Retiring Labor MP Stephen Jones has revealed he is a survivor of child sexual abuse in his farewell speech to parliament.

Jones reflected on the achievements of the governments he had served in his valedictory address, including the establishment of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by former prime minister Julia Gillard in 2012.

The four-year inquiry received more than 1000 individual contributions, held 8000 private sessions, and received 26,000 letters and emails which led to more than 2500 referrals to police.

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Jones said the royal commission allowed survivors to share their experiences, which was an important step because "for decades the victims had been denied; their stories, if ever told, were contested and they were told they were not true".

"We often speak in this place of strength and weakness," he said.

"We reduce those concepts of strength to mean power over others. I think there's another kind of strength.

"It's the strength that comes from the things that you overcome and the strength that knows it's more important to do things with and for people than to them.

"The royal commission was a really painful experience for survivors but a necessary piece of truth-telling and reconciliation.

"Survivors, including me, appreciate it – a point I've never disclosed because I didn't want to be defined by it and because I didn't want to detract attention from those who unlike me didn't have a voice and didn't have access to power to tell their story.

"There is power in being seen, being heard and being believed."

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Jones, who announced his decision to retire last month, served as a Labor MP for 15 years, most recently as assistant treasurer and minister for financial services.

He has not publicly revealed his plans for retirement.

Jones said he was proud of his role in the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite, the rollout of NBN and his work on gambling ad reform.

"Together over 15 years, we have achieved many things," Jones said last month.

"We have connected every home and business to the NBN.

"We have established a National Disability Insurance Scheme.

"We are building new infrastructure for new suburbs, and we are restoring Medicare.

"I am proud of the role I played in progressing marriage equality and gambling ad reform in my early years.

"I am also proud of the work we have done to secure the future of our steel industry, to rebuild TAFE and as assistant treasurer, fighting scams, protecting workers superannuation, making financial advice more accessible and affordable, and strengthening consumer protections for all Australians."

For support contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 for under 25s.

Woolworths will soon bring video advertisements to screens at deli counters and checkouts at stores across Australia.

The supermarket's in-house media agency Cartology confirmed brands would have access to 4000 weight scale screens in deli and seafood service areas and more than 10,000 screens at assisted checkouts.

Customers at these point-of-sale areas will be shown moving vision advertisements of products available at Woolworths stores.

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Cartology's General Manager of Product Steve Geelan said the screens will provide greater exposure of brands and recipes for shoppers.

"In-store continues to play a critical role in our customers' shopping journey," Geelan said in a statement.

"Having built a connected omnichannel ecosystem, we continue to look for strategic opportunities for brands and partners to connect to customers and enhance their shopping experience."

"Through the growth and digitisation of our in-store screen network, brands have a creative canvas to reach and influence customers through branded video content that can drive awareness of a new product, inspire meal time planning at the deli and seafood counters, or influence and leave a lasting impact at the checkout."

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The screens will be added to stores in the next few months, Cartology said.

Cartology looks after targeted retail advertising at Woolworths supermarkets, metro stores and Big W.

It already operates 5300 screens across the Woolworths Group network.

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A British expat has spoken out about an "unfair" aspect of Australia's workplace laws that led to her missing out on $40,000 worth of entitlements while her colleagues got paid.

Laura Denby moved to Australia from England six years ago on a working holiday visa before landing a job as an IT business analyst a year later.

Having worked at the same Sydney IT firm – Xam Consulting – for five years, the company was sponsoring Denby's skilled visa application for permanent residency.

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Denby said she lodged her permanent residency application around September 2023 and was busy making plans with her partner to buy a house and start a family, once the visa was granted.

But all her carefully laid plans came apart 12 months later, when Xam Consulting suddenly went into liquidation in September last year.

"We didn't have any clue it was going to happen," Denby said.

Denby said the first she and the company's other 60-to-100 staff members heard about the business going under was when they were called into a meeting with liquidators. 

