Senior executives at Qantas are being asked to trade their high-profile positions to work as ground handlers as part of a plan to combat labor shortages.
The embattled airline’s chief operating officer, Colin Hughes, told staff in an internal memo that Qantas is seeking expressions of interest for a contingency program over a three-month period.
“People who respond to the EOI will be trained and rostered into the ramp environment at Sydney and Melbourne airports,” Hughes wrote. “These people will support our ground handling partners, who are managing the Qantas operation, over a three-month period from mid-August.”
At least 100 managers will be recruited to sort and scan bags and transport luggage. Hughes added: “There is no expectation that you will opt into this role on top of your full-time position.”
At least 1,600 baggage handlers were sacked during lockdown, with the service outsourced to contractors, a decision that the federal court has ruled unlawful. Qantas has vowed to appeal the decision.
The once-highly regarded airline has apologized after a litany of complaints from frustrated passengers who have endured delayed and canceled flights, long queues at airports and lost baggage.
Qantas is hoping to address the problems by scheduling fewer flights in the next month and hiring more staff.
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The airline’s domestic and international chief executive, Andrew David, acknowledged that Qantas had been plagued by problems as it recovered from the Covid-19 lockdown period.
A spokesperson said the airline was committed to improving its services: “We’ve been clear that our operational performance has not been meeting our customers’ expectations or the standards that we expect of ourselves – and that we’ve been pulling out all stops to improve our performance.
“As we have done in the past during busy periods, around 200 head office staff have helped at airports during peak travel periods since Easter.
“While we manage the impacts of a record flu season and ongoing COVID cases coupled with the tightest labor market in decades, we’re continuing that contingency planning across our airport operations for the next three months.”
With the long school summer holiday well under way, you may need a bit of help keeping the kids entertained. From walkie-talkies and cameras to tablets, robot toys and fitness trackers, here are some of the best kid-aimed tech to keep the little (and not-so-little) ones occupied.
robot toys
SpheroMini – about £50
Sphero Mini robotic ball. Photograph: Bryan Rowe/Sphero
Lots of tech toys are fads but my longtime favorite has stood the test of time as a modern update to remote control fun. Sphero is a ball you control using a smartphone or tablet, and has hidden depths, with games and educational elements also available.
The mini Sphero ball is a lot of fun to drive around and small enough that overexuberant indoor excursions won’t result in broken furniture and scuffed-up paintwork. The Sphero Play app has games, while the Sphero Edu app is great at fostering creative learning.
Kids or big kids can learn to program, follow examples, get the robot to do all sorts of things, or go deeper and write some code for it in JavaScript. Higher-end versions such as the £190 BOLT take the educational elements to the next level, too.
tablets
Amazon Fire 7 Kids – about £110
Amazon Fire 7 Kids edition tablet. Photo: Amazon
If you would rather not lend your precious breakable phone or iPad to your little ones, Amazon’s practically indestructible Kids edition tablets could be just the ticket.
The cheapest and smallest Fire 7 has just been updated and is available in a range of bright-coloured cases with a pop-out stand. If your offspring do manage to break it, Amazon will replace it for free under its two-year “worry-free” guarantee.
It does all the standard tablet things such as movies, apps, games, a web browser if you want it, and parental controls to lock it, set time limits and age filters. There’s even an option restricting access to curated child-safe sites and videos but it doesn’t have access to the Google Play store, only Amazon’s app store.
The Kids edition comes with a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ (£3 to £7a month afterwards), which is a curated collection of child-friendly text and audio books, movies, TV shows and educational apps.
The larger £140 Fire HD 8 and £200 Fire HD 10 are available in Kids versions, too, if you want something bigger, or Amazon’s new Kids Pro tablets start at £100 with additional features aimed at school-age children.
