16/10/21: The Chronicle Retailers are united in their calls for the Australian Taxation Office and the Queensland Police to crack down on black market tobacco sales with millions lost in taxes going back to the community. The Chronicle spoke to several legitimate tobacconists in Toowoomba who said their sales had dropped by as much as 50 per cent since February – blaming the rise in illegal tobacco – chop chop – sales across the Garden City. The owner of one store – who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals – said he got up to 25 inquiries every day from customers openly asking if he sold chop chop – which is a fraction of the price of legitimate tobacco. “Customers are going to the illegal tobacco because it is a lot cheaper,” he said. “The only way we can get these customers back is if we get…

19/10/21: Business Insider Australia Food delivery platform Menulog says it will create 500 new office-based jobs in the coming months. The hiring spree comes after a reported 134 per cent increase in delivery orders in the year to June. Australia is the fastest-growing market for Menulog’s parent company, said managing director Morten Belling. Food delivery platform Menulog has revealed plans to create 500 jobs in Sydney through to mid-2022, as the company prepares to cater for the nation’s growing delivery app appetite. In a Tuesday announcement, the company said a new Macquarie Park office will eventually house its new team members, ranging from customer service representatives to managers and business support staff. Those staff will support Menulog’s operations as it facilitates the nation’s hunger for online food orders, which the company said grew 134 per cent over the year to June. “Australia represents the fastest growing market for our parent…

20/10/21: Australian Government Federal Health TGA Media Release The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued seven infringement notices totalling$18,648 to a Melbourne-based individual responsible for the Vapespot website, for alleged breaches of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (the Act). The alleged breaches relate to the advertising of nicotine vaping products.(//www.tga.gov.au/legislation-legislative-instruments) The Vapespot website allegedly advertised nicotine pods that contain a Schedule 4 prescription only medicine included in the current Poisons Standard . Under the Act, vaping products that contain nicotine are prescription only medicines and cannot be advertised to the Australian public.(//www.tga.gov.au/publication/poisons-standardsusmp) The TGA gave the individual detailed guidance about the legal requirements for importers,suppliers and advertisers of nicotine vaping products. Although changes were made to the website, they failed to substantially address the TGA’s concerns and it appeared that attempt swere made to conceal ownership of the website. The TGA takes non-compliance with the rules for advertising nicotine vaping…

21/10/21: NSW Government Media Release The NSW Government is investing almost half a billion dollars in tax cuts and incentives to drive uptake and reduce barriers for electric vehicle (EV) purchases over the next four years. This is Australia’s most generous EV package and will support NSW families and businesses to make the move to the vehicles of the future, now. We are making NSW the easiest and most affordable place to buy and use an EV in Australia. In close consultation with industry and other stakeholders, we have developed a balanced package that reduces the barriers to purchasing an EV while ensuring the State has a sustainable and fair road funding system into the future. Read the EV strategy Read the media release EV strategy The NSW Government’s EV Strategy will drive sales of EVs to more than 50% of new car sales by 2030-31, preparing the NSW road…

24/09/21; Grocery Dive Dive Brief: Whole Foods Market is implementing a $9.95 service fee on grocery delivery orders nationwide beginning Oct. 25, a company spokesperson said. This includes those placed by Amazon Prime members, who previously got free delivery on orders over $35. The announcement comes less than a month after Whole Foods began testing the fee addition in several markets, including the Detroit, Chicago and Boston areas.  The spokesperson said the fee helps the grocer cover the higher operating costs it’s now shouldering for delivery orders without increasing product prices. Amazon are making it clear that they’re done subsidizing the extra costs that come with grocery delivery. Although Prime shoppers responded emphatically to free delivery on large orders from Whole Foods stores during the pandemic, with the number of deliveries made in 2020 through the grocer triple what they were in 2019, the companies indicated that continuing to meet demand with that…

08/09/21; The Verge ‘Just Walk Out’ tech is coming to one store in Washington, DC, and another in Sherman Oaks, California Amazon is bringing its cashierless “Just Walk Out” technology to two new Whole Foods locations next year, the company has announced. One of the stores will be in Washington, DC, while the second will be in Sherman Oaks, California. When they’re open, customers will have the option of paying at a traditional self-checkout or customer service booth, or having the new technology automatically bill them when they leave the store. The move marks Amazon’s latest step towards scaling its cashierless technology, which works by using a series of cameras and sensors to automatically detect what people pick up off shelves, into a variety of larger stores. Just Walk Out originally debuted in small Amazon Go convenience stores, before the company scaled it up to work in bigger and bigger grocery stores. CUSTOMERS WILL NEED AN…