The boss of Australia’s largest bank has warned that the economy is already declining and that a “short, sharp contraction” is on the way.
Late on Wednesday, the chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Matt Comyn, delivered the company’s annual results.
Although the CBA made an eye-watering $9.6 billion in profit over the last financial year, Mr Comyn warned that tougher times were on the horizon.
He told the Australian Financial Review that he predicted “a short, sharp contraction in the Australian economy.”
“We are definitely expecting a more challenging year ahead than we have seen in the last 12 months,” he added.
However, in some good news, the banking CEO believes a contraction is almost a certainty but a full-blown recession is less likely.
Australia is in the throes of an economic crisis as inflation rose to 6.1 per cent last month, the highest level it’s been for 20 years.
And for the first time in more than a decade, Australia’s central bank has had no choice but to increase the cash rate in a bid to stop rampant inflation.
For the last four consecutive months, the Reserve Bank of Australia has increased interest rates by 1.75 percentage points and Mr Comyn more rate increases will come.
Mr Comyn told the publication his bank predicts the cash rate to increase by another 75 basis points to sit at 2.6 per cent.
The cash rate is currently 1.85 per cent.
Once the cash rate hits 2.6 per cent, Mr Comyn said the economy would experience a contraction of 1.5 per cent.
He said he “hoped” that once the cash rate reached this point it would be enough to curb spending, adding “We need to see a slowdown in demand.”
Speaking to the ABC, Mr Comyn said “We do forecast recessions in the US, UK and Europe. We don’t believe that that’s the likely outcome in Australia.”
Already there are signs that Australians are splashing their cash less.
Mr Comyn said their customer data shows that spending is falling for both debit and credit cards.
This was significantly more for customers who had mortgages.
“It’s quite early post the immediate rate rises, [but] we are already seeing a downturn in spending across our customer base, both from a debt and credit perspective,” he said.
“Of course, that’s more pronounced with customers who have a home loan, and we expect that it will continue throughout the course of the calendar year.”
On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) followed the lead of US markets and tumbled lower. The benchmark index fell 0.5% to 6,992.7 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to return
The Australian share market looks set to rebound strongly on Thursday following a stellar night on Wall Street after better than expected US inflation data. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 74 points or 1.1% higher this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was up 1.6%, the S&P 500 rose 2.1%, and the NASDAQ stormed 2.9% higher. The latter bodes well for the tech sector today.
Telstra full year results
the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price will be one to watch on Thursday. This morning the telco giant is scheduled to release its full year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it expects Telstra to report a 6% decline in revenue to $21.6 billion but a 7% increase in underlying EBITDA to $7.13 billion. A final dividend of 8 cents per share is expected, bringing its full year dividend to 16 cents per share.
Oil prices rise
Energy shares including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have a good day after oil prices pushed higher on Wednesday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.5% to US$91.92 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.3% to US$97.38 a barrel. Optimism over gasoline demand boosted prices.
Goodman results
the Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) share price will be in focus today. This morning the integrated industrial property company will release its full year results. Goodman has been having a fantastic year and has upgraded his guidance to a number of times. Its most recent guidance is for earnings per share growth of 23%. The team at Citi suspect that Goodman could even outperform this guidance.
gold price falls
gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd. (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a subdued day after the gold price dropped overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.35% to US$1,805.2 an ounce. Improving investor sentiment reduces the appeal of the safe haven asset.
Telstra has seen a fall in profits for the year, but it has raised dividends for investors, and the ASX has soared on the back of cooling US consumer inflation.
Key points:
The Dow Jones index rose 1.6pc to 33,310, the S&P 500 rose 2.1pc to 4,210, and the Nasdaq rose 2.9pc to 12,855
US consumer prices rose 8.5pc over the year to July, a slowdown from 9.1pc over the year to June
Telstra’s annual net profit fell 4.6pc to $1.8 billion, but its final dividend lifted from 8 cents to 8.5 cents a share
The telecommunications giant said annual profit slipped for 2022 because of lower revenue and total income.
Net profit after tax fell 4.6 per cent to $1.8 billion, with total income falling by nearly 5 per cent to $22 billion.
