Australia news live: time to ‘calm things down’, Burke says after Thorpe’s Palestine rally comments; scam warning as Qantas data hits dark web
Burke urges ‘turning temperature down’ after Lidia Thorpe comments at Melbourne pro-Palestine rally
Tony Burke responded this morning to senator Lidia Thorpe’s remarks yesterday at a pro-Palestine rally, saying he did not want to inflame the debate.
Thorpe had told the rally:
We stand with you every day, and we will fight every day, and we will turn up every day, and if I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point … I am not there to make friends.
Burke, the minister for home affairs, said Thorpe’s remarks were “of course” unacceptable, adding he believes lawmakers should be working to turn down the temperature now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the terms of a ceasefire deal.
Burke told RN:
The concept of wanting to inflame, push the temperature up, is not what anyone should be doing, least of all a member of parliament. I’m not going to respond to that by increasing the heat in the opposite direction.
I really think it’s a time for just turning the temperature down because there are two things, and we’ve got a chance of getting both. There are two things that Australians have been wanting. They’ve been wanting the killing to end, and they’ve been wanting to make sure that the conflict’s not brought here. We might be looking right now at the chance for the killing to end. So, let’s also try to calm things down here.
Burke added the world had finally reached a point with the war in Gaza where “despair is turning to hope”.
There’s been many false starts, but I can’t remember a time where there has been a greater level of hope than there is right now.
Key events
Jordyn Beazley
Public service employees now able to seek orders and receive damages over workplace bullying and harassment
Reforms for New South Wales workers come into effect today, with public service employees now able to seek orders and damages from the industrial tribunal to stop workplace bullying and sexual harassment.
The damages can go up to $100,000 and can also include ordering an employer to take specified actions to stop the conduct, and requiring a public apology be made to the harassed worker.
From today, gender equality will also be included in the Industrial Relations Act, alongside improved wage theft laws and new powers for the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW to resolve workplace disputes.
NSW minister for industrial relations, Sophie Cotsissaid:
This major reform focuses on gender equality as well as the elimination of workplace bullying and sexual harassment which are new key objectives of the IR Act.
Achieving gender equity across workplaces is now a significant component of the NSW IR system. This is part of the Government’s commitment to pursuing gender equity in NSW.
NSW SES gets more than 200 calls after extreme wind across Sydney region
NSW SES received more than 230 calls across the Sydney region yesterday amid extreme wind that felled some trees and dropped branches on to properties and roads.
Sydney Airport saw wind speeds up to 72kmh, with some gusts up to 102kmh in the afternoon.
The agency said the busiest areas for emergency crews were Bayside, Parramatta and Bankstown.
Burke urges ‘turning temperature down’ after Lidia Thorpe comments at Melbourne pro-Palestine rally
Tony Burke responded this morning to senator Lidia Thorpe’s remarks yesterday at a pro-Palestine rally, saying he did not want to inflame the debate.
Thorpe had told the rally:
We stand with you every day, and we will fight every day, and we will turn up every day, and if I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point … I am not there to make friends.
Burke, the minister for home affairs, said Thorpe’s remarks were “of course” unacceptable, adding he believes lawmakers should be working to turn down the temperature now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the terms of a ceasefire deal.
Burke told RN:
The concept of wanting to inflame, push the temperature up, is not what anyone should be doing, least of all a member of parliament. I’m not going to respond to that by increasing the heat in the opposite direction.
I really think it’s a time for just turning the temperature down because there are two things, and we’ve got a chance of getting both. There are two things that Australians have been wanting. They’ve been wanting the killing to end, and they’ve been wanting to make sure that the conflict’s not brought here. We might be looking right now at the chance for the killing to end. So, let’s also try to calm things down here.
Burke added the world had finally reached a point with the war in Gaza where “despair is turning to hope”.
There’s been many false starts, but I can’t remember a time where there has been a greater level of hope than there is right now.
Sarah Basford Canales
Minister to meet with big tech companies this week ahead of under-16 social media ban
The communications minister, Anika Wellswill meet with social media companies, including Meta, Snapchat, YouTube and Tiktoktoday as the clock winds down on implementing a social media ban for under-16s.
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grantwill join the minister for the meetings set to re-enforce expectations that big tech companies must work proactively with the government to enforce the laws when they come into effect from 10 December.
A meeting with Elon Musk’s X, which has been critical of the changes, is scheduled for next month.
Wells said:
In two months our world-leading social media minimum age laws will give children a reprieve from the persuasive pull of platforms and those platforms must work closely with eSafety to ensure their systems comply with the law.
There’s a place for social media, but there’s not a place for predatory algorithms damaging children.
Read more here:
Tony Burke says government will use ‘all the laws available’ to deal with Qantas data breach
Tony Burkethe minister for cybersecurity, said government authorities will use “all the laws available to them” to deal with the Qantas data breach, saying the airline has a responsibility to protect customer data.
Burke spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying:
There was some conversation around the fact that it was an outsourced company where the breach had occurred – that doesn’t get you off the hook on your obligations. You can outsource parts of your business, but you don’t outsource the law. So the obligations that are there in Qantas, and they know this, to make sure that they provide cybersecurity.
Burke had a simple message for any Qantas customer affected by the breach, as well as Australians he said are sure to receive more sophisticated scam calls and emails as time goes on:
If you’re getting a call you’re not expecting, hang up, call back through the official line. These sorts of styles of attack will increase. We’re used to cyber being something that’s done at the technical level, but with the improvements in artificial intelligence, increasingly, you’ll hear a friendly voice, sometimes a familiar voice, on the other end of the phone. And when it’s a call you’re not expecting, hang up, call back.
He would not say if Qantas should compensate customers, saying he was focused on the “offence” part of the breach.
Qantas warns against scam claims after millions of customers subject to latest data leak
Millions of Australians have been cautioned not to fall for bogus Qantas compensation claims after having their personal information leaked online, AAP reports.
The flying kangaroo was one of six global companies to have their data released at the weekend after hackers from Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters made good on a ransom threat.
The leak stemmed from up to 5.7 million Qantas customers having their data compromised in one of its offshore call centres that used Salesforce software. Details included full names, email addresses and frequent flyer details, as well as business and home addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, gender and, in fewer cases, meal preferences.
Qantas has offered a support line and specialist identity protection advice to affected customers.
The airline also obtained an injunction from the NSW supreme court to prevent the stolen data being accessed, viewed, released, used, transmitted or published by anyone.
Good morning
Hello there, and welcome to Monday. It’s Nick Visser here to get you up to speed with the morning’s news. Here’s what’s on deck:
Qantas is warning millions of Australians to be on guard against fake compensation claims after their personal data was leaked online this weekend. Data shared on the dark web includes full names, emails and frequent flyer details, as well as personal information like birthdays and phone numbers.
The communications minister, Anika Wellswill meet with social media companies today alongside the eSafety commissioner before the country’s landmark social media ban for under-16s goes into effect in December.
The NSW government will spend $200m to repair potholes and maintain roads across Sydney, which will come as welcome relief to drivers after one of the wettest winters on record. The state repaired nearly 10,900 potholes last year, and has already tackled more than 5,100 in August and September alone.
Stick with us.
