Virgin lifts air fares and cuts capacity
Jonathan Barrett
Virgin Australia has lifted air fares and reducing flights to offset the high costs of jet fuel caused by the Middle East conflict, the company announced this morning.
The airline’s response to the oil crisis is similar to changes announced by Qantas yesterday, although Virgin has a smaller network and its capacity is only reducing by 1% over the coming months.
Its fuel costs are expected to increase by between $30m and $40m in the second half of the financial year, compared with previous forecasts.
Virgin says it adjusted air fares and capacity to “offset the impact from increased fuel and other operating costs”.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/ReutersShare
Updated at 21.14 EDT
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Josh Taylor
Telstra legal chief, consumer group fire off letters over triple zero survey
The Australian Communication Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) earned the ire of Telstra and the telco network industry group last month when it released the findings of an Essential survey reporting that “1 in 10 Australians (10%) reported that they or a member of their family were unable to reach triple zero from a mobile phone in the last 12 months due to a mobile outage.”
In letters tabled in the Senate inquiry into the triple zero outage overnight, Telstra’s group general counsel, Lyndall Stoyles requested ACCAN chief executive Carol Bennett remove the media release, cease claiming that “10% unable to connect” and publish a corrective statement.
In her letter, Stoyles noted that 97% of triple zero calls are answered within five seconds, with 98% answered within 10 seconds. If referring to mobile network outages, Telstra said ACCAN’s figure would mean at least 6m calls were failing per day:
double quotation markWe are disappointed you would mislead consumers in this manner.
The press release is still up, and Bennett replied to Stoyles the figures do not represent extrapolated figures, and Telstra was misrepresenting ACCAN’s comments.
“In the release we make clear that the 10% figure represents the ‘level of concern’,” Bennett said.
The Australian Telecommunications Alliance chief executive Luke Coleman accused ACCAN of being “more interested in scoring cheap points in the media” than being part of the solution, and rejected Bennett’s suggestion that Coleman’s criticism of the release was “shooting the messenger” in a letter tabled in the Senate inquiry.
The inquiry into triple zero has delayed its reported to the end of June.
Israeli ambassador says country feels sorrow at death of Australian aid worker, but says blame for her death ‘complex’
Hillel Newman, Israel’s ambassadors to Australia, said the country has “deep sorrow” over the death of Zomi Frankcom, an Australian aid worker killed in a humanitarian convoy in Gaza in 2024, but would not condemn the attack until a full investigation is complete.
Newman spoke to RN breakfast earlier this morning, saying the issue remained “complex”.
double quotation markThe complex issue here is that, first of all, Zomi, we’re sorry about Zomi and the family, but Zomi was in a convoy from which there were shots, they were shooting against Israel.
It brings a complexity to the judicial process. Because you have soldiers who were shot upon and they responded. So you can’t always give punity to such soldiers. Therefore, it’s under very prudent research.
Newman added:
double quotation markWe express deep sorrow for the family, but you must understand that while we [are] still checking this issue, there’s a problem in implicating the soldiers themselves until we know exactly what happened and what the findings of the investigation are.
Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom. Photograph: World Central Kitchen/WCK.org/PAShare
Updated at 21.54 EDT
Victoria’s election donations laws are unconstitutional, high court rules
Benita Kolovos
The high court has ruled that Victoria’s election donations laws are unconstitutional.
The case was brought by Paul Hopper and Melissa Lowe, two independent candidates who contested the 2022 state election. They had argued the major parties’ exemption to electoral laws – that allowed them to access unlimited funds via their “nominated entities” – was a breach of the constitution’s implied freedom of political communication.
This morning, all seven judges of the court agreed the section of the electoral act “impermissibly burdens” freedom of political communication.
Hopper and Lowe said:
double quotation markThis is a victory for all Victorian voters and for the quality of our democracy, ensuring a more level playing field so that they are more likely to have the representative in parliament that they would prefer.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, said the government would need time to consider the decision:
double quotation markThe decision has just been handed down, whilst we’ve be addressing you here today, so it would not be appropriate for me to comment.
