Crackdown on airline cancellations at Sydney airport
Elias Visontay
Airlines will have less freedom to decide to cancel flights at Sydney airport without valid reasons, or else they’ll lose their take-off and landing slots, in a move aimed at helping smaller airlines better compete out of Australia’s largest airport.
Transport minister Catherine King has unveiled the overhaul to the legislation governing Sydney airport, which responds to concerns about the slot where movements are restricted to 80 takeoffs and landings per hour, and with an overnight curfew.
The government will significantly increase transparency about how slots are allocated.
Airlines will be required to provide regular information on how they use slots, such as reasons for cancellations or major delays, and this monitoring information will be regularly published, it said in a statement.
Independent audits of slot usage will be undertaken, with results published, to better detect and crack down on anti-competitive behaviour. This will help make sure that travellers have better information about airline performance. The first such audit will be carried out this year.
Key events
Josh Butler
Albanese says he’s going to see Taylor Swift on Friday but ‘no idea’ where the seats are
Prime minister Anthony Albanese is really leaning into Taylor Swift-mania this morning, playing along with a radio promotion where a listener won free tickets.
As we brought you earlier, he told Nova radio “I’m a Swiftie” and confirmed on Kyle and Jackie O that he was going to the star’s concert in Sydney on Friday.
Asked by Jackie O if he “might be in the same suite as us then”, Albanese replied “might be”. Kyle Sandilands bragged that the radio duo was “in the Frontier Presidential Suite”, but Albanese replied “I have no idea where I am.”
Somehow we doubt the PM queued online for hours and days to get into the cheap seats up the back – but one person who did was Nova listener Taliah, who apparently entered a radio promotion to win free Taylor tickets.
Albanese’s social team clipped up vision from the PM ringing the listener live on air to deliver her news of the tickets.
Albanese has a story which he often tells about Swift’s Shake It Off being a dancefloor filler when he used to throw the occasional DJ set. I reckon you’ll hear that story a few times this week in various media appearances.
For any Swifties heading along to the Sydney concerts this week (or if you went to the Melbourne shows), let us know if you see any politicians in the crowd along the way.
Bushfire concerns around illegal dumping in state forests
Forestry Corporation says it is monitoring state forests in the Bathurst area of New South Wales after a recent spate of alleged illegal dumping incidents.
Forest rangers say they have found piles of plastic coating that has been burnt off cabling at several state forest locations in the area.
Evidence found at one burn site in Sunny Corner State Forest enabled Forestry Corporation to identify and contact a local business, which advised that a large quantity of cabling had recently been stolen.
It is suspected the offenders burn the plastic conduit off the wire, as bare wire fetches higher prices with scrap metal dealers than plastic coated cable, Forestry Corporation said.
Ranger Paul Robb said a key concern is the risk that fires would spread into pine plantations.
NSW premier Chris Minns: almost 800 sites received potentially contaminated mulch
Tamsin Rose
Almost 800 sites across New South Wales received mulch that could have been contaminated with asbestos, the premier says.
Chris Minns has told budget estimates that the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) had tracked the mulch to 798 separate sites as part of its investigation.
Testing has revealed 47 positive results for asbestos with remediation under way across Sydney.
Minns said:
The establishment of that taskforce which involved the EPA, Safe Work NSW, Fire and Rescue NSW [and] coordination from the premier’s department was a comprehensive response. What it enabled us to do was identify 798 sites across NSW.
Elias Visontay
Sydney airport crackdown a response to ‘slot hoarding’
The government’s response addresses frustrations held by airlines, airports and industry leaders across aviation for several years, who accuse larger airlines such as Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin of “slot hoarding”.
Slot hoarding is where airlines schedule more flights than they intend to run, before cancelling them in a strategic manner so as to not cancel any service more than 20% of the time so they retain the slot at the expense of a competitor (known as the 80:20 rule).
Qantas Group and Virgin have consistently denied they misuse slots. However critics point to long term average cancellation data, which shows up to one in ten flights between Sydney and Melbourne are cancelled.
You can read more about slot hoarding here:
Crackdown on airline cancellations at Sydney airport
Elias Visontay
Airlines will have less freedom to decide to cancel flights at Sydney airport without valid reasons, or else they’ll lose their take-off and landing slots, in a move aimed at helping smaller airlines better compete out of Australia’s largest airport.
Transport minister Catherine King has unveiled the overhaul to the legislation governing Sydney airport, which responds to concerns about the slot where movements are restricted to 80 takeoffs and landings per hour, and with an overnight curfew.
