That's it for today, thanks for reading
Here are the main stories on Friday, 22 November:
The National Anti-corruption Commission chief, Paul Brereton, apologises for misleading the public, but denies disquiet about the Nacc is “widespread”, during an appearance before a parliamentary inquiry;
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says she respects the independence of the ICC and its role in upholding international law, after it issues arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes relating to the Gaza war;
The Coles chief customer officer, Amanda Mcvay, has said the supermarket giant sells shoppers’ “de-identified” data to the suppliers of the products it stocks on its shelves;
The NSW Greens party says a leaked classified document recommending anonymous gambling on poker machines continue until 2028 is “a huge concern”;
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has rejected criticism of the under-16s social media ban from X owner Elon Musk, saying he was “not concerned” about the billionaire;
The Rising Tide climate protest kicks off in Newcastle, a day after a court overturned a NSW government restriction to prevent it going ahead; and
Queensland’s truth-telling and healing commission has reopened, despite plans by the state’s new LNP government to defund it as early as next month.
It has been great having you this week, see you all again soon.
NSW train union says state government has agreed to higher pay offer
Following on from our earlier post on the outcome of negotiations over the Sydney train strike, the New South Wales rail union has said the state government has agreed to boost its pay offer by abolishing the regional trains agency.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union told members it extracted the concession during an 11th hour meeting with the NSW government on Thursday, which saw the government cave to union demands to run 24-hour train services over the weekend.
In a message to members, RTBU NSW secretary, Toby Warnes, said the government had agreed to scrap NSW Trains, which manages regional and intercity passenger services, and fold its functions into the metropolitan Sydney trains.
We can increase the percentage pay rise in the new EA through identifying and abolishing waste throughout the rail agencies and within the Transport bureaucracy … we will see movement on our pay claim very quickly.
The RTBU would work with Treasury officials to “improve on the government’s wages offer” by adding the “cost savings” sourced from abolishing NSW Trains, Warnes said.
The union has demanded a 32% pay rise over four years, or 8% a year, while the government has offered a three-year agreement totalling 9.5% plus super.
A spokesperson for the transport minister, Jo Haylen, did not directly respond to Warnes’ claims but said the government was glad to have reached Thursday’s agreement and looked forward to continuing negotiations and concluding the bargaining process. Both the RTBU and the government have said they want a deal done before Christmas.
Updated
