What we learned, Thursday 31 October
And with that we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
Up to 55% of schools and childcare centres are unsafely close to main roads in some Australian suburbs, exposing children to deadly car pollution, a new report found.
The Greens announced an ambitious plan to offer unlimited mental health sessions on Medicare, expected to cost about $5.9bn over the next 10 years, as it narrows in on inner-city Labor seats ahead of the next federal election.
Consumers and small businesses reported more than 10,000 scams in 2023/24 – an 81% increase from the year before, according to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s annual review.
Anthony Albanese insisted he never contacted then Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce directly, nor through an intermediary, to share travel plans or seek flight upgrades, rejecting the claim in a new book that he solicited them from the airline’s boss while he was transport minister.
Protesters gathered outside the Woolworths Group Limited annual general meeting. The chair, Scott Perkins, was asked a question about Tim Tams in the meeting, after it was recently disclosed that shoppers in the UK pay less for the Australian-made chocolate biscuit.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission began proceedings in the federal court against Optus.
A woman snorkelling in the middle of the ocean off the coast of Queensland was bitten by a shark.
Peter Dutton admitted his office asked mining billionaire Gina Rinehart for a lift on her private jet to a Bali bombing memorial, after claiming the government wouldn’t help him get a flight on a government plane.
NSW Health has issued a public health alert for blood-borne virus risk, advising clients of Fresh Cosmetic Clinic to get tested “due to infection control breaches in the clinic,” as put in a media release.
The Victorian government will cut more than 130 positions from its bushfire forest service and close six regional locations, acknowledging budget restraints.
We will be back tomorrow to do it all again!
Updated
A little weather update from Guardian Australia’s economics correspondent:
October was relatively dry in parts of the southeast and southwest, and wetter than usual across much of WA. (Via @bom_au) pic.twitter.com/oT885jehKj
— @[email protected] (@p_hannam) October 31, 2024
(While much of Sydney is about to get a bit wetter: pic.twitter.com/SAGG8TK1EW
— @[email protected] (@p_hannam) October 31, 2024
