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Air New Zealand’s reduced flight schedule takes the wind out of flying for travelers

Air New Zealand's reduced flight schedule takes the wind out of flying for travelers

People booked with Air New Zealand over coming months are crossing their fingers they won’t be among the thousands who will have their flights dropped as the airline deals with staff shortages.

The company said 100,000 customers would be affected by the reduced schedule, which was done so more staff could be on standby to cover for illness.

It has been six years since Sarah traveled overseas and now she is hoping for a dream holiday she is taking this month goes to plan.

READMORE:
* What you should know if Air New Zealand changes your flight
* Air New Zealand reduces flight schedule over next six months to deal with staff sickness
* Air New Zealand bringing first aircraft back from American desert

But when she heard Air New Zealand suggested those with cheap seats would be bumped first, she saw red.

“Pretty angry, I’d say don’t bump me off, I booked my flights months ago, like they want you to do, then they go someone can come along and book in today and be ahead of me. That stinks, that’s really unfair.”

Air New Zealand said 100,000 customers would be affected by the reduced schedule.

Ross Giblin/Stuff

Air New Zealand said 100,000 customers would be affected by the reduced schedule.

Sarah plans to travel from Christchurch to Auckland and then on to Singapore where she will catch a flight to India.

“If they muck up any of those flights, I’m going to be buggered. I’ve only got a one-hour connection in Singapore to get onto the other flight.”

The airline said when it cut flights it would offer a credit or refund for those who could not be rebooked for the same day or with a day on either side for international travel.

Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said the announcement omitted important information about passengers’ rights.

Would-be domestic travelers are entitled to claim up to 10 times the cost of the ticket or the actual cost of delay, whichever is lower, if the cancellation is within the airline’s control.

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Similar rules apply for international flights but vary depending on the airline and country the traveler is in.

“We recognize this is a challenging time for all airlines and commend Air New Zealand for proactively managing upcoming capacity and scheduling issues,” Duffy said.

“We’re not sure when this policy will begin impacting passengers – the more notice Air New Zealand can give its customers, the better.

“However, Consumer NZ has concerns that passengers affected by Air New Zealand’s schedule changes may not be given the full picture about their rights.”

If the airline offered a customer another flight that did not suit, they could ask for a refund and claim reimbursement for any additional costs such as accommodation and meals incurred getting to the destination, he said.

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Auckland woman Kirsten Henry has eight domestic flights booked for different trips this year, including to Queenstown to do a Great Walk.

“The travel that I have booked is time sensitive, all of it, and particularly the personal travel where if I was forced to take a later flight then that would potentially then mean I wouldn’t be able to do those things.”

She has booked fully refundable flexible fares at top dollar, which she now regrets after spending hours waiting on hold to get through to Air New Zealand’s customer service center last week to get a refund for a family member’s flight.

She gave up and opted for a credit online instead.

“It does annoy me that Air New Zealand’s selling these fully refundable fares but they’re not really unless you’re willing to really put yourself out and spend hours on the phone waiting to speak to a person. You should be able to cancel them on-line.”

The airline said when it cut flights it would offer a credit or refund for those who could not be rebooked for the same day or with a day on either side for international travel.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

The airline said when it cut flights it would offer a credit or refund for those who could not be rebooked for the same day or with a day on either side for international travel.

Air New Zealand said its call center had a maximum wait of five hours at one point last weekend, when fog delayed many flights.

House of Travel chief operating officer Brent Thomas said airlines needed to be much more upfront about passengers’ rights when there were cancellations.

“There hasn’t been clarity given by Air New Zealand or others for that matter who fly through New Zealand. It is far clearer in certain other jurisdictions around the world.”

The affected customers would require clarity, Thomas said.

“This is a big disruption, 100,000 people over the next few months is massive,” he said.

“I understand it, they don’t want to disappoint people closer to the time, they want to give as much notice as possible and that’s to be applauded, but let’s not sugar-coat it. It still is something that’s going to be a bit of a downer for some people who are impacted and quite materially impacted.”

This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission.

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Domino’s pulls out of Italy after admitting failure in attempt to win over locals

Domino's pulls out of Italy after admitting failure in attempt to win over locals

It was a cheeky bid to grab a slice of the action in the home of pizza.

But US chain Domino’s has admitted failure in its attempt to conquer Italy and has said a hasty arrivederci.

After spending seven years trying to persuade Romans and Neapolitans that popular American pizza toppings – such as pineapple – were not a sacrilege, it has closed all its 29 Italian stores.

Domino’s, which has more than 1,100 UK outlets, arrived in Italy in 2015 hoping to cash in on the home delivery market.

The firm said it aimed to open 880 stores and would use ‘purely Italian’ traditional ingredients such as prosciutto, gorgonzola, grana padano and mozzarella.

But Italy’s notoriously perfectionist diners proved hard to please.

They turned their noses up when Domino’s offered US-inspired varieties such as the cheeseburger topping, the pepperoni passion and, worst of all, the pineapple-strewn Hawaiian.

The coronavirus pandemic also saw potential customers flock to local, often cheaper, restaurants for home-grown options.

Domino’s main market in Italy, according to the firm’s detractors, was just “drunk American tourists”.

The US fast food giant shut its stores across Italy after local franchise holder ePizza went bankrupt.

ePizza, which had debts of nearly £9million, has blamed the COVID pandemic lockdowns and a significant rise in the level of competition, particularly from more traditional Italian outlets, for the decision to shut its restaurants.

The firm said: “We attribute the issue to the significantly increased level of competition in the food delivery market with both organized chains and “mom and pop” restaurants delivering food.”

It was a cheeky bid to grab a slice of the action in the home of pizza. But US chain Domino's has admitted failure in its attempt to conquer Italy and has said a hasty arrivederci.
Camera IconIt was a cheeky bid to grab a slice of the action in the home of pizza. But US chain Domino’s has admitted failure in its attempt to conquer Italy and has said a hasty arrivederci. Credit: YALCIN SONAT/yalcinsonat – stock.adobe.com

Italian newspaper Il Messaggero offered a more withering assessment of Domino’s attempts to win over the country.

“Italians don’t like pineapple pizza”, it said, claiming Domino’s menu “would turn up the nose of traditional pizza lovers, while intriguing xenophiles”.

In Italy, pizza is such a way of life that the original, traditional Neapolitian has protected status and strict requirements, while the art of dough twirling in Naples has even achieved Unesco world heritage recognition.

One online commentator said bringing the US chain to Italy was like “trying to sell snow in the North Pole”.

Another wrote: “May we all have the insane confidence of the Domino’s executive who pitched opening in Italy.”

But some American takeaway giants remain unperturbed by the pizza chain’s fate.

Starbucks has opened 16 stores across Italy in the hope of tempting coffee traditionalists away from the country’s much-loved espresso bars.

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ASX:ANZ ANZ boss Shayne Elliott hoses down fears of a recession

ASX:ANZ ANZ boss Shayne Elliott hoses down fears of a recession

The banks have passed on all the RBA’s rate rises since the central bank started tightening monetary policy in May.

Despite the positive outlook about Australia’s ability to withstand rocky economic conditions, Elliott said he sometimes worried Australia’s “lucky country” mentality risked complacency or a lack of reform.

“I worry that in Australia … I worry that this ‘lucky country’ idea, which is true, it has been extraordinarily fortunate, sometimes makes it easy to walk away from really hard decisions and you think about reform, or lack of, over the last 10 or 15 years. Those things I worry about.”

Asked about what he wanted to see from the new federal Labor government when it delivers its budget later this year, Elliott said: “What we want is some aspiration.”

He said that ANZ was currently in the process of figuring out its own budget, and was grappling with similar questions about future outlook.

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“I understand there are a lot of moving parts… the question is what are you going to do? What’s the aspiration? What are you going to do to change the future? How do you shape the future? he said.

“The government, part of their roles is to set signals so that people in rooms like this sit around and go that’s the rules of the game… I have some clarity about those aspirations and the future.

“I think the good thing about our economy in a liberal democracy is private sector then gets on with it and says ok, those are the rules.”

Elliott also joked that the government’s upcoming jobs summit, should be a “worker’s summit”, given ongoing labor shortages.

“There’s lots of jobs, we just need people to fill them,” he said.

