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An interim report from the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide is expected to focus on the large backlog of compensation claims but veterans’ families say that is only part of the complex problem.
Commissioners Nick Kaldas, James Douglas QC, and Dr Peggy Brown will hand the interim report to Governor-General David Hurley on Thursday morning.
Nick Kaldas, chair of the royal commission into Defence and veteran suicides, will publish an interim report on Thursday.
Broad themes that have come out of hearings around the country include the problems with the large backlog of claims the Department of Veterans Affairs is dealing with and the numerous recommendations from previous inquiries that have not been acted on.
Former veterans minister Andrew Gee told the royal commission there was a clear link between the backlog of claims and suicide rates within the defence community.
He said despite the limited staffing for claims processing, he was made to cut $430 million from the department’s budget.
Renee Wilson, chief executive of Australian War Widows NSW, said the issues around suicide were incredibly complex, and the royal commission offered a real opportunity to look at all aspects.
“The claims backlog is only one part of the problem of Defence and veteran suicides,” she said on Wednesday.
“For us, it really comes down to the fact that the veterans system is outdated. It no longer meets the needs of those that it was set up to support.”
Read more here.
It turns out that Italians don’t necessarily like pineapple on their pizza, after all. Or at least not enough to keep nearly three dozen Domino’s Pizza franchises afloat.
Last month, the Italian outlets of the American pizza conglomerate extinguished their pizza ovens, unable to win over picky palates in the place where pizza was invented.
A “for sale” banner outside a closed down Domino’s Pizza store in Rome.Credit:Bloomberg
Although the company’s Italian website remained live, outlets in Turin, Parma, Rome and elsewhere offered the same discouraging message: “Sun. to Sat. CLOSED.” Domino’s international map was more up to date. It listed 90 international markets, but Italy was not among them.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday and court documents show that Domino’s Italian franchise had “sought protection from creditors” earlier this year “after running out of cash and falling behind on its debt obligations.”
Bloomberg said the company had €10.6 million ($15.6 million) of debt at the end of 2020.
The closure ended an ambitious business venture that had aimed to tantalise Italians looking to try something new, like a cheeseburger pizza or BBQ chicken pizza.
Domino’s Pizza Italia opened its first outlet in Milan in 2015, via a franchising agreement with a local company, ePizza.
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Singapore: China’s state council has proposed imposing Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” policy on Taiwan and said it would not renounce the use of force to take the island.
The proposals, contained within the first state council white paper on Taiwan in two decades, reveal Beijing’s long-term plans for the democratic island which it has vowed to unify with China.
Taiwanese soldiers salute during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei in October. Credit:AP
Describing “one country, two systems” as reflecting the Chinese wisdom of “inclusiveness and tolerance”, China’s state council said that after unification, Taiwan would be allowed to implement a social system that was different from that of the mainland and “continue to operate under a high degree of autonomy”.
The same commitment was made to Hong Kong in 1997 but the semi-autonomous region has since had dozens of pro-democracy leaders thrown in jail, newspapers shut down, and patriotic education enforced through national security laws.
The state council said peaceful unification would allow Taiwan to integrate into China’s economic and social development but warned that resistance could cause it to be taken by force. Taiwan has vowed to remain separate from China, a position endorsed by the vast majority of its citizens.
Read more here.
It has been almost two years since Kevin Rudd uploaded a video to his social media channels calling Rupert Murdoch an “arrogant cancer on our democracy” and invited Australians to sign his petition for a royal commission into media diversity.
It gathered half a million signatures, including that of former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, and triggered a year-long Senate committee inquiry that concentrated its focus on the influence of Murdoch’s News Corp empire.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd holds up the Daily Telegraph during his address to the National Press Club of Australia in March 2021, where he railed against the power of News Corp.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Controversially, the committee delivered on Rudd’s call in November, with Labor senators teaming up with the Greens to recommend the government initiate a judicial inquiry with “the powers of a royal commission” to investigate media concentration.
But Labor’s senior ranks moved almost immediately to snuff out any momentum.
First in opposition and then in government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland made it clear they had no interest in taking up the cause, repeatedly ruling out a royal commission into the Murdoch press or the Australian media landscape more broadly.
This obvious brick wall has not deterred Rudd, nor the organisation he chairs, Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission (AFMRC), which was set up last year to continue the lobbying efforts.
Read more here.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has revealed a confidential resignation letter from the NSW building commissioner has been referred to the state’s independent corruption watchdog.
David Chandler resigned abruptly last month, prompting speculation over the circumstances of his departure amid scrutiny over the conduct of recently dumped minister Eleni Petinos, to whom he reported.
Former NSW fair trading minister Eleni Petinos, former building commissioner David Chandler and Premier Dominic Perrottet.Credit:Wolter Peeters, Kate Geraghty, NCA Newswire
Perrottet on Wednesday revealed during question time that Chandler’s resignation letter was sent to the secretary of the Department of Customer Service, who later referred it to the Independent Commission Against Corruption on August 1.
Petinos was sacked over workplace bullying allegations the day before the letter was sent to ICAC. She had denied the bullying allegations.
“This is a personal letter related to an employment matter. I’ve been advised by the secretary that appropriate action was taken by her in relation to the contents of the letter,” Perrottet said.
