300,000 illegal vapes seized in WA
More than 300,000 illegal vapes with a street value of $10m have been found in a warehouse in Perth, the largest seizure of the products in Western Australia, AAP reports.
Health officials found the 40-pallet haul earlier this month, along with 10 tonnes of nitrous oxide and other prescription items, after a tip-off.
The seizure came amid a crackdown on illegal vapes and e-cigarettes which can contain up to 200 toxic chemicals, including the same compounds found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer, bug spray and paint stripper.
Inhaling nitrous oxide can be equally dangerous, causing permanent nerve or brain damage and even death.
The health minister, Amber-Jade Sanderson, said the work of compliance officers had prevented hundreds of thousands of harmful products making their way into the community. She said:
Nicotine is a highly addictive and dangerous poison, and we know vapes also contain many other toxic substances and are designed to appeal to young people.
In WA, the maximum penalty for selling nicotine vapes is a $45,000 fine and individual and $225,000 for a company.
Individuals can also be jailed for up to three years.
Key events
PM says Qantas planes supporting Indigenous voice will ‘inspire Australians’
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has just shared some photos on social media from this morning’s Qantas announcement:
The Spirit of Australia says Yes.
Qantas has unveiled beautiful designs on three of their planes in support of the Yes vote in the upcoming referendum. pic.twitter.com/G6ZrVKto3K
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 14, 2023
Albanese wrote:
Qantas has unveiled beautiful designs on three of their planes in support of the Yes vote in the upcoming referendum.
They’ll be flying across our skies, encouraging Australians to have a conversation about what constitutional recognition will mean for our country.
By listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on matters that affect them, we can improve lives. That’s what the Voice will do.
Like the Nalanji Dreaming and Wunala Dreaming designs of the 90s, this is something that can inspire Australians and bring us together.
By listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on matters that affect them, we can improve lives. That’s what the Voice will do.
Like the Nalanji Dreaming and Wunala Dreaming designs of the 90s, this is something that can inspire Australians and bring us together. pic.twitter.com/891aBQPREM
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 14, 2023
Caitlin Cassidy
Queensland Catholic schools employees to stop work for five minutes
Thousands of employees at Queensland Catholic schools are set to take protected industrial action tomorrow as negotiations for an agreement with employers continues.
Members of the Independent Education Union of Australia will stop work for five minutes across 34 schools in the state, including some of its most prestigious colleges, followed by a range of work bans throughout the day.
Branch secretary Terry Burke said employers were behaving “as if collective bargaining negotiations are over, despite this very clear message from their employees that there are key issues outstanding”.
Members are not convinced employers are addressing key issues in schools. They are taking the action as part of a campaign to address the workload crisis that is seeing teachers leave the sector in droves.
The strikes will take place as bargaining continues between the New South Wales government and the NSW Teachers’ Federation over a pay deal for government teachers.
Meanwhile, the treasurer is gallivanting in Queensland.
Caitlin Cassidy
Education minister welcomes visit by Chinese counterpart
China’s minister for education, Professor Huai Jinpeng, is on his first ministerial visit to Australia in an encouraging sign for the nation’s tertiary sector.
The education minister, Jason Clare, will meet with Jinpeng today, followed by minister for employment Brendan O’Connor tomorrow.
In a statement, Clare said the meetings would focus on the “importance of the Australia-China relationship in education as well as skills and training”.
It is also an important opportunity to build on the long history of education engagement between our two countries, and discuss other matters in accordance with our respective national interests.
Australian senior officials will also meet with a delegation from China’s ministry of education for the sixth joint working group on education and research.
On the agenda will be “key areas for education cooperation”, including student mobility and qualifications recognition. It follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding with India last year, as Australia’s international student sector moved to capitalise on the nation’s ambitious education plan.
Large carpet python makes unwelcome visit to Gold Coast home
A Gold Coast family has had a shocking surprise visitor, with a ginormous coastal carpet python making its way on to their porch:
Lunchtime recap
If you’re sitting down for your lunch break, here’s what has been making headlines the past few hours:
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A public health expert has told a parliamentary inquiry that consultancy firm EY should have disclosed its paid work with Santos before accepting a job shaping the NSW government’s gas policy.
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Victorian sports minister Steve Dimopoulos said he is too superstitious to throw his support behind a public holiday if the Matildas win the World Cup, saying: “Let’s get through Wednesday’s game first”.
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Speaking on the Indigenous voice the parliament referendum, prime minister Anthony Albanese said the yes campaign is “stepping up” amid poor polling.
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Meanwhile, Qantas has confirmed its support for the voice with Yes23 logos to be included on three planes.
