Australia news as it happened: Qantas fined $90 million for illegally sacking 1800 workers; European leaders to join Zelensky in Trump meeting

Over to Melbourne, where it appears one man has been arrested after he and a colleague yelled out “Free, free, Palestine” at a pro-Israeli rally this evening.

A crowd of more than 100 people gathered at the front of a hair salon in Bentleigh, in Melbourne’s southeast, after reports the owner had refused the haircut of an Israeli man last week. This masthead has not been able to independently verify that claim.

As speakers were criticising the Albanese government for denying a far-right Israeli minister’s visa, and vowing to recognise Palestine, two men yelled out “Free, free, Palestine”, prompting a section of the crowd to break off and pursue the men.

Police later arrested one of the men, handcuffing and wrestling him to the ground. “Put him in a divvy van,” the crowd chanted as police were speaking to him.

Officers said the man arrested is expected to be charged on summons with failing to move on.

Pro-Palestine protesters dared police to take them to court over a planned march across Brisbane’s Story Bridge after the two parties failed to reach an agreement on Monday.

Queensland police rejected plans put forward last week by Justice for Palestine Magan-djin to march across the bridge on Sunday, deeming it unsafe and urging organisers to choose another route.

Organiser Remah Naji declared the protest would go ahead as planned – despite the two parties failing to reach an agreement during mediation at Brisbane Magistrates Court – saying it’s now up to police to take the group to court if they want to prevent it from happening.

“We entered into those negotiations in good faith with a genuine willingness to listen, engage constructively, and make reasonable accommodations to work collaboratively with the police and make this march happen,” Naji said.

“Unfortunately, the mediation did not lead to a resolution, despite our best efforts, and now the onus is on the police to take us to court to prevent us from marching on the 24th of August.”

Read more on this story here.

In the 10 years from 2011, the length of the rule book for building houses in Australia almost doubled to nearly 3000 pages. Combined with the strictures imposed by local councils, apartment building regulations and environmental laws, different levels of government now dictate everything from how much a window can open, to the design of balcony railing, to the number of carparks a house has to have.

Many of these measures have been done in the name of worthy goals, such energy efficiency or child safety. But ahead of the Albanese government’s economic roundtable, the nation’s builders and Productivity Commission have warned that the ever-increasing restrictions on building a home come with a steep cost.

Labor has pledged to build 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade, but that promise is under intense pressure after a report from the government’s independent adviser in May showed the nation was set to fall 262,000 short of the target. This year, house prices in Australia reached a record of nearly 14 times the annual wage, compared to nine times the average wage in 2015 and 6.5 times in the year 2000.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil reaffirmed the government’s intention to prohibit further adjustments to the National Construction Code last week, in a bid to reduce costs and building delays. It is a similar position taken to the last election by then-opposition leader Peter Dutton, who suggested a 10-year freeze to the code.

Read more on this story from Millie Muroi here.

Former Australian Financial Review columnist and author of Qantas expose The Chairman’s Lounge, Joe Aston says the Transport Workers Union should be lauded for taking on the case against Qantas.

On Monday, Qantas was fined $90 million for illegally sacking more than 1800 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the largest penalty under workplace laws in Australian corporate history.

“It looked like a hopeless case. Nobody thought that they would win. Nobody thought that it would be so spectacular, that’s for sure. So it’s only right that they are rewarded … for engaging in such a high-risk venture,” Aston said.

Former Tasmanian Labor MP Michelle O’Byrne will be Australia’s next gender equality ambassador following years of advocacy to advance women’s rights.

O’Byrne served as the federal member for Bass from 1998 to 2004 and then as the state member for Bass in the Tasmanian parliament from 2006 to 2025.

She advocated for the decriminalisation of abortion in Tasmania, the establishment of safe access zones around abortion clinics and reforms to address family violence.

She most recently served as the speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly before her retirement from parliament prior to the state election in July.

The ambassador for gender equality aims to drive Australia’s efforts to end gender-based violence, promote economic equality and inclusive trade, support women’s participation in climate and humanitarian action and champion women’s leadership across the Indo-Pacific.

AAP