Before-tax earnings dropped 5 per cent to $7.3 billion.
Telstra sold more mobile services but saw less demand from retail customers for fixed bundle and data services.
Despite the fall in profit, Telstra announced an increase in its dividend for the first time in seven years, following the completion of its four-year transformation plan, T22.
Telstra paid a final fully franked dividend of 8.5 cents a share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 16.5 cents a share.
That is up to 3.1 per cent and includes a special dividend of 3 cents a share for the year.
Outgoing Telstra chief executive Andy Penn said the company’s core business performed strongly despite the challenges.
“What we could not have foreseen was COVID and the other seismic economic, political and social changes that have unfolded,” Mr Penn said.
“Our mobiles result was outstanding, consumer and small business fixed grew sequentially in the second quarter, enterprise returned to growth, and we started to realize the benefits of setting up our infrastructure assets as a standalone InfraCo business.”
Telstra shares lost their gains, and were down 1 per cent to $3.97 at 3:20pm AEST.
ASX jumps
The Australian share market surged more than 1 per cent in early trade on hopes that the US Federal Reserve would not make another super-sized interest rate hike next month because of a pullback in prices in July in the US.
At 3:15pm, the All Ordinaries index was up 1 per cent to 7,311, while the ASX 200 index rose 9 per cent to 7,057.
Most sectors increased on the ASX 200, with industrials, technology and consumer stocks leading the gains.
National Australia Bank, ANZ, Westpac gained ground, but the Commonwealth Bank was lower.
Just education stocks and utilities were weaker.
Lithium firm Lake Resources (+15.5 per cent) and fashion retailer City Chic Collective (+11.5 per cent) did the best, with share registry Computershare (-4.3 per cent) doing the worst.
The Australian dollar jumped around 1.5 US cents overnight from yesterday’s close as the greenback fell.
It reached an overnight high of 71.09 US cents.
At 3:20pm AEST, the local currency was down 0.1 per cent to 70.68 US cents.
AMP is returning $1.1 billion to investors after it sold its infrastructure debt business.(ABCNews)
AMP returns $1.1 billion to investors
Financial house AMP saw a fall in underlying half year profit because of lower profit margins at its banking division and share market volatility.
Underlying net profit fell by one quarter to $117 million for the first half of the financial year.
That is as net interest margin, the difference between what the bank pays for finance compared to what it charges customers, slipped.
AMP said NIM fell to 1.32 per cent from 1.62 a year earlier because of competition in the home loan market and a preference towards lower margin fixed rate loans, which has since subsided.
The company said higher interest rates will help its profit margins over the second half of the year.
Investments under management also took a hit because of falling share market returns over the first half of the year with funds under management falling from $142.3 billion a year ago to $126.3 billion.
Net profit for the first half of the year increased to $481 million after it sold its infrastructure debt business, up more than threefold.
But in good news for investors, the company is returning $1.1 billion in capital to shareholders, although it did not pay an interim dividend.
AMP shares were down 1.5 per cent to $1.15 in late trade.
Meanwhile, insurer QBE said net profit after tax for the half year slumped from $441 million a year ago to $151 million for the six months to the end of June, down by two-thirds.
That is because of share market volatility and record storms and floods in Australia.
Investors get an interim dividend payout of 9 cents a share.
QBE shares rose 3.4 per cent to $12.56 in the last hour of trade.
US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is set to raise US official interest rates again next month. (AP: Susan Walsh)
US inflation slows
The US Consumer Price Index was flat in July after rising by 1.3 per cent in June, when prices reached an annual rate of 9.1 per cent — the highest in 41 years.
The US Labor Department said over the year to July, prices rose at the slower pace of 8.5 per cent, better than expected by economists.
The data is the first notable sign of relief for Americans who have watched inflation steadily climb over the past two years.
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is considering whether to make another large interest rate increase of 0.75 per cent in September, after a string of rate rises this year.
July’s slowdown in monthly inflation was the largest since 1973 and followed on the heels of petroleum prices falling by around one-fifth since mid-June.
