Federal Court to decide on fine over Qantas illegal sacking
The airline has already agreed to pay $120 million in compensation.
But the Transport Workers Union is pushing for a further $121 million penalty, calling it a test of corporate accountability.
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The Age
3 minutes ago
- The Age
‘A gift for our opponents': Liberal boss calls for unity to stem electoral bleeding
Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis has called on party members to end 'persistent' internal dramas and accused those mounting a court challenge to the loan to former leader John Pesutto of diverting resources in a 'gift' to Labor. In a memo on Monday afternoon, Davis also sensationally called on members of the administrative committee to resign if they showed contempt for its democratic decisions and breached its code of conduct. 'To succeed we must win the confidence of the people of Victoria. To win we must bring an end to the persistent internal disputation and arguments which are so often reported in the media, creating the public perception of disunity,' Davis wrote in the message to members. The Federal Court in December found that Pesutto repeatedly falsely implied MP Moira Deeming was a Nazi sympathiser in 2023, ordering him to pay damages plus $2.3 million of her legal costs. The 19-member administrative committee in June voted to lend Pesutto $1.55 million, via its investment company, Vapold, to ensure he could cover Deeming's legal costs. The decision spared him bankruptcy and a byelection in his marginal seat of Hawthorn, and neutered the risk of other MPs and former premiers who donated to his defence being chased for costs. The loan was set at a commercial variable interest rate. But five members of the committee – Colleen Harkin, Erin Hunt, Anthony Schneider, Ian Pugh and Marcus Li – are challenging the validity of the loan in the Supreme Court, arguing it would constitute a 'benefit' in breach of the party's constitution. Davis described the proceeding as 'a gift for our political opponents' and diverting party resources.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Great baby divide could prove a reckoning for Sydney real estate
Former treasurer Peter Costello, under pressure to find a way to push up Australia's falling birthrate, prodded parents with a $3000 lump sum payment, urging them: 'Have one for mum, one for dad, and one for the country.' It worked briefly in 2004. But these days, housing, not money, appears to have become the main inducement to parenthood. Analysis of preliminary births data by KPMG shows a great baby divide has emerged across our city as the number of births in the western suburbs climbs while in inner-city neighbourhoods, babies are relatively scarce. KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley told the Herald 's Matt Wade the size and cost of housing exerted a big influence on Sydney's fertility patterns. 'Looking at average dwelling size in terms of number of bedrooms, there is a clear pattern that suburbs with larger, more affordable homes are leading the way in total fertility rates across Sydney,' he said. Total number of births across Sydney last peaked in 2018 at just more than 70,000, but has been below that figure since despite strong population growth since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Last year, a modest 1.1 per cent gain in births lifted Sydney's total to 60,310, but that was not enough to prevent a slump in the city's fertility rate, which hit a historic low of 1.54. When Costello appealed to parental patriotism 21 years ago, the national fertility rate was about 1.7 and was starting to drop towards 1.6. The fertility rate measures the expected number of births per woman and is a key driver of future population and age structure. A 'replacement' rate of 2.1 is required for the population to remain steady without immigration. There are 24 Sydney neighbourhoods with a fertility rate less than half the 2.1 replacement level, and the great baby divide has certainly laid bare our city's housing crisis as certain wealthy suburbs with multimillion-dollar mansions and fewer children and grandchildren ossify while families gravitate westwards. Loading
Sydney Morning Herald
3 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘A gift for our opponents': Liberal boss calls for unity to stem electoral bleeding
Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis has called on party members to end 'persistent' internal dramas and accused those mounting a court challenge to the loan to former leader John Pesutto of diverting resources in a 'gift' to Labor. In a memo on Monday afternoon, Davis also sensationally called on members of the administrative committee to resign if they showed contempt for its democratic decisions and breached its code of conduct. 'To succeed we must win the confidence of the people of Victoria. To win we must bring an end to the persistent internal disputation and arguments which are so often reported in the media, creating the public perception of disunity,' Davis wrote in the message to members. The Federal Court in December found that Pesutto repeatedly falsely implied MP Moira Deeming was a Nazi sympathiser in 2023, ordering him to pay damages plus $2.3 million of her legal costs. The 19-member administrative committee in June voted to lend Pesutto $1.55 million, via its investment company, Vapold, to ensure he could cover Deeming's legal costs. The decision spared him bankruptcy and a byelection in his marginal seat of Hawthorn, and neutered the risk of other MPs and former premiers who donated to his defence being chased for costs. The loan was set at a commercial variable interest rate. But five members of the committee – Colleen Harkin, Erin Hunt, Anthony Schneider, Ian Pugh and Marcus Li – are challenging the validity of the loan in the Supreme Court, arguing it would constitute a 'benefit' in breach of the party's constitution. Davis described the proceeding as 'a gift for our political opponents' and diverting party resources.
