AUCKLAND, New Zealand — New Zealand’s longest-serving politician has used his valedictory to apologize for voting against gay marriage. Nick Smith, the outgoing Nelson-based Member of Parliament, first elected in 1990, made a shocking decision to resign from parliament last month and finished up on June 10. His reasons for leaving are still shrouded in mystery, and the 56-year-old did not elaborate in his valedictory address to the house. Instead, he rattled through his proudest memories and achievements before arriving at his signature regret. “There is an issue I got wrong. In 2013, I voted against gay marriage,” he said. “The…
Author: zenger.news
SYDNEY — Amazon Australia has rejected claims it underpays delivery drivers, spies on workers and blocks unions from attending warehouses. Senators grilled Amazon’s public policy director Michael Cooley at a Senate inquiry investigating job security on June 10. Cooley said Amazon Flex drivers, who use their own sedans to pick up parcels, received a minimum of AU$108 ($83.62) for four hours, putting them slightly above the rate set in owner-driver laws. He said the average was $120 ($92.91) for four hours because of surge pricing. “No one who works for Amazon gets paid below the minimum wage, we say that categorically,”…
SYDNEY — Setting the conditions for a travel bubble will be on the agenda for prime ministerial talks between Scott Morrison and Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore on June 10. Singapore will be the first stop for the prime minister on his way to Cornwall for the G7 leaders’ summit, as well as trade and security talks in London and Paris. Australia already has a Covid-safe travel agreement with New Zealand but a Singapore deal would deliver a major confidence boost for the tourism, education and corporate sectors. It is understood the Singapore government has submitted a number of proposals to…
ORANGE, Australia — Eastern Australia is shivering through a winter blast, with wild wilds and flooding prompting thousands of calls for help in Victoria. Strong winds up to 120km/h hit parts of Victoria overnight, including Melbourne, which copped most of the damage. The Victorian SES has had 3152 call-outs across the state over the past 12 hours, with most for trees down (2577) and building damage (400). Lilydale and Emerald in the city’s outer southeast were among the hardest-hit areas. The wild weather has left more than 180,000 customers across the state without power and delayed some Melbourne train services on the morning…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has revealed she is not investigating resettlement options for a Tamil family from Queensland being detained on Christmas Island. Three-year-old Tharnicaa is receiving treatment for a blood infection at Perth Children’s Hospital after being evacuated from the island with her mother Priya Murugappan earlier this week. Andrews on June 8 raised a “range of resettlement options” when asked about the family, who were taken from their home in Biloela and detained almost three years ago. But the minister now insists she was making a general comment about refugees evacuated to Australia for…
MELBOURNE, Australia — A train that derailed in Victoria, killing two crew and seriously injuring eight people, was traveling at more than eight times the speed limit through a re-routed section of track. The Melbourne-bound XTP service from Sydney entered a rail loop at Wallan at almost 130km/h despite a 15km/h (9.3 miles/h) speed limit in place through a re-routed section of track. Wallan, traditionally known as Wallan Wallan, is a town in Victoria, 45 kilometers north of Melbourne’s Central Business District. Experienced train driver John Kennedy, 54, was killed in the February 2020 crash. Train pilot Sam Meintanis, 49, also…
ORANGE, Australia — Orange has been painted white, and Sydney is shivering through its coldest day in more than 25 years as much of eastern Australia is shrouded in a winter storm. A cold air mass has blown in from Antarctica, sending temperatures plummeting and widespread snowfall all the way up to the Queensland border. Towns near Orange in New South Wales have been turned into a “winter wonderland,” meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse said in a statement. “The Central Tablelands is where you’re seeing some of the most significant snowfalls, and there’s some pretty impressive imagery out there,” she said. Orange appears…
GUWAHATI, India — Bengkhuaia, the chief of the Mizo community hailing from the Sailam hamlet in India’s northeastern state of Mizoram, took the fight against the British colonizers and organized a community-led resistance against them. One-hundred-and-forty-two years after his death, Bengkhuaia was honored when a species of gecko, a tiny lizard-like animal found in the forests of Aizawl, was named after him — Cyrtodactylus bengkhuaiai. A team of researchers from the northeastern states of Assam, Mizoram, and army personnel from a military station in Meghalaya discovered four new species of bent-toed geckos. “These four discoveries increase the diversity of Cyrtodactylus in…
SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK, Australia — They’re young, impatient, ineligible — and now vaccinated. Meet the New South Wales under-40s getting the Pfizer Covid-19 jab despite not meeting the state’s vaccination eligibility criteria. Officials have spoken to several people who have managed to book a vaccine appointment using hyperlinks circulated to frontline workers for their household contacts — despite not being eligible themselves. P, a 31-year-old Sydney resident, claimed he booked his jab using a hyperlink from a family member who works in a laboratory also used by hospital workers. The link was intended for people who live in the family member’s household.…
SYDNEY — Winter has officially arrived for much of eastern Australia, with an icy blast bringing widespread snowfall and sending temperatures plummeting. In New South Wales, the mercury is expected to dip more than 10 degrees below average for this time of year in some places and come close to breaking minimum temperature records for June. Significant snowfall is expected across the state, including in the Northern Tablelands for the first time in almost six years. A woman crosses the street during snowfall in Katoomba, New South Wales, June 10, 2021. (Steven Saphore/AAP Image)“We’re also going to see fairly widespread snowfall…