Australia news live: new Qantas boss apologises to customers; MC Hammer and Kamahl back voice
Kamahl #Kamahl
New Qantas chief apologises for ‘letting down’ customers
Qantas’s new CEO, Vanessa Hudson, has issued an apology to customers, saying: “I know that we have let you down in many ways.”
In a video statement released today, Hudson said:
We haven’t delivered the way we should have. And we’ve often been hard to deal with. We understand why you’re frustrated, and why some of you have lost trust in us.
I know that our people have tried their absolute best under very difficult circumstances. I want you to know that we’re determined to fix it to improve the experience for you and to support our people better. We want to get back to the national carrier that Australians can be proud of. That’s known for going above and beyond. We understand we need to earn your trust back, not with what we say but what we do and how we behave.
This is going to take time and I asked for your patience. The work is already under way. We’re putting more people in our call centres to help solve problems faster. We’re adding more frequent flyer seats. We’re reviewing all of our customer policies to make sure they’re fair.
And we’re giving our frontline teams more flexibility to better help you when things don’t go to plan. That’s only the start.
This has been a humbling period, but through it, I share the pride and passion that I know our people have for Qantas and this gives me the confidence that we will rebuild your trust. Thank you for your support.
New Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has told customers the airline needs ‘to earn your trust back’. Photograph: Russell Freeman/AAP
Updated at 22.26 EDT
Key events
Man arrested for allegedly lighting 80 fires across NT
A man has been arrested after allegedly lighting 80 fires across the Northern Territory, threatening homes and destroying property and bushland, AAP reports.
NT Police and fire services suspect a number of blazes across the territory since May were deliberately lit, and on Thursday arrested a 37-year-old man at a home south of Darwin.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Josh Fischer, told reporters on Friday:
Some of these fires were significant and did result in damage to property, but also … lots of bushland.
[They] caused disruptions to traffic and roads … [and] obviously resulted in fire and rescue service providing additional firefighting resources.
The man has been charged with 18 counts of causing a fire and is set to face court later this month.
Police are investigating his possible link to another 62 fires.
The man is not accused of starting the Barkly Complex blaze, a fire five times the size of the ACT that threatened the town of Tennant Creek last week.
Updated at 00.37 EDT
Starbucks back-pays staff more than $4.5m
Starbucks has back-paid staff more than $4.5m in an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
In a statement the ombudsman said Starbucks had self-reported its non-compliance almost three years ago after it became aware it had underpaid staff during a review of its payroll systems.
The majority of underpayments were due to the company failing to pay part-time staff the over-time pay they were entitled to under the award, the Ombudsman said.
Starbucks became aware it had underpaid staff during a payroll systems review. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters
Updated at 00.34 EDT
[Continued from our prior post]
On Dutton’s claim made in his opinon article published in the Daily Telegraph today that: “A Voice will not deliver the change and improvements we all desire. The Voice will be more Canberra bureaucracy.”
Uluru Dialogure responded in a statement:
When we asked Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through our Dialogues what changes they wanted to improve their lives, they were emphatic: no more Canberra bureaucracy. The Voice is supported by more than 80 per cent of First Nations Peoples precisely because it delivers what they have asked for: the ability to give direct advice to government on the matters affecting their communities.
On Dutton’s claim that: ““The fact that our best legal minds remain divided on the Voice shows that this constitutional change is risky.”
Uluru Dialogure responded:
There is almost no division in the legal profession. In fact, Australia’s ‘best legal minds’ – our most reputable legal experts including the Law Council of Australia, public law academics, major law firms, barristers and former High Court judges – have repeatedly stated the Voice poses no legal threat.
On Dutton’s claim that the Voice: “will drive us apart, not bring us together. Voting “No” is not to turn our backs on disadvantaged Indigenous Australians.”
Uluru Dialogure responded:
What is driving Australians apart is the relentless flow of misinformation and lies, as demonstrated here by the Opposition Leader. What is driving us apart are the campaign tactics that the No campaign are on the record as using; that is, by stoking fear and confusion when they speak to Australians. By his own actions, by refusing to listen to the voices of First Nations people, Mr Dutton is already turning his back on us.
Uluru statement’s architects call out Peter Dutton’s ‘deception’ on voice
The Uluru Dialogue, who are architects of the Uluru statement from the heart, have called out Peter Dutton for spreading “misinformation” and “deception” on the Indigenous voice to parliament in an op-ed he wrote that was published in the Daily Telegraph today.
In a statement, the Uluru Dialogue said Dutton’s opinion article “demonstrates a level of ignorance and misinformation that is alarming in a man who is seeking to be the prime minister of our country”.
In the statement, the group fact-checked the claims made by Dutton in the op-ed.
On Dutton’s claim that “a voice would be the most consequential change to our system in history. There is no similar constitutional body anywhere in the world – and there is nothing ‘modest’ about the proposed change before us,” the Uluru Dialogue responded:
The 93 new words proposed for the Constitution make it absolutely clear: “The Voice may make representations to Parliament and the Executive Government”. The Parliament is free to ignore those representations. There are similar structures set up around the world, and indeed in Australia at state and local government levels, to give voice to First Nations Peoples.