"It was very sudden, to say the least," she said.

It was at this meeting that employees were told of their rights under the federal government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme.

The last resort, safety-net scheme guarantees Australian citizens, permanent residents, and a very limited number of visa holders will still get unpaid wages, redundancy pay, and other entitlements when businesses go bust.

After doing her research on the scheme, Denby said she realised that, as a temporary skilled visa holder, she was ineligible to get any entitlements under the scheme.

"Honestly, I was gutted, it just put me in a really financially hard place," she said.

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Denby said she was one of a handful of temporary workers at the company put in the same situation.

In Denby's case, the entitlements she would have received had she been a permanent resident amounted to about $40,000.

Meanwhile, Denby said she had kept in touch with her other colleagues, who had all since been paid out under the scheme.

Left without an income, Denby said the stress took its toll.

"I wasn't earning any money and I just signed on a new lease at my apartment, which I couldn't afford to break," she said.

"I was actually that stressed that I ended up getting really sick, and I went to the doctors and got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease."

Thankfully, Denby was able to find a new job through a contact from her old company, about a month later.

However, Denby said she was moved to speak out about her experience because it was so unfair on migrants like herself, who had been contributing to the Australian economy for years.

"As a skilled worker, we have to sign a form to say we're a resident for tax purposes …. but then we're not receiving any entitlements when times fall tough on us," she said.

In an online Change.org petition started by Denby, she called on the government to change the law to include temporary workers in the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme.

"Migrant workers contribute to Australia's economy but are excluded from the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme. If their employer becomes insolvent, they receive no support. This is unfair and needs to change.

"Their exclusion discriminates against individuals who are in the process of becoming full-fledged members of the Australian workforce," she said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations told 9news.com.au that migrant workers were entitled to be paid any owed employee entitlements in priority to other unsecured creditors "provided funds are available in the insolvent estate".

Migrant workers could also be paid ahead of secured creditors from the proceeds of certain types of assets), the spokesperson said.

Denby said her employer going bust had set back her in other ways, including in her bid for permanent residency.

The IT worker was forced to withdraw her visa application when the company went into liquidation. 

While her new company was now sponsoring her, Denby said she was now back at the start of an 18-month queue.

Do you have a story? Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au

A couple who bought a London mansion for £32,500,000 (AUD $64,280,000) have been told by a court that they can hand the property back and recoup most of their costs after the house was found to have a huge moth infestation.

Situated on one of the quiet leafy streets just outside Notting Hill, Horbury Villa seemed like the perfect northwest London home. But behind its grand Victorian façade, a colony of moths living in the insulation wreaked havoc across the house, which contains a pool, spa, gym, cinema and wine room.

Iya Patarkatsishvili, the daughter of a Georgian billionaire, and her husband Yevhen Hunyak bought the house in May 2019 from William Woodward-Fisher, a surveyor and residential real estate developer, according to the judgment published Monday.

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However, the couple said that once they moved in they found moths on their toothbrushes, towels and wine glasses. The insects also caused damage to their clothes, some of which were thrown away.

At one point, Hunyak said he would kill between 10 and 35 moths every day, while his family and cleaners did the same.

A judge has found in the couple's favour, ruling that Woodward-Fisher made "fraudulent misrepresentations" and "concealed a serious clothes moth infestation of the insulation in the house" before the sale, according to a press summary of the judgment, published Monday.

Justice Fancourt ruled that Woodward-Fisher had falsely answered three queries before selling the house, including by saying that he didn't know of any vermin infestation or of any hidden defect in the property.

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According to the judgment, Woodward-Fisher's wife had noticed a problem with clothes moths (Tineola Bisselliella) in early 2018 after new insulation was installed as part of major building works.

The help of extermination specialists was enlisted to deal with the problem. She then forwarded some of these emails about the infestation to her husband Woodward-Fisher, the judgment said.