Alternatives include LeapFrog’s various educational tablets, which are fine for younger children, or hand-me-down or refurbished iPads (from £150) in robust cases, which can be locked down with some parental controls.
cameras
VTech Kidizoom Duo 5.0 – about £39
VTech Kidizoom Duo 5.0 kids’ camera in pink. Photograph: VTech
Before the advent of smartphones, standalone cameras were the way we visually documented our lives, and they still can be a bit of creative fun and inspiration for kids.
The VTech Kidizoom Duo 5.0 is a “my first digital camera” of sorts made of rugged plastic and simple in operation, which VTech reckons is suitable for three- to nine-year-olds. It captures 5MP photos of reasonable quality and can shoot from the back for selfies, too, all viewable on a 2.4in screen.
The optical viewfinder helps them line up the shot, which they can transform with fun filters and effects. It even shoots video, too. The kid-centric nature of it might turn off older children but every award-winning photographer has to start somewhere before the smartphone takes over.
It needs an SD card for storage and takes four AA batteries at a time, and chews through them fast, so buy some rechargeables to help save money and the planet.
For older children, rugged and waterproof action cams could be the way to go, shooting video and photos. Budget no-brand cams cost from about £80 but secondhand or refurbished models from the big boys such as GoPro and DJI go for about £100 and on eBay and elsewhere.
fitness trackers
Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 – from about £55
Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 Star Wars edition. Photograph: Garmin
Your child may not need any encouragement to tear about the place but if you are after a gadget to “gamify” and reward their activity – as well as giving them a smartwatch-esque gadget to play with – the Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 could be a winner for ages four and up.
Its watch-like form comes in various themes and designs, including with various Star Wars, Marvel and Disney characters, with custom watchfaces to choose from. The user-replaceable coin-cell battery lasts a year, so you don’t have to worry about charging it. Water-resistance to 50 meters means swimming should be no problem either.
It tracks steps, activity and sleep with motivational messaging. It has mini games to play once your child has hit their goals, and can all be managed from a parent’s phone or tablet, so you can keep an eye on their data. Parents can even set goals, competitions with their own activity levels, chore reminders and tasks that can earn virtual coins for them to trade for rewards with you.
It is button-operated rather than touchscreen, and the backlight doesn’t stay on long to preserve the battery.
If you are a user of Google’s Fitbit trackers yourself, then the firm’s Ace 3 (£50) means you can compete on activity, but it needs charging every seven or so days. Other cheaper adult-focused fitness trackers such as the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 (about £29) may be better for older children.
Walkie-talkies are a great replacement for phones, allowing kids and big kids to keep in touch without fear of fees or smashed screens.
There are plenty of child-centric options available with various character themes but basic units usually work better. Motorola’s T42 Talkabout comes in various colors and multipacks.
They are simple to set up, with a pairing button and multiple channel selection to find a clear one. Once going, just push to talk, even over long distances. Their quoted 4km range might be a bit ambitious but they should be good for at least 500 meters in urban environments, or much further in the open air.
They take three AAA batteries each, which last about 18 hours of talking or roughly three to four days in active use, so you might need a small army of rechargeable batteries.
They have a belt clip and loop for hooking to a carabiner (metal loop) or similar, and are fairly rugged, too, so should survive being launched across a room or two.
Nestling’s camouflage walkie-talkies (about £26) are also a popular choice but there are lots of choices under £30 available on the high street.
Singer Johnny Ruffo has provided fans with an update to his cancer battle.
The X Factor finalist, 34, took to Instagram to reveal he’s still undergoing treatment, sharing a series of photos of himself in hospital.
Several of the photos showed his scalp stapled back together following his surgery, while others also showed his girlfriend, Tahnee Sims, by his side.
Johnny Ruffo has provided fans with an update on his lengthy cancer battle
‘Exactly 5 years to the day since my diagnosis. Still fighting this son of ab***h, ‘he captioned his post from him before adding the hashtag ‘#f*ckcancer’.
‘Thanks for all the support!’ I have continued.