Updated at 21.54 EDT
Taylor followed up that line noting there won’t be discrimination based on country by saying:
double quotation markWe don’t want people coming to this country who are a threat to our country.
We saw over 1,000 people coming from Gaza recently, many on tourist visas. And there are serious questions about whether some of those people don’t believe in what we believe in as a country. Were they screened? Well, these are questions for the government.
All Palestinians granted Australian visas have undergone standard security checks, the federal government has confirmed.
Updated at 21.45 EDT
Taylor is sticking with his discrimination line from yesterday, which an interviewer noted at the time would be one of the key lines from his announcement.
He said just now of his immigration plans:
double quotation markIt will be a discriminatory policy, but based on values. We won’t discriminate based on race or religion or country.
Taylor says Australia should do ‘whatever’ it can to support opening of strait of Hormuz
Taylor added:
double quotation markAustralia should be providing whatever support we reasonably can to get the strait of Hormuz opened up. … And we want it done as quickly as possible as that will put downward pressure on the bowser for all Australians.
Taylor says Labor government ‘has not got control of the economy’
Angus Taylor, the opposition leader, is holding a press conference in Brisbane. He’s speaking about his immigration plans, announced yesterday, saying the country needs more from the government on housing and migration.
He said today’s report from the IMF on the risk of a global recession was troubling:
double quotation markWe see reports out today about what the economy might look like in the coming years, and it tells us what we already knew. Inflation is out of control. Interest rates are going up, not down.
This is a government that is has not got control of the economy.
Taylor added the upcoming budget needs to be responsible to deal with inflation.
Read more here:
Updated at 21.28 EDT
Benita Kolovos
Victoria premier says new cabinet has ‘tremendous energy’
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is holding a press conference after her cabinet reshuffle. She said the “new team” has “tremendous energy and a singular focus on driving new solutions”. She went on:
double quotation markWe are united in that purpose of making life easier for Victorians and working people, making our community safer, and also to making things more affordable for working people and Victorian families.
Paul Edbrooke, who was elevated to cabinet yesterday, was also handed the new portfolio of men and boys. He says as a former educator he’s seen a “definite change in how young boys become men,”:
double quotation markThis portfolio is firmly focused on how we make young boys into healthier men, and that has so many repercussions across our whole community, whether it be family violence, whether it be suicide rates, there’s a lot of work to be done there, and I look forward to that opportunity.
Allan added:
double quotation markFor a long time, we’ve had a minister for women sitting around the cabinet table, recognisingthat women needed not just equal representation, but there were some structural changes that needed to be broken through to give women a greater equality of opportunity.
We now need to take an approach with men and boys … we cannot deny that there has been societal change with the way we support young boys to become good, strong men, and there are some real challenges and pressures that men and boys are facing today that weren’t there five or 10 years ago.
ShareVictorian premier unveils her new cabinetBenita Kolovos
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is about to hold a press conference after the swearing-in of her new cabinet at Government House in Melbourne this morning.
Among those receiving promotions are several of Allan’s most loyal ministers, including Harriet Shing, who will become the new health and ambulance services minister and return to the water portfolio, Nick Staikos, who takes on housing, building and the Suburban Rail Loop and attorney general and minister for planning, Sonya Kilkenny, who adds finance to her already hefty responsibilities.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Ingrid Stitt gains government services and “special minister of state” – a role absent from the ministry for some time – while Ros Spence takes on roads and road safety and First Peoples. Gabrielle Williams adds the role of minister for “women and girls” – a portfolio that used to be named just minister for women.
Enver Erdogan gains the environment and outdoor recreation portfolios, and Natalie Suleyman gains tourism – the three are Steve Dimopoulos’ former responsibilities. Dimopoulos gets economic growth and jobs.
The four new cabinet entrants were also handed their portfolios, with Paul Edbrooke given consumer affairs as well as three new portoflios – renters, cost of living and “men and boys”. Luba Grigorovitch takes on youth, carers and volunteers, Paul Hamer gets local government, youth justice and corrections and Michaela Settle, regional development and agriculture.
