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Discount class action fresh headache for grocery giants
Woolworths and Coles will fight class action lawsuits brought over claims they deceived customers with misleading promotions on everyday products, AAP reports.
Law firm Gerard Malouf and Partners has lodged two class actions in the federal court against Australia’s largest supermarkets, alleging they breached Australian consumer law through misleading promotional discounts on hundreds of items.
Both Coles and Woolworths have told shareholders they will defend themselves against the class actions, with Woolworths writing on the ASX:
Woolworths Group intends to defend the class action proceedings.
The class action seeks compensation, including the difference between the advertised discount prices and the actual prices charged, for affected customers. The law firm’s chair, Gerard Malouf, says:
We estimate that the average Australian consumer could be eligible for a refund ranging between $200 and $1,300+, depending on their shopping habits and purchases at these retailers. We believe this class action is an essential move toward safeguarding consumer rights and demanding transparency in retail practices Australia-wide.
Key events
Jordyn Beazley
NSW police officer who tasered 95-year-old not trained to recognise when Tasers shouldn’t be used
An officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old nursing home resident was not trained at the police academy on the “exceptional circumstances” when a Taser should not be deployed, his manslaughter trial has heard.
Sen Const Kristian James Samuel White is on trial after Clare Nowland died in May 2023 after being tasered. White has pleaded not guilty.
Sen Sgt William Watt – who is employed by New South Wales police to train officers on firearms, defence and tactics, and the use of force – appeared as a witness on Friday.
Watt told the NSW supreme court that officers were advised Tasers should not be used in “exceptional circumstances” including against a person who was handcuffed, women suspected of being pregnant, “elderly or disabled persons” and children or a “person with small body mass”.
Under-cross examination by White’s barrister, Troy Edwards SC, Watt revealed that references to exceptional circumstances were not part of the training program when White was at the police academy.
Nor was information on the “special circumstances” police were meant to consider when determining whether or not to fire a Taser.
So-called special circumstances include considering if someone has a disability or a mental health condition – factors which Watt said could escalate a situation.
Watt said information on special circumstances was added to student officers’ training at a later date, following reviews and recommendations by oversight bodies.
White tasered Nowland – who moved with the aid of a walking frame and weighed 47.5kg – in a Snowy Mountains nursing home in May 2023 after she was repeatedly asked to put down a steak knife.
Full story here:
Karen Middleton
Nacc chief, Brereton, rejects calls to quit over robodebt decisions
The National Anti-Corruption Commission chief has rejected calls to quit because of his handling of referrals from the robodebt royal commission, suggesting he was being made a scapegoat and insisting neither he nor his agency will be influenced by public pressure.
Paul Brereton told a governance forum on Friday that he accepted the independent Nacc inspector’s finding that he had failed to adequately manage a declared conflict of interest in relation to a past professional association with one of the six people referred to the Nacc for possible corruption investigation.
But the Nacc commissioner was defiant that what the inspector called “an error of judgment” did not justify stepping down.
“Perhaps the most important lesson is that we are not the best person to manage our own conflict of interest,” Brereton told the annual public sector forum hosted by the Governance Institute of Australia.
“And to the suggestions that I should resign – I think you will have probably gathered my response by now. If every judge found to have made a mistake of law or fact resigned, there wouldn’t be one sitting on the bench in this country.”
Full story here:
Australians are being asked to log their farts for science
The CSIRO is hoping to capture flatulence data from tens of thousands of people, including frequency, stench, loudness and duration, to help researchers better understand the nation’s gut health.
Dietician Megan Rebuli says the average person passed wind between seven and 20 times a day.
“It’s really variable depending on the types of food that you eat, how much fibre you eat and how much you’re moving around,” she says.
“This is the big question – what is normal? We really want to get some good quality, comprehensive data to try to pin down that number.”
A CSIRO gut health study in 2021 found more than 60% of Australians reported excessive flatulence, with more than 40% experiencing it most days.
Rebuli said a person’s gut health was an important indicator of their overall health.
“People often complain about excess flatulence or feeling bloated and what we want to know is what is normal and what should people expect, and when things go different what would that look like?”
People aged 14 or older are invited to track their flatulence using the free Chart Your Fart phone app.
Full story is here:
Emily Wind
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Kate Lyons will be here to take you through the rest of today’s news. Take care and have a great weekend.
Australian finance to spark Indo-Pacific climate action
A new climate program will combine private capital and Australian aid to spur climate action in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions, AAP reports.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says the package, announced at the Cop29 climate conference today, will boost the efforts of businesses across the Pacific, South-east Asia and South Asia.
The $126m top-up to existing aid will offer cheap finance for climate projects, and comes as Australia gets ready to co-chair negotiations where other rich nations are being asked to put more money on the table. Wong says:
The Climate Catalyst Window will unlock the potential of climate-focused businesses to help drive the climate action our region has been asking for. We’re also ensuring we are getting maximum value for Australia’s development assistance in projects that matter to Australians and our region.
Offering loans, equity and guarantees, it aims to attract private investment into projects important to the region. Funds recovered will be reinvested, ensuring the fund grows and supports a pipeline of projects, the statement says.
Total fire ban for Victoria’s Mallee and Wimmera tomorrow
A total fire ban has been declared for the Mallee and Wimmera tomorrow, amid an extreme fire danger. The Country Fire Association says no fires can be lit, or allowed to remain alight, all day.
Earlier, CFA chief officer, Jason Heffernan, told ABC TV that temperatures up to 39C were forecast for the Mallee and Wimmera.
West and south-western Victoria in particular [and] a lot of the pockets in the Great Ocean Road area is the driest on record.