Prices at the pump spiked in the first half of the year because of the war in Ukraine and reached a record high of more than $US5 a gallon in mid-June.
Gasoline prices fell 7.7 per cent in July, but food prices remained elevated, climbing by 1.1 per cent.
However, prices are still rising at levels not seen since the high-inflation era of the 1970s and early 1980s.
loading
The core consumer price index, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.3 per cent in July from June, and 5.9 per cent from a year earlier.
US consumer prices have surged for a variety of reasons including the global supply-chain squeeze, massive government stimulus from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Chicago Federal Reserve president Charles Evans said the inflation reading was the first “positive” one since the central bank began raising interest rates earlier this year.
But he said inflation was still “unacceptably” high and the Fed would continue to need to raise rates likely to between 3.25 per cent and 3.5 per cent this year, and to between 3.75 per cent and 4 per cent by the end of next year.
“This is not yet the meaningful decline in inflation the Fed is looking for,” Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics said.
“But it’s a start and we expect to see broader signs of easing price pressures over the next few months.”
US stocks surge
Wall Street rallied after the US inflation report came out, with investors betting the Federal Reserve might raise official interest rates by 0.5 percentage points instead of 0.75 percentage points next month.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 surged more than 2 per cent.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6 per cent to 33,310, the S&P 500 rose 2.1 per cent to 4,210, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.9 per cent to 12,855.
All 11 sectors on the S&P 500 gained, led by miners, consumer staples and technology stocks.
The US inflation data calmed nerves in Europe.
The FTSE 100 index in London rose 0.25 per cent to 7,507, the DAX in Germany rose 1.2 per cent to 13,701, and the CAC 40 in France rose 0.6 per cent to 4,954.
Brent crude oil rose 0.8 per cent to $US97.11 a barrel, while spot gold fell 0.1 per cent to $US1791.39 an ounce.
An entire store of Starbucks workers have walked out of their cafe mid-shift, in support of a colleague they claim was “unjustly” terminated.
In a TikTok video which has been viewed more than 18.6 million times, a team of nine workers can be seen leaving the store in Buffalo, New York.
The protest occurred after barista Sam Amato – who is also a union leader – was reportedly fired on the week of his 13th anniversary with the company.
After the employees leave, a woman who appears to be the store manager can be seen talking on the phone. The on-screen caption in the video reads: “* manager realizes she she’s messed up *”.
In a previous video Mr Amato claimed he was pulled aside by two store managers and was told he was being let go because he “modified operations and closed the lobby” without getting his “store manager’s permission”.
“It is a BS reason. It’s because I’m a union leader,” claimed Sam.
“They failed to provide any details or give me any information. They wrote things that were not true.
“After 13 years they refused to give me any details why I was fired.”
In the comments, the majority of TikTok users supported the worker’s efforts.
“Starbucks really is hell bent on ruining their reputation aren’t they,” read one comment.
“Good on you guys. Stand together. Keep this energy going,” read another.
“Starbucks, I’m a loyal customer but trust me when I tell you. That can change real quick friend!” shared another.
Under United States labor laws, workers in all 50 states bar Montana are subject to at-will employment. This means employees can be fired without prior warning and without the need for the employer to establish a cause. However, employers can still be challenged on the grounds of wrongful termination – like discrimination.
While some states have exceptions – for example, workers in the public sector, or those under union agreements – the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New York, and Rhode Island have no exceptions in regards as to why an employee may be terminated.
Since late 2021, Starbucks employees across the US’ 9000+ corporate-owned stores have attempted to unionize with Workers United. As of June 14, 143 stores have unionized, while 120 other outposts were petitioning for union elections, Guardian reports.
Workers United stated that the coffee giant has been systematically cutting employee hours in an effort to convince longtime employees to retire, before replacing them with workers who won’t unionise, the New York Times reports.
“Starbucks is also using policies that have not previously been enforced, and policies that would not have resulted in termination, as a pretext for firing union leaders,” the union said in a statement.
With around 33,833 stories in 80 countries, Starbucks is the world’s largest coffeehouse chain and is estimated to be worth A$140 billion.