ANZ recently announced a $4.9 billion deal to buy Suncorp’s bank, which will face regulatory scrutiny before it proceeds. On Friday, he said he was confident he continued to be confident about the deal and was “very optimistic” it would get the tick of approval.

The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weandkday afternoon.

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Choice survey reveals Aussies are under the pump trying to pay their bills

Choice survey reveals Aussies are under the pump trying to pay their bills

New research has revealed nine out of 10 Aussies say they are struggling to manage their household budgets amid the rising cost of living.

A survey by consumer group Choice found 90 per cent of more than 1000 participating households said their bills had increased since 2021 – with the biggest financial burdens health insurance and utilities.

Choice editor Marg Rafferty said almost all Aussie households were feeling the pressure of price rises, with the report highlighting how difficult it’s become to manage the household budget.

“Among the biggest financial burdens, the research found, was health insurance and utilities,” she said.

“Cost of living pressures continue to be a major issue for Australians.”

Almost three in five respondents reported concerns about their disposable income, with pulse data revealing 23 per cent of households are struggling to get by, which is up from 18 per cent in June last year.

Ms Rafferty offered advice to Australians struggling to keep up with their bills, saying “there’s a chance you could be getting a better deal elsewhere”.

“Our research shows you can save up to $935 a year on hospital cover by switching to a similar policy with a different provider.” she said.

“It always helps to spend some time comparing what’s on the market.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, household spending in June was up more than 10 per cent compared with the same time period last year.

But household bill hikes are not the only thing Aussies are spending their money on, with residents feeling the pinch of an additional 15 per cent increase on services and 5 per cent rise on goods.

The monthly figures, which were released on Tuesday, revealed both discretionary and non-discretionary spending increased following an inflation rate of 6.1 per cent.

Non-essential costs rose by 10.8 per cent, driven by spending in recreation and cultural activities, while essential spending rose by 9.8 per cent, due to the rising cost of transport.

The most significant area of ​​spending was on transport, up 22.7 per cent, driven by higher oil prices due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the demand for air travel.

Spending at hospitality businesses like hotels, cafes and restaurants was up 17.1 per cent in what is viewed as a positive return to pre-pandemic levels.

There was also strong growth in spending on clothing and footwear – up 16.3 per cent, as well as a 15.5 per cent increase in recreation and culture.

Jacqui Vitas, from the Australia Bureau of Statistics, said June marked the 16th consecutive month of through-the-year increases in total household spending.

“This was off the back of consistent decreases in total household spending from March 2020 to February 2021, as responses to Covid-19 were experienced across the country,” she said.

“Spending categories most impacted from Covid-19 responses – transport, hotels, cafes and restaurants, and clothing and footwear – have now returned to pre-pandemic levels.”

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Indian students come to Australia for work, not education

Indian students come to Australia for work, not education

A new survey of education agents by education company Navitas found that the top five factors influencing student choice of study destination globally are: cost of study, quality of education, access to post-study work rights, opportunities to work while studying, and opportunities for permanent migration.

However, for students from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, they are most concerned with gaining post-study work rights, and are the least concerned about the quality of education:

Important issues for international students

Students from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa care more about work rights than quality of education.

These results should be no surprise. A recent study by IDP Connect revealed how the prime motivation for Indian students to study in Australia is to gain permanent residency and work rights:

IDP Connect’s New Horizons research shows international students consider migration incentives and employment opportunities when choosing where, what and how to study. “We’ve seen a significant decrease in interest from Indian students looking to study in Australia,” said Wharton, who said a key motivation for Indian students’ decision to study abroad include migration and face-to-face learning opportunities…

Wharton said if Australia can communicate a roadmap towards a large-scale return of international students, with clear pathways towards employment and migration outcomes, Australia could be in a good position to retain its status as a leading study abroad destination…

The former vice-chancellor of Macquarie University, Professor Steven Schwartz, also admitted that many international students only study in Australia to gain working rights and permanent residence:

[Professor Schwartz] said foreign students flock to courses likely to lead to jobs and permanent residence…

“Permanent residence is one of the main motivations to study in Australia’…

“If suddenly permanent residence was given to people who study poetry, it’s likely they’d all be doing poetry.”