Johnny’s post was flooded with supportive comments from family, friends and dedicated fans.
‘Sending big love,’ Rhonda Burchmore wrote.
Comedian Dave Hughes commented: ‘Your smile inspires the world legend.’
Tahnee commented in support of her partner, writing, ‘Superstar xx.’
Several of the photos showed the singer’s scalp stapled back together following his surgery
In November 2020, the former Home and Away star revealed that his brain cancer had returned following a ‘week of seizures.’
He was first diagnosed in 2017, and underwent life-saving surgery to successfully remove a seven centimeter tumor at the time.
‘It is with a heavy heart that i have to let you know I now have another huge battle ahead of me as my brain cancer has returned, though I will dig deep and beat this shit disease again #f*ckcancer,’ Ruffo wrote at the time.
The On Top singer is set to release a tell-all memoir, titled No Finish Line: The Johnny Ruffo Story, which will detail how ‘cancer actually saved his life’.
In November 2020, the former Home and Away star revealed his brain cancer had returned following a ‘week of seizures’
He was first diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, and underwent life-saving surgery to successfully remove a seven centimeter tumor at the time
‘The sudden rise to fame took its toll,’ Echo Publishing, the publishers behind the new book, revealed in April.
‘Johnny found it hard to resist the weekend-long parties, drugs, alcohol, and fair-weather friends that came with the territory.’
They added that after receiving his devastating diagnosis, Johnny shifted his focus from partying to fighting cancer.
‘In a strange way Johnny thinks the cancer actually saved his life…’ they added.
He is set to release a tell-all memoir, titled No Finish Line: The Johnny Ruffo Story, which will detail how ‘cancer actually saved his life’
After receiving his devastating diagnosis, Johnny shifted his focus from partying to fighting cancer
Johnny’s 2017 operation took around 11 hours, and there was a 20 per cent chance he would die.
That was followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, during which Johnny admitted reality set in and ‘everything came crashing down’.
In 2019, Johnny was told that he was in remission, describing the news as the ‘greatest day of his life’.
But his world was turned upside down again a year later, when he started forgetting the lyrics to songs and suffered 11 seizures in just four days, later learning the cancer had returned.
In April this year, he made a surprise return to Dancing with the Stars, receiving a standing ovation after a performance during the grand finale.
The singer won Dancing with the Stars in season 12, back in 2012, alongside his professional dance partner Luda Kroitor.
‘I forgot how hard it was but I also remember how much fun it was,’ Johnny said after his dance.
‘It was hard to get through it but we ended up getting through there. Thanks for having me back,’ he added.
Johnny’s 2017 operation took around 11 hours, and there was a 20 per cent chance he would die. That was followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, during which Johnny admitted reality set in and ‘everything came crashing down’
Fremantle’s best forward line is unlikely to meet this week with a potential Sam Switkowski return dampened by Matt Taberner’s fresh injury concern.
Neither took part in the Dockers’ light recovery session on Monday but Switkowski is expected to come under selection consideration for Saturday’s western derby after recovering from back stress fractures.
Lachie Schultz said it would be a relief to welcome his fellow pressure forward back into the line-up.
But Fremantle are feeling for Taberner after his return to form in the win over the Western Bulldogs was cut short by a calf injury.
“He was a bit emotional but it’s all part of it and we back him to get back to 100 per cent really quickly,” Schultz said.
“He plays a massive part in our forward line and structure up there. To lose him hurt but we think we’ve got good depth and whoever comes in will fill that role.”
Switkowski hasn’t featured since Fremantle’s round 13 clash against Hawthorn, the Dockers manic pressure, points for and scores per inside 50 declining in his absence.
And while Schultz believes the Dockers were able to recapture that side of their game against the Bulldogs, Switkowski’s return is set to ease his workload.