With this new facility, plus Moderna’s under-development RNA plant in Victoria, Australia’s vaccine infrastructure has received a major shot in the arm.
The new biosecurity level-2 facility sits behind a series of airlocks; workers have to dress in full suits to go inside. “This place is cleaner than an operating theater,” said John Power, group leader of regulated biomanufacturing.
The lab makes protein and viral vector vaccines – the technologies used in Novavax and AstraZeneca’s jabs. The vaccines are grown by vast armies of cells housed in huge steel vats known as bioreactors.
The cells are given the genetic code for what needs to be produced: perhaps a viral protein, or even a whole antibody. They churn the product out en masse, before it is filtered out, purified, and filled into vials.
The genetically-modified cells arrive frozen in a tiny vial at Clayton; the team carefully thaw them and then grow them to up to 200 litres.
loading
The process is like tending to a plant – the researchers carefully tweak temperature and oxygen levels to get the cells to grow at their best.
When CSL was making the AstraZeneca vaccine, these processes hadn’t been perfected, leading to the first batch of vaccine being lower than was expected. CSIRO’s lab will specialize in perfecting that process before it goes into large-scale manufacture.
“If we get another pandemic, we should be in a much better place,” Nilsson said.
The facility also comes with machinery to fill vaccines into vials, ready for use in clinical humans.
loading
Facilities like this exist in Australia but are generally only for large runs.
“Facilities like this offer an opportunity for co-development, and that really high-quality manufacturing that is needed for clinical trials,” said Professor Trent Munro, one of the developers of the University of Queensland’s COVID vaccine and now program director for the internationally funded vaccine rapid response pipeline.
“All too often, researchers fail to understand just how complicated this early-stage manufacturing is. There’s a temptation to try to find ways to do it super-cheap and super-quick. We need all three – quick, cheap, and high quality.”
The facility can do both vaccines and drug therapies. It is already working on an antibody therapy for a university researchers declined to name.
Liam Mannix’s Examine newsletter explains and analyzes science with a rigorous focus on the evidence. Sign up to get it each week.
A wave of COVID-19 cases and flu infections over winter has been blamed for a significant drop in office occupancy rates across most major cities.
Melbourne had the lowest return-to-office rate in July, according to data from the Property Council of Australia released on Thursday.
The figures show the occupancy rate of Melbourne offices dropped from 49 per cent in June to 38 per cent in July, while in Sydney the rate fell from 55 to 52 per cent, in Brisbane from 64 to 53 per cent and Adelaide from 71 to 64 per cent
Canberra and Perth were the only markets to record an increase in office occupancy, from 53 to 61 per cent and 65 to 71 per cent, respectively.
Property Council Chief Executive Ken Morrison said a rise in illness during the winter season was a contributing factor in the decline.
“Office occupancy numbers have gone backwards for the first time in six months as a wave of Omicron and flu cases kept workers away from the office,” he said.
“We have been seeing a steady increase in the number of workers returning to offices, but this stalled in June and has now declined in most capitals, which is disappointing but unsurprising.”
Office occupancy rates in Melbourne have remained below 50 per cent since the start of the pandemic, while in Sydney and Brisbane occupancy rates peaked during a lull in COVID-19 cases in early to mid-2021.
Victorian opposition jobs spokesman David Southwick said the state government should lead by example.
“Hybrid working may be here to stay, but it’s clear Daniel Andrews’ three-day-a week target for public servants isn’t close to being met,” he said.
“Melbourne will never be the world’s most liveable city once again with only one in five people showing up throughout the week.”
If the soft landing scenario plays out as forecast by both the Reserve Bank and the Treasury, the initial lifting of interest rates will level off after working relatively quickly to bring inflation back down into the 2 per cent to 3 per cent target band in 2023.
‘Whatever it takes’ is the way to go
Ahead of next month’s Jobs and Skills Summit, this underlines why Treasurer Jim Chalmers should unambiguously back RBA Governor Philip Lowe’s “whatever it takes” commitment to returning inflation to target promptly, including the need for wage restraint.