New Delhi-based education consultant Gauravdeep Bumra noted similar:

“Most Indian students choose to study abroad, often at the cost of thousands of dollars, because they have a long-term goal of getting permanent residence, be it in Australia, Canada or the UK”.

“The day they open their borders, the student intake numbers will uptick…”

so you have The Australian’s international education correspondent, Tim Dodd:

“Too many of the expanding numbers of students from India and the subcontinent were in low quality, generic business courses, and hoping for permanent residency without having in-demand skills.”

Thus, any move to lift international student numbers will necessarily require Australia to reach further down the quality barrel and erode entry standards even further. Doing so would be detrimental to the long-run productivity and prosperity of Australia, which relies upon quality education and skills.

Instead of lowering the quality bar even further to increase numbers, Australia’s international education system should instead target a smaller intake of high quality students via:

  1. Lifting entry standards (particularly English-language proficiency);
  2. Lifting financial requirements needed to enter Australia; and
  3. Removing the link between studying, work rights and permanent residence.

These reforms would raise student quality, would lift genuine export revenues per student, would lift wage growth by removing competition in the jobs market, and would lower enrollment numbers to sensible and sustainable levels, in turn improving the experience for local students.

Sadly, we all know these reforms would never happen. If work rights and permanent residence were scaled back, the numbers of arriving students would collapse.

Our policy makers will instead crater standards even further to entice as many warm bodies into Australia as possible. Because the edu-migration industry rent-seekers demand it.

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Adore Beauty: Little incentive to stay

Adore Beauty: Little incentive to stay

IDP Education chairman Peter Polson was also generous enough to lure O’Shannessy with a $250,000 sign-on bonus to make up for her forgone Adore Beauty incentives, no matter how worthless her issued options have become.

O’Shannessy was signed up at Adore with 868,502 shares, paid for with a $868,502 limited recourse loan to the company.

Repaying that loan (barring any further falls in the stock price if she liquidates her 1 per cent stake in the company) would net her roughly $300,000. But hey, 30¢ in the dollar still beats what remains of the investment made by an array of women with limited financial literacy who were gullible enough to buy Adore Beauty shares during its puffed-up IPO.

Board renewal

The 550,000 share options issued to O’Shannessy two years ago have an exercise price tied to the $6.75 IPO. By virtue of her departure from Ella, O’Shannessy clearly doubts the stock will return to those levels.

Not even management is confident enough to claim Adore Beauty as “Australia’s No.1 pure-play online beauty retailer” without adding a worrying fine print supplemental that this is “based on management estimates”.

That would be the same leadership that capitulated to a board renewal that saw the November departure of chairman justin ryanthe previous managing partner of Quadrant and its representative on the board (it retains a 32 per cent post-float stake).

Bizarrely, Ryan had continued as Adore chairman even after he left Quadrant in April 2021 to launch a competitor firm with Adore co-founder Kate Morris (who yanked $46 million out of the IPO).

Adore’s revenue is continuing to grow, but it is painfully unable to grow net profit (which fell 22 per cent in the most recent half).

Perhaps that’s because Adore is still on a marketing rampage, its $16 million in advertising spend outweighing the $11 million it pays its workers.

The cost of Adore’s $96 million worth of sales in the first half of last year worked out to 67 per cent. And on $113 million of revenue in the first half of this financial year? 67 per cent.

Who’s bright idea was it to float Adore before it had solidified its brand recognition? Or was it that the pre-IPO brand-building campaign aimed overwhelmingly at simply flogging its noxious stock?

For O’Shannessy, IDP Education is almost a return home, having been spun off by Seek, where she was previously an executive. She would be praying Polson (one of the most generous men, with other people’s money, corporate Australia has ever seen) does them out as many share options as were issued to previous IDP boss Andrew Barkla.

When Barkla joined IDP three months before its float, the board agreed to grant him 4.15 million share options with an exercise price of $1.44 (far short of the IPO pricing of $2.65 a share). When he exercised them in August 2018, the share price was $11, a lazy $40 million windfall.

For Adore Beauty, it now has to rely on Egon Zehnder to scour the market for a captain willing to go down with the ship.

Perhaps it would be easier just to Zehnder into administration.

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Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Top ten gold trophy.

Image source: Getty Images

the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) traded in the red on Friday despite an exuberant performance from energy shares. The index closed today’s session 0.54% lower at 7,032.5 points.

That left the benchmark index just 0.2% higher than where it ended last week after reaching its highest closing price in two months on Thursday.

the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) was alone in the green today, gaining 2.3%.

The price of thermal coal lifted 0.6% to US$401 per tonne overnight. Meanwhile, the Brent crude oil price rose 2.3% to US$99.60 per barrel and the US Nymex crude price increased 2.6% to $94.34 a barrel.

On the other end of the market, the S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate Index (ASX: XRE) and the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) fell 2% and 1.8% respectively.

the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) also slumped 0.7%, weighed down by the Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE) share price’s about-face.

It came after gold futures fell 0.4% to US$1,807.20 an ounce while iron ore futures lifted 1.6% to $111.01 overnight

All in all, only one of the ASX 200’s 11 sectors was in the green at the end of Friday’s trade. But which share outperformed all others to end the week with a bang? Keep reading to find out.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Today’s best performing ASX 200 share was gold explorer and developer De Gray Mining Limited (ASX: SDR). The stock continued a recent green streak to gain 3.7% on Friday.

Find out what De Gray has been up to lately here.

Today’s biggest gains were made by these ASX shares:

Our top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

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Kmart budget dupe for $1900 vintage Italian Murano lamp

Kmart budget dupe for $1900 vintage Italian Murano lamp

Excited shoppers are racing to Kmart to get their hands on a table lamp that looks identical to its $1900 designer dupe.

TikTok was sent into a frenzy after a shopper posted a video of her buying the Amelie table lamp, which costs just $35.

People in the comments were quick to point out the lamp’s likeness to the highly sought-after vintage Murano lamp, which can be sold for upwards of $1900 on collector sites.

These original Italian made lamps were popular in the 1970s and are harder to come by in modern times, hence their hefty price tag.

The originals are made of glass in Venice with a soda-lime metal and are usually elaborately decorated, with various glass-forming techniques, as well as gilding, enamel, or engraving.

“The infamous Kmart light and it lives up to the hype,” TikTok user Shani Dayna captioned her video.

In the short clip, she excitedly unboxes the lamp and decides to put in a colour-changing light globe to create a unique ambience.

“I have one too! It’s such a vibe,” commented one. “It’s a replica of the vintage Murano ones.”

“Oh my god I’m running to Kmart to get this tomorrow,” another commented. “It’s so pretty! I need.”

This is not the first time Kmart has whipped up a frenzy by selling dupes for expensive items.

An influencer excited her followers earlier this year when she discovered a cheap puffer jacket that was a “perfect dupe” of a $400 version.

Melbourne woman Georgia Clay shared the stylish outerwear with her 40.2k followers on the platform, with many remarking the $40 piece was a perfect dupe for the likes of those from the North Face, at just 10 per cent of the cost.

The style – which launched as part of the retailer’s Autumn/Winter collection – “has quickly become a popular choice among customers”, a Kmart spokeswoman told news.com.au.

Cooks across the country were also excited after getting their hands on a budget version of the iconic Le Creuset cast iron pot.

The pot, which is available in different colours, sent Aussies into a frenzy online – as did the $30 price tag, considering similar Le Creuset casserole dishes can set you back up to $450.

Read related topics:KmartTikTok

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Tesla’s big battery started with an Elon Musk Twitter exchange – but behind the scenes, it wasn’t that simple

A shot of the tesla powerpack with the company logo visible.

It began with a bet between billionaires.

In March 2017, Atlassian chief Mike Cannon-Brookes challenged Tesla boss Elon Musk to make good on a thought bubble about using batteries to solve South Australia’s energy problems.

“Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free,” Mr Musk replied.

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Not to be outdone, Mr Cannon-Brookes upped the ante.

“Legend! You’re on mate,” he responded, before promising to pull strings to secure “mates rates.”

The Twitter exchange has been much mythologised — in the eyes of some, it is an almost Damascene moment in which Australia relinquished its fear of renewables and embraced battery storage.

It is certainly true that it catalyzed the creation of Neoen’s 150-megawatt Hornsdale Power Reserve (aka the big battery), which was first switched on almost five years ago.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

Play Video. Duration: 1 minute 36 seconds

Elon Musk talks about Tesla’s battery plan in July 2017.(ABCNews)

But then-SA premier Jay Weatherill recalls the billionaires’ Twitter banter as a double-edged sword.

