Wilson took over as acting CEO on July 2 and will take over as chief executive this week.
Tag Archives: oceania
Man who assaulted resident at Nelson backpackers with teaspoon sentenced to intensive supervision
In a separate incident, he also assaulted someone with a teaspoon.
Young boy suffers serious head injury after alleged fight at primary school
A seven-year-old boy has suffered a serious head injury after he was allegedly punched by another student while playing at a school in Melbourne's south-east earlier this month.
Jayden Pham was placed in an induced coma following the alleged attack, which unfolded between another Grade One student at St John Vianney's Primary School in Mulgrave on October 17.
While the school contacted his parents disclosing the initial fight, his parents have said there should have been more staff supervision on school grounds.
READ MORE: Cost of living climbing faster than inflation for Australian workers
"He started hitting me in the head and that hurt (me) quite a lot," Jayden told 9News.
"When the bell rang, I stood up and he punched me in the chin and my tooth fell out. It hurt a bit."
After the alleged attack, Jayden sought help from staff, who contacted his parents, saying he suffered a broken tooth and had been punched once.
"My friend told the teacher when the bell rang," he said.
Four days later, the seven-year-old told his parents he was suffering from a painful headache.
"He (was in) really bad pain, crying the whole night and vomiting," his mother Julie Pham said.
Jayden was rushed to hospital where he underwent emergency brain surgery, having suffered internal bleeding.
READ MORE: Top global finance body calls on RBA to hike interest rates
His parents allege the school has failed them telling 9News that no adult or teacher witnessed the attack.
"The teacher has a duty of protection because we trust the school to protect our children," his father Paul Pham said.
St John Vianney's Primary School Principal Andrew Mullaly said the safety of students was their number one priority.
"We take our responsibilities extremely seriously," he said in a statement.
"In accordance with our clear policies and procedures, no form of bullying or violence is ever acceptable. One of our student's health has unfortunately deteriorated significantly in the days following an incident between two Year 1 students in the playground.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with this student and family."
READ MORE: Teenage boy stabbed on Melbourne street as children celebrated Halloween
Mullaly said the incident was investigated by staff and found the student had been struck by another student following a dispute in relation to a soccer match.
"The student was assessed by a first-aid qualified staff member," he said.
"Parents of both students were advised of the incident.
"The student returned to class, and to school in subsequent days, with no obvious signs of the serious and concerning medical issues which have since arisen.
"We will continue to offer full support to the family."
However, his parents, backed by lawyers, allege there should have been better supervision.
Arnold Thomas and Becker Senior Associate Jennifer Lay said they allege the school failed to provide the appropriate supervision for the students.
"These injuries are life-changing and are likely to impact him long term," she said.
"There has been a denial that the current condition of the child is not a result of what happened on the school grounds.
"We understand there were no teachers present at the time of the incident."
Jayden will be discharged from hospital in the coming days but he has a long road to recovery.
"The pain, the suffering that Jayden has been through. I wish that no parents go through what (he has) been through," Mr Pham said.
Search finds no trace of surfer taken by shark off South Australian coast
The search for a man who was taken by a great white shark at a popular surfing spot off the coast in South Australia will be scaled back.
It's believed the 55-year-old was killed by a shark when he was surfing near a group off the coast of Granites Beach in Westall Way Loop near Streaky Bay about 10.20am yesterday.
Locals told 9News the avid surfer had only lived in the area for a short time and it wasn't his usual spot to catch waves.
READ MORE: Australian stopped at airport with seven women gets life sentence
The attack was witnessed by people on shore who said the shark attacked the man, which left him floating before he was attacked again.
They believe the shark was up to 4.5 metres in length.
The area off the coast is marked as a great white shark breeding ground.
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"We are in the domain and every surfer knows when he goes for a surf that there's going to be a shark somewhere," a local told 9News.
A scaled-back search will begin in the morning and the attack has now become a case for the state's coroner.
Why more Aussies are buying their groceries online and in bulk
As the cost of living crisis continues to pinch purses across the country, many Aussie families are buying in bulk and online to curb hip-pocket pain at the checkout.
So much so that bulk buy groceries have overtaken clothing and apparel as the number one category on shopping platform Catch.
Popular items include dishwashing tablets, muesli bars, chips and milk powder.
