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Coles ‘down down’ prices duped customers, court told

A supermarket giant effectively misled shoppers with a catchy slogan that was "not just some meaningless phrase", a court has heard.

In its closing submissions to the Federal Court, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) argued Coles intentionally duped customers with its "down down" campaign, first launched in 2010.

Garry Rich SC, for the commission, said the campaign was a tactic to deceive consumers that prices on thousands of products were falling when in fact they were going up overall.

READ MORE: Inflation comes in hotter than expected again, raising chance of interest rate hike

Coles has been accused of faking many of its discounts in Federal Court.

In one example cited by Rich, the price of a jar of Coles-brand quince paste was raised to $4.50 from $3 for four weeks before being reduced to $3.15.

Rich argued that four weeks was not a genuine establishment period for $4.50 to be legitimately considered the regular price.

"When consumers hear the words 'down down', they don't think that's a meaningless phrase," he told Justice Michael O'Bryan.

"They think it means something, and what they think it means is that the price of this product has gone down."

Coles had defended its discount campaign in court, saying grocery shoppers understood they represented "fair dinkum" price reductions.

The retail giant argued its "down down" prices were genuine discounts for shoppers after an increase in wholesale costs during a post-COVID inflation surge.

In his summary, Rich painted a picture of the average consumer, saying that grocery shopping was a chore for most.

"There must be very few people who shop for groceries for fun," he said.

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supermarket signs to watch out for jo abi supermarket sleuths

Customers were often in a hurry, shopping for many different products on the same visit, Rich added.

"Many are travelling through the aisles of Coles with children in tow, perhaps hanging off the trolley begging for ice cream," he said.

"They see a big red and white ticket and read that the price is 'down down' … many of them will have no idea that the price was actually lower four weeks ago."

Justice O'Bryan queried whether time-poor consumers might take the meaning of "down down" to be simply a generic statement for prices as a whole.

But Rich countered by saying that "down down" immediately implied that there used to be a higher price.

Competitive pressures between Coles and Woolworths had created an ethical race to the bottom between the supermarket duopoly, he said.

"The better standard, if one is going to use Coles' standards as a guide, is what did they think was appropriate in circumstances where they weren't fighting tooth and nail with Woolworths, where they weren't concerned that Woolworths had thrown out the rule book," he said.

The commission alleges the supermarket giant deliberately raised prices on thousands of everyday items before offering discounts at prices higher than or equal to the original shelf price throughout a period of 15 months.

The case continues.

READ MORE: Shops locking up chocolate as theft focus shifts in UK

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Police say ‘satirical’ art posters at bar didn’t violate hate laws

Police will return a series of "satirical" posters to a Canberra bar after finding they did not violate the federal government's new hate laws.

Dissent Cafe and Bar had posters depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk in Nazi-like uniforms on their doors with signs reading "sanction Israel" and "stop genocide".

Last Wednesday, just as a live band was about to play, police stormed the venue and asked for the posters to be removed after receiving a complaint.

READ MORE: 'Ego-driven' changes in Australian politics stuns closest ally

A Canberra bar is being investigated for hate crime breaches after a series of posters, which the owner says are clearly satirical.

ACT Policing said owner David Howe refused to take down or hand over the posters, a claim Howe denies.

Officers declared a crime scene, temporarily shutting down the bar and seizing all seven of the posters.

The gig was cancelled, and patrons were kicked out for several hours.

ACT Policing has investigated the posters under the federal government's new hate laws that were passed following the December 14 attack at Bondi and today said they will not pursue any criminal proceedings.

"Following assessment, it has been determined that while the posters satisfied certain aspects of the legislation, other aspects were not met," ACT Policing said in a statement.

"The posters will be returned to the owner in due course and this matter finalised.

"ACT Policing remains committed to ensuring that alleged antisemitic, racist and hate incidents are addressed promptly and thoroughly and when possible criminality is identified, ACT Policing will not hesitate to take appropriate action."

Howe welcomed the news, saying "for now, satirical art is still allowed".

The incident caused widespread shock from Canberra all the way to the United Kingdom, where the creators of the posters received word their "satirical" art had been met with police action.

READ MORE: 'As good as it gets': Bank's bleak warning to every Australian

Dissent bar owner David Howe.

"I completely support Dissent cafe and bars freedom of speech to call out fascists," UK-based protest art group Grow Up Art said in a statement.

