring hundreds of start-ups and being a “powerful supporter of innovation and sustainability” in WA.
Kate Kirwin is Young Australian of the Year for WA as founder of She Codes Australia in 2015 and being an advocate for women in STEM, helping women learn coding skills and enter technical careers.
Nick Hudson was named 2024 Local Hero for WA as founder of the fitness promotion The Push-Up Challenge and for being a mental health advocate.
The four WA recipients will join those from other states and territories for the national awards to be announced on January 25 in Canberra.
Updated
Qantas airfares rise again
Qantas has blamed elevated oil prices for increasing airfares in a pricing decision that could derail its plans to rebuild trust with customers.
The airline’s chair, Richard Goyder, told the annual general meeting in Melbourne the company had been absorbing most of the increased cost of higher fuel prices.
“However, with sustained high fuel prices and a weaker Australian dollar, last month we increased fares by an average of 3.5% to recover some of this higher cost,” Goyder said.
Airfares are already elevated and priced well above pre-pandemic levels.
Responding to concerns raised by shareholders, Goyder said oil prices had weighed on the company’s share price recently.
“Globally, airlines shares have fallen between 20 and 30% over recent months as oil prices have risen to recent highs.”
Qantas shares started falling sharply after the competition regulator announced in August it would pursue the airline over allegations it sold tickets to thousands of already-cancelled flights.
Updated
Qantas will be ‘unrelenting’ in contacting customers about credits, CEO says
Qantas still holds $520m in Covid-related booking credits, as CEO Vanessa Hudson vows the airline will be “unrelenting” in contacting customers about the credits they’re entitled to.
Hudson said that the Covid credit balance across the airline group was down to $520m, in responding to a question from the Australian Shareholders Association – which represents retail shareholders. The balance was at $570m in August.
The credits had been set to expire by the end of the year, but the airline buckled to pressure over its policies for spending the credits. The credits no longer have an expiration date.
Hudson said the airline would be sending text messages to customers about their credits. She said:
We are going to be unrelenting with the way in which we contact customers … We’re not going to stop until that balance is zero.
Updated
Qantas says it will work ‘as quickly as we can’ to compensate retrenched handlers
Qantas has said it wants to strike a deal to compensate illegally outsourced ground handlers “as quickly as we can”.
In September, the high court upheld a challenge to a federal court ruling that Qantas had illegally outsourced about 1,700 ground handler jobs in 2020.
Chairman Richard Goyder noted that CEO Vanessa Hudson will meet with the Transport Workers Union – her involvement had been court ordered – later this month to discuss the compensation for former staff.
Goyder said:
As we’ve said from the beginning, we regret that we needed to make that decision and we deeply regret the personal impact it had on all of those affected. We’re now working through a process with the federal court and the Transport Workers Union to compensate the 1,700 employees who were retrenched.
Vanessa is personally leading that process and will meet with the TWU this month. Our aim is to move as quickly as we can to resolve this issue fairly, and bring closure for the former employees involved.
Updated
Qantas investors reject executive pay plans
Qantas shareholders have voted against the airline’s remuneration report, in a sharp rebuke of its executive pay plans following a tumultuous period for the company.
Outgoing Qantas chairman Richard Goyder indicated at the start of the Melbourne meeting there would be a strike registered against the report.
“It’s clear that there will be an overwhelming vote against our remuneration report, which is almost a complete reversal of the 90-plus per cent support in recent years,” Goyder said.
Under rules designed to hold board members accountable for executive pay, a second strike next year would give investors a chance to spill the Qantas board.
It is rare for a chair to preempt the results of a vote so early at a general meeting. The size of the protest vote against the executive pay plans will be published later in the meeting.
Updated
Qantas CEO: ‘We want to be easier to deal with’
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has echoed chairman Richard Goyder’s apology to shareholders, and declared she wants the airline “to be easier to deal with” as the company’s annual general meeting in Melbourne gets under way.