Fancourt noted in his judgment that he didn't think Woodward-Fisher was "consciously trying to deceive the Claimants. He simply wanted to sell the house and move on."

As well as granting Patarkatsishvili and Hunyak most of their money back, minus an amount to take into account the period they lived there, Fancourt also awarded them "substantial damages" and all the costs they incurred trying to get rid of the moths.

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Virgin Australia has confirmed it will "soon" introduce its long-awaited pet-friendly flights.

After announcing plans to allow small cats and dogs in cabins on domestic routes in March last year, the airline is now working towards trialing pet-friendly rows on select flights.

Virgin initially said it would take 12 months to get regulatory approval for pet-friendly flights following a change in the Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations.

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However approval is taking longer than expected, a spokesperson for Virgin Australia told 9news.com.au.

"We have been working hard alongside regulators, industry partners and stakeholder groups to ensure we can offer a compliant, safe and comfortable experience for guests travelling with or without a pet," the spokesperson said.

"Due to the new nature of this service in Australia, the approval process is taking longer than anticipated.

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"Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Virgin Australia and we look forward to updating travellers on a launch date for our highly-anticipated pets in cabin services soon."

The airline will assign two rows on select domestic flights as "pet-friendly" when it welcomes canine and feline passengers.

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Only small dogs and cats travelling in Virgin-approved soft carriers weighing under 8kg which can fit under the seat will be allowed.

The pets must also be older than eight weeks to be allowed on flights.

Pets will not be allowed to roam freely or sit on laps during the flights and animal companions will be limited to one per person.

It will also cost passengers an extra $100 to $150 per ticket to bring along a furry companion and bookings will be made via the Guest Contact Centre.

Some airports, including Melbourne and Sydney Airport, already have pet relief areas for cats and dogs.

Originally built for assistance animals, the airports have since upgraded the facilities for the influx of cats and dogs once Virgin's pet flights go ahead.

"Overwhelmingly, our guests tell us they want to travel with their pets, and we are now on a journey to make that a reality," Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said when the program was first announced.

"It's something that commonly happens overseas and is proven to work well."

"Almost 70 per cent of Australian households have a pet, so this announcement is really significant for a large proportion of the country."

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Police have confirmed that two bodies pulled from a river in north-east Scotland have been identified as sisters Eliza and Henrietta Huszt.

Authorities have been searching for the pair, who were reported missing by loved ones in Aberdeen on January 7.

The bodies of the women, both aged 32, were recovered from the River Dee near Queen Elizabeth Bridge on January 31.

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Police have since confirmed the bodies had been formally identified as being the sisters.

"Inquiries remain ongoing to establish the exact cause of death however there are no apparent suspicious circumstances," Police Scotland Superintendent David Howieson told local media.

The sisters were last seen walking along Market Street towards Victoria Bridge and then onto a footpath next to the river on January 7.

Police also revealed the sisters visited the bridge the day before they disappeared.

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The sisters were living in Scotland after moving from Hungary.

Their brother, Jozsef Huszti, told BBC News, he planned to travel to Scotland, saying the family had many unanswered questions.

Aberdeen, a port city, is located about 205km from Edinburgh.

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The Panama Canal is shaping as a central – and unforseen – part of Donald Trump's foreign policy, with the US president threatening to "take back" the vital waterway and accusing China of interfering in its operations.

The government of Panama has firmly rejected any notion that China is wielding undue influence over the 100-year-old waterway.

But after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last weekend, the president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, announced the Central American country would no longer take part in Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, a major infrastructure agreement.

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So what is the Panama Canal, why is it important, and what would disruption in the area mean for Australia?

Here is what you need to know.

What is the Panama Canal?

Before the canal's completion, ships travelling between the east and west coasts of the Americas would have to sail around Cape Horn, on the southern tip of South America, adding thousands of kilometres and several months to their journeys.

The US-built canal was opened in 1914 and controlled by the United States until a 1977 agreement provided for its eventual handover to Panama.