READ MORE: Australian held in Philippines prison swears he is innocent man
The modern approach to grocery shopping is becoming increasingly popular for Aussie families looking to slash their shopping bills.
With three hungry children to feed, Alexandra and Zac Cain saw their weekly grocery bill surge from $300 to almost $500.
"A lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, but usually just the snacks, the school lunchboxes is a massive dent," Alexandra said.
"Everyday, making the lunchboxes, we need things on the go to grab out of the cupboard."
Convenience and fast delivery made it an easy decision for the busy family to make the switch to online bulk purchases.
"Just buying everything in bulk, I don't have to worry about dishwashing tablets for a couple of months," Alexandra said.
"I find it a lot easier to compare pricing online … it's harder to do in person," Zac said.
According to Catch managing director Brendan Sweeney, the couple is not alone in their pursuit to save.
"What we're seeing is a really big swing to people trying to save money on everyday essential items," Sweeney said.
Pantry bargains like pet food, cat litter and coffee pods have seen a large increase in sales on the platform, proving more favourable than traditional top sellers like Birkenstocks and Asics.
READ MORE: Climate activists launch hit on SUV tyres in second Australian city
Retail expert Gary Mortimer said not everyone can afford the upfront costs of buying in bulk, but encouraged families to join forces to save at the checkout.
"One of the options around would be to form a co-op, you know, with family and friends, to buy in bulk then simply split the costs when you get home," Mortimer said.
With daily orders at The Catch warehouse expected to increase to 10,000 in the lead-up to the Christmas period, many families are choosing to kickstart their Christmas shopping early.
"That is one of the things we find helpful is to try and start earlier and spread that cost out across the year … it does help going into December," Zac said.
"Just to get ahead and to save money now, because I am going to need that money in December," Alexandra added.
Auckland homicide: Young mum fell from car after dispute with man – witness
A man has been charged with assault after the woman was found on the road.
Ruthless-Empire homicide: Woman who lived at Taitā address defends herself on social media
The toddler suffered fatal blunt force injuries at the address.
Cost of living rising faster than inflation for Aussie workers
The cost of living for Australian workers is climbing faster than inflation as households around the country fall off the fixed-rate mortgage cliff and battle surging petrol prices.
New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today revealed living costs for workers across the country jumped by 2 per cent for the September quarter, and 9 per cent compared to the same time last year.
The quarterly number is higher than June's increase of 1.5 per cent, and almost double the jump in inflation of 1.2 per cent for the same time period, although the annual increase has softened from 9.6 per cent last quarter.
READ MORE: Top global finance body calls on RBA to hike interest rates
While interest rates didn't increase at all during the September quarter, mortgage repayments were still responsible for a large proportion of the increase in living costs as homeowners rolled over from fixed to variable rates.
"Mortgage interest charges rose 9.3 per cent following a 9.8 per cent rise in the June 2023 quarter," ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said.
"While the Reserve Bank of Australia has not increased the cash rate since July 2023, previous interest rate increases and the rollover of some expired fixed-rate to higher-rate variable mortgages resulted in another strong rise this quarter."
Also worsening the cost of living were rising petrol prices and higher insurance premiums.
READ MORE: Why it could take 2 million Aussies changing jobs to reach net zero
Major oil producers Russia and Saudia Arabia announced a significant cut to production in early September, leading to a jump in prices felt in Australia.
The declining value of the Australian dollar since June has also made for more expensive trips to the bowser.
It wasn't just employees hit hard by the rising cost of living, with all other household types (pensioners and beneficiaries, aged care pensioners, self-funded retirees and other government recipients) seeing quarterly increases of between 0.5 and 1.4 per cent.
Their annual jumps were far less than workers, ranging from 5.4 to 6 per cent.
Those increases were largely driven by the same factors of rising mortgage repayments and petrol prices, although housing costs – which includes rents, utilities, rates and maintenance – actually dropped for pensioners and government beneficiaries.
The Great New Zealand Road Trip: Diary, Day 3 – how the VW ID.5 handled one of NZ’s most terrifying mountain roads
The view would be lovely – but it’s all eyes forward.
Tāngarākau campground murder trial: Camp managers give evidence in death of Adrian Humphreys
He allegedly stabbed the camper five times while trying to steal his car keys.