Uluru Dialogue leader Megan Davis, right, at a community forum in Melbourne on Monday. Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP
On Dutton’s claim made in the op-ed: ““Because we are all Australians, we are treated equally under the law. A Voice will change this fundamental democratic principle.”
The Uluru Dialogue responded:
Contrary to his claim here, our founding fathers actually recognised that inequities exist in any society and that we can use our laws to address them; that is why the Constitution established a Senate in which Tasmania has as many Senators as New South Wales, despite having far fewer people. The founders actually recognised the importance of giving Tasmanians a “voice” through representation, that might otherwise be drowned out by the larger states. The Constitution also contains a races power. All Australians are not treated equally.
The Constitution has always divided by race, to the detriment of our people. A Voice corrects this.
Updated at 00.37 EDT
Labor to stockpile new deployable disaster shelters
The federal government is investing in a stockpile of emergency shelters that can be deployed around the country when disaster strikes, AAP reports.
Emergency managers detailed the new national asset during a briefing on Friday about the severe weather that’s looming for Australia, as hot and dry conditions return and increase the risk of bushfires and heatwaves.
Joe Buffone, from the National Emergency Management Agency, said it would be a complete, turnkey solution for disaster-hit communities.
As well, the shelters could be used when emergency services personnel have to deploy in large numbers to aid disaster recovery efforts.
Buffone said:
This is a specific capability that the commonwealth will own, store and deploy at the request of a state or territory.
Updated at 00.07 EDT
Family of WA police officer who fell off Croatia cliff says she will return home soon
The family of Ella Cutler, 26, who suffered severe injuries when she fell 10m from a clifftop while on holiday in Croatia, in late August has released a statement:
There are a number of medical and logistical factors which need to line up before Ella can fly home to WA. We are hopeful this will be sooner rather than later and we are optimistic it will be days, not weeks. What we do know is that Ella’s return home is now possible because of the support she received from her blue family and the WA community.
From Ella and the Cutler family, we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
More on this story below:
Updated at 23.53 EDT
MC Hammer supports voice
Legendary rapper and musician MC Hammer has emerged as the latest prominent figure to lend their support to the Voice.
The American rapper took to X, formerly Twitter, to say he had read up on the issue and believed it was time to “repair the breach”.
I had to get up to speed. I read this article below. I’m with you. Australia it’s time. Repair the breach. #Yes2023
Australia has no treaty with its Indigenous people, and has done little in comparison to other British dominions like Canada, New Zealand and the United States to include and uplift its First Nations people.
‘Repair the breach’: MC Hammer. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock/Alamy
He continued, quoting Dr Megan Davis and the important precedent the voice would set:
Finally, he went on to share multiple videos, including one from Guardian Australia featuring Sarah Collard:
Updated at 23.41 EDT
Advice on potential charges over William Tyrrell disappearance to be given to NSW police soon, coroner told
Advice from prosecutors regarding possible charges over the 2014 disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrrell will be given to New South Wales police in the coming months, a coroner has heard.
A coroner heard on Friday that police are seeking the advice from the office of the director of public prosecutions about the case, with that opinion due to be delivered by the end of January.
Earlier this year multiple media outlets reported that police had recommended the foster mother be prosecuted over William’s 2014 disappearance as investigators believed she might have disposed of his body.
But lawyers for the woman again called on police to release any evidence they suggested would form the basis of criminal proceedings against her.
“We are midway through the inquest and William remains missing and his case unsolved,” lawyer Rylie Hahn-Hamilton said outside the inquest.
“William’s foster mother maintains she had nothing to do with his disappearance and asks the police to continue … looking for William and what happened to him.”
Updated at 23.17 EDT
Chicken workers strike at Inghams
Workers have gone on strike over claims of paltry pay at poultry producer Inghams, raising fears of a shortage of cheap chooks at the checkout, AAP reports.
More than 1,000 Australian Workers’ Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union members stopped work for 24 hours at the company’s Bolivar site in South Australia and at Osborne Park in Western Australia on Friday in pursuit of a 6% per annum pay rise over three years.
Inghams produces about 40% of Australia’s chickens and supplies brands such as McDonald’s, KFC and Woolworths.
E&P Capital retail analyst Phillip Kimber said in a note to investors:
Given a live supply chain, prolonged industrial action would be quite disruptive and begin to impact Inghams’ ability to supply chickens to its customers.
Kimber expects the parties to reach a compromise, with annual pay rises falling somewhere between the union’s claims and management’s offer of between 3.45% and 3.9% a year.
Updated at 23.02 EDT
Dancing on the edge: ‘waltz’ delivers rare chicks
Some bird-related news for you below from AAP, and also a reminder from us that our polls for Bird of the Year open on Monday.