Lachie Shultz and Michael Walters had fun at a wet Dockers training. Credit: Andrew Richie/The West Australian
“I feel relieved. I like to base my game on pressure as well so when there’s someone else of Switta’s caliber doing it, it makes it a lot easier for me,” Schultz said.
“We love what Switta brings to the team and forward line especially. It’s hard to compare anyone to his pressure on him so he’s a massive inclusion. Everyone else plays stronger and better.”
Fremantle also benefited from a mindset shift against the Bulldogs, choosing to play with more freedom instead of worrying about any final implications.
The club is now locked into the top eight with two rounds to come but, importantly, Schultz believes the Dockers have rediscovered their best football at the right time.
Lachie Shultz runs through the rain. Credit: Andrew Richie/The West Australian
“It was like we were protecting ourselves a little bit and what we’ve built this year,” he said.
“We had a big mindset to play more freely, really attack the game and play a more exciting brand of footy and put a score on the board. The past few weeks we haven’t been able to put up a big score which was probably due to our ball movement.
“Our confidence will grow from the weekend. A few boys were a bit down on confidence and a little bit of belief in their own abilities after the past month. To turn it around on the weekend will reverse that thinking.”
Schultz added it was a “big relief” retired Eagle Josh Kennedy won’t make one last derby appearance after kicking eight goals against Adelaide.
Rory Lobb looks on at Dockers training. Credit: Andrew Richie/The West Australian
“Knowing that he’s not going to be out there next week, I was sitting there thinking ‘thank god for that,’” he said.
“We’re going through all of those emotions this week with Dave (Mundy).
“I’m sure they’ll like to put a sour taste on our season and try and disrupt it. It’s a big game. We’ll treat it like any other week on the track.”
The Fair Work Ombudsman has announced that a record $532 million in unpaid wages and entitlements was recovered for more than 384,000 workers in 2021-22.
Key points:
Deputy Fair Work Ombudsman Kristen Hannah says the recovered wages are good news for workers and compliant businesses
More than half of the recoveries – almost $279 million – came from large corporate employers
The Fair Work Ombudsman currently has about 50 investigations underway into corporates that have self-reported underpayments
The amount is more than three times that of last year’s figure.
“It’s clearly a problem,” AMP senior economist Diana Mousina said.
Deputy Fair Work Ombudsman Kristen Hannah announced the figures in a speech to the Policy-Influence-Reform (PIR) conference in Canberra this afternoon and said they were good news for workers and compliant businesses.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman’s strengthened compliance and enforcement approach has seen another record amount of back-paid wages for Australian workers in the last financial year,” Ms Hannah said.
On the other hand, it’s also an indication of how large the problem of worker underpayment has become.
More than half of the recoveries – almost $279 million – came from large corporate employers.
In June, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) took Woolworths to court in relation to “major underpayments” of its salaried managers.
But Woolworths is just one of a long list of major employers that have underpaid their workers, including Wesfarmers, Qantas, the Commonwealth Bank, Super Retail Group, Michael Hill Jewelers and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Diana Mousina says wage underpayments are “clearly a problem.”(ABC News: Billy Cooper)
The Fair Work Ombudsman currently has about 50 investigations underway into large corporations that have self-reported underpayments, including some of Australia’s largest companies.
“I don’t know how much longer it will take to resolve,” Ms Mousina said.
“[But] I don’t think it’s part of the normal part of working in Australia.”
In 2021-22, the federal workplace regulator filed a record 137 litigations.
This was close to a doubling of the number of new matters put into court the year before.
Workers’ pay has become a crucial economic issue.
Today Labor made a submission to Fair Work asking for a “significant” increase to the pay of aged care workers, who make up roughly 2.6 per cent of the workforce.
Earlier this year, Fair Work raised the minimum wage by 5.2 per cent and raised award wages by 4.6 per cent.
Larger wage increases have become vital for economic growth as inflation threatens to push over 7 per cent.
Treasury figures show real wages are going backwards and will continue to do so for the remainder of 2022, until they start to turn up again in 2023.
