What we learned, Sunday 1 December
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Here are the main stories:
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Key events
Sydney-bound flight diverted to Auckland after engine trouble
An Air New Zealand flight from Wellington to Sydney has been diverted to Auckland after experiencing engine trouble.
Air New Zealand confirmed an engine was shut down about one hour into the flight. Flight NZ249 has now safely landed in Auckland.
Here’s the full statement from Air New Zealand’s head of flight operations, Hugh Pearce:
Flight NZ249 from Wellington to Sydney experienced an engine issue about an hour into the flight.
As per Air New Zealand’s standard operating procedures, the engine was shut down and the aircraft was diverted to Auckland where it landed safely just after 5.20pm.
The matter will now be investigated. Customers will rebooked on the next available service. We thank them for their patience.
Ben Doherty
Foreign diplomats in Australia hit with restrictions on domestic workers
The Australian government has restricted foreign diplomats bringing domestic workers into the country, a UN anti-slavery expert has reported, after two recent federal court cases exposed systemic exploitation a judge described as “slave-like working conditions”.
The United Nations special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery concluded a visit to Australia this week, with a particular focus on temporary migrant workers across the country.
Prof Tomoya Obokata said “a large number” of people had raised concerns with him that foreign domestic workers – brought into the country to work in the private homes of diplomats – faced widespread and largely invisible exploitation:
The way the government is approaching it now, according to the information I have received, is that they are restricting the grant of those visas to a select few individuals, in order not to make it as widespread.
Australia’s hottest spring on record for mean and minimum temperatures
Peter Hannam
The start of summer means there’s a chance to look back on the spring that has just concluded. The Bureau of Meteorology provides some interesting stats and charts.
For mean temperatures (which average out the maximums and minimums), it was Australia’s hottest on record. Temperatures were 2.08C above the 1961-90 average, eclipsing the 2.03C previous record anomaly for the spring of 2020.
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No other springs came close to matching those two, for mean temperatures at least.
The story was similar in spring for minimum temperatures, with the spring just past Australia’s hottest on record. It too, was a little than 2C above the long-run average for the first time.
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For maximums, spring wasn’t that exceptional, merely the sixth warmest on record.
Mind you, the 2.1C departure from the norm is still pretty impressive (and scary). The other five hottest springs for maximums have all happened since 2013.
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Spring is, if I’m not mistaken, the fastest warming season in Australia, and these charts help to demonstrate that pretty clear trend.
As for rain, spring was above average – which will please many farmers. Southern parts of the country, though, could have done with a bit more rain.
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Australian representatives to address key climate conference
Australia is preparing to state its position on what obligations states have to address the climate crisis and help Pacific island nations facing the existential threat.
The International Court of Justice is holding oral hearings between December 2-13 to inform advice on what obligations nations have to address global heating and what the legal consequences of failing to do so are.
Greens senator Steph Hodgins-May was a former environmental lawyer who worked on the early stages of the advisory opinion push with Pacific leaders. She spoke to AAP:
It’s a landmark moment.
Anything less than a pledge to stop approving new coal and gas projects and a commitment to end subsidies for fossil fuels “will be considered a failure by those leading the case.
We can’t refer to the Pacific islands as Pacific family while continuing to wave through new coal and gas.
A foreign affairs department spokesperson said engagement with the proceedings was “a reflection of Australia’s backing-in of Pacific leadership and commitment to strengthen global climate action”.
But the department wouldn’t comment on what its submission would contain.
– AAP
Severe weather warning for Sydney area
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for Sydney and surrounding regions, which may soon receive heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large hailstones.
Here’s the warning:
A moist and unstable air mass, supported by an upper trough, is producing severe thunderstorms across eastern parts NSW.
Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Gosford, Sydney, Wollongong, Nowra, Orange, Goulburn and Dubbo.
The NSW State Emergency Service has urged people to move cars undercover or away from trees, to secure loose items, and to keep at least eight metres away from any fallen power lines.
NSW authorities issue warning after repeated flood rescues
The NSW State Emergency Service is urging people not to drive through flood waters, after responding to more than 313 incidents and conducting nine flood rescues in 24 hours.
Acting assistant commissioner, Paul McQueen, said the service had responded to 900 incidents across the state since storms began earlier this week:
The nine flood rescues conducted overnight were in the Northern Rivers, Illawarra, Sydney and Western NSW regions.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting widespread rain, showers, and thunderstorms with moderate to heavy falls to continue into next week, increasing the risk of flash flooding and riverine rises.
McQueen:
The message is simple – Please never drive, ride, or play in flood waters. I also want to thank those who do the right thing and turn around to find another way. By doing this, you are saving our volunteers from being put into harm’s way.
