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Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia to ban use of power banks on board
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia will ban the use of power banks on board aircrafts over the next few weeks amid a rise in safety risks associated with damaged or defective lithium batteries.
From 1 December, Virgin will require passengers to keep power banks in their carry-on baggage, within easy reach during a flight (in the seat pocket, under the seat in front of you or in your hands), and they may not be used on board.
From 15 December, Qantas and Jetstar will impose similar rules, banning the use of power banks or charging power banks while on board. Customers may carry two of them in their cabin baggage but they should be with the passenger at all times if possible.
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Henry Belot
Three charged after alleged murder of man on NSW south coast
NSW police have arrested and charged three men for the alleged murder of a 43-year-old man in Bega on the state’s south coast in October.
The three men, aged 29, 32 and 34, will appear in court on Friday.
According to police, the arrests relate to the fatal stabbing of a man found wounded in a Bega park on 6 October. The man died at the scene.
A spokesperson for the force said police divers searched a private property and wetlands last week and seized items for forensic examination.
On Thursday morning, police searched three homes in Bega and Bemboka before arresting the men. They were denied bail.
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia to ban use of power banks on board
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia will ban the use of power banks on board aircrafts over the next few weeks amid a rise in safety risks associated with damaged or defective lithium batteries.
From 1 December, Virgin will require passengers to keep power banks in their carry-on baggage, within easy reach during a flight (in the seat pocket, under the seat in front of you or in your hands), and they may not be used on board.
From 15 December, Qantas and Jetstar will impose similar rules, banning the use of power banks or charging power banks while on board. Customers may carry two of them in their cabin baggage but they should be with the passenger at all times if possible.
Victoria makes it free to change gender on birth certificate
Henry Belot
The Victorian government will make it free for trans and gender diverse people to officially change their gender on a birth certificate.
It currently costs people born in Victoria $140 to be issued a new birth certificate. Those born interstate must pay $122 to update their details in Victoria.
Victoria’s minister for government services, Natalie Hutchins, said the government was “making sure money is not an obstacle for trans and gender diverse people to have documents that reflect who they really are”.
The Victorian government believes less than one-third of trans and gender diverse people have identity documents that reflect who they are.
The state government changed laws in 2020 to ensure people do not need to undergo surgery before changing the sex recorded on their birth certificates.
Good morning and happy Friday, we’ve made it. Nick Visser here to guide the blog through the morning. Let’s get started.
Albanese flies to South Africa for G20 summit
Anthony Albanese will advance Australia’s interests at a global summit without the spectre of Donald Trump hovering over him, Australian Associated Press reports.
Albanese will be the first Australian prime minister to visit South Africa since 2013 as he jets to the G20 leaders’ summit where climate change, trade and security are expected on the agenda.
“Now more than ever, Australia needs to be working with our international partners to tackle the shared challenges and opportunities ahead,” the prime minister said.
“Being part of the G20 helps build a stronger, more resilient global economy, which benefits all Australians at home.”
Albanese flew from Perth to the South African capital yesterday for the summit, which has been overshadowed by the Trump administration’s boycott.
A total of 42 countries will attend Africa’s first G20 but not the United States after Trump said he would not attend, citing discrimination against the country’s white farmers.
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has denied Trump’s claims.
It comes after Albanese secured a $3bn Australia-US critical minerals deal after meeting Trump at the White House in October.
The summit will provide an opportunity for Australia to advance its interests without Trump’s presence, Monash University head of politics and international relations Zareh Ghazarian said.
“Security and conflict is obviously a huge issue, climate change which is something governments are grappling at a domestic level, and trade will also feature as a key part of discussions,” Ghazarian said. “It will give Australia an important global forum to engage with other leaders.”
Albanese is expected to meet with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on the sidelines of the event and has signalled conversations with leaders from South Korea, Japan, Europe and Canada during his two days at the summit.
Krishani Dhanji
Dreyfus says referendum on four-year terms should be ‘sooner rather than later’
While constitutional change has been taken off the table by Albanese, the prime minister has said he would support four-year terms, which was also recently endorsed by former PM John Howard.
Dreyfus said Australia is an “outlier” on having an election every three years when other countries, and Australia’s states and territories, have longer terms.
“I believe that sooner rather than later Australians should be asked to adopt four-year terms for their national government ... We are also an outlier in world terms, with just six of 186 nations with active legislatures having three-year terms.”
Just last week, John Howard supported the call, observing, wisely: “It’s ludicrous you’ve got four-year terms in all the states but the national parliament doesn’t. It’s just crazy.”
Dreyfus also called for a constitutional commission to be adopted, which he believes would “help establish in the public mind that our constitution is not a frozen document but a living one”.
Former AG Mark Dreyfus calls for republic referendum
Krishani Dhanji
Former attorney general Mark Dreyfus has called for the government to renew the republic campaign, and to push for four-year federal terms, in his first major comments since he was relegated to the backbench.
Dreyfus addressed the Geoffrey Sawer Lecture at ANU last night, calling for the government to forge ahead with constitutional change after suffering defeat on the Indigenous voice to parliament campaign.
The push is in direct contravention of Anthony Albanese’s position. The prime minister, in September, definitively ruled out holding another referendum while he remains leader.
The former AG said:
It’s time to renew the campaign to establish an Australian republic. Australia – and Australians – have changed in many ways over the past quarter century.
In my view it is time – past time – for Australia to break its residual constitutional ties with the United Kingdom and its monarchy.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
It could be a hectic day, with New South Wales likely to get a new opposition leader and a cyclone hovering off the coast of the Northern Territory. But first, let’s catch up with developments overnight.
In his first major speech since being relegated to the backbench, former attorney general Mark Dreyfus said last night it was “well past time” that Australia held another referendum on becoming a republic and shed the residual ties with the UK. More in a moment.
Anthony Albanese will have the chance to advance Australia’s interests at the G20 summit in South Africa without the spectre of Donald Trump, one expert says. The prime minister could use the opportunity to seal a trade deal with the EU, the ABC reported. More coming up.
