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Star shares fall to all-time low as Crisafulli dismisses casino bailout
A casino giant may be wishing on a shooting star if it expects to be bailed out of financial trouble, after a state government shut down talk of a lifeline, AAP reports.
Shares in Star Entertainment plunged by more than 19% to an all-time low of 10.5 cents on Friday, building on the 20% decline suffered on Thursday. The embattled casino operator opened Brisbane’s $3.6bn Queens Wharf hub in the city’s CBD late last year.
The former state Labor government had ruled out a lifeline for the company’s Brisbane casino in the form of a tax deferral for Star after its financial woes spelt trouble for the new Queens Wharf precinct.
Now with the shares of the parent company falling and concerns around the future of the infant restaurant and bar hub in Brisbane, Liberal premier David Crisafulli has vowed to save jobs but not the casino. He told reporters on Friday:
I want Queenslanders to know that we’re not in the business of being concerned about the corporate suits who sit around a company. Our focus is on the people who work there.
If you’re asking me whether or not I think it is a good use of taxpayer money to prop up individual companies, I would suggest to you the focus should be on individual workers.
Regardless of what happens with the ownership, our focus has to be on making sure there’s jobs.
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A 31-year-old has been charged with murder, torture and kidnapping following the death of a 52-year-old man earlier this week.
Queensland Police allege the man was assaulted near Rudyard Street in Inala around 6.30pm last Sunday. Several hours later, police were called to Logan Hospital after the man presented with significant head injuries.
He transported to a specialist care facility but passed away from his injuries on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Birkdale man was arrested at a residence in Griffin this morning. Police further allege the two men were known to each other.
He has been charged with one count each of murder, grievous bodily harm, armed robbery and two counts each of torture and kidnapping.
He is due to appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court tomorrow.
Hundreds of dead mackerel reported off WA coast
Turning to Western Australia, and investigations are under way into a fish kill possibly involving several hundred scaly mackerel, floating lifeless south-west of Perth.
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development officers have gathered information and samples following the reports of floating dead mackerel, located between the Woodman Point Ammo jetty and the Omeo Wreck.
With onshore winds, fish have already started washing up on Coogee Beach and could come up on other beaches in the area.
The department has advised people not to swim in areas with large numbers of dead and decomposing fish, warning it could have high levels of bacteria and odour, as well as not to fish in the waters and not to use the dead fish for bait or consumption.
Updates will be issued if further information becomes available. In the meantime, people are reminded to stay safe around fish kills and follow this general Department of Health advice.
ANZ joins CBA in predicting February interest rate cut
ANZ has brought forward its forecast for the first rate cut to take place in February, while maintaining borrowers will see only two rate cuts in the coming cycle.
The news, announced today, follows better-than-expected results from November’s monthly CPI indicator released on Wednesday.
ANZ now joins CBA in expecting the first RBA cash rate cut in February, while NAB and Westpac are both still forecasting the first cut will be in May.
NAB is expecting the greatest relief for borrowers with five cuts, compared with ANZ’s forecast for only two cuts.
Canstar.com.au data insights director Sally Tindall said a rate cut in February was increasingly likely, but with more than five weeks to go until the next board meeting, this could change.
The RBA knows just how tough it’s been for people with a mortgage. It wants to deliver rate relief as soon as the data allows.
Just one rate cut could reduce monthly repayments by approximately $92 per month. That’s not exactly in line with winning Lotto, but for some households even this small amount of relief will help them make ends meet.
If you’ve got a mortgage, be prepared for every possibility.
String of southern Sydney burglaries alleged
In Sydney, police are appealing for public assistance following a string of alleged break and enters in the city’s south this week.
Almost nine homes were allegedly targeted between Tuesday 7 January and Wednesday 8 January, including four homes in Sans Souci and five homes in Bexley.
Police said:
About 2.05am on Wednesday 8 January 2025, a number of people gained entry to a home [in] Bexley, where two sets of keys were taken. About 2.40am, a number of people gained entry to a home [in] Bexley, and left a short time later, taking three handbags, an e-bike and a set of keys.
