Australia

Despite him blowing the whistle on the egregious use of power by the Tax Office with an understanding that he was protected, he wasn’t. He’s been caught out by inadequate laws that purported to shield him, but instead lured him into a situation where he and his family has suffered for seven years.

Somehow not satire.

Archive/non-paywall link.

(Context, for the international audience.)

The ACCC's supermarket inquiry has shone a spotlight on Coles and Woolworths' high prices. But 76 per cent of shoppers still head to either store for their primary grocery shop.

Aldi has again beaten Coles and Woolworths in a government-funded shopping basket comparison.

Consumer advocacy group Choice released the results as part of its quarterly survey, sending mystery shoppers to 104 stores across the country in September.

Here is a breakdown of the costs between Aldi, Coles, Woolies and IGA (without specials) from its most recent report:

• Aldi: $50.63
• Coles: $67.90
• Woolworths: $69.29
• IGA: $77.57

• ACT/NSW from Friday, December 20 to Wednesday, January 1, 2025.

• WA from December 20 until Sunday, January 5, 2025.

Interestingly Victoria police say "We have not seen any evidence of proven safety or deterrent benefit from enforcing double demerit points during holiday periods"...

Public life ground to a halt, many lost power, and scores of people died behind closed doors. What sounds like the start of a post-apocalyptic movie is in fact Melbourne in January 2009.

Self-declared sovereign citizens, who believe Australia’s laws do not apply to them, are having a serious impact on the family court, experts say

Kind of odd to me becase even if you do believe this, the judicial institutions have armed police and jails on their side and you have your thumbprint, (unkess your name is Train I guess, which was a whole other thing) seems a losing battle from the get go? Whats the upside ?

An oppressive heatwave stretching across half the country from Darwin to Victoria will send temperatures soaring up to 15 degrees Celsius above average during the coming days.

Maximums are predicted to exceed 40C across a broad swathe of the interior and east — the warmest summer weather in years for much of south-east Australia, including highs on Monday of 41C in Melbourne and 38C in Canberra.

Across the eastern outback maximums will peak well above 45C, hot enough to challenge December records in a handful of western New South Wales towns.