Australia’s assistant competition minister has poured cold water on a demand to break up the Coles and Woolworths duopoly. Labor is under pressure to introduce divestiture powers that would take a hammer to the supermarket giants and forcibly break up their powers. But Andrew Leigh has insisted it wasn’t theContinue Reading
Australia’s major supermarkets have been accused of treating customer like thieves by rapidly expanding hi-tech surveillance inside stores, new analysis claims. As Woolworths and Coles face unprecedented scrutiny and grapple with mounting anger from shoppers, their growing security measures have been thrust under the spotlight again. And a new surveyContinue Reading
A popular gym has cracked down on influencers videoing their workouts, banning tripods and requiring patrons to purchase “media passes” amid ongoing safety and privacy concerns. Doherty’s Gym, which has three locations in Melbourne and one in Perth, has told patrons filming on tripods will “no longer be permitted”, citingContinue Reading
Virgin Australia is investigating a customer complaint after a flight attendant wore a pin of the Palestinian flag on a domestic flight on Sunday. A 64-year-old Melbourne woman of Jewish heritage was travelling from Coolangatta to Melbourne on a Sunday 12.55pm flight with her daughter-in-law and grandchildren when the incidentContinue Reading
A man has taken his neighbour to court over a common backyard plant, claiming it ruptured a pool at his home in Sydney’s glitzy north shore. Russell Gill had been living at his home at Cremorne Point for seven years when in late 2022 he noticed issues with the waterContinue Reading
Australia’s two biggest supermarkets are going to increasingly drastic lengths to fight back against stealing and violent behaviour in their stores – but experts are saying it could lead to a sense of “distrust” and “trauma” in customers. Retailers say the moves are necessary to combat a $9bn-a-year problem, butContinue Reading
Coles is introducing body cameras in some of its most high-risk stores as the supermarket giant tries to fight back against shoplifting and threats against staff. The Australian retailer said the move comes amid a dramatic rise in customer theft, which experts estimate costs the retail industry a whopping $9bnContinue Reading
Risk of jail time and million-dollar fines will be enough to scare off Australia’s employers from not paying their workers, Workplace Minister Tony Burke has said. New legislation set to be introduced into parliament next week will include tougher penalties for employers guilty of wage theft, including a maximum 10Continue Reading
The founder of a crime intelligence platform used by major retailers including Woolworths and Bunnings says customers who have “not been involved in a crime event” have nothing to fear from the technology. Last month, new signage outside Bunnings stores informed customers that facial and number plate recognition “may beContinue Reading
A video message has emerged containing what could be the final known words of a missing former student of James Cook University, who mysteriously disappeared after departing Australian shores. In April, Mohammed Matar Alshalawi flew from Australia to Saudi Arabia to visit his loved ones; however friends and family sayContinue Reading