Hudson, who is talking as CEO at a Qantas AGM for the first time after taking over from Alan Joyce, repeated an apology that has become familiar since she began her role in recent months:
Reflecting on what I’ve heard, the disappointment and frustration is clear. As Richard said, there are many things – big and small – that we didn’t get right.
For that we have sincerely apologised to our customers and people, and I apologise to you, our shareholders, today.
As the new CEO, I am determined to make Qantas one of the most trusted brands in this country again. Determined to be the company that you, as owners, are proud of – that delivers value for all stakeholders and gets the balance right.
Hudson added: “We want to be easier to deal with.”
Updated
Qantas chairman apologises to shareholders: ‘There are things we got wrong’
Qantas board chairman Richard Goyder has apologised to shareholders as the embattled airline’s annual general meeting begins in Melbourne.
Goyder said:
It’s clear there has been a substantial loss of trust in the national carrier. And we understand why. There are things we got wrong. Things we should have handled better. Things we should have fixed, faster. And for all of those, we apologise.
Goyder also thanked the former CEO Alan Joyce.
Alan was the founding CEO of Jetstar for five years before becoming CEO of the group for 15 years. He guided this company through some of its biggest challenges, which meant making some tough decisions.
He also championed more direct flights including Project Sunrise and was instrumental in striking the deal with Emirates. These things are all key to the company’s long-term success.
Indeed, it is easy to forget the challenges Qantas faced in surviving through the pandemic, effectively closing down and re-starting an airline, safely, and ensuring we had a future.
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AAP is reporting that teachers will walk off the job during Year 12 exams across South Australia if the state government fails to provide an improved pay offer.
Members of the Australian Education Union on Thursday voted 83 per cent in favour of taking strike action on Thursday, November 9.
The union is seeking an increase on the government’s offer of a three per cent pay increase and a reduction in instructional hours to ease workloads.
“Whether we strike is now a matter for the Malinauskas government who have the power to make an offer which demonstrates a commitment to public education in South Australia,” SA branch president Andrew Gohl said.
“While salary is important, we’ve said consistently that this is not just about pay, but also securing a set of working conditions that ensure our educators can provide the very best for their students.
“Every day, thousands of South Australian students are going without a consistent teacher. It is a crisis affecting schools and preschools right across our state, requiring urgent and significant action.”
Education minister Blair Boyer called the outcome of the vote disappointing and said both parties had been negotiating positively.
“I’ve said from the outset, I didn’t think that industrial action was needed,” he told ABC Radio on Friday.
“These things take some time, but we’re talking about more than a $1.3 billion expenditure of public monies over the life of the agreement.”
Exams will go ahead for Year 12 students, but the minister was worried about the inconvenience to students and families.
The union says the government has until Monday to provide a satisfactory offer to avert the strike.
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Court action taken against Australian Clinical Labs over delayed disclosure of hack
Australian Clinical Labs has been taken to court by the Australian privacy regulator after hundreds of thousands of customer records were posted on the dark web last year and the company took months to inform the public.
ACL’s Medlab was hacked in February last year, and sat on information about their breach for five months, including that the personal information – pathology information, credit card numbers and Medicare numbers – of 223,000 customers had been posted on the dark web.
Medlab identified the breach in February, found the data on the dark web in June, but waited until October last year to reveal the breach publicly, around the same as the Optus and Medibank breaches were making the news.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) was informed about the breach in July last year, and launched court action this week, alleging that ACL failed to take reasonable steps to protect the personal information of their customers, which left ACL vulnerable to cyber-attack between May 2021 and September 2022.
The OAIC alleges after the breach, ACL failed to carry out a reasonable assessment of whether it needed to notify the OAIC.
Commissioner Angelene Falk said:
ACL delayed notifying my office that personal and sensitive information had been published on the dark web.
As a result of their information being on the dark web, individuals were exposed to potential emotional distress and the material risk of identity theft, extortion and financial crime.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, ACL said it would be defending the claim and asserts its cybersecurity systems are robust.
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Erin Patterson shows little emotion in brief court appearance
Erin Patterson appeared in the dock dressed in a grey jumper as she faced Latrobe Valley magistrates court this morning.