“This is a great result for the workers who have been reunited with their withheld wages, and also for the businesses that pay correctly and are no longer at a disadvantage as a result,” Ms Hannah said.
It’s clear though that millions of workers who may be struggling to make ends meet are keen to find out how they might be able to receive wages back that they believe they’re entitled to.
The Fair Work web page had 22.6 million hits in 2021-22 which was another yearly record.
The site contains information, tools and resources about workplace relations rights and obligations for employees and employers.
Deputy Andrew Peery was killed in the shooting south of Colorado Springs. The sheriff’s office is searching for a suspect.
SECURITY-WIDEFIELD, Colo. — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a suspect after a deputy was killed in a shooting in Security Sunday.
The shooting happened on Ponderosa Drive in Security, which is south of Colorado Springs. The sheriff’s office said SWAT operator Andrew Peery, 39, was killed. He leaves behind a wife and two children, El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder said.
It is with a heavy heart that we share Deputy Andrew Peery has been killed in the line of duty. More information will be forthcoming. https://t.co/Em6LtvHJ3E pic.twitter.com/HqsOImUqdw
Elder said just after 5 pm, Peery, another deputy and a Fountain police officer responded to a shot fired call. They were immediately met with gunfire, and Peery was hit by at least one round, Elder said. Deputies returned fire.
The sheriff’s office said they are looking for 33-year-old John Paz in connection with the shooting. Anyone with information on his whereabouts of him is asked to call 911.
We are actively looking for a Hispanic Male John Paz related to this shooting. https://t.co/Em6LtvHJ3E pic.twitter.com/6OYGEUTQR3
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Meta has just released the third version of its AI-powered Chatbots and it’s calling out users to speak to it directly from now.
This was definitely a fresh update that we’re not complaining about for obvious reasons. Remember, we’re sure we along with the rest of the world are tired of hearing of the metaverse, AR, and VR technology, and how the firm plans on altering Instagram’s algorithm further.
The new launch is dubbed BlenderBot3 and it’s a continuation of the previous version of the product.
So, if you happen to be curious about how exactly you can communicate, well, head on over to the blenderbot.ai website and ask any question that your heart desires.
You can best see this as your customized search engine that is available round the clock to help you out by answering any queries that you may be seeking answers to.
If you simply wish to chat with it, well, that’s great. But those willing to ask questions will not only be blessed with answers but also the sources through which those answers were obtained so it’s definitely a win-win situation in that regard.
Hence, if you’re happy with the outcome great but if not, well you can search further with the references provided.
But with all the good comes one negative aspect that we’d like to discuss. And that’s related to who is allowed to talk with Meta’s new chatting bot. For now, the product is restricted to audiences in the US.
Some people have tried to disguise their locations in the United Kingdom with VPNs but have made unsuccessful attempts at using the chatbot. But in case you do find a VPN that manages to bypass the location barrier, then that’s great.
When we look at past records related to AI-driven chatbots, we don’t necessarily see a seamless track history related to its use. Many members of the public who have interacted with them have called it a risky business while others weren’t satisfied with their experiences.
In 2016, Microsoft first made heads turn with the release of its chatbot affiliated with Twitter which was dubbed Tay. Unfortunately, it was hijacked but the whole concept revolves around Tay learning more about users through simple chats.
A lot of the responses that users received were bombarded with negativity, hate, and spam so that wasn’t a great ending. And just 16 hours after the launch, it was turned off. Moreover, the tweets that were generated were all so negative and racist, not to mention homophobic and controversial.
One thing good about Meta’s new release is that there are much fewer chances of it getting hijacked as the product doesn’t repeat comments made by users to it. Instead, the whole focus of its functioning has to do with information fed into its systems by researchers beforehand.
Could this be the next digital assistant to users in today’s fast-paced modern world? Well, we’re not quite sure about that yet as Meta is working on addressing flaws that come its way. But we feel the attempt is a great one.