Dr Chalmers should heed what Australia’s biggest bank and largest mortgage lender is indicating about getting on top of inflation quickly being in the best interests of indebted households, and rejecting out of hand the “inflation doesn’t matter” school of thought being promoted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions policy paper published on Tuesday.
The wacky thinking latched onto henceforth by the ACTU is a recipe for entrenching high inflation, and higher interest rates, reducing the flexibility of the economy, undermining living standards and throwing away the one achievement of the pandemic, the lower than 4 per cent jobless rate .
The strength and profitability of Australia’s well-capitalised and generally well-regulated banks is a national asset for a commodity-exporting economy exposed to global volatility. The banks’ strength, built mainly on the rock of their property loan books, is also a barometer of Australia’s frontier growth economy that, in normal times, draws in people from around the world to live, work, and buy a home.
CBA’s stellar results coincide with the stepping down of chairman Catherine Livingstone, who oversaw its exit from bancassurance and return to bread-and-butter banking after the Hayne royal commission.
The big four – CBA, National Australia Bank, ANZ, and Westpac – benefit from dominant market positions. The tide of cheap money running out that’s hitting tech stock valuations will probably also moderate the threat that fintech innovators pose to the traditional banks. The competitive challenge may now come from big tech behaviors such as Google and Meta.
CBA is also bearing the downside of digital diversification and the collapse in the buy now, pay later sector, as the value of its $100 million investment in 2 per cent of Klarna plummets.
Yet the intensification of competition for home loan market share has crimped CBA’s net lending margins. It is also driving ANZ’s bid to become a bigger and better competitor by taking over Suncorp Bank.
Lending margins – the difference between funding costs and interest charged to borrowers – tend to shrink and expand as interest rates fall and rise. The banks will now need to manage the large number of borrowers moving off fixed mortgage rates to variable rates pegged to the higher cash rate. Commercial pressures could also assist with this transition as the banks compete on refinancing terms to retain and win market share.
Australia’s banks remain far from perfect. Their business models are all similarly leveraged to a housing market that has been overinflated by too much cheap money and budget stimulus. But given its overall strength, the banking system appears reasonably positioned to withstand the interest rate correction without a crash landing.
A Melbourne-based builder has collapsed with approximately $1 million in outstanding debt owed to 50 creditors, according to the liquidators.
The construction firm called Blint Builders went into voluntary liquidation after news.com.au revealed a number of homeowners were experiencing a “horrendous” amount of stress as they had poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into half finished homes that had sat untouched for months.
Cliff Sanderson from insolvency firm Dissolve has been appointed to handle Blint Builder’s liquidation.
He said Blint’s owner had told him that the company had “ceased to trade”.
“In our conversations with him, which are yet to be verified, he told us there are 50 creditors with approximately $1 million in debt and I expect that number to go up and the money will go up in excess of that,” he told news. com.au.
‘Horrifying strain’
Mr Sanderson said he was also told that “half a dozen” homeowners were impacted by Blint’s demise, but was waiting on more information to be supplied by the builder.
One family impacted are Dean and Nolle Fuller, who have five children between them, and have already shelled out $480,000 to Blint, since signing on in January.
The couple had demolished their existing home last November and had engaged Blint Builders to build two townhouses for $1.5 million, due to be delivered early next year.
No work has been done on the site since June and it has been broken into after construction stopped leaving it a “mess”, Mr Fuller said.
“In that time, we have had two lots of vandalizing and trespassing and damage caused to our property, which has been lodged with police,” Mr Fuller told news.com.au.
“We have had a truck back up and dump three to four square meters of rubble and waste material on the property and the truck also smashed the gates down.
“Recently someone turned up and stole the electrical meter box within the property.”
The project manager said the experience had caused an “unbelievable amount of stress and anxiety”.
Another family who are under “horrendous strain” are Tony and Jo Firman and their two children, who are building a home specially designed for her as she has multiple sclerosis.
The couple said they have paid $1.14 million so far to the builder and the house is at lock up stage but no work has happened since early June, according to Mr Firman.
“Even with the full insurance payout it might not be enough money. We skimped and saved and borrowed quite a substantial amount of money. We are worried we won’t make enough money to repay the loan and be able to live,” Mr Firman told news.com.au earlier this week.
