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In a landmark case, Federal Court Justice Michael O'Bryan yesterday found Coles misled its customers over discounts on everyday items. The penalties are yet to be decided, but could run to hundreds of millions of dollars.
As legal expert Jeannie Paterson explains, the court’s ruling is a big win for shoppers and for an emboldened consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. It also puts other Australian retailers on notice.
Coles’ major rival Woolworths is due to face its own day in court, with the same judge, in a parallel court case we’ve previously covered.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor delivered his budget reply speech last night. As Michelle Grattan writes, the opposition is so desperate to find a way out of its current malaise that Taylor ended up throwing everything at it, producing a grab bag of sound ideas and dubious commitments.
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Liz Minchin
Executive Editor + Business Editor
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Jeannie Marie Paterson, The University of Melbourne
This court decision will have huge ripple effects right across Australian retail – and petrol retailers in particular should be on notice.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
With his party in deep trouble, the opposition leader decided to go big in his budget reply.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The treasurer joined us on the podcast to defend his fifth budget, explaining the ‘new architecture’ to make future tax cuts easier ‘when the budget can afford it’.
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Catherine Smith, The University of Melbourne
The budget papers included a significant announcement about funding for school students with disabilities.
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Pi-Shen Seet, Edith Cowan University; Janice Jones, Flinders University
Even after a federal budget boost, Australia won’t have enough skilled tradespeople to work on existing homes – let alone build the new homes being promised.
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Meredith Primrose Jones, RMIT University
The virtual world still runs on a very physical network – and states are waking up to the strategic implications.
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Ian A. Wright, Western Sydney University; Amy-Marie Gilpin, Western Sydney University; Katherine Warwick, Western Sydney University
Cancer-linked chemicals can remain hidden in drinking water supplies for decades.
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Yassine Souilmi, Adelaide University ; Nhi Chau Nguyen, Adelaide University ; Shyamsundar Ravishankar, Adelaide University
Ancient and modern dingo DNA reveals eight genetically distinct groups of dingoes – and the limited influence of domestic dog genes.
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Bridget Haire, UNSW Sydney; David J. Carter, UNSW Sydney
You might expect a sexual partner to disclose a sexually transmitted infection. But you can’t rely on this – and criminalising the spread doesn’t work.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The opposition leader has described the plan as ‘generational tax reform’.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The Tasmanian senator’s move to Labor bolsters the government’s numbers in the Senate – but they will still need support to pass legislation.
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Christopher Mesagno, Victoria University
In sport, the yips can be a chronic, more severe form of ‘choking’ under pressure. Some athletes overcome them – others can get defeated by them.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The opposition policy, which would hit permanent residents as well as other non-citizens, will be highly controversial.
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Health + Medicine
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Emmalee Ford, University of Sydney
Reducing pain and boosting body positivity are two benefits of ‘cycle syncing’, according to social media.
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Erin Smith, La Trobe University; Cameron Anderson, La Trobe University
Ambulance workers are increasingly being verbally abused and physically attacked. Two paramedicine researchers explain how we can better protect them.
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Business + Economy
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Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
NZ’s world-first regime aimed to improve transparency in how institutions assess climate risk. So why are some choosing to say little about changes being made?
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Environment + Energy
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Bjørn-Oliver Magsig, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Graeme Austin, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The law change will gut the capacity of tort law to hold greenhouse gas emitters and the government to account for climate harms.
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Science + Technology
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Nathan Garland, Griffith University
The measures announced in the budget are not the kind of renewal many in the research sector might have hoped for.
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Olivia Maurice, Western Sydney University; University of Sydney; Mark Antoniou, Western Sydney University
There’s a difference between using a tool to assist you, and using one to replace cognitive effort.
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Arts + Culture
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Kylie Message, Australian National University
Dataland will be a ‘living museum’. But behind its futuristic facade and the fleeting cultural landscapes hosted inside, the museum has much deeper historical roots.
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Lisa Bennett, Flinders University
From the 750s on, the Vikings’ advanced shipbuilding technology helped give them the edge.
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Books + Ideas
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Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Australian Catholic University
Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel suggests solidarity is possible, but only under conditions of risk and mutual obligation.
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Sam Ryan, University of Tasmania
In Yñiga, Glenn Diaz gives readers a glimpse into his country’s history in the only way that would do it justice.
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Opposition budget reply
"Not much unexpected in Angus Taylor's panning of the Budget. Oppositions (and many of the public) think that if the government says 'Today is Thursday', a good Opposition should say 'No, it's Monday!' Tony Abbott started that rot and it is now accepted orthodoxy. Intelligent, reasonable oppositions need to consider every policy on its merits and agree with them, offer to work with government to improve them, or explain why they reject them. Taylor seldom does any of those things, preferring the Abbott mantra of opposing everything on principle."
Stuart Kennedy, Oatlands NSW |