She glanced at the media throng as she entered the dock and stared straight ahead during the hearing.
Patterson said “good morning” when greeted by the magistrate but otherwise appeared emotionless.
She shook her head when the magistrate said her street address should be redacted from the charge sheet.
Patterson will next appear in the Latrobe Valley magistrates court on 3 May.
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Profits slide at Macquarie as uncertainty dims outlook
Macquarie Group has delivered its lowest six-month profit in three years and warned it is retaining a “cautious stance” to its business as inflation, rising interest rates and global uncertainty weigh on the economic outlook.
The Sydney-based global investment house recorded a 39% slump in half-year net profit to $1.42bn for the six months to the end of September.
The result was dragged lower by falling revenue across its business due to subdued deal making, reduced funds management fees and lower volatility in energy markets that could be exploited.
Despite the pullback, Macquarie’s board approved a $2bn share buyback, whereby the company will repurchase shares.
It declared an interim dividend of $2.55 per share, which is lower than recent dividend payouts.
Its shares were down almost 2% in early trading on Friday as investors digested the results.
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Erin Patterson faces court on murder charges over mushroom lunch
Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of the mushroom lunch that left three people dead and a fourth fighting for his life, has fronted a Victorian court for the first time since being charged with murder.
Patterson, 49, who is in custody, appeared in person in the Latrobe Valley magistrates court this morning.
Victoria police on Thursday charged Patterson with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder. Police said the murder charges and three of the attempted murder charges related to the mushroom meal served in July.
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ACTU urges government to put 'Australian community at the centre’ of trade policy
The Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil has called for urgent reform to trade policy, warning that companies are using controversial investor-state dispute settlement clauses to “bully governments”.
A number of unions are up first this morning at the Senate inquiry into Australia’s approach to negotiating trade deals.
It’s a timely discussion given Australia’s free trade deal negotiations with the European Union lapsed this week as both sides were unwilling to compromise.
But square in the unions’ targets are investor state dispute settlements, or ISDS. The ISDS is a mechanism sometimes included in free trade agreements, which allow foreign investors to lodge disputes against a state.
An ISDS was used against Australia by tobacco giant Philip Morris Asia in 2011, which challenged the Gillard government after it introduced plain packaging laws. In 2015, an arbitral tribunal ultimately found it had no jurisdiction to hear the claim, ruling in Australia’s favour.
O’Neil said it was time to instate a “reformed trade policy that puts the Australian community at the centre”.
We congratulate the Australian government for committing to not including ISDS clauses in future agreements. However, there are 10 current Australian agreements that contain ISDS clauses, and there’s nothing to stop them being used in the future, unless the current government legislates to stop investors using these clauses to bully governments.
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Journalists gather at regional Victorian court for Erin Patterson hearing
Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of a mushroom lunch that allegedly killed three people, is expected to front court this morning.
Journalists and photographers, including reporters for international outlets, have begun milling outside the courtroom at the Latrobe Valley magistrates court in Morwell in Victoria’s south-east. The case has garnered a lot of public and media interest, including from the international press.
It is unclear what time Patterson’s case will come before the court.
Victoria police on Thursday charged Patterson with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder. Police said the murder charges and three of the attempted murder charges related to the mushroom meal served in July.
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Warning of high-dose MDMA pills in NSW
New South Wales health authorities have issued a warning about “high-dose MDMA tablets” circulating in the state.
In a statement released this morning, NSW Health said there were pills making the rounds containing twice the average amount of MDMA usually contained in tablets.
Dr Darren Roberts, medical director of the NSW Poisons Information Centre, said consuming high doses of MDMA has been linked to recent cases of serious illness and death in NSW.
MDMA can cause severe agitation, raised body temperature, seizures or fits, irregular heart rhythm and death.
The amount of MDMA in a tablet or capsule can vary a lot, even within the same batch. The health risks from MDMA are greatly increased if high amounts (including multiple doses) are consumed over a short period.
Other risks include taking MDMA in combination with other stimulants, such as amphetamines, cocaine or cathinones.
