Star crime fear in VIP room ‘bags of cash’
SYDNEY, AAP – A senior Star Entertainment manager in charge of preventing financial crime inside the gambling giant’s Sydney operations will testify at a casino probe. The NSW gaming regulator’s inquiry continues on Thursday, with ongoing evidence from Star general manager, financial crime and investigations, Kevin Houlihan. Mr Houlihan has already testified his department launched…
Nurses walk off job calling for more staff
SYDNEY, AAP – Nurses across NSW are set to take industrial action in support of their demand to boost workforce numbers and secure better pay. Thursday’s strike comes a month after the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association voted in favour of historic statewide action, which subsequently saw demonstrations at 150 public hospitals. “Patients play lotto…
Magnificent seven as ASX gains continue
SYDNEY, AAP – Australian shares have closed higher for a seventh consecutive day – a feat not seen in 15 months. The market gained 0.67 per cent the day after a federal budget which pledged to put more cash in consumers’ pockets and halve the fuel excise for six months. Technology shares were best for…
More funds sought to fight cattle disease
SYDNEY, AAP – A $600 million budget commitment to Australia’s agricultural sector fails to adequately address a potentially deadly livestock disease that could decimate the cattle industry, stakeholders say. The budget doesn’t spend enough on Australia’s biosecurity system, with insufficient investment in lumpy skin disease, National Farmers Federation CEO Tony Mahar said. “An investment of…
Qld farmers want reef law science auditor
BRISBANE, AAP – Queensland farmers are calling for a national scientific auditor to check the impact of runoff laws on the Great Barrier Reef after state parliament rejected a Katter’s Australian Party bill to ease the rules. KAP deputy leader Nick Dametto’s bill had sought wind back the Labor government’s 2019 reef protections which penalised…
Miners help ASX within 100pts of record
SYDNEY, AAP – Mining shares have helped the ASX to rise and move within 100 points of its records despite poor showings from overseas markets. The market was higher by 0.36 per cent on Thursday and has had seven consecutive days of gains. BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto were keeping the market up despite US…
States send budget bouquets and brickbats
SYDNEY, AAP – STATE GOVERNMENTS REACT TO THE FEDERAL BUDGET VICTORIA – Labor Treasurer Tim Pallas * “We’ll get six per cent of new infrastructure spending, despite the fact that we’re about 26 per cent of the nation’s population and economy. It’s increasingly apparent that the Commonwealth are short-changing Victorians for purely political agendas and…
Telstra head Andrew Penn to retire
SYDNEY, AAP – Telstra’s chief financial officer Vicki Brady will take over as chief executive following the retirement of the company’s long-serving head, Andrew Penn. The telco, regarded by analysts as a high-yielding and low volatile stock, has faced long-term structural headwinds after customers abruptly moved away from fixed-line phone services, the company’s former main…
Pressure mounting on Star amid inquiry
SYDNEY, AAP – Star Entertainment faces a class action by shareholders on top of a public inquiry into whether it should keep its Sydney casino licence. Law firm Slater and Gordon has filed a class action against Star, seeking compensation for shareholders on claims of “misleading or deceptive representations” about its compliance with regulatory obligations….
Crypto heist one of the largest on record
LONDON, RAW – Blockchain project Ronin says that hackers have stolen cryptocurrency now worth almost $A824 million from its systems, in what would be one of the largest cryptocurrency heists on record. The project said that unidentified hackers on March 23 stole some 173,600 ether tokens and 25.5 million USD Coin tokens. At current exchange…
