Good afternoon. Jacinta Allan has been elected unopposed as the 49th premier of Victoria, and Ben Carroll will serve as deputy premier.
It returns Victorian Labor to a compromise model of power sharing between left and right factions, with Allan a member of the socialist left – the same faction as Daniel Andrews – and Carroll a member of Labor’s right faction.
Who is Jacinta Allan, and what can we expect from her leadership? We take a closer look.
- Inflation at 5.2% | A surge in fuel prices and rising rents are the main drivers of a bump in inflation, up from 4.9% in July to 5.2% last month. Analysts say the CPI rate was in line with expectations and “won’t move the dial ahead of the October RBA meeting, where the RBA is widely expected to stay on hold”.
- Tesla battery fire in Queensland | A Tesla battery fire at one of Queensland’s first large-scale battery storage sites could burn for days, as authorities warn nearby residents to stay indoors to avoid hazardous fumes. The cause of the fire at Bouldercombe, south of Rockhampton, is being investigated.
- Qatar Airways ‘shocked’ by government rejection | The airline told a Senate inquiry it was “surprised and shocked” that the Australian government “unfairly” rejected its request to expand in Australia, adding the extra flights would have generated about $3bn in economic benefits over five years.
- Doctors’ union head apologises over sexual assault remarks | The president of the doctors’ union, Dr Antony Sara, has apologised for comments he made that overall incidents of sexual assault in medicine are “not high”, and for describing findings from his own organisation’s research into the issue as “survey bias”. A 2019 inquiry conducted by the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (Asmof) into sexual harassment found 33% of all doctors had experienced sexual harassment at least once in their careers. Sara says it is “unacceptable” that sexual harassment “remains distressingly prevalent” for doctors at work.
- Trump court ruling | A New York judge ruled Donald Trump committed financial fraud by overstating the value of his assets to broker deals and obtain financing. Here are the five key takeaways from the verdict.
- Hollywood writers end strike | Hollywood writers are officially ending their five-month strike, after union leaders approved an agreement made with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, and sent the full details of the new contract to union members for ratification.
- Amazon v the US government | The US Federal Trade Commission and 17 states are suing the retail giant, alleging the e-commerce behemoth uses its position in the marketplace to inflate prices on other platforms, overcharge sellers and stifle competition. Is this big tech’s antitrust reckoning? Read our analysis.
- Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh | Almost a quarter of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population has fled into Armenia since Azerbaijan launched an attack on the breakaway region last week, according to Armenia’s government.
- Deadly Iraqi wedding fire | More than 100 people have been killed and 150 people injured in a fire at a wedding celebration in the district of Hamdaniya in Iraq’s Nineveh province. The fire ripped through a large events hall in the north-eastern region after fireworks were lit during the celebration, state media said.