The birth of four fluffy plains-wanderer chicks has provided a much-needed boost for the critically endangered species, whose numbers have dropped by 85% over the past two decades.
The golden-coated babies hatched at Werribee Open Range Zoo earlier this month and have joined its specialised threatened species program in a bid to save the birds from extinction.
The zoo says they are known for their quirky behaviour and are genetically distinct from any other species on the planet. The babies weigh 5-6g each and were born following a romantic encounter between their parents, described by zookeepers as a waltz.
There are now 20 plains-wanderers living at the zoo and they will eventually be released into areas with habitat management strategies.
Updated at 23.10 EDT
Kamahl switches to yes vote in voice referendum
Australian singer Kamahl, who had been vocal about voting no in the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament, has said that after “sleepless nights weighing the pros and cons” that he will now be voting yes.
In a video statement supplied to news.com.au, Kamahl said he had changed his mind after speaking one on one with comedian Dane Simpson and constitutional lawyer Eddie Synot.
Kamahl said:
They have convinced me otherwise. And I’m delighted that I’ve changed my no.
Kamahl says he will now be voting yes for the Indigenous voice. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian
Updated at 22.58 EDT
New Qantas chief apologises for ‘letting down’ customers
Qantas’s new CEO, Vanessa Hudson, has issued an apology to customers, saying: “I know that we have let you down in many ways.”
In a video statement released today, Hudson said:
We haven’t delivered the way we should have. And we’ve often been hard to deal with. We understand why you’re frustrated, and why some of you have lost trust in us.
I know that our people have tried their absolute best under very difficult circumstances. I want you to know that we’re determined to fix it to improve the experience for you and to support our people better. We want to get back to the national carrier that Australians can be proud of. That’s known for going above and beyond. We understand we need to earn your trust back, not with what we say but what we do and how we behave.
This is going to take time and I asked for your patience. The work is already under way. We’re putting more people in our call centres to help solve problems faster. We’re adding more frequent flyer seats. We’re reviewing all of our customer policies to make sure they’re fair.
And we’re giving our frontline teams more flexibility to better help you when things don’t go to plan. That’s only the start.
This has been a humbling period, but through it, I share the pride and passion that I know our people have for Qantas and this gives me the confidence that we will rebuild your trust. Thank you for your support.
New Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has told customers the airline needs ‘to earn your trust back’. Photograph: Russell Freeman/AAP
Updated at 22.26 EDT
Australia wants ‘just and enduring two-state solution’, Wong tells Israeli minister
Foreign minister Penny Wong has held a “very positive, constructive meeting” with her Israeli counterpart after Australia’s position returned to referencing “occupied Palestinian territories”.
The government is strengthening its opposition to settlements, affirming them as illegal under international law.
Speaking from New York on Friday, Senator Wong described her meeting with Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen as “very positive” and “constructive”:
Obviously, I reiterated Australia’s friendship with Israel, I reiterated our longstanding position that we wish to see a just and enduring two-state solution.
We believe that’s in the interests of both Israeli and Palestinian peoples.
Updated at 22.05 EDT
Swimming Australia silent on Indigenous voice after other sports declare support
With three weeks to go before the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament, Swimming Australia remains the most prominent sporting organisation not to explicitly give its support, claiming it is unable to speak on behalf of its state-based member organisations.
In May, sporting heavyweights such as the AFL, NRL and Football Australia issued a joint statement in support of the Indigenous voice to parliament in a group of more than 20 athletic entities and alongside smaller national sporting organisations (NSOs) for taekwondo, badminton and triathlon.
Since then other sporting bodies such as Athletics Australia and Basketball Australia have also issued statements of support.
More on this story here:
Updated at 21.56 EDT
Covid test-logging axed in NSW as state weighs up virus costs
More pandemic-era measures could be rolled back in NSW after the state government moved to scrap a system that allowed people to register positive tests, AAP reports.
Residents will no longer be able to log rapid antigen test results via the ServiceNSW app in a change the state health minister says will save up to $12m over the next four years.
When the tests were approved for use in 2021, people in NSW were required to register positive results but the system was made voluntary in October 2022.
Health minister Ryan Park said the decision to axe the service was part of “a return to normal” in how authorities dealt with Covid-19.
He said he was working with health officials to go “line by line” through any remaining pandemic-era measures to see if they were still needed, in order to funnel more money back into frontline services.
A rapid antigen test (RAT) showing a negative result. Photograph: Darren England/AAP
Updated at 22.06 EDT
Invermay gas leak now contained
An update on the gas leak in the Launceston suburb of Invermay, which led authorities to advise nearby residents to evacuate.
Authorities say the leak has now been contained and the area made safe.
What does Lachlan Murdoch’s elevation mean for News Corp in Australia?
My colleague, Amanda Meade, has some analysis on what to expect. She writes the future of the Australian, which Rupert Murdoch launched in 1964, is less assured under Lachlan who is arguably less wedded to the paper than his father.
Read it here: