Tag Archives: oceania

Aussie travellers cop 14 per cent bump in international airfares in two months

Aussies looking to travel overseas or within the country are being hit with major increase in costs, as the cheapest month to book has been revealed.

Australians have been excited to delve back into international travel after borders reopened following COVID-19 lockdowns and the nation has been lashed by record rain.

Exclusive data provided to 9News found the average international return flight price in July to be approximately $1,761, if you were flying economy.

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That is an increase of about 14 per cent compared to the same period in May.

The data, from travel search engine KAYAK, calculated a 21 per cent increase on the average return flight within Australia, putting the price at about $406 for economy travellers in July.

The price of a ticket from from Sydney to Copenhagen in Denmark saw the largest hike at 47 per cent.

Perth to Johannesburg, South Africa flights rose 44 per cent, while Melbourne to Hawaii's Honolulu increased by 32 per cent since May.

One of Australia's most popular holiday destinations have also had a 26 per cent bump since May.

A return flight from Sydney to Denpasar, Bali will set an Aussie back roughly $967.

From Melbourne, the return airfares cost about $850, a 33 per cent increase.

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The Aussie city with direct flights to Rome

KAYAK Brand Director, Nicola Carmichael said there are ways to get savvy when booking flights.

"Our search data indicates that the most affordable month to book a return international flight in the rest of 2022 is in October and in November for a return domestic flight," Carmichael said.

"One piece of advice to Australians looking for a great deal is to be flexible with your dates, and consider choosing a mid-week or off-peak flight time."

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Tourists line up at a departure gate at Bali airport, Indonesia.

International travel booked during October is on average 21 per cent cheaper than the rest of the year.

If you're flying domestic, the best month to book is November, which is 22 per cent cheaper than the rest of the year.

According to KAYAK data, it's not all doom and gloom for people wanting to leave Australia.

Some international flight routes have experienced a decrease in flight prices in July compared to May.

Return from Melbourne to Auckland have fallen by around 6 per cent, while flights fares from Brisbane to Fiji's Nadi have dropped by approximately 4 per cent.

PM tears up during heartfelt speech as new parliament sworn in

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has teared up while giving a heartfelt address as Australia's 47th federal parliament was sworn in.

The opening day of the new parliament has been a busy one in Canberra.

Labor duo Milton Dick and Sue Lines were voted in as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President respectively.

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New Speaker Milton Dick is 'dragged' to the chairPrime Minister Anthony Albanese during a Welcome to Country ceremony to mark the start of the 47th Parliament

Dick defeated the opposition's pick for speaker, Andrew Wallace, who held the position from November 2021 until the election.

The Oxley MP will have the unenviable task of keeping order in the House of Representatives, where debates became noticeably more heated following the departure of Wallace's predecessor, the well-respected Tony Smith.

Ahead of parliament being sworn in, Government Services Minister Bill Shorten called for MPs to embrace a new tone.

"It's very exciting. Parliament starts. We will have a Welcome to Country," he told Today.

"We will see the members sworn in for the 47th parliament and Anthony Albanese will take the questions from Opposition Leader Dutton… and hopefully there will be a better tone in parliament."

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Prime Minister Anthony AlbanesePrime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton

That message was echoed by the prime minister during his address to all MPs and Senators in the Great Hall.

"I say to everyone here, all of my parliamentary colleagues, don't miss the chance, because you're not here for that long, none of us will be," Albanese said with tears in his eyes.

"And when you're sitting on the porch, thinking about what you did, you can either have a source of pride, or a source of regret.

"There's no middle path, no middle path. Make it a source of pride."

Earlier, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen acknowledged the government will rewrite parts of its climate legislation following negotiations with the Greens.

"Those discussions have occurred and no doubt there'll be some further discussions, but they have occurred along the basis of our public position and, to be fair, the Greens' public position as well," Bowen said.

"I'm not going to go into the details, but they would reflect the positions we've reflected publicly."

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Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen during a press conference at Parliament House in CanberraPrime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton during the administration of the oath

The changes to the legislation will make clear that a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 is a minimum commitment that could be increased, as well as enshrining that the Climate Change Authority will provide public advice on progress towards that milestone.

However, it stops short of the Greens' demands to ban all future coal- and gas-fired power plants.

While Labor has a majority in the lower house, it requires support from the Greens and one other member of the crossbench to pass any legislation in the Senate.

Independent ACT Senator David Pocock said he will support Labor's bill even before the amendments were flagged.

The legislation is expected to be introduced to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

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The 47th Parliament of Australia is opened

However, there'll be a notable face missing from debate then: Scott Morrison.

The former prime minister, who is still the member for Cook, announced on Monday he'll be skipping this week's sitting due to travel commitments.

"Prior to the new government advising the sitting schedule for the remainder of 2022, I had already accepted an invitation to join other former prime ministers from Canada, the UK and New Zealand to address an international event to be held in Tokyo this week," Morrison said in a statement.

"As a consequence, I will be unable to attend the first three sitting days of the new Parliament this week."

Since his announcement, it has emerged the summit Morrison is speaking at doesn't actually begin until Thursday evening.

The Coalition has not requested a pair to cover Morrison's absence, and Labor's Leader of the House, Tony Burke, called for the former prime minister to say whether he is being paid for his appearance at the summit.

Mother faces court over deaths of three children in house fire

A mother has faced court charged with the murder of her three children after they perished in a house fire in the West Australian town of Port Hedland.

A 10-year-old girl and two boys, aged seven and five months, were found dead inside the Anderson Street property by firefighters who responded to the blaze on July 19.

The children are not being named for cultural reasons.

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Margaret Hawke, 36, has been charged with murder.

Their mother, Margaret Dale Hawke, 36, has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of criminal damage by fire.

She briefly faced Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday but was not required to speak other than to confirm she understood the charges against her.

Hawke, who was refused police bail and is yet to enter pleas to her charges, was remanded in custody to face Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on August 31.

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The Port Hedland community has rallied around the family as they struggle to come to terms with the loss.

Appearing in person at the hearing, she waved to a supporter in the public gallery.

Hawke was hospitalised at Hedland Health Campus after the fire before being flown to Perth for further specialist treatment.

The blaze has sent shockwaves through the community of Port Hedland, in WA's Pilbara region.

Support services are being provided in the town by government agencies.

In a statement on Friday evening, the Hawke family said it was going through a "very traumatic grief process" and asked for their privacy to be respected.

"We are quietly paying tribute to our three little angels, and just supporting each other at this time," they said.

"Please let us do this without adding to our grief."

'Double scale' tragedy after married couple washed off rocks

The bodies of an elderly couple have been retrieved by police one day apart after the pair were washed off the rocks near Lake Macquarie in New South Wales.

Lake Macquarie police said the married pair were embarking on a "notorious" trip to the Pink Caves, located in the Munmorah State Conservation Area near the Central Coast.

"It appears they may have walked on the rock platform and been washed off by the ocean," Chief Inspector Peter Vromans said.

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Chief Inspector Peter Vromans Duty Officer, Lake Macquarie Police District

"Such a tragedy, on a double scale."

Emergency services were called to Moonee Beach about 2.30 pm on Monday after a member of the public located a woman in the water.

The 80-year-old was unable to be revived.

About 10am on Tuesday, a second body, the husband aged 76, was located offshore near Birdie Beach.

The couple were from North Epping in Sydney.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing and a report will be prepared for the coroner.