The government will significantly increase transparency about how slots are allocated.
Airlines will be required to provide regular information on how they use slots, such as reasons for cancellations or major delays, and this monitoring information will be regularly published, it said in a statement.
Independent audits of slot usage will be undertaken, with results published, to better detect and crack down on anti-competitive behaviour. This will help make sure that travellers have better information about airline performance. The first such audit will be carried out this year.
Josh Butler
Australia and UK sign online safety and AI agreement
Australia will work on challenges in online safety and AI with the United Kingdom, after communications minister Michelle Rowland signed an agreement with her British counterpart overnight.
The government is hailing as “historic” the signing of the Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with both Australia and the UK seeking to make their countries “the safest places in the world to be online”.
A statement from Rowland’s office says the agreement “encompasses a wide range of digital online safety and security issues, including illegal content, child safety, age assurance, technology facilitated gender-based violence, and addressing harms caused by rapidly changing technology, like generative artificial intelligence.”
It also includes commitments to further cooperation on online safety and security, including more in-person dialogues, coordinated bilateral and multilateral engagement, regulatory engagement, shared research projects, and working with industry.
Rowland:
We are like-minded allies and key partners in the fight for safer and more positive online experiences.
Online safety is a shared, global responsibility. We must be proactive in ensuring that our legislative frameworks remain fit-for-purpose, and continue to evolve as new harms emerge.
The British secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, Michelle Donelan, said the two countries were at “the forefront of online safety”.
The signing of the joint memorandum today signifies a new chapter in our shared history. I look forward to building on this partnership which will help address the challenges and harness the opportunities of the digital age.
Alleged triple homicide a ‘very sad, tragic event’
Police said that the three people who have died are the members of one family living together in Baulkham Hills, making this a “very sad, tragic event”.
The 7-year-old child regularly attended the martial arts centre, for Taekwondo lessons, and on Monday afternoon or evening, they were going to attend another lesson.
They were known to the 49-year-old instructor who is now in hospital [and has been arrested], so there was a relationship in terms of knowing that he was the instructor for the taekwondo.
We’re still establishing what other connections or what other relationships may have been or may not have been …
Police said it could not speak on any alleged motive as it is “too early”.
Police also said the 49-year-old man in hospital has undergone surgery and is recovering.
More on alleged homicide of ‘three people from one family’ in Sydney
Back to that earlier NSW Police press conference, about what it has alleged is a triple homicide across Sydney:
Police are going to allege that a 41-year-old woman and seven-year-old boy were subjected to an assault with murderous intent, and they died from their injuries.
Police said the pair were killed inside a taekwondo studio in North Parramatta between 5.30pm and 6.30pm last night.
Police will allege that some time after 6.30pm, the 49-year-old man who has been arrested in hospital travelled to Baulkham Hills and “had a confrontation” with a 39-year-old man, who is the father of the child who died. The 39-year-old was allegedly stabbed and died as a result.
The police officer told the media how this situation unfolded has been “tragic in the circumstances”, and the consequences are “cataclysmic”.
We have just lost three people from one family who had their lives taken away, or we allege is a murder.
Police believe the family are originally from South Korea.
Albanese asked about Woolworths CEO stepping down
Prime minister Anthony Albanese spoke to ABC Sydney earlier this morning, and was asked about the resignation of Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci.
Albanese:
People would have seen the Four Corners interview on Monday night. I didn’t see it, but I have seen the reports of it and I have seen the excerpt of the bit that was problematic.
I want to talk about things other than personalities and what’s very clear is that for customers out there when they get to the checkout, they should get the lowest prices possible. When farmers are getting less for their products, I have said very clearly then the price at the checkout should reflect that.
Man arrested over alleged triple homicide in Sydney
NSW Police are now speaking to the media about what they have alleged is a triple homicide across Sydney, which “occurred over the last couple of days”.
Police say a man has been placed under arrest in hospital overnight, following the discovery of three bodies in Sydney’s north-west yesterday.
The 49-year-old man had presented to Westmead hospital about 11.50pm on Monday, “suffering from apparent slash wounds to his chest and arms and stomach”.
He allegedly told police he had been attacked in the car park of a supermarket in North Parramatta earlier that evening.
Following extensive inquiries, about 11.20pm last night, detectives attended Westmead hospital and placed the man under arrest.
The man remains under police guard in hospital [and is] receiving treatment for his injuries and is expected to be charged at some stage.