“It was certainly not choreographed — it was a shock to see this,” he said.

“We were about to launch our [energy] plan … and it included a renewable technology fund of about $150 million, and one of the first cabs off the rank was likely to be a grid-level battery.

“thisexchange [then] occurred which created a massive problem for me, because everyone was telling me to accept what appeared to be the offer of the century.”

Damaged power transmission towers near Melrose in South Australia.
Damaged power transmission towers near Melrose from the time of the September 2016 blackout.(ABC News: Dean Faulkner)

Context is important here — three major blackouts in SA in less than six months, including the statewide outage of September 2016, had poured petrol on an already heated energy debate.

The Twitter exchange occurred a week before the equally notorious, but much more acrimonious, confrontation involving Mr Weatherill and then-federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg over renewables.

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While Mr Musk later joked that all he’d been doing was “talking smack”, Mr Cannon-Brookes has said his own initial tweet had equally humble origins.

It was late at night and Mr Cannon-Brookes was looking after his young child when he spontaneously responded to an Australian Financial Review article about Tesla’s battery plans.

“I just tweeted to Elon, was he serious?” I have told the 100 Climate Conversations podcast.

“I went to bed and then he came back and… we went back and forth negotiating and then sort of all hell broke loose.

“Suddenly [then prime minister] Malcolm Turnbull was on the phone and it went a bit nuts for a couple of weeks.”

A man with a beard and his graying hair in a ponytail gesticulates with his hands, he is wearing a white t-shirt.
Mike Cannon-Brookes was taken back by the response to his off-the-cuff tweet.(ABC)

‘It was a turning point’

During 2017, when Mr Musk enjoyed near-rockstar status among renewables supporters, there were obvious political upsides to Tesla’s proposal.

But Tesla wasn’t the only interested party — indeed, it was a Zen Energy push that had put batteries on SA’s agenda.

Despite the momentum behind the Tesla pitch, the SA government had committed to a procurement process to assess individual submissions on their merits.

Elon Musk stands in front of a giant screen, talking to the audience
Elon Musk was treated to a rockstar’s welcome during construction of the battery in September 2017.(ABC News: Andrew Burch)

“The way I chose to do it was to ring Elon Musk directly and say, ‘Great idea, we’re about to open up a tender process, we’d love you to bid’,” Mr Weatherill recalled.

“He then helpfully tweeted out, ‘Had a great conversation with the premier of South Australia’. That took the immediate pressure off me.

“Fortunately they won the tend on a proper basis, but obviously I was hoping they would win because the reputational benefit and the pulling power and the publicity that Elon Musk was able to generate were obviously powerful.”

On the other hand, “it would have been embarrassing for me — or not so much embarrassing but a lost opportunity — if he didn’t win”, Mr Weatherill said.

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For energy expert Marija Petkovic, part of the battery’s power was the way it provided proof of concept.

“Those of us in the energy industry have known for a very long time that battery storage would be one of the key pieces of technology that’s going to take us to a highly renewable grid,” she said.

“But it’s always hard to be the first off the mark.

“Having that first project be built and operational was a huge deal — it really allowed all the others to follow suit afterwards.”

Marija Petkovic
Marija Petkovic is the founder and managing director of Energy Synapse.(Supplied)

The battery itself hasn’t been entirely free of controversy. In June, the Hornsdale Power Reserve was fined $900,000 for failing to provide grid stabilization services as required in 2019.

But it also recently secured approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to deliver grid-scale inertia services to the National Electricity Market.

“Batteries provide quite negligible energy in the [wholesale] market, but where they provide value is those ancillary services,” Ms Petkovic said.

“There’s about 100 more in the pipeline — not all of those projects will proceed to construction, some are very early stages … but it is quite promising.”

The Hornsdale Power Reserve near Jamestown in South Australia's mid north.
Ms Petkovic says there are dozens more giant batteries in the pipeline.(Supplied: Tesla)

While Mr Weatherill lost the subsequent election, he remembers those months in 2017 with fondness.