This is where users are going to come in handy. Meta revealed how the product is designed to help gain feedback for its next release so that any concerns users have can be addressed the right way, providing the best information from the most relatable sources.
If you happen to be a developer, well, you can feel free to glance over its mechanics and underlying codes that the firm has shared through ParlAI.
Read next: Meta’s New Threat Report Highlights Its Great Efforts To Combat Scam Networks, Trolls, And Brigades Around The World
As weddings make a comeback post-Covid and cost-of-living pressures bite, couples are getting savvy about that all-important thing – the engagement ring.
Before the pandemic, many women set their sights on the idea of the perfect ring, typically a big rock with an expensive price tag.
However, as couples look to break social norms and rein in spending, they are seeking an alternative.
Fake rings are making a comeback not just for fashion purposes but also to symbolize the promise of marriage as more people propose with them.
Jewelery company Sterling Forever posted a reel to Instagram explaining why more men and women are now proposing with fake rings.
The video outlined how more couples were jumping on the trend to avoid mistakes such as sizing issues and the receiver not liking the ring, as returning or exchanging it can be costly and difficult.
The reel concluded with the idea that once engaged, couples could go out and buy the perfect ring together.
While it may seem controversial, particularly for some unsatisfied receivers who were proposed to with a fake engagement ring, there’s plenty of support for the practice.
“I think this (idea) is so much better but honestly the fake ring could be like a ring pop or even a paper ring with a love note hidden in it, much cheaper and super cute,” one commenter said in response to the post .
Another replied: “I’d rather have a ‘fake’ and then we can save the money for something more important,”
And a third responded: “Why buy me an expensive engagement ring and an expensive wedding ring? Y’all see them (petrol) prices and the price for bread, just give me one ring.”
Other viewers of the video came up with their own suggestions as to why women may prefer fake rings over the real deal, including for practicality, for not losing an expensive ring and to avoid feeling guilty after a proposal “accident”.
“I feel like people also do it in case they lose it at the proposal sites, lots of them being at beaches or hiking spots,” one Instagram user suggested.
While the trend may be more popular now, some commenters said their parents used a similar approach in the past for personal reasons.
“My dad got my mom a garnet ring. It’s her favorite de ella and her birthstone de ella, with ‘will you marry me’ and the date engraved. They went shopping for her ring de ella together and I think it’s pretty. I always wanted to inherit it,” one young woman commented.
“My dad proposed to my mum with a minnie mouse ring so she wouldn’t feel pressured and I think it’s the cutest thing,” said another.
But not everyone saw the convenient nature of the fake ring trend, with some saying it goes against the purpose of an engagement ring as a symbol of everlasting commitment.
“If she doesn’t like the ring, she isn’t the one,” one commenter said.
“That’s stupid, a real man should know what his wife likes and what kind of jewelery she wears,” posted another.
“There’s no such thing as a fake engagement ring, there is only a fake stone,” a third said.
But a fake engagement ring isn’t necessarily a sign of lesser commitment, as some proposers purchase a ‘promise ring’ or cheaper alternative, with the goal of buying a better one that meets their partner’s wishes later on. Other fake rings are homemade.
No matter the ring choice, couples who have already jumped on the buying a ring together trend said the experience is one they highly recommend.
“Choosing the engagement ring together is a whole amazing experience and shows a very high level of commitment, that’s what me and my fiance did,” one commenter said.
Another said: “My fiance and I shopped for my ring together and it was the best thing ever. We fell in love with (the) ring together.”
Carlton’s finals hopes have been dealt a huge blow after Captain Patrick Cripps was handed a two-match ban for his high bump on Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee.
Key points:
Carlton have until 11am Tuesday to challenge Patrick Cripps’s two-game ban over a high bump that caused a Brisbane player to leave the field with concussion
The incident was judged to be careless conduct, high-contact/high-impact
Cripps will miss the rest of the home-and-away season if the ban is upheld
Cripps caught Ah Chee high in the second quarter after jumping in the air to contest a loose ball.