Hot environments, such as at music festivals, increase the risk of harm from MDMA. Taking a break from dancing, seeking shade, and drinking water are important measures to reduce the risk of overheating.
The pills mentioned by the statement include:
Blue diamond-shaped tablet with a “punisher” logo, containing 216 mg MDMA
Blue skull-shaped tablet with a “MYBRAND” logo and text, contained 216 mg MDMA
Yellow square tablet with “SpongeBob” smiley face markings, containing 160 mg MDMA.
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Man found dead on highway in Moe, Victoria
Victorian police are investigating the death of a man in Moe after emergency services were called to reports of a man with injuries on the Princes Freeway shortly after 3am today.
Details are still scarce, but the man, who is yet to be formally identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigations continue into the cause of the incident.
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Two people fined over damaging posters of Israeli hostages at Bondi beach memorial
Two men have been issued fines for offensive behaviour over the vandalism of a memorial at Bondi Beach for Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.
The installation of 230 beach towels and pairs of thongs beside posters of those kidnapped on 7 October had run more than 100 metres along the concourse.
It came amid heightened tensions in Australia over the Gaza conflict.
On Thursday, footage emerged of two men attempting to take down posters of the hostages while being confronted by a larger aggrieved group.
An investigation into the incident was launched, with police on Friday announcing that officers had spoken to two men.
“As part of inquiries, police attended a Granville home and spoke to a 25-year-old and a 40-year-old at a Bankstown home,” police said in a statement.
“Both men have been issued criminal infringement notices for offensive behaviour, which carries a fine of $500.”
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Don’t hang hopes on changes to China’s meat trade restrictions, Watt says
The agriculture minister, Murray Watt, says it is unlikely the PM’s visit to China will result in much change to the trade impediments on Australian lobster and meat.
Watt was on Sky News and said that while it was a “big success” to have the PM visit China, the impediments on lobster, beef and sheep meat had complicated barriers.
I wouldn’t necessarily be hanging my hopes on change on those products in this particular meeting but obviously it’s another excellent opportunity for the prime minister, the trade minister and others to continue advocating for those industries.
These two products are a little bit different to what we saw with some of the other products like barley and wine … were punitive tariffs that had been imposed on China.
Whereas with lobster, beef and sheep meat, the issues there are claims by China we haven’t met particular biosecurity or hygiene standards. We, of course, reject that.
We will keep putting forward that evidence but ultimately it’s a decision for them.
We will keep working very hard to get rid of those remaining trade impediments, but I think the mere fact the prime minister is visiting China and having this meeting face to face with the Chinese president is a pretty big success in its own right.
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Qantas shareholders advised to vote against executive pay package
The head of research at a proxy adviser to Qantas has said shareholders should vote against the renumeration report that will determine pay outs for former boss Alan Joyce, new boss Vanessa Hudson and the rest of her executive team
Vas Kolesnikoff, head of Australian and New Zealand research at Institutional Shareholder Services, told ABC radio that he recommended shareholders vote against adopting renumeration.
He added there were concerns about the bonuses that executives were receiving, particularly considering the public backlash the company has faced in recent months.
We’ve recommended shareholders vote against the remuneration report, and the grant of share rights to the new CEO.
The issue of pay becomes an issue of accountability.
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Australia joins 27 countries in signing declaration on safe and responsible AI
Husic was on the show to discuss the results of the AI Safety Summit held in the UK this week, where Australia and 27 other countries signed a major artificial intelligence agreement.
The Bletchley Declaration affirms that AI should be developed, designed and deployed in a human-centric and safe manner.
Husic told ABC News Breakfast the risks of dangerous developments in the space meant more testing and security were necessary.
It has been very clear from a number of countries, not the least of which the US, which brought in a big executive order this week to improve AI safety and security, that there will be more safety testing and also evaluating those AI models, and holding companies much more accountable for the way that they do that development work.