“There are lots of downsides but this is one of the upsides of making big decisions that set new trajectories,” he said.

“It was a turning point, and quite an exciting one.”

SA Premier Jay Weatherill alongside tech entrepreneur and Tesla boss Elon Musk.
Jay Weatherill and Elon Musk struck up what was widely reported as a “bromance.”(Facebook)

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Lettuce prices to fall as production lifts in flood-hit growing regions

Close up shot of a head of cos lettuce

After months of paying $10 for lettuce, shoppers can expect some relief with Queensland growers getting back on track, three months after they were devastated by flooding.

Prices for the salad staple skyrocketed after flooding in May wiped out millions of dollars worth of vegetables in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane.

Mulgowie Yowie Salads director Shannon Moss said he had only started full production about two weeks ago.

“We’ve had nice weather where a lot of growers have got stock coming on,” Mr Moss said.

“I was going through the photos [of the flooding] and I’m thinking how it’s hard to look at it, look at the devastation that was here.

“It is nice to see the paddocks recover and the farm get back into some sort of normality.”

Mr Moss said he was now producing about 30,000 cos lettuces a week for markets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Rows of lettuce wiped out from floods with the scenery of the lockyer valley in the background
Shannon Moss lost his entire lettuce crop in May when floods ripped through the Lockyer Valley. (Supplied: Shannon Moss)

He said prices had remained high for so long because the season had had to start from scratch.

“You have to remember a seedling in a nursery takes about four to six weeks to grow, then it’s another eight weeks in the ground to grow lettuce.

“So you’re looking at three to four months to grow any kind of lettuce.”

Man in fluro orange shirt stands in front of rows of lettuce.
After the trauma of floods, Mr Moss is happy to get back to normal production. (Rural ABC: Lucy Cooper)

Further price drop expected

Toowoomba-based greengrocer Bevan Betros said prices had halved in recent weeks.

“I think we can afford to eat iceberg lettuce again … they are a good size, they’ve got a bit of weight in them — they’re very good value again,” Mr Betros said.

He said prices would remain stable over the coming weeks.

“I don’t think they’ll get much cheaper just for the next week or two.

“There may be some gaps in the plantings due to the floods and what people were able to do when they could get on and off their property.”

Man stars at camera with shopping shelves behind him
Greengrocer Bevan Betros expects iceberg lettuce to drop to about $2 by September. (ABC News: David Chen)

Mr Betros said he expected prices would continue to fall heading into October.

“They’ll get back down as the warm weather comes on, as we get into spring.

“We should be getting down under $2 again, hopefully in September.”

Iceberg lettuce on shelf in supermarket with a price of $6.20
Iceberg lettuce has fluctuated from $1.50 a head to $12 and is now $6 a head. (ABC News: David Chen)

But don’t get used to it

Despite lettuce production returning to normal, shoppers are being warned not to get used to low prices.

Director of Coastal Hydroponics on the Gold Coast and Growcom chairwoman Belinda Frentz said a price reduction would likely be short term.

“We’ll start seeing the prices of most leafies coming back to what we would expect to be a normal sort of price,” Ms Frentz said.

Woman stands with arms crossed and lettuce growing behind her
Growcom chair Belinda Frentz says production is almost at full capacity. (ABC News: Steve Keen)

“Obviously we’ve got input cost pressures that are having a significant impact on businesses and recouping costs and seeing prices sort of not leveling out — there’s going to be some increases.”

Ms Frentz said farmers were still dealing with high labour, fuel and fertilizer costs.

“Growers are being hit in every pocket that they’ve got.”

Is there a right price?

While prices have dropped, growers want them to remain at levels where their businesses can survive.

“If we get down to $1.50 for retail lettuce that’s not going to be sustainable for too long,” Mr Moss said.

“You know, fuel levies are up 20 to 25 per cent, fertilizer prices are up another 25 to 30 per cent and diesel is up another 30 to 40 per cent, so our product needs to be up around 30 to 40 per cent,” he said.

Hand holds a plastic packaged cos lettuce
Lockyer Valley growers supply the key markets of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.(Rural ABC: Lucy Cooper)

Ms Frentz hoped the severity of the losses endured by farmers during the floods would demonstrate to consumers how exposed the industry was.

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