What we learned, Wednesday 19 November
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
Optus paid a fine of $826,320 after its subsidiary, Coles Mobile, fell victim to scammers who were able to exploit a vulnerability in third-party ID checks used by Optus to bypass the required verification and gain control of at least four mobile accounts.
The Minns Labor government introduced new laws to put guardrails around the use of digital programs designed to optimise workers’ workloads.
The NSW government also introduced a fresh bill to restrict protests outside places of worship, with the state’s attorney general telling parliament last night that the new legislation clarifies the scope of police powers after an earlier version was found constitutionally invalid.
New legislation will also be introduced by the NSW government on Wednesday after 60 black-clad neo-Nazis yelled Hitler youth chants at state parliament on 8 November.
The eSafety commissioner said she was concerned gaming platform Roblox was “becoming a playground for pedophiles” before the company announced new age assurance measures to prevent kids and teens from chatting to random adults on the service.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said Hollie Hughes is “clearly bitter” after the former senator quit the party. Hollie Hughes, who lost her Senate seat at the last federal election, resigned from the Liberals on Tuesday, accusing some of her former colleagues of undermining the opposition leader, Sussan Ley.
ANZ’s CEO, Nuno Matos, said the bank’s move to slash 3,500 jobs is “not something I am proud” of, but says it is in the “best interests of our customers”.
Hugh Marks, the managing director of the ABC, was speaking before the National Press Club in Canberra this afternoon. He spoke about the importance of the national broadcaster to “own mistakes” and move on in a fast-paced world.
Workers’ wages barely outpaced inflation in the year to September, with growth in real pay rates dropping to their lowest level in two years. New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed wages lifted by 3.4% annually, unchanged from the previous quarter.
Cyclone Fina could intensify to category three, authorities warn. The chief officer for the Northern Territory emergency services, Wayne Snell, said if your house was up to cyclone code it was safest for people to stay there.
Labor MP Ed Husic said investing in the CSIRO and science and research is an investment in the future.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow to do it all again.
Updated
Greens MP Michael Berkman has asked the Queensland health minister whether he will ensure the state’s Catholic hospitals will offer reproductive health services, after reports women requiring an abortion or miscarriage treatment are refused care at publicly funded Mater hospitals.
The state’s Mater hospitals are publicly funded but run by a Catholic organisation as a charity. It operates maternity and other health services in Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and at a large hospital in South Brisbane.
The Guardian has previously reported their policy of refusing to provide reproductive care, such as abortions has left some patients struggling to get access to services.
“We expect all facilities to honour the agreements that they have with the department,” Queensland health minister Tim Nicholls said, in parliamentary question time.
“And the Mater hospital continues to honour its agreement, the agreement that it has with the department. There is no reason to doubt that they are not honouring that agreement … the short answer to it is, the contracts are being honoured. We continue to monitor those contracts to ensure compliance.”
Updated