“Out of the abundance of caution, the letter was provided to the ICAC for information.”
The NSW opposition on Tuesday said it would use Legislative Council powers to compel the government to release the letter after it was revealed that Petinos met representatives from a property development company that employed former deputy premier John Barilaro.
The letter is expected to be released to the upper house on Thursday.
Read more here.
The sails of the Sydney Opera House glow pink to honour the life of Olivia Newton-John tonight, recognising her contribution to entertainment as well as cancer research and awareness.
The sails of the Sydney Opera House glowing pink to honour the life of Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE and recognise her immense contribution to cancer research and awareness. Credit:James Brickwood
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the gesture today, saying Newton-John touched the hearts of people around the world with her music as well as her compassion and kindness.
“She radiated with positivity in her lifetime and now our most famous performance space will shine in her honour,” he said.
The lighting of the Opera House began at sunset.
Washington: US federal authorities are under growing pressure from both sides of politics to explain why Donald Trump’s property was raided, as allies of the former president urge him to seize the moment by announcing another run for the White House.
More than 24 hours after the FBI executed a search warrant on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, neither the bureau nor the Department of Justice had provided the public with any details about what they found, or what led to the unprecedented move.
Trump supporters near his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.Credit:AP
The White House also insisted that President Joe Biden had no prior knowledge that the search would take place, and called for calm amid reports that some of Trump’s supporters were using social media to call for “civil war”.
“Our message is that there is no place for political violence in this country,” spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
The raid on Trump’s 17-acre Palm Beach property unleashed a political storm that has energised both traditional Republicans and the more far-right elements of the party. They are outraged by what they view as government overreach, lack of transparency and an attempt to stop Trump from running for re-election.
Some of Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill have been privately advising the former president to use the momentum surrounding the event to announce another tilt for the Oval Office in 2024 – something that he was widely expected to do, but not until after the midterm elections in November.
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham said he had personally spoken to Trump, telling reporters that “the FBI has lost its way” and lamenting “this unending desire to destroy Trump and his family”.
Read more here.
Treasury Wine Estates has secured a win in China’s highest court against a company it alleges is a copycat operator that has been exploiting the ASX-listed winemaker’s Penfolds brand.
Treasury has been involved in a six-year legal battle with Rush Rich in Australia and China over allegations the company had been copycatting the Penfolds brand in China.
Penfolds is the jewel in the crown for Treasury Wine Estates, which is doing better than expected in the June half. Credit:
On Wednesday, Treasury confirmed it had a landmark win against Rush Rich in the Supreme People’s Court of China, which found Rush Rich’s registration of Chinese characters for its brand that sound similar to Penfolds was not valid.
The court decision was made in the context that Rush Rich acted in “bad faith” and had been engaged in illicit conduct, given that the company had also registered a large number of trademarks for other luxury brands including Bentley, Treasury Wines said in a statement.
Penfolds managing director Tom King thanked Chinese authorities for their commitment to protecting the integrity of the company’s brand.
“Our long-term commitment to China, together with international legal protections to prevent infringement of our trademarks, gives our consumers the confidence to continue enjoying award-winning quality wine from the Penfolds collection,” he said.
Penfolds has brought a number cases against Rush Rich since 2016, and won them all, including a Federal Court action over infringement of its brand.
Read more here.
Australia’s largest airline will increase the waiting time between domestic and international flights by 30 minutes in an effort to mitigate the number of people arriving at their destination without their luggage.
From August 21, Qantas travellers at Australian airports will only be provided outbound international flight options with 90-minute connection times, up from 60 minutes, to accommodate for domestic delays.
Those with existing bookings who will be affected by the change will be notified of the new policy by the airline and moved to an earlier flight.
Qantas will boost the minimum connection time from 60 to 90 minutes in an attempt to stop passengers from arriving in another country without their bags.Credit:Bloomberg
It’s the first move of a broader attempt to fix baggage handling issues at the national carrier, where the mishandled baggage rate has jumped to nine in every 1000 passengers.
The group’s executives have been meeting daily to improve the airline’s sluggish performance and are considering expanding the policy to inbound international to domestic flights as well as domestic connecting flights.
Read more here.
The High Court has rejected a challenge to NSW laws that make it a criminal offence for animal welfare activists and others to publish footage taken while trespassing on private properties, without deciding broader questions relating to the media’s use of such material.
Animal protection charity Farm Transparency Project and its executive director Chris Delforce challenged the constitutional validity of provisions of the state’s Surveillance Devices Act, which make it an offence in some cases to publish or possess footage taken by a trespasser on private property. Penalties of up to five years in prison apply.
Chris Delforce, executive director of Farm Transparency Project.Credit:Joe Armao
The charity, which seeks to expose animal cruelty including the slaughter of former racehorses, argued the provisions fell foul of the implied freedom of political communication in the Commonwealth Constitution.
Delforce has previously said the laws meant “media outlets won’t touch animal cruelty footage from NSW, for fear of being charged”.
In a decision on Wednesday, a majority of the High Court ruled the laws were valid. However, the court narrowed its focus to cases in which the trespasser themselves, or a person complicit in the trespass, publishes or possesses footage showing a “lawful activity” being carried out on private property.
Read more here.
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