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Key posts
- Labor backflip puts Qantas, Virgin back in competition watchdog’s sights
- Australia ramps up security at synagogues, mosques as parliament divides on Gaza
- US says intelligence shows Gaza militants were behind hospital blast
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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Labor backflip puts Qantas, Virgin back in competition watchdog’s sights
The federal government has reinstated the consumer watchdog’s monitoring of the airline sector following fierce criticism the sector is improperly regulated and uncompetitive.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will resume monitoring the service standards, cost of airfares, and level of consumer protection across the industry for the next three years, a joint statement issued by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Transport Minister Catherine King confirmed yesterday.
Transport Minister Catherine King has faced significant pressure to restore airline competition monitoring.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Until July, the ACCC had issued quarterly competition reports on the airline sector under a three-year directive issued by the Morrison government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This directive was not renewed after the commission’s final report in June despite calls for renewal from the commission itself and most of the broader aviation sector.
The ACCC has been approached for comment.
Here’s more on this development.
Australia ramps up security at synagogues, mosques as parliament divides on Gaza
Synagogues and mosques will be given help to upgrade security under a $50 million federal plan to protect communities in the wake of the Hamas terror attack on Israel as parliament divided on the killing of Palestinians in a hospital in Gaza.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton backed the increased spending to shield 177 schools, places of worship and community facilities after a security warning about the danger of spontaneous violence.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Sydney’s Lakemba Mosque on October 6.Credit: Nick Moir
Hundreds of Australian citizens who are seeking to leave Israel are being offered seats on a Royal Australian Air Force flight that is due to depart Tel Aviv over the next 24 hours, while Australian diplomats are seeking help from Egyptian authorities to allow 46 Australians to flee the Gaza Strip.
The debate in federal parliament intensified after the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians at al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, leading the Greens to challenge the major parties with a motion in the Senate to oppose an Israeli invasion of the territory.
Read more on this issue here.
US says intelligence shows Gaza militants were behind hospital blast
US officials say their own intelligence shows that the deadly blast at the Al Ahli Arab Hospital on Wednesday was caused by an armed Palestinian group, as the Middle East reels from the aftermath of the explosion.
The intelligence assessment came as US President Joe Biden wrapped up his hasty one-day visit to Israel, which had been complicated by the blast at the hospital that has killed hundreds.
Palestinian protesters burn pictures that show US President Joe Biden during a protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, at the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, south Lebanon.Credit: AP
The White House National Security Council said the US assessment was based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open-source information.
Continue reading this Reuters story here, and tune into the latest updates on the Israel-Hamas conflict in our dedicated live blog.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, thank you for joining us this morning.
My name is Caroline Schelle and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage on national issues for the first half of the day. It’s Thursday, October 19.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started:
- Strategists in the Yes campaign discussed the referendum timing when it first looked headed for defeat, but the prime minister denies being asked to delay it.
- Coal-fired power is being undercut by cheaper renewables, but a hot, dry summer may push power prices back up.
- Australia’s intelligence boss says the country is on high alert for signs neo-Nazis and Islamic extremists will use the escalating conflict in the Israel-Hamas war for recruitment drives.
- The country’s consumer watchdog will resume monitoring domestic airline sector after criticism the sector is improperly regulated and uncompetitive.
- A landmark High Court judgment rejecting Victoria’s electric vehicle levy could blow a billion-dollar hole in future state budgets.
- Independent MPs say two whistleblowers facing trial need more than ‘a discussion paper by Christmas’ from a government that’s promised better protections.
- Synagogues and mosques will be given help to upgrade security under a $50 million federal plan to protect communities following the Hamas terror attack.
- Overseas, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro should face criminal charges for plotting a coup d’etat in response to his 2022 election defeat, a senior senator says.
Let’s get into it.
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