Australia news live: new Qantas boss apologises to customers; MC Hammer and Kamahl back voice

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Thank you for tuning in. I’ll now hand you over to my colleague Tory Shepherd for the next little while.

Flights inquiry a ‘farce’, Labor senator says

The Senate inquiry into the cost and settings of the airline industry is on its second day but as we mentioned earlier, it hasn’t been without its teething issues.

The Coalition-majority committee is over in Perth today, where it was initially hoped Qantas chair Richard Goyder would appear in person.

That has not happened, and instead only a few witnesses are appearing in person while others, such as competition watchdog ACCC and the heads of Canberra, Darwin and Adelaide’s airports, have appeared via video link.

The situation prompted a grumpy response this morning from Labor senator Tony Sheldon, who described the whole inquiry as a “farce”:

This hearing has been a farce from the beginning. In [my] four years as a senator, I have never had to make a statement like this before. Government senators on the committee were not allowed to see, or receive, verbal advice on updates on the program until yesterday, which is unprecedented.

Most of the West Australian witnesses invited did not want to appear on the inquiry, and for good reason. So now the taxpayer has forked out money to fly everyone in this room across the country to hear from two, just two, local witnesses in person. Now the rest of today’s hearing will be conducted over the phone. Ironically, this hearing has probably made Qantas quite a lot of money at the taxpayer expense.

Liberal senator Dean Smith hit back at the Labor senator, defending the committee’s decision to head to Western Australia:

It is important for a variety of reasons that the community come to Western Australia. It’s disappointing that senator Sheldon might find it a chore to travel across the continent, but it gives him a bit of a glimpse into the importance of the aviation industry.

Updated at 01.08 EDT

Insecticide to blame for hundreds of dead crayfish in Blue Mountains creek, EPA says

An insecticide was the cause of a major crayfish kill in the Blue Mountains last month, the New South Wales environmental regulator has confirmed.

About 1,000 dead and dying giant spiny crayfish were found in a tributary of Hazelbrook Creek, near Horseshoe Falls, by a tour guide.

The creek drains a subcatchment adjacent to a mostly residential area of the town of Hazelbrook and the Environment Protection Authority said at the time the cause of the deaths was likely a pollution incident.

Crayfish among the hundreds found dead in Hazelbrook Creek, west of Sydney, last month. Photograph: BMCC

The regulator said on Friday that initial lab testing had found the insecticide bifenthrin in water, sediment and crayfish samples collected from the affected creek.

Bifenthrin is commonly used for general pest control, such as for termites, spiders, ants and cockroaches, and is highly toxic to crayfish and other aquatic organisms.

More on this story here:

Updated at 00.59 EDT

Man held after allegedly starting up to 80 fires across NT

A man has been arrested after allegedly lighting as many as 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 00.46 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 overtime pay they were entitled to under the award, the ombudsman said.

Starbucks found it had underpaid staff during a payroll systems review. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

Updated at 00.53 EDT

[Continued from our prior post]

Dutton’s claimed in his opinion 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.”

The Uluru Dialogue’s response to that claim in its statement said:

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% 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”, the 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”, the Uluru Dialogue 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.

Updated at 00.51 EDT

Uluru statement’s architects accuse Dutton of ‘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. Photograph: Mark Brake/AAP

On Dutton’s claim made in the op-ed that “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 01.37 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