☕️ Qantas to pay $120 million over cancelled flights

Good morning!

From 8am AEST today, the Met Gala red carpet begins on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

If you’re not familiar with the Met Gala, all you need to know is that it is Christmas for the fashion world. This year’s theme is ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’.

You can watch the E! red carpet via their livestream on YouTube.

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Quote of the day

“We are very sorry that this package was not released or announced earlier, but we are determined to learn from the mistakes that have been made by my government and previous governments over the past decades.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns announcing $230 million to fund domestic violence prevention and support in the state.

Stat of the day

1.6 million
How many people attended Madonna’s concert in Rio de Janeiro this weekend, the largest-ever audience for a single-artist show, according to ticketing company Live Nation.

Today in history

1945
Germany officially surrendered to the Allied Forces, ending its involvement in World War 2.

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Some headlines from this morning:

• The families of two missing Australian brothers have formally identified their bodies in Mexico. Concerns for Jake and Callum Robinson, and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, were raised last week after the men failed to arrive at an Airbnb in the Baja California region of Mexico. Authorities believe the brothers and Rhoad were all killed by a single gunshot to the head, following a confrontation with thieves. Three people have been arrested. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, along with the Australian Embassy in Mexico and Australian Federal Police, are assisting local authorities with the investigation.

• Telstra has announced it will delay closing its 3G networks until the end of August. The telco previously said it would shut down its 3G networks in June, but has now delayed those plans to ensure the closure won’t stop customers from calling Triple Zero. Telstra is urging customers to check their devices and upgrade to 4G before the shut down. Vodafone and TPG have already shut down their 3G networks while Optus has plans to end 3G services in September.

Recommendation of the day

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Public service workers in Queensland will be given 10 days of reproductive health leave

Public sector workers in Queensland will have access to up to 10 days of annual reproductive health leave, the State Government has announced.

It means Government staff, including nurses, teachers, and firefighters, will have access to paid leave for issues including chronic health conditions, cancer screenings and fertility treatment.

Reproductive leave will be in addition to pre-existing leave entitlements.

The initiative is the first of its kind in Australia and will come into effect by September.

Details

The Government said 265,000 Queensland public service workers would be covered by the policy.

Workers can use 10 days of reproductive health leave per year. The leave won’t accumulate over time, meaning workers can’t ‘bank’ more than 10 days over several years.

The leave can be used for things like endometriosis, IVF treatment, and surgical procedures such as vasectomies and hysterectomies.

From July, Queensland public sector workers will also receive superannuation payments on unpaid parental leave.

This was designed to limit the gender superannuation pay gap and ensure mothers aren’t unfairly disadvantaged by caring for newborns.

Data up to 2021 showed a 20% gap between the superannuation balances of men and women in Queensland.

Australia

A similar initiative was negotiated in Victoria last month, allowing public servants an extra five days of sick leave for menstruation, menopause and other reproductive health issues.

Leave entitlements for workers in the private sector are legislated at a federal level, and detailed in Australia’s national employment standards. The standards don’t include leave for reproductive health.

I’ve got 2 minutes

Qantas has agreed to pay $120 million over selling tickets for cancelled flights

Qantas has agreed to pay $120 million in fines and compensation over allegations it sold tickets to cancelled flights.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleged over 86,000 customers purchased seats that Qantas had advertised, despite the airline planning to cancel those services.

The fines must now be approved by the Federal Court. However, Qantas said it would start compensating customers immediately.

Federal Court

The ACCC launched action against Qantas in the Federal Court. It alleged the airline advertised over 8,000 flights which it planned to cancel from 2021 to 2022.

Flights within Australia and to New Zealand made up 94% of cancellations.

The competition watchdog also alleged that Qantas failed to immediately notify customers about cancellations for over 10,000 flights over the last two years.

Settlement

Qantas and the ACCC have reached a settlement deal that could include the airline paying a $100 million penalty. It will pay an additional $20 million in compensation to customers.

Qantas will pay $225 to impacted domestic passengers, and $450 to impacted international ticket holders, in addition to any refunds or alternative flights that may have already been given.

The airline will be required to stop selling tickets for flights within 24 hours of cancelling a service. This also applies to Jetstar, which it owns.

Response

Qantas said it is “sincerely sorry” to customers who “were affected by our failure to provide cancellation notifications in a timely manner”.

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said she expects this penalty to “send a strong deterrence message to other companies.”

“Qantas has also agreed not to repeat this type of conduct in the future,” Cass-Gottlieb said.

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Give me some good news

The Australian women’s 3x3 basketball team has qualified for the Paris Olympics.

The game, which made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, is a condensed version of basketball. Three players a side compete on a half-court with a single hoop.

The Australian women’s team qualified for Paris after they beat Canada 19-16 in Japan.

Want more sport news? Sign up to TDA’s sport newsletter by clicking this link! It will be in your inbox at 5pm every weekday.

TDA tidbit

You’ve heard of nude beaches, now get ready for… nude weddings!

A nude beach on the Italian island of Sardinia will host naked nuptials after a couple wrote to the local council asking if it would be possible to wed there while naked.

CNN reports local mayor Luigi Tedeschi said the decision to let people get married on the beach al nudo was about “freedom”.

“We need to do things to show that people are free,” Tedeschi said.

Saves money on a dress and suit, I guess!

Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!

The Federal Government has announced it will wipe $3 billion in student debt and offer payments for some students undergoing mandatory placements.

These announcements come a week before the Federal Budget and in the wake of recommendations made to the Government about how to reform the sector.

On today’s podcast, we’ll explain what the changes to HECS could mean for you and how the placement payments will work.

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