There will be safety institutes set up in the US and the UK to help with that testing and it will involve researchers in that work and a state of the science report that will look at the developments particularly around what they call frontier AI, generative AI and Australia will have a voice there with the CSIRO’s chief scientist, Dr Bronwyn Fox, who will represent our country in the development of that research work to give governments and regulators a heads up on how the technology is evolving too.
It builds on some of the stuff we have been doing here, be it the setting up of responsible AI networks in this country earlier this year, plus the consultations we have been doing around the safe and responsible use of AI in Australia.
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Ed Husic concerned for ‘innocent Palestinian families’
Science and industry minister Ed Husic has called for a de-escalation in violence in Gaza, saying the world is watching “very closely”.
Husic was on ABC News Breakfast and said he had been “concerned for weeks” about the conflict, and that Israel’s actions “do matter.”
I have been concerned for weeks about where things would head. I was concerned that innocent Palestinian families would bear the brunt and the heaviest burden, in terms of the type of action that was being foreshadowed.
I think the world, the international community, is watching very closely. I have said previously there has to be a much more strategic, precise way to hold Hamas to account. Israel’s actions do matter, in terms of the way in which they conduct these military operations, and I think a lot of us are deeply concerned about the impact, not only on innocent Palestinians but particularly kids.
Kids being affected and losing their lives in this way is something that, as I said, people in our community, in the international community, are deeply concerned about. There has got to be a better way.
What we need to do is to de-escalate, to calm things down and to help those that are innocent and have been deeply affected by those actions there in Gaza to be able to get that help, aid assistance in.
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Bill Hayden state funeral today
Former governor general, Labor leader and architect of universal healthcare Bill Hayden will be farewelled today at a state funeral, AAP reports.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the governor general, David Hurley, will be among the dignitaries, diplomats and political figures at the Ipswich service.
Albanese described Hayden as a great contributor to the nation who was notable for his humility and quiet strength.
The state funeral will be held at St Mary’s Church, Ipswich, from 12 noon AEDT and broadcast on the ABC.
Family, friends and members of the public are welcome to attend.
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Qantas AGM set to be fiery
Simmering shareholder anger during a year of reputational crises at Qantas is likely to explode at the airline’s AGM today, AAP reports.
The flying kangaroo has faced a whirlwind of PR disasters marked by a major high court defeat over illegal job outsourcing, vicious Senate grillings over its role in the cost-of-living crisis, the expedited exit of former CEO Alan Joyce and mounting pressure for chairman Richard Goyder to do the same.
To top it all off, a NSW court is expected to hand down a decision on alleged discriminatory conduct within Qantas this morning.
Shareholders and Qantas officials will take to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre today and vote on resolutions about reports, the election of directors, on-market share buy-backs and other plans for the company.
The AGM will be Goyder’s last as chairman, after he announced plans to retire in 2024.
Advisors and shareholders have indicated their opposition to the company’s remuneration report, which enabled the embattled Joyce to leave the company with a multimillion dollar payout.
If more than one quarter of shareholders vote it down, it will be taken to another AGM the following year.
If it is voted down again, this would trigger a spill resolution and all directors who backed the report would have to stand for re-election.
Some board members, including television host Todd Sampson, are up for re-election.
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Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you this morning to take you through the day’s news.
Another Gaza reopening possible – reports
Trapped Australians in Gaza might have a second opportunity to flee the besieged territory, as local authorities flag another reopening, AAP reports
Yesterday 20 Australians, as well as their family members, and a permanent resident were able to cross into Egypt through the border at Rafah.
But dozens of Australians and their relatives remain stuck in Gaza, which Israel is bombarding through retaliatory airstrikes in response to a deadly attack launched by Hamas on 7 October.
A foreign affairs department spokesperson would not confirm when the border would reopen.
“We continue to engage closely with partners in the region and do all we can to enable the remaining Australians in Gaza, who wish to leave, to do so as soon as possible,” he said.
The timing of those departures depends on a range of factors. The situation in Gaza continues to be highly challenging and can change rapidly.
Australian officials are on the Egyptian side of the crossing, to help any Australians leaving.
They will be offered accommodation in Cairo and free flights back to Australia.
