AAP Rolling News Bulletin Jul 28, 1500

Rolling News Bulletin 1500 AAP Rolling News Bulletin for Jul 28 at 1500

Gas Vic (MELBOURNE) Gas connections will be banned in Victorian homes built from next year in a move that's divided providers, environment groups and other stakeholders. All new residential properties and subdivisions that require a planning permit will only be powered by electricity from January 1. The changes will help the state reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2045, Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said on Friday. Residents of the all-electric homes will also save $1000 per year on their energy bills. "We know the cost of living for Victorians is getting bigger and bigger," Ms D'Ambrosio said. "Doing something about it is exactly what today is about." Changes to Victorian planning provisions and schemes will enable the new measures. About 80 per cent of Victorian homes are connected to gas, with the sector contributing about 17 per cent of the state's emissions.

Plane (BRISBANE) A couple in their 60s is dead and a pilot has escaped without injury after two light planes collided midair in regional Queensland. The aircraft crashed "quite low to the ground" at the Caboolture aerodrome, north of Brisbane, police said. One of the aircraft was taking off about 10.30am when the collision occurred. "At the moment, there are two deceased (people) in the plane that took off from the eastern end," police Superintendent Paul Ready said. "We are still trying to confirm who those persons are. It is an incident between two planes that has been a loss of life which is tragic." One pilot survived with minor injuries and is helping police. "It is probably quite lucky when you look at the damage on the ground," Supt Ready said of the survivor.

Economy (CANBERRA) Retail trade has sunk 0.8 per cent in latest figures after shoppers spent less than usual during end of year sales. The pullback in June followed a 0.8 per cent lift in May and a minor 0.1 per cent fall in April. Australian Bureau of Statistics head of retail statistics Ben Dorber said retail turnover fell sharply in June as fewer consumers took advantage of sales in the lead up to the end of the financial year. "This comes as cost of living pressures continued to weigh on consumer spending," Mr Dorber said. He said an early start to the end of financial year discounting period in May brought much of the action forward. Across the various categories sampled, discretionary spending led the slowdown, with department stores recording the largest fall of five per cent.

Phil Boat (MANILA) A small Philippine ferry turned upside down when passengers suddenly crowded to one side in panic as fierce winds pummelled the wooden vessel, and at least 26 people died, officials say. Forty people were rescued from a lake near the capital Manila, and search and rescue efforts have resumed after a pause on Thursday night. The Philippine coast guard said on Friday it will investigate why the boat was allowed to sail while overloaded. "We have called for investigation already, including on our personnel," coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo told CNN Philippines television, adding that complaints would be filed against the boat's captain and operator. The vessel was designed for roughly 40 passengers but it remains unclear how many people were allowed to board. The manifest showed only 22 names, the coast guard said.

Voice (SYDNEY) Two in three refugees and new migrants have not heard of the Indigenous voice to parliament and three quarters of them are unaware it would involve a constitutional change. Australians will cast their votes on the voice at a referendum later this year. Settlement services agency AMES Australia surveyed 160 people from 30 different countries in Melbourne and Sydney about the upcoming poll. Of the participants, 130 people were randomly surveyed and 30 others were quizzed after a half-hour session explaining the voice. All respondents had been in Australia less than five years. Among the random group, more than 67 per cent were either not aware or only partly aware of the voice proposal. Three in four people said they were not aware it would mean a change to the constitution.

Metricon (SYDNEY) Chris Minns has backed NSW's consumer watchdog to look into Metricon after a spate of complaints against one of Australia's largest residential builders. Metricon has had at least 60 complaints lodged against it with NSW Fair Trading since March, according to the agency's online complaints register. Some complaints had been proven by the agency. "I'm concerned about it," the NSW premier told reporters on Friday. "They've been the subject of six complaints ... that have been upheld by Fair Trading since 2019," Mr Minns said. "If action is to be taken by Fair Trading, that's exactly what will happen to protect consumers and those that purchase property in NSW." Some complaints against the builder relate to service quality, work and contracts, the ABC reported.

Emmys (LOS ANGELES) Broadcaster Fox is expected to announce that television's Emmys will be rescheduled from September to air in January next year due to strikes by writers and actors, the Los Angeles Times reports. The ceremony was originally slated to be telecast on September 18, and the LA Times reported the January date is contingent on a resolution to disputes between the studios and guilds before then. Hollywood actors went on strike earlier this month after talks with studios broke down, joining film and television writers who have been on picket lines since May and deepening the disruption of scores of shows and movies. Nominations for the highest honours in television were announced about two weeks ago just before the dual work stoppage was declared. The strikes were expected to delay the Emmys ceremony beyond its normal September date.

NKorea (SEOUL) Chinese and Russian officials have stood shoulder to shoulder with Kim Jong-un as they reviewed North Korea's latest nuclear-capable missiles and new attack drones at a military parade in Pyongyang. The widely anticipated parade in the capital on Thursday night commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, celebrated in North Korea as "Victory Day". Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu's visit was the first by Moscow's top defence official since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. China's visitors were the country's first such delegation since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Their appearance at events with the North's nuclear missiles - banned by the United Nations Security Council with Chinese and Russian support - marked a contrast with previous years, when Beijing and Moscow sought to distance themselves from their neighbour's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development.

Legal: Russell (SYDNEY) The ABC has been accused of publishing serious allegations that a platoon of Australian commandos executed a hogtied Afghan prisoner knowing the claims were false. The national broadcaster put out two articles in October 2020 and November 2021 claiming the November Platoon had shot and killed an unarmed prisoner during a drug raid in Afghanistan in mid-2012 because there was no room for them on a helicopter. The leader of that platoon Heston Russell is now suing the ABC for defamation, saying he and his subordinates were not deployed in Afghanistan at the time of the alleged killing. He says the ABC's sole source, a US marine known as "Josh", was in the air as a door gunner during the night-time raid, could not see any of the Australians on the ground at the time, and only heard a "pop" over the radio.

Legal: Jordan (HOBART) A man accused of murdering teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell, who went missing in northern Tasmania almost three months ago, has briefly appeared in court. Human remains believed to belong to the 14-year-old were discovered on Wednesday on a bush track near Nabowla in the state's northeast