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TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News In Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
The Transport Workers Union says up to 850 workers will lose their jobs at Rex Airlines, after the carrier entered voluntary administration and grounded all its Boeing 737 flights.
Trips between major capital city airports have been cancelled, but regional services are still operating.
Rival airline Virgin Australia is offering Rex customers with an existing ticket the opportunity to transfer free-of-charge to one of their flights.
CEO Jayne Hrdlicka told the ABC, her company will also be trying to help Rex employees.
"All Virgin Australia jobs that are open will get prioritised for Rex disaffected employees. And we're bringing on board three, we're intending anyway to bring on board three 737-800s out of the Rex fleet. If we're able to do that, that means we can bring on more Rex disaffected employees into new jobs, and that's really important to us to make sure that people in our industry are as well supported as they can be."
Union head Michael Kaine says the government should step in, and take an equity stake in Rex in the short term.
He told the ABC, the airline industry needs change.
"You know, Rex has nearly been monstered out of the market by Qantas only four weeks after Bonza was. And we've got to deal with those competitive pressures, and we need an independent decision maker to infuse the community interest, the interests of regional Australia, the interests of Australian workers and not just be dictated to by the profit motivations of massive airlines and airports, who are making billions in profits."
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the stabbing attack in Southport that left three young girls dead on Monday has affected the whole country.
He spoke after visiting the site of the attack - a dance studio where the girls aged 6, 7 and 9 were taking part in a Taylor Swift-themed dance party.
Five other children and two adults remain in critical condition, and a 17-year-old male is in custody.
The incident is the latest in a country where a recent rise in knife crime has increased anxieties.
Mr Starmer says he shares those concerns.
"I am very worried about high levels of knife crime and I'm absolutely determined that my government will get to grips with it. But today is not the time for politics. Today is the time to focus entirely on the families who are going through such pain and grief and on the wider community and of course, a times to say thank you to those that responded yesterday in the most awful of circumstances."
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The Queensland Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships has announced an agreement that will see several First Nations artefacts returned to home soil.
The agreement was made with the Museum of Vancouver, where the artefacts are currently being held, and was reached after days of negotiations.
The items will be stored at the Queensland Museum when they arrive in Australia, before they are returned to their respective communities.
This agreement is part of state government's ongoing work to secure the return of sacred artefacts from museums and institutions around the world.
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The federal government says it will enact many of the recommendations put forward by the disability royal commission.
Almost a year after the final report was handed down, Labor says it will accept 130 of the 172 recommendations the government has full or joint responsibility for.
The commission heard more than 10,000 stories over four years of public hearings, private sessions and written submissions.
The government has pledged greater protection from discrimination and increased inclusion in society for those living with disabilities.
Bill Shorten, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, spoke to the media a short while ago.
"This is another watershed moment to stop the abuse of our fellow Australians. There's a lot of work to go on from here. This I believe will helpfully signpost the directions that we seek to take as a nation in the better treatment and the true equality of people with disability in Australia."
That was SBS News In Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