About 3.30am, officers … were called to … Bexley after a number of people attempted to gain entry to a further two homes … Police were told a number of people – one armed with a screwdriver – walked towards the door of a home before retreating.
A short time later, the group then entered the backyard of a nearby property on the same street, before an occupant of the house was awoken and chased the people on to the street.
Officers believe the incidents are linked. There have been no reports of injuries.
Lisa Cox
‘Monumental shift’ in climate policy needed to safeguard future
Climate activist Anjali Sharma says “future generations deserve decisive, strong action now” following confirmation 2024 broke more temperature records.
Sharma was the lead litigant in the high-profile 2021 Sharma v Environment Minister climate court case against the federal government. She has been calling for a duty of care to be enshrined in Australian law to compel governments to consider the impact of climate harm on young people in their decision-making.
She said current and future generations deserved a duty of care “and a monumental shift in policy to safeguard the health and wellbeing that decades of climate denialism has caused”:
While politicians and fossil fuel companies sit idly by as these devastating figures come through, the world that future generations will inherit becomes bleaker. We are placed at a critical moment in history.
Either political leaders find the courage to finally take a stand at another astonishing broken climate record, or we allow these records to define our repeated complacency.
East coast faces more showers with NSW and Queensland flooding possible
Rain, severe thunderstorms and possible flooding is forecast for much of east coast this weekend, including areas around Sydney and parts of Queensland.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Miriam Bradbury said the wet weather was being driven by a moist, easterly flow pushing against the east coast, bringing widespread showers and storms.
A flood watch has been issued for the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley in expectation of the storms, and parts of south-east Queensland.
For the remainder of Friday, thunderstorms are possible across much of eastern Australia. Severe storms are possible … across parts of south-east inland Queensland … as far south as the Southern Tablelands (in NSW).
From Saturday, she said the wet weather would extend to Victoria and parts of Tasmania, before easing into next week.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were active for the South Coast, Southern Tablelands, ACT and parts of Illawarra, North West Slopes and Plains, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains and Northern Tablelands in New South Wales, and for large parts of southeast Queensland including Toowoomba and Somserset.
Severe storms in these areas bring the risk of heavy falls that could lead to flash flooding … damaging wind gusts and large hail are also possible … that risk of storms ramps up a little bit through the south east [on Saturday] … that could quickly bring water over the roads leading to possible road closures. We may even see the inundation of some properties.
Cinema tickets and Black Friday fuel household spending rise
High-profile movie releases, along with Black Friday promotions and discounting, helped drive the 0.4% increase in discretionary spending in November, in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ monthly household spending indicator.
As well as extra spending on clothing and footwear and household equipment and furnishings, new car purchases were also strong, especially for SUVs.
The ABS head of business statistics, Robert Ewing, said Black Friday boosted sales in recreation and culture by 0.9%, making it the largest contributor to overall spending growth.
Spending in cinemas continued to grow strongly, with major releases such as Wicked, Gladiator II and Moana 2 all opening in November.
Overall spending rose 0.4% in November, a smaller rise than the 0.9% increase in October. In September, the indicator fell 0.2%.
While still experimental, the household spending indicator covers a wide range of spending areas, drawing on bank card transactions, supermarket payments and new vehicle sales figures.
While spending momentum has been picking up, Commonwealth Bank economist Harry Ottley said this was to be expected given real household disposable incomes were finally increasing and interest rate cuts were approaching.
CBA is tipping a February start to interest rate cuts, a view now shared by ANZ.
– AAP
Lisa Cox
Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie said 2025 “must be game on for climate action in Australia”.
When the alarm bells are ringing, you act immediately. Slashing climate pollution this decade is critical to safeguard our children’s future. This is the challenge for our political leaders this election year.
She said Australia had started to make real progress with an energy grid that was more renewable than ever, a record number of electric vehicles hitting the market, and “a bumper year for big clean energy and storage projects”.