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Albanese said there is AI-generated content being spread online opposing the voice to parliament that is “designed to spread information”. You can read more on the issue here.
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The NSW bus transport system is riddled with reliability issues and driver shortages, especially in areas where bus transport has been privatised, a taskforce has found. You can read the full report here.
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Bendigo Bank has reported “record” cash earnings for the 2023 financial year, with its cash earnings after tax up by 15.3% to $576.9m
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The fire season is under way in Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned, with warm and dry weather forecast across the state this week.
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A 16-year-old has died following a beachside stabbing north of Coffs Harbour.
300,000 illegal vapes seized in WA
More than 300,000 illegal vapes with a street value of $10m have been found in a warehouse in Perth, the largest seizure of the products in Western Australia, AAP reports.
Health officials found the 40-pallet haul earlier this month, along with 10 tonnes of nitrous oxide and other prescription items, after a tip-off.
The seizure came amid a crackdown on illegal vapes and e-cigarettes which can contain up to 200 toxic chemicals, including the same compounds found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer, bug spray and paint stripper.
Inhaling nitrous oxide can be equally dangerous, causing permanent nerve or brain damage and even death.
The health minister, Amber-Jade Sanderson, said the work of compliance officers had prevented hundreds of thousands of harmful products making their way into the community. She said:
Nicotine is a highly addictive and dangerous poison, and we know vapes also contain many other toxic substances and are designed to appeal to young people.
In WA, the maximum penalty for selling nicotine vapes is a $45,000 fine and individual and $225,000 for a company.
Individuals can also be jailed for up to three years.
Beetlejuice to premiere in Melbourne in 2025
Moving away from politics for a moment: the eight-time Tony Award-nominated musical Beetlejuice will be showing at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne in April 2025.
The musical features an original score by Melbourne’s own Eddie Perfect and is based on the 1988 Tim Burton film.
Beetlejuice tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager obsessed with the whole “being dead thing”. Lucky for Lydia, her new house is haunted by a recently deceased couple and a degenerate demon with a thing for stripes. When Lydia calls on this ghost-with-the-most to scare away her insufferable parents, Beetlejuice comes up with the perfect plan, which involves exorcism, an adorable girl scout who gets scared out of her wits and a whole (nether)world of pandemonium.
Perfect said:
While Beetlejuice began on stage in America, this show has a macabre sensibility and twisted humour that Australians will delight in.
I always hoped it would have a life here at some point and I am thrilled that moment has finally arrived. I can’t wait to share it with a home crowd for the first time.
Catie McLeod
NSW will be ‘forever grateful’ to Mary-Louise McLaws: health minister
The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, has released a statement paying tribute to Mary-Louise McLaws, saying the state will be “forever grateful” to the renowned epidemiologist.
McLaws, who guided Australians through the Covid-19 pandemic, died on Saturday aged 70, after a brain cancer diagnosis in January last year.
Park described McLaws as a “preeminent voice and mind” who garnered respect from public health decision makers across the nation and the world and whose work “began long before Covid-19”.
Park said:
She was never afraid to question and scrutinise decisions in the interest of achieving the best health outcomes for our community.
I had the honour to have met Mary-Louise on several occasions, and I valued her counsel.
Her legacy will serve as an inspiration to future generations of epidemiologists.
Qantas has just announced that three of its Qantas Group aircraft will have Yes23 logo featured on it, in support of the Indigenous Voice to parliament.
In a tweet, Qantas wrote:
We’re taking our support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and better outcomes for First Nations people, to the skies, with the [Yes23] logo on three Qantas Group aircraft.
We’re taking our support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and better outcomes for First Nations people, to the skies, with the @Yes23au logo on three Qantas Group aircraft. pic.twitter.com/pKMasL0ZpW
— Qantas (@Qantas) August 14, 2023
Barnaby Joyce reveals he accidentally watched replay of Matildas match on Saturday
The nail-biting Women’s World Cup match between Australia and France on Saturday has quickly become one of those “where were you?” moments in Australian sport, particularly because of the longest penalty shootout a World Cup has ever seen.
For Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, he unknowingly missed the big moment. While he was at his local pub watching the game on Saturday, it turns out he was actually watching a replay of a previous match and came away thinking the Matildas had won 1-0.
He spoke about the blunder on Sunrise this morning:
I went to the pub and watched them on the weekend, but I think we were watching the wrong game.
I think they put on a repeat because it was on Channel 10, I don’t think it was the right one.
I know it was an incredible penalty shootout which we never [saw]. We went and had dinner because we thought they’d won 1-0!
You can watch his Facebook video capturing the moment here.
I don’t know about you, but this has given me a much-needed laugh for this Monday morning.