Single use plastic bags banned in Queensland
Queensland legislation came into force over the weekend banning the use of single use plastic bags from being provided in supermarkets, takeaway stores, pharmacies, goods sold online and markets.
Woolworths and Coles announced a nationwide ban on the bags at the same time, which has been met with mixed responses and confusion.
To support the transition, Woolworths has offered free reusable bags for a week and Coles will have additional registers open.
Pop-up shelters for women in Sydney
Women experiencing homelessness in Sydney will have access to pop-up temporary accommodation, as Uniting Care repurposed one of their disused aged care homes to provide housing for older women.
Uniting’s director of property and housing said the project will provide 30 rooms, with second-hand furnishings provided by a major hotel chain who were refurbishing their premises.
Cost of tobacco legal battle revealed
The cost to taxpayers for the Australian Government’s six-year legal battle with the tobacco giant Philip Morris over plain packaging laws has been revealed.
According to freedom of information documents obtained by the Guardian, the commonwealth government spent nearly $40 million defending its world-first plain packaging laws.
Philip Morris Asia lost the multi-year case, with the court ordering the tobacco giant to pay Australia’s legal costs in 2017.
Pro-Democracy protests in Hong Kong
An pro-democracy protest was carried in Hong Kong on Sunday during the 21st anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain to China.
Police put the figure at 9,800, a record low turnout due to the weakening of the pro-democracy movement with prominent activists jailed.
Protesters chanted slogans against one-party rule in China with demands for universal suffrage in Hong Kong and mainland China and carried yellow umbrellas, a symbol of democratic activism.
Italian minister to bring together European nationalist parties
Italian interior minister and leader of the far-right league, Matteo Salvini said he wanted to create a pan-European association of nationalist parties.
At a keynote speech at the party’s annual meeting he called for a league of a league of Europe, bringing together all the free and sovereign movements that want to defend their people and their borders.
The announcement came as the EU struck a deal on how to handle refugees and irregular migrants after a ship that carried 600 migrants was forced to divert to Spain after Salvini blocked entry.
Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Based on the bestselling novel published in 2003, by Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time provides a fascinating insight into Asperger’s syndrome through the eyes of Christopher Boone (Joshua Jenkins), a 15-year-old boy living in suburban England with his troubled parents. Christopher likens himself to a mathematical Sherlock Holmes when he tries to determine the murderer of his neighbour’s dog, after initially being accused of the vicious and disturbing crime.
High Tension: Purge
- Hardcore or metal? Metal or hardcore? Hardcore and metal? Metal then hardcore? It’s kind of astonishing how long these questions have been asked in the world of heavy music, usually with great venom, the two contenders locked in a death spiral, all the way down.
Death Grips: Year Of The Snitch
- Do Death Grips even need an introduction at this point? In less than a decade, the Sacramento trio have become notorious for both their creative publicity stunts, as well as a prolific and boundary pushing catalogue. I struggle to think of another modern artist who’s better utilized the internet’s endless potential for marketing, signaling each new album with a slew of online antics.
East Brunswick All Girls Choir: Teddywaddy
- It may not be immediately apparent, but East Brunswick All Girls Choir have learnt the value of taking their time. They know to relax, not to mess with a thing until it’s good and ready. Despite their associations with country and blues, easygoing wouldn’t, traditionally, be the first assessment you’d make of their nervy, twitching, often just flat-out screaming sound.
Habits: Salty
- Melbournite purveyors of things dark, squelchy and electronic, Habits, make a timely return with their second EP of electro-gothic-r’n’b-dance mayhem, a couple of years after their first, fierce little effort.