The reshuffle followed Monday’s announcement by ministers Mary-Anne Thomas, Danny Pearson and Gayle Tierney that they would not recontest at the November election and would immediately step down from cabinet. They joined Natalie Hutchins, who moved to the backbench in December.
Updated at 20.33 EDT
Cait Kelly
The non-royal visit continues, with Prince Harry speaking about mental health
At the home of the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne’s west the non-royal visit continues this morning.
Prince Harry has been speaking at the Movember launch of the report More Than a Provider – a look at mental health of new fathers.
Prince Harry takes part in a Q&A session during a visit to Movember at the Western Bulldogs headquarters. Photograph: Getty Images
The prince, who has been open about seeing a therapist, has talked about how important it was for him to do therapy before he became a father.
double quotation markI knew I had stuff from the past I had to deal with.
Harry said he needed “to cleanse” himself from his past before he became a dad.
double quotation markFor so many years it’s been deemed as a weakness to put your hand up and ask for help.
The more grief I get, the more I want to stand up and talk about it. I know if I go quiet, what does that say to everyone else?
Updated at 20.10 EDT
Virgin lifts air fares and cuts capacityJonathan Barrett
Virgin Australia has lifted air fares and reducing flights to offset the high costs of jet fuel caused by the Middle East conflict, the company announced this morning.
The airline’s response to the oil crisis is similar to changes announced by Qantas yesterday, although Virgin has a smaller network and its capacity is only reducing by 1% over the coming months.
Its fuel costs are expected to increase by between $30m and $40m in the second half of the financial year, compared with previous forecasts.
Virgin says it adjusted air fares and capacity to “offset the impact from increased fuel and other operating costs”.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/ReutersShare
Updated at 21.14 EDT
Tom McIlroy
Anthony Albanese in Brunei on fuel diplomacy mission
Anthony Albanese has laid a wreath in honour of Australian soldiers who died liberating much of Brunei and then-British Borneo from the Japanese at the end of the second world war.
After arriving last night, Albanese said it was a great honour to pay his respects to the 127 Australians who died in the area during Operation Oboe in 1945.
The PM and Pehin Halbi, the country’s second minister of defence and minister at the prime minister’s office, laid a wreath at the monument, accompanied by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong.
Brunei’s minister of culture, Dato Nazmi (left), and Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, lay wreaths. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/EPA
In 1945, Australians landed at Muara Beach, now the site of the memorial, in the dying months of the second world war.
They then moved inland, freeing Brunei’s oilfields, rubber plantations and production facilities. After the military action, they worked with locals and allies to restart production at Brunei’s oilfields, allowing the country to resume oil trade in March 1946.
“The efforts that Australian servicemen made during world war two, the incredible sacrifice … we’re here paying our respects,” Albanese said.
Updated at 19.26 EDT
Josh Taylor
Latitude to engage independent expert on spam processes
Earlier in the blog, we reported that Latitude Financial had paid a nearly $4m fine over spam law breaches related to text messaging to customers.
A spokesperson for Latitude said the company had immediately reported the matter to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) after becoming aware it had sent potentially noncompliant SMS messages, and immediately strengthened its spam compliance processes.
The spokesperson said:
double quotation markAs part of the enforceable undertaking, Latitude will engage an independent expert to confirm that its strengthened spam processes are operating compliantly.
Updated at 19.06 EDT
NSW pharmacists will be able to prescribe the pill directly to women over 18
The NSW government will invest $4.5m to make it easier for women to access the pill, allowing pharmacists to prescribe it directly to those over 18 without a GP visit.
The reform, the government says, will take pressure off GPs and give women faster, easier access to care. The government will pay for the first 5,000 consultations with a trained pharmacist, but once that service is exhausted, women should only expect to pay between $20 to $60.