That hit concussed Ah Chee, who was subbed out of the game.
The AFL’s match review officer graded the rough conduct incident as careless conduct, high contact and high impact, drawing a two-match ban.
If Carlton accepts the decision — or are unsuccessful in overturning it — Cripps will miss the club’s challenging last two regular season games against Melbourne and Collingwood.
The Blues (12-8) are currently seventh, but two losses in the final two rounds could dump them out of the finals.
After Sunday’s 33-point loss to Brisbane, Carlton coach Michael Voss mounted a spirited defense of Cripps.
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“I thought it was a good answer,” Voss said.
“The umpire probably told the story, didn’t he? He didn’t pay a free kick, did he?
“From what I’ve seen, the arms were outstretched and it was a pretty even contest.
“If we are asking players to make micro-second decisions, I don’t know whether the game enables that. I really don’t.”
Voss said Ah Chee failing to play out the game should not be a factor in any potential sanctioning of Cripps.
Callum Ah Chee was forced out of Sunday’s game with concussion.(Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris)
“I don’t think he is there to cradle the person to the ground, is he?” Voss said.
“It was unfortunate. We hope he is OK. Clearly, we have empathy, in terms of that side of things, but we’ve also got to respect that the game is going to be evenly contested, and that it looked like an even contest take.”
Star West Coast midfielder Tim Kelly was offered a one-match ban for his dangerous tackle on Adelaide’s Sam Berry.
Sydney’s Callum Mills and North Melbourne’s Curtis Taylor can each accept $1,000 fines if they plead guilty to wrestling charges.
A man accused of fatally shooting three members of the same family kept his gun license more than a decade ago despite police applying to revoke it.
Darryl Young, a farmer from Bogie in regional Queensland, appeared in court on Monday charged with the murders of Graham Tighe, his mother Maree Schwarz and her husband Merv.
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He was also charged with the attempted murder of Graham’s brother Ross, who survived the alleged shooting on Thursday morning and raised the alarm.
7NEWS understands that Young has held a gun license for decades. But in 2010, police rejected his renewal application.
Darryl Young. Credit: 7NEWS
He challenged the decision in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, saying he “used weapons on two properties to control feral animals”.
He also answered that he “had not contravened the weapons-related laws at any stage”.
Police argued at the time: “You are presently not a fit and proper person to hold a license.”
QCAT ruled in Young’s favour, saying: “Mr Young is a fit and proper person to hold a weapons license… (I) set aside the refusal to allow him to renew his license.”
Young’s case was heard early on Monday morning, the accused shooter appearing via video link.
His charges were read out before he was remanded in custody until November.
Graham had welcomed his second child with his partner just weeks before he was fatally shot. Credit: 7NEWSGraham’s brother Ross survived and was able to flee into remote bushland with a gunshot wound to his stomach. Credit: 7NEWS
Ross remains in hospital, recovering in a stable condition.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for him and his family.
“We have created this fund to help them with the aftermath of suddenly having their worlds turned upside down,” it said.
“Please help us lessen some of this burden and unforeseen future costs.”
On Monday morning, almost $11,000 had been raised.
Slain husband and wife Merv and Maree are remembered as a ‘lovely, hardworking’ family. Credit: Supplied
It’s understood that police will allege Young met his neighbors at the boundary line of their properties before the alleged shooting occurred.
Ross managed to flee by car before raising the alarm and being airlifted to Mackay Base Hospital, undergoing multiple emergency surgeries.
Police then swept the surrounding rural cattle properties.
Young and four other people were taken into custody, with all but the accused released without charge.
He will next appear in court on November 1.
Man with 2 boomerangs smashes window in road rage incident.
Man with 2 boomerangs smashes window in road rage incident.