"The police are completely wasting everyone's time by having sense of humour failure (no surprises there) but thanks to them for the free promo because everyone has started sharing my protest artwork around Canberra now."

Howe told 9news.com.au at the time that he was shocked as the posters, which had been up for a month and received a positive response, were "obviously parody art with a distinct anti fascist message".

"I struggled to understand how anyone could assume anything else," he said.

"I was shocked and surprised. I don't think their response or their actions were warranted."

Labor Murrumbidgee MP Marisa Paterson contacted ACT Policing to seek clarification around the circumstances that took place, while Independent Kurrajong MP Thomas Emerson wrote to the police minister to seek an explanation.

"This seems pretty Orwellian to me," Emerson said at the time. 

"Art intends to provoke and challenge us.

"In attempting to foster social harmony by preventing offence, we can't afford to create more division. Government suppression of artistic expression and dissenting voices is incredibly divisive."

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A lot more of the same in Trump’s longest-ever State of the Union

In the face of dismal approval ratings, Donald Trump doubled down on his favourite topics while avoiding the issues that have made him so unpopular.

And in doing so, the US president gave the longest State of the Union address in history.

Over an hour and 47 minutes, Trump railed against crime and immigration and touted the stock market and the military.

READ MORE: Trump told police in mid-2000s 'everyone has known' about Epstein

But his speech only briefly touched on issues of affordability, and made no mention of controversial agency ICE.

The other topic that didn't get a mention in his speech was notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – his longtime friend.

But the president served up hefty helpings of red meat to his base.

Crime

A large section of the speech has been dedicated to describing in graphic detail high-profile crimes.

As Trump described the murders, relatives of the victims sat in the audience.

Among those is Erika Kirk, the widow of political commentator Charlie Kirk.

The mother of alleged murder victim Iryna Zarutska was in tears as Trump described her daughter's death.

"Last summer, 23-year-old Iryna was riding home on the train when a deranged monster who had been arrested over a dozen times and was released through no cash bail, stood up and viciously slashed a knife through her neck and body," Trump said.

"No one will forget the expression of terror on Iryna's face as she looked at her attacker in the last seconds of her life."

Trump called on members to stand if they agreed with him.

"If you agree with the statement, then stand up and show your support," he said.

"The duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens."

As Democrats remained seated, he told them they should be ashamed of themselves.

READ MORE: France cuts off Trump's ambassador after he blows off meeting

Tariffs

Trump took the unusual step of directly criticising the Supreme Court after it ruled his tariffs were illegal.

"Just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the US Supreme Court just came down," Trump said.

But he said he had found a way to retain the tariffs.

"It will remain in place under alternative legal statutes they've been tested for a long time, they're a little more complex, but they're actually probably better," he said.

A freight terminal in Hong Kong. Heavy tariffs on many Australian imports remain in place in China.

He reiterated the falsehood that tariffs were paid by foreign countries instead of American importers.

Trump said his tariffs would "substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax".

Several of the justices who voted against his tariffs were in the audience.

The economy

The president also made the dubious claim that prices are coming down significantly.

"The cost of chicken, automobiles, rent, is lower than when I took office by a lot," Trump said.

"And even beef, which was very high, is starting to come down significantly."

Honouring guests

Donald Trump gave the Congressional Medal of Honour to a helicopter pilot badly wounded in the raid of Venezuela leading to the capture of Nicolas Maduro.

The president described in gruesome detail how the pilot Eric Slover was struck by enemy machine gun fire.

"He was gushing blood, which was flowing back down the aisle," he said.

"Eric manoeuvred his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat."

In a particularly touching moment, another aviator was given the Medal of Honour.

Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams was given the award more than 70 years after a daring mission in the Korean War.

The 100-year-old was loudly applauded by the crowd.

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Donald Trump at the State of the Union.

But Trump couldn't help but make a comment which was likely not in his prepared remarks.

"I've always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honour, but I was informed I'm not allowed to give it myself," the president said.

"I don't know why I'd be taking it. But if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday."

The Medal of Honour is given for extraordinary courage in war. Trump has never served in uniform.

In a moment of rare theatre at the State of the Union, Trump introduced the USA men's ice hockey team.

While typically everyone is already seated at the event, the gold medal-winning team entered the room to chants of "U-S-A".

Trump also announced he would give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

The medal is the highest civilian honour in the USA.

READ MORE: Trump in the unredacted Epstein files 'a million times'

Democratic response

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger criticised the president for not addressing issues of affordability.

