Press Releases

A new independent payments group launched today will advocate for fairer regulation, lower debit transaction fees and greater reliability for Australian businesses and their customers, as the cost-of-living climbs and cash is rapidly replaced by digital payments in the Australian economy. The Independent Payments Forum Australia (IPF) aims to represent voices that currently go unheard in a payments debate dominated by the big banks and their subsidiaries, global technology players and card schemes, Visa and Mastercard. IPF founders and self-confessed “payments nerds”, Brad Kelly and Warwick Ponder, believe the current payment landscape in Australia leaves little room for many payments participants to have their say and affect change in a system that is costing businesses and their customers more than a billion dollars in unnecessary debit fees. It is essential to maintain innovation and competition in the market which provides real value for small businesses and consumers, they said. Small…

Petrol station workers ‘soft targets’ in violent crime surge. Petrol stations are “dangerous” and vulnerable to more violent crime like banks, sparking a new safety campaign amid calls for better security and planning rules.x Ahead of a major retail crime summit this week, a new study reveals at least 4000 South Australian retail staff are employed at more than 600 “high risk” and “soft target” outlets are facing an increasing crime threat. The state’s biggest union on Sunday will unveil a new safety campaign for workers, who are exposed to a “hotbed” of violent crime including armed hold-ups, robberies and assaults. One worker told how violence and abuse was “so commonplace they were ‘on the phone to the police almost every night’”, an alarming SDA survey revealed. The powerful union, which represents retail staff, is calling for an overhaul to planning and workplace laws as there are no mandatory or uniform rules for the industry. The state government will consider any reforms – including how…

New plan to help cut methane, not corners, as part of net zero by 2050 ambition.  CHICAGO, IL (May 7th, 2024) — Mars, Inc., has announced the launch of an ambitious sustainable dairy plan that will be backed by a $47m investment over three years – a significant financial backing that is part of the multinational’s broader climate cash commitment, totaling $1 billion over the same period.  The company’s new climate-first approach to dairy sourcing, dubbed Moo’ving Dairy Forward, will work to reduce the carbon footprint of dairy in line with its 2030 ambition to slash emissions by 50%*. The move signals another mile-marker in the CPG giant’s recently published open-source roadmap to “net zero”. Mars will work with a cohort of industry leaders to implement a host of meaningful on-farm interventions focused on critical areas such as enteric methane reduction, efficient manure management and sustainable feed production. As part of…

Police will be able to scan people for knives without a warrant in crowded places including shopping centres under new laws being developed by the New South Wales government after stabbings at Bondi Junction, Wakeley and Coffs Harbour. The legislation will be based on Queensland’s Jack’s Law, which was introduced last year following a 24-month trial of the powers on the Gold Coast, sparked by the death of 17-year-old Jack Beasley in 2019. The premier, Chris Minns, said the state had “borne witness to the devastating outcomes of knife-related violence”. “I know that many in our community have followed the devastating media coverage and heard the stories of victims and families – tragically, there have been so many recent examples,” he said. Our communities are still in mourning, but it’s essential that we step up to take immediate action to send a clear message that NSW will simply not accept these kinds of crimes.” Beasley’s father met…

An increase in robberies and assaults across the petrol station industry in SA has prompted the SDA to launch a new campaign. The SDA, the state’s largest union, is launching a campaign to protect the safety of workers, including introducing measures such as the installation of safety screens, secondary exits, mandatory night winders when working alone, secure cash machines, and better CCTV and surveillance measures. Josh Peak, SDA Secretary, said all petrol station workers deserve a safe workplace and that no worker should have to go to work and worry if they’re going to come home safely. “Incidents of theft and abuse are increasing in petrol stations and more must be done to keep workers safe. “Secondary exits, mandatory night windows and safety screens should be the standard, but for most petrol station workers, they’d be lucky if their workplace has even one of these. “The layout and security measures…

Supermarkets would be prohibited from price gouging and face stricter rules on land banking, should the government adopt the recommendations of the Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices. The committee published 14 recommendations, which include creating divestiture powers specific to the supermarket sector and prohibiting the charging of excess prices, otherwise known as price gouging. The committee noted that it heard unfair trading practices arising from the so-called supermarket duopoly of Coles and Woolworths. Moreover, the committee emphasised the need for merger reforms, which should include banning land banking. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission defines land banking as a ‘real estate investment scheme that involves buying large blocks of undeveloped land,’ which the committee said supermarkets do to reduce competition, particularly in greenfield sites where new suburbs are being developed. Currently, Woolworths holds around 50 development sites and Coles around 60, with some acquired decades ago. Other recommendations from the committee…