Three deaths in Sydney believed linked
NSW police are due to speak the media about three deaths across Sydney, including a child, that are believed to be linked.
We will bring you the latest here on the blog.
The bodies of a young child and a woman were found in a taekwondo studio in North Parramatta yesterday, following the discovery of a man’s body in nearby Baulkham Hills.
Homicide detectives are treating the two scenes as linked. You can read more below:
AI technology to support crowd control at Taylor Swift concerts in Sydney
Sticking with Taylor Swift for a moment, and the NSW government says new AI technology will be used to ensure the more than 80,000 fans set to watch Swift at the Accor Stadium make it home safely.
Staff at Sydney Olympic Park and Transport for NSW will be working behind the scenes at each of the four concerts, “acting as eyes in the sky to support crowd control” at the stadium’s coordination centre.
A statement from transport minister, Jo Haylen, and planning and public spaces minister, Paul Scully, says the AI program combines features such as “de-identified CCTV footage, weather data and social media” to “accurately predict crowd movements and mood around the stadium”.
This allows teams to prevent problems before they occur and implement a range of measures like opening more exits, redirecting people, giving live updates, deploying more staff or playing music to keep the mood up.
The technology has been used for other events including the recent Laneway festival and Big Bash League cricket, as part of a trial that kicked off last year under the government’s $45m Smart Places Acceleration Program.
Scully said:
The software gives precinct staff an idea of crowd movements and capacities. It cannot be used for surveillance, tracking or facial recognition, meaning individuals are never identifiable.
Anthony Albanese: ‘I’m a Swiftie’
Paul Karp
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has done a round of FM interviews, with the obligatory wedding and Taylor Swift chat, confirming he will attend one of her Sydney concerts.
Albanese told Nova FM:
I’m heading there on Friday. I’m really looking forward to it. I go along with where I go everywhere – a lot of my friends these days. I don’t get to go anywhere by myself these days … I am very much looking forward to it. I’m a Swiftie! It’ll be great.”
On KIIS FM, he said:
I am [going] – everyone’s got time for Tay Tay, haven’t they? It’s going to be an event. I’m going Friday, I’ll be there.
Asked if he’ll be in a VIP suite, Albanese replied: “I have no idea where I am.”
Broadcaster Kyle Sandilands also offered to organise Albanese’s bucks’ party, saying he had “spoken to a couple of my boys and they say we got you sorted”.
Sandilands said that “the real bucks party me and John got sorted”, an apparent reference to former Kings Cross nightclub owner John Ibrahim who attended Kyle’s wedding, as did Albanese.
Jonathan Barrett
Woolworths boosts profits from grocery business
Woolworths has ramped up the profits derived from its Australian supermarkets business to record a $929m overall half-year profit, as pressure mounts over the company’s ability to keep delivering impressive returns while its customers grapple with fast-rising grocery costs.
The strong result contrasts with the bruising hits Australia’s biggest supermarket chain has been suffering to its reputation. It is facing multiple parliamentary inquiries and a year-long pricing probe from the competition regulator, designed to determine whether it is using a dominant market position to price gouge.
Profit margins for the chain’s Australian food business increased to 6.1% in the six-month period to December, up from 5.8% a year earlier.
Revenue across its business, which includes Big W and its New Zealand operations, increased 4.4% to $34.6bn. Its net profit result was up 2.2% from the prior corresponding period.
Outgoing Woolworths CEO praises successor Amanda Bardwell
Announcing his resignation, outgoing Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci said in a statement:
It has been a privilege to be a member of the Woolies team and one I have never taken for granted. We have a wonderfully talented and passionate team at Woolworths Group, as personified in Amanda Bardwell, and I look forward to working with Amanda and our team over the next few months as we set ourselves up for the next chapter.
Bardwell – who will take on the role of CEO and managing director from 1 September – has worked with Woolworths Group for 23 years, including as head of marketing for Woolworths Supermarkets.
Outgoing Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci’s resignation comes after Monday’s Four Corners on the ABC, which focused on supermarket profits and market power.
Banducci made headlines with his interview for the program, in which he briefly called off the conversation and walked away.
Woolworths CEO to retire
The Woolworths chief executive, Brad Banducci, will retire in September this year.
The group made the announcement today, with Banducci advising Woolworths Group of his intention to retire after 13 years with the group, and eight as CEO.
Amanda Bardwell will start as managing director and group CEO on 1 September.