To date, 773 pharmacies are registered to provide the resupply service in NSW. The premier, Chris Minns, said in a statement:
double quotation markThis is basic healthcare for millions of Australian women – and this is about making it easier to get that care, without extra cost or hassle.
Just because something’s always been done a certain way, it doesn’t mean it’s the best way to keep doing it – it’s not working for busy women to access a doctor to get a script.
Victoria unveiled a similar program last month, which will begin in July.
Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty ImagesShare
Jordyn Beazley
Man charged over alleged sexual assault on international flight to Perth
A man has been charged in Western Australia after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman seated next to him on an international flight.
The Australian federal police said police met the man upon the plane’s arrival in Perth and later charged him with one count of sexual intercourse without consent and three counts of an act of indecency without consent.
The woman reported the alleged assault to airline staff, who moved her to another seat and reported it to police.
The AFP acting Supt Peter Brindal said:
double quotation markEvery passenger has the right to feel safe when travelling, especially when confined in an aircraft close to other passengers.
No act of indecency on an aircraft or at an airport is appropriate, and any travellers who break the law will be dealt with swiftly.
The man, who is an Indian national, appeared before Perth magistrates court yesterday.
Updated at 18.34 EDT
Some context on the scale of travellers to and visa holders in Australia
For a bit of context about the scale of monitoring incoming travellers’ social media accounts:
Abul Rizvi, the former deputy immigrations secretary, suggests there are about 500,000 visa applications per month into Australia that need to be processed, about 3 million temporary entrants, and about 4 million permanent residents.
“So, are we going to use this taskforce to analyse the social media of all of those people to identify whether they are in breach of Australian values?” Rizvi questioned on RN earlier.
Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP
Jonno Duniam responded to criticisms of the scale of monitoring all those people by saying a Coalition government would “triage efforts” based on where people came from.
Some countries would have a lower bar, while others would face more scrutiny, he told RN:
double quotation markThere are certain jurisdictions, like we’ve talked about, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, for example, where perhaps because of the nature of society in those countries, there is a lower risk.
There would still be an assessment, but it would be a different one to countries where, for example, they do not share our approach to democracy, rule of law.
Updated at 18.20 EDT
Chalmers says Taylor’s immigration plans ‘pretty strange’
Back to Chalmers, who said earlier Angus Taylor’s immigration speech yesterday was a “pretty strange and pretty disappointing” contribution.
double quotation markI think what he’s doing is he’s plagiarising the politics and the rhetoric of other countries and another time.
A lot of the rhetoric he uses, and the divisive politics that he is trying to play, we’ve seen in other parts of the world. And in Australia we should be taking the right decision for the right reasons.
Chalmers added that, to him, it seemed Taylor was playing internal politics with three rightwing parties, rather than reflecting the will of Australians.
Updated at 18.06 EDT
Duniam says Coalition’s immigration plans not about stopping people from ‘expressing an opinion’
Jonno Duniam, the shadow minister for home affairs, is speaking to RN now about the Coalition’s immigration plans. He said:
double quotation markThis is not about stopping people from expressing an opinion. There are people who hold certain views and values, aligned with faith, political views and the like.
But when you start inciting hatred, inciting political or communal violence, inciting harm, those sorts of things … They’re the kinds of things that would trigger what we’re talking about here.
Duniam said the target of the hardline policy would be those who are preaching hatred, or in Australia to “cause harm and undermine our way of life”.
Shadow home affairs minister Jonno Duniam (left) and opposition leader Angus Taylor (right). Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 18.20 EDT
Budget plans have ‘obviously’ changed due to Middle East war, but still ambitious
Chalmers said the budget, coming next month, will still be ambitious but had “obviously” changed in the wake of the ongoing war. He told RN:
double quotation markIt will be a responsible budget. There will be savings in the budget, to get the budget into better position, including, to put in a position to be able to respond, if we see some of these more serious scenarios, play out.
Obviously, the budget that we contemplated in February won’t be identical to the budget that I hand down on the 12th of May, but it will still be ambitious.
Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPAShare
Updated at 17.48 EDT