News Buzz
PENALTY RATES: Cuts to penalty rates will hasten the "mass casualisation" of Australia's workforce, leading to a decrease in job security, less paid leave and more workplace stress, a new report warns. | Women to bear the brunt of cuts
ABBOTT SOLUTION: Malcolm Turnbull needs a solution to his Tony Abbott problem and fast. That problem is not retaining the votes of party room colleagues but those of conservative voters.
MARDI GRAS CRASH: Police say 28 people have been injured when a pick-up truck ploughed into a crowd watching the Krewe of Endymion parade to celebrate Mardi Gras in the US city of New Orleans.
RADICALISATION: An advice hotline to help families worried about radicalisation has not been established almost a year-and-a-half after the state government announced it as part of a package of measures to fight violent extremism.
WESTCONNEX: A major tunnelling site for the WestConnex motorway is likely to be established next to an inner city high school because that would be cheaper than tunnelling from an area currently used for a bottle shop, meeting records show.
ROWELL CONFLICT: NSW Liberal MP Jai Rowell has denied bullying a female administrator in a federal parliamentary office despite documents showing he was banned from the office after a complaint.
HORSE CRUELTY: The Australian Turf Club is embroiled in a major scandal after its mounted security division was shut down amid claims that former racehorses were mistreated and illegally sedated to fulfil lucrative commercial work.
SELF-DRIVING CARS: Self-driving cars – regarded by many Australians as a form of "science fiction" – will be commercially available within five years and could eventually become so advanced that humans are regarded as "drunk robots" who are banned from driving, a federal parliamentary inquiry has heard.
BILL PAXTON: Bill Paxton, the affable actor who co-starred in a string of 1990s blockbusters including Twister, Titanic and Apollo 13 and later starred in the critically acclaimed television drama Big Love, has died. He was 61.
Sports Buzz
NRL GAMBLING: NRL chief Todd Greenberg on Sunday defended the game's commercial links to gambling in the wake of the allegations levelled at Tim Simona, insisting administrators were working hard to maintain "a really strong balance" between the sport's integrity and catering for thousands of supporters who enjoyed punting on the competition. | Optimists’, pessimists’ and realists’ guide to NRL season
CONCUSSION LAWSUIT: The head of rugby league's players' union says it was inevitable that a player forced into retirement due to concussion would take legal action against a club or the code.
INDIA TEST: After Australia disposed of India in three days in the first Test in Pune, there is a sudden feeling of optimism among Australian cricket fans.
TEST FOR POSTECOGLOU: Ange Postecoglou is a target for a Chinese Super League club, with mounting suggestions the cashed-up outfit is set to make an approach for the Socceroos coach.
RUGBY UNION: If the allegations levelled at James O'Connor – that he attempted to buy cocaine outside a Paris nightclub – are found to be true, the one-time golden boy of Australian rugby has almost certainly spoiled any chance of playing for the Wallabies again.