"Is the president working to make life more affordable to you and your family? We all know the answer is no," she said.

"The president is planning for new tariffs – another massive tax hike on you and your family."

She decried alleged rampant corruption in the administration.

"He's enriching himself, his family, his friends," she said.

"The scale of his corruption is unprecedented.

"This is not what our founders envisaged? Not by a long shot."

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, is escorted out President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, as Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, watches. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A less formal Democratic response came from Representative Al Green.

Minutes into Trump's speech, Green was ushered out of the chamber for heckling the president.

He was holding a sign reading: "Black people aren't apes".

It's the second time in two years Green has done so.

READ MORE: 'I can destroy the country': Trump's rant after Supreme Court strikes down key policy

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Upgraded cameras set to detect driving offences on NSW roads better than ever

An upgrade to NSW's mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras is on the way.

The new technology, which will allow cameras to spot drivers on their phones or not wearing their seatbelts in both directions of traffic, is set to begin its expansion next month.

Currently, the cameras can only check up to two lanes of traffic heading in one direction.

READ MORE: Inflation comes in hotter than expected again, raising chance of interest rate hike

NSW motorists are reminded to follow the road rules when it comes to using   their mobile phone and wearing a seatbelt.

Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray said that the two-way camera upgrades will be made to the 10 current models of mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras.

"One in just under every 1300 vehicles checked by these cameras in 2025 had someone breaking seatbelt laws," Murray said.

"While around one in every 1200 were caught using their mobile phone illegally, compared to as many as one in every 400 cars when we first started camera enforcement of mobile phone offences."

READ MORE: Shops locking up chocolate as theft focus shifts in UK

There was a loophole that could have helped Queensland motorists escape a fine if they were caught using a mobile phone behind the wheel.It's something new high-tech mobile detection cameras would never have been able to prove.
But the Queensland government has now clarified the road rules about mobile phone usage that were amended in 2021. 

"We know lives have been saved as people change their behaviours in response to awareness and education with seatbelt use and distractions through phone use featuring as key contributors to the road toll."

Murray said that while the expansion of the two-way cameras is set to begin next month, the official rollout of the improved cameras on roads across the state will take up to six months.

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Incoming blow to Aussie households ‘inevitable’ after hot inflation

Inflation has once again come in hotter than expected, raising the chance of another interest rate hike early this year.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to January.

While that was level with December's figure, it was slightly higher than the 3.7 per cent expected by economists.

READ MORE: Albanese 'all good' after security threat against prime minister

In further bad news, the trimmed mean – the Reserve Bank's preferred measure of underlying or "core" inflation – was also a surprise, rising to 3.4 per cent, above the 3.3 expected by the market. 

Both figures are well above the RBA's target band of 2-3 per cent.

Many economists and traders were already expecting the RBA to increase the cash rate in its May meeting – a forecast today's inflation data will do little to dissuade.

"There is certainly almost an inevitability that rates will go up again," 9news political editor Charles Croucher said.

In one sliver of good news for anxious borrowers, the fresh figures are only monthly, not quarterly, numbers.

READ MORE: Aussie tech giant set to cut up to 2000 jobs for AI 'efficiency'

Food items on a supermarket shelf

While the ABS now releases a complete CPI each month, rather than the less comprehensive indicator it used to publish, the RBA is still relying more on the quarterly figures.

"It will take us some time to understand the properties and seasonal patterns of the data," the head of the RBA's economic analysis department, Michael Plumb, said yesterday.

"While we learn about the monthly data, for a time we will continue to focus on the quarterly data for forecasting and assessing underlying inflationary pressures."

The next batch of quarterly numbers won't be released until April – well after the central bank's next interest rate meeting in mid-March.

Bendigo Bank chief economist David Robertson said households are likely to be spared a hike at that meeting, but that a rise to 4.10 per cent in May remains firmly on the table.

READ MORE: Grim warning on economy by Australia's top accounting group

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) office in Sydney

"(Inflation) will still be viewed by the RBA as far too high, and combined with last week's jobs data do justify the February 3 hike, but the data won't necessarily translate to another hike in March," he said.

"A range of factors suggest this new tightening cycle will likely be persistent and drawn-out including the resilience of global trade in the face of tariffs and tight domestic labour and housing markets, although we currently only forecast one more hike this calendar year…

"The full quarterly inflation data on April 29 will be the key data point for the May RBA decision, but we will need to see an improvement in underlying inflation to avoid another hike in May."

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