The 80km-long canal was jointly operated by both countries until the Panamanian government retained full control after 1999.

About 6 per cent of global maritime trade and 40 per cent of US container trade today passes through the artificial waterway.

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What are Trump's concerns, and are they accurate?

Trump has accused Panama of charging the US "exorbitant rates" to use the canal and hinted at growing Chinese influence over the crucial waterway.

He also suggested the US should retake the Panama Canal.

Australian maritime security expert Jennifer Parker told 9news.com.au that while the US president's comments were false, he had legitimate reasons to be concerned.

"They (US) do have treaties in place with Panama, including a treaty of neutrality, and they're right to be concerned about Chinese influence in Panama."

She pointed to the fact two companies from mainland China and Hong Kong have taken control of vital port operations on the canal.

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One of them, Hong Kong-owned CK Hutchison Holdings, holds concessions to operate the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, the canal's major Pacific and Atlantic entrances.

Under Chinese law, companies, including Hong Kong businesses, can be compelled to help the central communist government.

"Because of the national security laws passed in 2020, the Chinese government can exercise a great deal of influence over Hong Kong-owned companies, if it chooses to do so.

"This can include intelligence gathering.

"This means that even though China does not directly control the Panama Canal, it still holds major influence at both its Pacific and Atlantic entrances."

Trump's grumbles about slowing transit times for US Navy ships through the canal was due to drought which reduced its water levels, and has nothing to do with China.

What does this mean for Australia?

Although only a small amount of Australia's maritime trade travels through the Panama Canal, disruptions to the waterway would have an impact on the price of goods here, Parker said.

She points to the knock-on effect to the Australian economy last year when Houthi rebels disrupted maritime trade in the Red Sea by attacking freight ships.

In addition to shortages of some goods for Australian consumers, the Reserve Bank of Australia warned higher freight goods helped fuel inflation.

"Global trade is a system that is connected across the world," Parker said.

"What that means is if you get a significant disruption in one area, although your direct trade may not go through that area, the change the disruption causes will cause backlogs in other areas."

Parker says the current debate over the Panama Canal is also a reminder of how Chinese state and non-state companies have influence or ownership across key infrastructure in the Pacific and other parts of the world.

"It does allow them to control key infrastructure and trade results."

– With Associated Press and CNN

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and resume its fight against Hamas if the militant group does not go ahead with the next scheduled release of hostages on Saturday.

Hamas said Monday — and reiterated Tuesday — that it planned to delay the release of three more hostages after accusing Israel of failing to meet the terms of the ceasefire, including by not allowing enough tents and other aid into Gaza.

US President Donald Trump has emboldened Israel to call for the release of even more remaining hostages on Saturday, but it wasn't immediately clear whether Netanyahu's threat referred to the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza, or just the three scheduled for release on Saturday.

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Earlier Tuesday, an Israeli official said Netanyahu ordered the army to add more troops in and around the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu also ordered officials "to prepare for every scenario if Hamas doesn't release our hostages this Saturday," according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

Israel had signaled Monday it planned to reinforce defences along the Gaza border.

The all-scenario plan was announced during a four-hour meeting between Netanyahu and his Security Cabinet that focused on Hamas' threat, which risks jeopardising the three-week-old ceasefire.

So far, Hamas has released 21 hostages in a series of exchanges for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

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President Donald Trump has said Israel should cancel the entire ceasefire if all of the roughly 70 hostages aren't freed by Saturday.

Hamas brushed off his threat on Tuesday, doubling down on its claim that Israel has violated the ceasefire and warned that it would only continue releasing hostages if all parties adhered to the ceasefire.

Trump is hosting Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday as he escalates pressure on the Arab nation to take in refugees from Gaza — perhaps permanently — as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East.

Palestinians and the international community have seethed over Trump's recent comments that any Palestinians potentially expelled from Gaza would not have a right to return.