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Fires destroy two homes as residents west of Cairns told to evacuate
More on the Queensland fires, from AAP:
There are 60 more fires still raging across the state, with 83 Victorian firefighters joining the fight on Thursday. Another 27 are expected from New Zealand soon.
People west of Cairns were told to leave after large fires threatened Jumna Dam and Innot Hot Springs, with reports two houses were destroyed.
At 2am today, residents who had fled the fire at Jumna Dam were advised not to return.
“If you left the area, stay where you are. It is not safe to return,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said.
“Prepare to leave” warnings were issued for residents at the Southern Downs border town of Wyberba and Carnarvon Gorge in the central highlands.
A high fire danger rating will remain in north Queensland with no rain forecast, and will also affect the north-west, central west and Channel Country in the coming days.
Fires have forced road closures throughout the state with an emergency declaration area announced near the far north town of Innot Hot Springs.
Federal and state government financial assistance is available, with the latter pledging $1m toward a bushfire appeal.
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Rains forecast for Queensland’s Western Downs in wake of blaze
Showers and storms will accompany a welcome cool change in Western Downs today, AAP reports, as the Queensland residents return home to survey the damage left in the wake of a deadly bushfire.
One person lost their life in the Tara fire which forced hundreds to flee and destroyed 58 homes – more than were lost in Queensland in the black summer fires.
About 26,000 hectares were burned and 58 homes lost, but firefighters managed to save 387 homes.
While the threat appears to be over in Tara, residents have a long road to recovery, says Western Downs Mayor Paul McVeigh.
It is probably going to take a couple of years, quite easily.
Caravans will arrive in the town today to house some of the families whose homes were incinerated.
Accommodation is also to be constructed, with an old caravan park and the Tara showgrounds to be redeveloped.
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Aboriginal men's crisis line gets funding boost from Labor to expand to boys
The federal government will help expand a specialist family violence hotline for young Indigenous men and boys, staffed by Aboriginal elders, to help address serious social issues.
The Dardi Munwurro family violence service will get $675,000 over the next three years to widen its Brother to Brother men’s crisis line. It will help support First Nations boys and men aged 10 to 25 through a specialist family violence hotline.
The phone services gives 24/7 support to males who are struggling with relationship issues, family and domestic violence, parenting, drug and alcohol or other issues, according to social services minister Amanda Rishworth, with the line staffed by Aboriginal men including elders.
The minister said:
Violence against women and children is not inevitable. Governments at all levels need to be pulling in the same direction.
We need men and women, businesses, schools, sports clubs – every part of our community – to work hand-in-hand with us.
Rishworth said the service was providing “impressive results” through its culturally safe support.
The federal and Victorian state government will work together to enhance the program. Previously it was available to men aged 18-25, with the new funding to expand the program to those aged 10.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you some of our top overnight stories before handing the reins to my colleague Mostafa Rachwani.
It’s a big weekend coming up for Anthony Albanese as he embarks to China on one of the most important diplomatic missions of his prime ministership. After visiting a trade fair in Shanghai on Sunday, Albanese will meet Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday during the first visit to China by an Australian prime minister since 2016. He intends to raise human rights, trade and Australia’s concerns about the militarisation of the South China Sea, and also signalled he would raise the plight of the Australian writer Yang Hengjun.
Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of the alleged mushroom poisoning that left three people dead and a fourth fighting for his life, will appear at Latrobe Valley magistrates court today charged with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder. Patterson was yesterday charged with murdering Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, and her sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, at lunch in her home in Leongatha on 29 July.
Australians trapped in Gaza might have a second opportunity to flee the besieged territory in the coming hours, as local authorities suggested the key Rafah crossing would reopen again. Twenty Australians, as well as their family members, and a permanent resident were able to cross into Egypt through the border at Rafah yesterday but many remain stuck amid the Israeli bombardment of the enclave. A foreign affairs department spokesperson could not confirm when the border may reopen but we’ll bring you any developments as they come.
And soon we will bring you the latest on the Queensland Western Downs bushfires.
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