Matildas WWC hero Vine takes break from football
Matildas World Cup hero Cortnee Vine is taking a break from football to focus on her mental health, AAP reports.
The winger was a star of the A-League Women competition but was catapulted into the national spotlight when she scored the winning spot-kick in Australia’s marathon penalty shootout win over France in the Cup quarter-final.
Vine, 26, has missed multiple recent camps for personal reasons, while also attempting to settle into life at NWSL club North Carolina Courage, which she joined from Sydney FC in the off-season. In a statement provided by her management, she says:
I’m sure many people can appreciate that my life has dramatically changed over the past two years. Due to these very new and sometimes overwhelming experiences, l’ve discovered that identifying, managing and prioritising my mental health has become something I have needed to work very hard on.
Like many who face mental health challenges, I have my good days and my difficult ones, but every day is a lesson in learning to find the right balance. For now, I need to focus on taking care of myself, which is why I am taking some time off.
I truly appreciate everyone’s support and concern, and I’m confident I’ll return stronger than ever.
Lisa Cox
Climate groups respond to Empire Energy being granted environmental approval
The NT government’s decision to grant Empire Energy its environmental approval has prompted environment and climate groups to renew calls for the Albanese government to use its powers under the water trigger to assess the impact of Beetaloo pilot projects on water resources.
Hannah Ekin from the Arid Lands Environment Centre says each new fracking project poses “serious contamination risks to water that sustains towns and communities” in the NT.
We’re calling on the Albanese government to urgently call in this project using the water trigger in national environment laws so a proper independent review of the risks can be conducted.
Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation, which represents several native title holders from the Beetaloo region, said it had concerns about inadequate consultation and risks to country, cultural heritage and water.
Wuyaliya man Asman Rory says “families have not decided whether to say yes or no to Empire’s latest plans to frack and sell gas from our country”.
NT government approves Empire Energy pilot gas project in Beetaloo
Lisa Cox
The Northern Territory government has granted environmental approval to Empire Energy for a pilot fracking project in the Beetaloo Basin.
In an announcement to the ASX, the company says it now has all necessary environmental approvals for its Carpentaria pilot project, which includes up to nine new wells, installation of a gas plant and processing facilities with access to the McArthur River pipeline for export of the gas.
Changes to regulations made by the previous NT Labor government mean companies can sell appraisal gas from pilot wells subject to an application. Empire Energy still needs approval of this application for any sales to proceed.
The managing director Alex Underwood says:
The Empire team continues to progress towards pilot production from the Beetaloo Basin, which will provide much needed gas supply for the people of the Northern Territory under the gas sales agreement Empire signed with the NT Government earlier this year.
Discount class action fresh headache for grocery giants
Woolworths and Coles will fight class action lawsuits brought over claims they deceived customers with misleading promotions on everyday products, AAP reports.
Law firm Gerard Malouf and Partners has lodged two class actions in the federal court against Australia’s largest supermarkets, alleging they breached Australian consumer law through misleading promotional discounts on hundreds of items.
Both Coles and Woolworths have told shareholders they will defend themselves against the class actions, with Woolworths writing on the ASX:
Woolworths Group intends to defend the class action proceedings.
The class action seeks compensation, including the difference between the advertised discount prices and the actual prices charged, for affected customers. The law firm’s chair, Gerard Malouf, says:
We estimate that the average Australian consumer could be eligible for a refund ranging between $200 and $1,300+, depending on their shopping habits and purchases at these retailers. We believe this class action is an essential move toward safeguarding consumer rights and demanding transparency in retail practices Australia-wide.
Elevated fire danger through parts of southern Australia this weekend
Heat, strong winds and elevated fire danger is forecast across southern and south-east Australia in the coming days, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
Meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said the hot and windy weather would push into the south-eastern states from tomorrow, continuing into Sunday with winds “really ramping up through the south-east in particular”.
Extreme fire danger is forecast for the Channel Country in Queensland, as well as north-west Victoria and much of southern South Australia, on Saturday:
These areas are most likely to see the most extreme conditions … which may impact fires that are ongoing or new fires that start over the next couple of days.
On Sunday there will be some easing the south, Bradbury said, but extreme fire dangers are expected to continue about the north-west slopes and plains of NSW and the Channel Country in Queensland.
The Country Fire Association chief officer, Jason Heffernan, was on ABC TV a moment ago and said temperatures up to 39C were forecast for Mallee and the Wimmera.
West and south-western Victoria in particular [and] a lot of the pockets in the Great Ocean Road area is the driest on record. We’ve seen real rainfall deficit across much of western and south-western Victoria, which has resulted in a lot of die-back in forest vegetation and the like, so we’re keeping a very close eye on it.
Helen Haines says proposed electoral reforms should be scrutinised by parliamentary inquiry
Helen Haines, the independent MP for Indi, is the latest crossbencher to respond to the government’s proposed electoral reforms.
In a statement, Haines said the proposed reforms represent “a fundamental change to the way our democracy functions” and it is “crucial” this is properly scrutinised and “not rushed through in the dying days of this term of parliament”.
Such reform is long overdue and something that I, and many other crossbenchers, have been pushing for. But legislation introduced in the final sitting weeks of the year, after months of negotiations behind closed doors between the major parties, raises suspicious that these reforms will benefit the major parties’ self-interest at the expense of others.
She said the special minister of state, Don Farrell, had “refused to provide an exposure draft, in complete contradiction to his statement that its contents should not be a surprise”.
Haines called on the government to delay the legislation until a parliamentary inquiry has allowed for full scrutiny, “including the increase in public funding that the two major parties are proposing and impact on the taxpayer”.