During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas committed to freeing 33 hostages captured in its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, while Israel said it would release nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners.

The sides have carried out five swaps since January 19.

The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce.

But if Israel resumes the war, it will face a drastically different battlefield. After forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate to southern Gaza in the early stages of the war, Israel allowed many of those displaced people to return to what is left of their homes, posing a new challenge to its ability to move ground troops through the territory.

The body of water formerly known in the US as the Gulf of Mexico is now listed for US-based users of Google Maps as the Gulf of America.

The change follows an executive order by US President Donald Trump renaming the area.

Google has previously said it has "a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources".

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"People using Maps in the US will see 'Gulf of America,' and people in Mexico will see 'Gulf of Mexico.' Everyone else will see both names," it said in a statement yesterday.

Google said last month it would also change the name of Mount McKinley, the nation's highest peak, from Denali following Trump's order.

Former President Barack Obama renamed the Alaska landmark to Denali in 2015 as a nod to the region's native population.

But that change hasn't been made on Google Maps as of today.

Both changes stem from an executive action that Trump signed shortly after taking office, saying the changes "honour American greatness".

The order criticised Obama's decision to rename McKinley as "an affront to President McKinley's life, his achievements, and his sacrifice".

Drawing parallels to Trump, the order notes that McKinley "championed tariffs" and was assassinated "in an attack on our Nation's values and our success".

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It is known for being the punch line of many jokes over the years, and was once named the "a—hole of the world" by Mick Jagger, but now New Zealand locality Invercargill has been left feeling salty after their Council claimed the city vanished off Google Maps.

In a post on Facebook, the Invercargill City Council said the Southland city had "mysteriously disappeared".

On further investigation, it appears the city had not quite disappeared but simply required a few zooms to appear on the map.

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Despite this, other nearby smaller towns given greater prominence on Google Maps include Gore and Bluff, with both showing up ahead of Tim Shadbolt's old haunt.

An elaborate joke, or a simple IT error, the council appears to see the funny side of the situation, saying online, " If you're trying to find us, maybe just type in "That place near Bluff?'"

They went on to add "For years, we've been Southland's best-kept secret—cheese roll capital, the Burt Munro Challenge, and so much more", adding "Clearly, Google is trying to gatekeep this paradise—and honestly? Fair enough".

In their post, the council also jokingly took aim at Gore saying "whoever in Gore that got us removed, I will make sure that your next cheese roll is stale and not with garlic butter."

People responding to the post managed to see the funny side of the situation as well, with some seemingly even happy for Invercargill to be excluded.

One person said, "All good with that. The less they know about our little part of paradise. The better. And there's always Gore." Another said, "That's great, it's now a secret".

Other people also had elaborate reasons as to why Invercargill was not showing up immediately on the map, with one person saying the council had forgotten to pay its maintenance fee to Google and another posting, "We have to buy it back in our rates bill."

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Invercargill City Council spokesperson Lisa Knight told Stuff they were not sure if the city's recent omission from Google Maps was just a temporary blip or "subterfuge by one of our rivals (we're looking at you, Gore)".

Knight said they have reached out to Google asking that they put Waihōpai Invercargill back on the map while also seeking answers as to why they were dropped off.

She added that despite Google Maps not showing Invercargill, the city is still around.

"The cheese rolls are still rolling, our infamous southern hospitality is still ready and waiting to welcome anybody who can find us, and our main man – Henry the tuatara – is still standing staunch in his brand new home, Te Moutere Tuatara Island, in the award-winning Queens Park."

This is not the first time, however, that one of the big tech giants has drawn the ire of a New Zealand city.

In 2012, Apple mistakenly misplaced Dunedin International Airport in the Octagon, while Timaru Airport was marked as being in a Christchurch suburb.

Both errors occurred during an update of Apple Maps.

Google has been approached for comment.

This article originally appeared on Stuff and is republished here with permission.

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