You don’t know what condition the road underneath the water is in and can’t see hidden obstacles and debris under the surface. Flooded rivers may also contain hidden debris, snakes, spiders, chemicals and sewage.”
Woolworths to reopen distribution centre
Supermarket chain says it will reopen a key distribution centre in Melbourne tomorrow morning, after convincing a cohort of workers to return despite ongoing industrial action.
In a statement, the company said its Melbourne south regional distribution centre was the most significant of five centres currently affected by the action.
Up to 1,500 employees began rolling 24-hour strikes on 21 November in warehouses in New South Wales and Victoria, seeking improved wages and safety. The campaign has led to empty shelves at many stores.
Woolworths said it would reopen the centre after contacting three-quarters of its staff, with 72% indicating they wanted to return and be paid before Christmas. The United Workers Union has led 11 days of industrial action at the centre.
In a statement, Woolworths called on the union to allow workers to safely return to the distribution centre:
We know that there have been shortages on our shelves in some Woolworths stores and that this is really frustrating for our customers.
We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and would like to thank our customers for their understanding and for treating our teams with respect.
We continue to seek to negotiate with the United Workers Union and have requested that they allow safe passage for our team wishing to return to work and for vehicles tomorrow at MSRDC.
This will ensure we can operate the site safely and supply much needed essential food and grocery products to our Victorian customers and communities.”
Senator Hanson-Young says nature ‘bulldozed off national agenda’
Sarah Basford Canales
The Greens say they will continue to push for a deal with the Albanese government on federal environment reforms and a national gambling ad ban over the summer after a frenetic final sitting week.
On Sunday, the party’s Senate leader, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the issues remained “unfinished business” after a deal between the Greens and environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, was kiboshed by Anthony Albanese at the last minute.
Hanson-Young said:
I’m going to be working hard over summer to make sure we can get this reform that is desperately needed on the environment front, for protecting our forests, stopping the extinction of our wildlife and driving down pollution. Our environment is at a crisis point. Nature needs us. We can’t just keep having nature bulldozed off the national agenda.
The Greens senator said stalled movement on both fronts was due to “vested interests” having a lot of influence in Parliament House.
Whether it’s Gina Rinehart and the mining lobby, and the loggers on the environment front, trying to drag down any inch of protection, or on the gambling reform, the big gambling lobby having their having their claws and their mitts in the government and the opposition stopping any reform, passing the parliament…
Teens injured in NSW balcony collapse
About 40 teenagers were standing on a balcony on the New South Wales south coast when it collapsed late on Saturday night, injuring four teenagers.
NSW police officers were called to a house on Elizabeth Drive at Vincentia, near to Jervis Bay, at about 11.30pm.
The force has provided a short statement:
Officers from South Coast Police District were told approximately 40 people – all aged in their teens – were on the balcony when it collapsed.
Four people – three females and one male – aged in their teens were injured and were treated at the scene by Ambulance Paramedics for minor leg and back injuries and taken to hospital for further treatment.
Josh Nicholas
Analysis reveals supermarkets’ most promoted porducts
Health and beauty products are the most frequently promoted products at major supermarkets, a new Guardian Australia analysis shows, with shampoos and conditioners among the items that are almost permanently on sale at Coles and Woolworths.
The big grocery retailers also heavily promote unhealthy foods, which are often displayed prominently near checkouts and at the end of aisles, despite an anticipated government clampdown on such selling tactics.
Promotions are typically funded either solely by a product manufacturer, or through an agreement between the manufacturer and the supermarket to share the reduced profit margins, in expectation of increased sales. Multinationals usually wield the biggest marketing budgets.
Fatal car accident in regional NSW
Two people have died after a two-vehicle crash near Muswellbrook in regional NSW on Saturday afternoon.
According to police, officers were called to reports of a head-on-crash involving two sedans on Denman Road, Edderton, around 5.30pm.
Police say a woman believed to be in her 70s, who was driving one of the cars, died at the scene. A man believed to be in his 20s, who was a passenger in the second car, also died at the scene.
Another man and two other women aged in their 20s were also treated at the scene by paramedics.
Police said a crime scene has been established. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Kate Lyons
Warning plastic waste found in food and garden waste
“Massive amounts” of plastic contamination is getting into food and garden waste through user error and misleading “biodegradable” labelling, waste industry experts have warned.
Leading figures at some of Australia’s largest waste companies are calling for the government to standardise certification of compostable products, as many bin liners, compostable coffee cups and other material labelled “compostable” or “biodegradable” do not break down into organic matter.
The warnings come as states across the country are introducing food and organic waste collection programs in households in an attempt to halve the amount of food waste that ends up in landfill by 2030. In NSW, councils will be required to collect food and organic waste from all households by 2030.
