Airports back ACCC’s legal action against Qantas; four killed in Victoria crash; and Mitch McConnell freezes again
Qantas #Qantas
Good afternoon. Qantas is again in the spotlight after the ACCC announced it was taking legal action against the airline, alleging it has engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct.
The consumer watchdog alleges Qantas advertised and sold tickets for more than 8,000 flights that it had already cancelled in its system. The ACCC chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said it would seek a penalty that “sets a deterrence”. The move was backed by the nation’s airports, who said the ACCC’s investigation “confirms what many have been raising for some time”.
Qantas said it was treating the allegations seriously.
Top newsJosh Murray, whose appointment as Transport for NSW secretary is under scrutiny after it was revealed minister Jo Haylen’s office intervened in the recruitment process. Photograph: Flavio Brancaleone/AAP
Former Labor staffer donated to party before getting plum job | Josh Murray has revealed that he and his wife made $1,450 worth of donations to the party before he was hand-picked by the New South Wales transport minister, Jo Haylen, to lead her department. Haylen has come under fire after it was revealed her office intervened in the recruitment process to have Murray added to the shortlist of candidates and eventually picked for the $588,250-a-year transport secretary role.
Four killed in Victoria crash | All four people inside a sedan have died after their vehicle collided with a truck in the state’s north-east. The 30-year-old driver of the B-double truck suffered non-life-threatening injuries and has been taken to hospital.
Harvey Norman, Australia’s biggest home retailer, has posted a full-year net profit figure more than $200m lower than its previous year. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP
Harvey Norman profits plunge | The pandemic splurge on household goods is over, with Australia’s biggest home retailer disclosing a sharp slide in sales and fall in profits. The company, which also owns Domayne and Joyce Mayne, posted a full-year underlying net profit of $471.9m, down from $673.5m the previous year. Harvey Norman blamed high inflation, rising living costs and discounting for its decline in sales.
Australia Post records $200m loss | It’s the post’s first loss since 2015 and just its second since it became a self-funded government business enterprise in 1989. “Further losses are expected unless Australia Post can secure the necessary support required to modernise its business,” it said in a statement.
Four years after her murder by ex-boyfriend James Hachem, Samah Baker’s remains have been found in Goulburn. Photograph: NSW police/PR image
Remains of murdered Sydney woman found | Partial human remains found in grassland near the Hume Highway on the southern outskirts of Goulburn have been identified as belonging to Sydney woman Samah Baker, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend more than four years ago. James Hachem, 37, is serving a minimum 18-year prison term for the murder.
Virginia Trioli to leave ABC Radio Melbourne | … for a new TV arts show. The dual Walkley award winner said two decades of very early shifts on TV and radio had taken their toll, and “life circumstances require me to work and live differently now”.
US Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell had a similar but shorter incident, also while talking to reporters, several weeks ago. Photograph: AP
Mitch McConnell freezes again | The 81-year-old Republican senator experienced another public health scare when he appeared to freeze for more than 30 seconds while speaking to reporters in his home state, Kentucky. Watch the video.
Soldiers hospitalised in second NT military accident | A group of Australian and East Timorese soldiers were injured after their armoured vehicle rolled during a military exercise in Darwin, just days after an aircraft crash killed three US marines. Some were taken to hospital in serious but stable conditions.
Emergency services say they expect the death toll from a multi-storey fire in Johannesburg to rise, with at least 52 dead and 43 injured. Photograph: Shiraaz Mohamed/Reuters
Dozens killed in South Africa fire | At least 52 people have died in a fire in a multi-storey building in Johannesburg, with a toddler among those killed. Authorities expect the death toll to rise.
Bee escape in Canada | Motorists near Toronto were advised to keep their windows shut after a truck spilled crates carrying 5 million bees on to a road. It was “quite the scene”, Constable Ryan Anderson told CBC News. “Crates were literally on the road and swarms of bees were flying around … The initial beekeeper that was on scene was apparently stung a few times.”
In pictures Illustration: Fiona Katauskas/The Guardian
Still making your choice on the voice? It helps to know what you might be saying no to, says cartoonist Fiona Katauskas.
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What they said … Photograph: Darren England/AAP
“As a collective of expert organisations, we are outraged that the Queensland Government has failed to implement advice and expertise on alternatives to incarceration, community-led approaches that support children and their families, and have opted instead to suspend its own Human Rights Act and violate international laws to continue to punish and criminalise Queensland children.” – An open letter from human rights advocates
More than 180 lawyers, human rights advocates and First Nations organisations signed the letter, condemning the state government for twice passing laws to override the Queensland Human Rights Act in just six months.
In numbers Illustration: Guardian DesignBefore bed read Photograph: The Guardian
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are a national disgrace, writes Greg Jericho.
“In the 12 months to March, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions were higher than they were at the end of last year, and even higher than they were at the end of 2021.”
Daily word game Photograph: The Guardian
Today’s starter word is: ERNE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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