Miners sue BHP over gig economy, Channel Nine pays $48.5m for the Australian Open, and more top news

The news Australian professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation in the comments below.

More than 400 casual miners are suing BHP for the $40m they would have made if they were employees. The class action is the latest in a line of gig economy lawsuits that have been brought against companies like delivery service Foodora and rideshare app Uber. Lawyer Rory Markham said: “We hope that it redraws the definition of what truly is a casual and either results in casuals getting substantially more money, or alternatively, just returning to a permanent workforce.”

Channel Nine has bought the rights to the 2019 Australian Open from Channel Seven. Nine today announced the $48.5m agreement with Tennis Australia and Seven covering all media rights including streaming, broadcast, mobile and digital for the next five years. It’s a stunning turnaround from last week when Nine chief executive Hugh Marks said all hopes were lost and the channel was going to be without a summer sport. Seven remains the home of summer cricket.

Sydney hotels had a record-breaking month thanks to light show Vivid and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Occupancy rates in May hit a record of 83% (paywall) while revenue per available room was $178.95 – the second-highest for any May on record in Sydney according to hotel data rating agency STR. The cost of daily hotel rates also hit a high of $215.64 per night. A hotel room for Vivid’s launch was on average 5.4% more expensive than the 2017’s launch.

Australians are spending a collective $6.6bn each year on international websites, according to -financial services group ING (paywall). The group’s survey of 1000 Australians showed the average person spent $493 a year on international websites. The data also showed 61% of people preferred shopping online because it was cheaper and easier. Yet from next Sunday, international retailers will be charged GST on items under $1000 in a bid to level the playing field for local shops and websites.

Domestic flight fares increased by 8.9% last year. Data from Flight Centre business 4th Dimension (paywall) showed the average cost of a leisure fare increased by 8.9% while corporate fares increased 3.5%. The research showed Qantas domestic leisure fares jumped 7.9% while Virgin’s increased 2.7%. There was good news for international travellers with long-haul tickets reducing in cost by 4.3%. Spokeswoman Felicity Burke said: "Airlines are selling more seats — consumer demand is there."

Idea of the Day: If you want to turn your passion into a job, music producer Carmen Teixeira says you need to start somewhere by creating a routine and sticking to it.

“Set aside time each day after work to hustle, even if it is only 30 minutes to an hour. That time you spend watching television could be used otherwise.”

What's your take? Join the conversations on today's stories in the comments.

— Cayla Dengate