Tag Archives: oceania

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Man killed in workplace incident in Brisbane

A man has died at a workplace in Tingalpa, in Brisbane's east.

Emergency services were called to a business on Wynnym Road around 6.40am after a man in his 40s was injured in an incident involving two vehicles.

Despite the efforts of paramedics, the man died at the scene.

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Workplace Health and Safety is investigating, with the assistance of police.

More to come.

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Coca-Cola indicates it could walk away from Containers for Change scheme in Queensland

Coca-Cola has indicated it could walk away from the Containers for Change scheme in Queensland, after the government proposed an overhaul.

The government introduced legislation to strengthen the governance of the scheme last month after a parliamentary inquiry heard allegations of conflicts of interest, unfair contracts, misleading conduct, and bullying.

In a submission to the government, the multi-national beverage company argued the legislation goes "well beyond reasonable oversight".

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It said the amendments will "increase governance risk and reduce industry confidence".

"Further, it will create real, practical challenges for CCEP's (Coca-Cola Europacific Partners) continued participation in COEX's governance and may necessitate a reassessment of our involvement."

COEX is the non-profit responsible for administering the scheme, of which CCEP is a founding member.

The inquiry had found that COEX had invested "comparatively little" of its own funds into community or environmental initiatives and did not have a "transparent plan" to do so.

"While the scheme has generated more than $2.5 billion in revenue since inception, less than 40 per cent has been returned to Queenslanders through refunds, and less than 2 per cent has gone directly to charities."

It argued COEX does not have a "transparent plan for reinvestment in environmental or charitable programs".

The inquiry also made referrals to the state's Crime and Corruption Commission.

Environment minister Andrew Powell said anyone could share their views as part of the committee process.

"We have introduced legislation to strengthen the scheme's governance after a scathing report exposed its serious failures under the former Labor government," Powell said in a statement.

"A parliamentary committee is looking at proposed changes to strengthen the container refund scheme, and anyone can share their views as part of this process."

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‘Ignorant of reality’: Pentagon spokesperson lashes reporting of Pete Hegseth’s Pulp Fiction Bible verse

A spokesperson has hit out over reports on Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth quoting a fake Bible verse from the movie Pulp Fiction during a sermon at a Pentagon religious service.

Speaking at a worship service, Hegseth read a prayer given to him by the "lead mission planner" of the rescue mission for two Air Force crew who were shot down over Iran.

"The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men," Hegseth prayed.

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Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

"Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherd the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. 

"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother. And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee, and amen."

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the prayer was "obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction".

"However, both the CSAR prayer and the dialogue in Pulp Fiction were reflections of the verse Ezekiel 25:17, as Secretary Hegseth clearly said in his remarks at the prayer service," Parnell said. 

"Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality."

The first few lines of the prayer were written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary in the popular '90s film.

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Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

In the movie, the character played by Samuel L Jackson falsely claims they are from the Bible passage Ezekiel 25:17.

Jackson's character utters the verse before gunning down a small-time criminal who owed his gangster boss money.

But Hegseth's prayer changed "the LORD" in the Bible so it was instead about the unit involved in the rescue.

The Trump administration is under scrutiny for a series of acts this week that have been viewed by many Christians as blasphemous or heretical.

On Monday Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ. He later deleted it.

He has also made the extraordinary rare move of attacking the pope after he called for peace in the Middle East.

And Vice President JD Vance criticised Pope Leo XIV for his comments.

"In the same way that it's important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology," Vance said.

"If you're going to opine on matters of theology, you've got to be careful, you've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth."

READ MORE: JD Vance criticises Pope Leo for not 'being careful speaking about theology'

Today the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior member of clergy in the Anglican church, issued a statement in support of the Catholic pontiff.

"I stand with my brother in Christ, his holiness Pope Leo XIV, in his courageous call for a kingdom of peace," Archbishop Sarah Mullally said.

"As innocent people are killed and displaced, families torn apart and futures destroyed, the human cost of war is incalculable."

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