Global climate experts and the residents of Los Angeles have just shown us exactly what’s at stake: lives, livelihoods, community safety and our way of life. We need to act before our kids’ futures go up in smoke.
Lisa Cox
Slashing climate pollution ‘critical’ over coming decade
The Climate Council says slashing carbon pollution over the next decade is critical following confirmation that 2024 was the planet’s hottest year on record, with the global average temperature eclipsing the 1.5C warming barrier for the first time.
Climate councillor Prof David Karoly said:
These are not the records any climate scientist wants to see broken. When it comes to rising temperatures, rising sea levels and rising damage bills from unnatural disasters, every fraction of a degree matters.
The average temperature in 2024 was 1.6C above preindustrial levels, data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) shows – 0.12C above the previous record set in 2023.
The Paris agreement to try to limit warming to no more than 1.5C is measured over 20-30 years, so the data does not mean the target has been missed. But as my colleague Damian Carrington writes, it shows the urgency of the climate crisis continues to intensify.
Karoly said the agencies and scientists behind the latest findings “remind us the future is in our hands”.
Slashing climate pollution this decade is critical. The further and faster we’re able to cut climate pollution this decade, the better the prospects for our kids’ future.
Star shares fall to all-time low as Crisafulli dismisses casino bailout
A casino giant may be wishing on a shooting star if it expects to be bailed out of financial trouble, after a state government shut down talk of a lifeline, AAP reports.
Shares in Star Entertainment plunged by more than 19% to an all-time low of 10.5 cents on Friday, building on the 20% decline suffered on Thursday. The embattled casino operator opened Brisbane’s $3.6bn Queens Wharf hub in the city’s CBD late last year.
The former state Labor government had ruled out a lifeline for the company’s Brisbane casino in the form of a tax deferral for Star after its financial woes spelt trouble for the new Queens Wharf precinct.
Now with the shares of the parent company falling and concerns around the future of the infant restaurant and bar hub in Brisbane, Liberal premier David Crisafulli has vowed to save jobs but not the casino. He told reporters on Friday:
I want Queenslanders to know that we’re not in the business of being concerned about the corporate suits who sit around a company. Our focus is on the people who work there.
If you’re asking me whether or not I think it is a good use of taxpayer money to prop up individual companies, I would suggest to you the focus should be on individual workers.
Regardless of what happens with the ownership, our focus has to be on making sure there’s jobs.
Man arrived at Annerley address ‘completely randomly’, police say
The police spokesperson said the investigation into the incident remained “very active”, including the lead-up to the incident itself. The 26-year-old appeared to arrive at the address “completely randomly”, he said.
I would highlight that policing is an extremely dangerous profession. It involves officers attending jobs such as this where a simple job can very quickly escalate into something that becomes a life-threatening situation.
Our thoughts go out to the officers concerned. I attended both the scene in the hospital, I spoke to the two officers involved and the senior constable is in good spirits, he is receiving the best treatment there.
There will be two parts to the investigation – ethical standards and a criminal investigation – which will take “some time”.
I will just reinforce that it is a very fluid situation in relation to the investigation and having occurred just a few hours ago, we are still piecing together the exact circumstances.
‘Very agitated’ man bit officer after being shot, police say
The Queensland police spokesperson described the situation as “very dynamic” and “very traumatic” for all involved, including witnesses.
He said straight after shots were fired, the first-year constable applied a tactical first aid to the injured officer before additional officers arrived and “dealt with the male”, who was “still in a very agitated position” after being shot twice in the stomach.
Those officers were forced to actually deploy a Taser to take that individual into custody which was finally achieved … During the incident, the first-year constable received a bite from the male, who is a 26-year-old male, and also received first aid treatment.
All three parties were transported to hospital.
The 26-year-old male is now undergoing surgery and is in a serious condition, while the 40-year-old senior constable is in a stable condition and also receiving treatment. The first-year constable has been treated for their bite injury and released.