Landlord owed $14k
Blint Builder’s office in the Melbourne suburb of Highett was also seized by the landlord.
Legal documents posted on the front door show the landlord has executed their right to re-entry, terminating the lease and demanding all property be removed and the keys be returned.
The legal notice also revealed that Blint Builders owe the landlord close to $14,000 in unpaid rent and rates.
Mr Sanderson said statistically it was rare for a dividend to be paid to unsecured creditors from a home builder as they “rarely have any assets”.
“Recently released ASIC corporate insolvency statistics reveal that the construction sector accounted for 28 per cent of all insolvencies for the June 2022 quarter,” he said.
“Construction is the largest sector in the statistics, second is accommodation and food with 16 per cent of the total, while 28 per cent is the highest ever percentage of total insolvencies for construction, equal with the December 2021 quarter.
“On average going back to 2013, construction makes up 19 per cent of total insolvencies.”
construction crisis
Overall, the construction industry has been plagued with a spate of collapses caused by a perfect storm of supply chain disruptions, skilled labor shortages, skyrocketing costs of materials and logistics, and extreme weather events.
Earlier this year, two major Australian construction companies, Gold Coast-based Condev and industry giant Probuild, went into liquidation.
Victorian construction companies have been particularly hard hit by the crisis.
Two building companies from Victoria were casualties of the crisis having gone into liquidation at the end of June, with one homeowner having forked out $300,000 for a now half-built house.
Then there have been smaller operators like Hotondo Homes Horsham, which was also based in Victoria and a franchisee of a national construction firm – which collapsed earlier this month affecting 11 homeowners with $1.2 million in outstanding debt.
It is the second Hotondo Homes franchisee to go under this year, with its Hobart branch collapsing in January owing $1.3 million to creditors, according to a report from liquidator Revive Financial.
Norris Construction Group, which was in Geelong, collapsed in March with $27 million in debt. It owes $3.2 million to around 140 staff that it is unlikely to be able to repay, according to the liquidator’s report.
Snowdon Developments was ordered into liquidation by the Supreme Court with 52 staff members, 550 homes and more than 250 creditors owed just under $18 million, although it was partially bought out less than 24 hours after going bust.
Others joined the list too including Inside Out Construction, Solido Builders, Waterford Homes, Affordable Modular Homes and Statement Builders.
The most recent collapse was NSW building company Willoughby Homes, which went into voluntary administration last week, leaving at least 30 homes in limbo.
Yet another tourist couple have been left horrified at the bill charged by a notorious restaurant on the Greek island of Mykonos.
American holidaymakers Theodora McCormick and her husband were taking in the sights of the stunning island when they dropped into the DK Oyster bar.
They ordered two beers, two cocktails and a dozen oysters — and were slapped with a $730 bill.
Then when they complained, Ms McCormick claims that “hulking” male waiters intimidated them into paying.
She said that they only dropped into the restaurant to call a taxi and ordered to be polite.
Theodora McCormick and her husband. Credit: Facebook/Supplied
“I told my husband, ‘Oh, why don’t we call a taxi and grab a drink’,” she said. “That was my big mistake.”
Ms McCormick said that when she asked for a cocktail menu, the waiter instead rattled off a list of options.
They ordered two martinis and two beers — and were amazed at the size of the drinks.
The beers were served in giant glass boots, estimated to hold about three pints.
Ms McCormick said the waiter then hassled them to order the oysters.
The gigantic beers the couple ordered, served in glass boots. Credit: Facebook/Supplied
Even though they had braced themselves for a big bill — “It was Mykonos, we knew it was going to be ridiculous” — they were still gobsmacked at the whopping tab.
“My husband was like, ‘There’s got to be a mistake’,” Ms McCormick said.
The dozen oysters. Credit: Facebook/Supplied
They claim they were then surrounded by “a group of big, hulking men.”
The couple felt they were left with no choice but to back down.
It comes after newlyweds Alex and Lindsay Breen where hit with a staggering $850 bill by the same restaurant after dropping in for a “quick snack”.
The Canadian couple ordered just one beer, one cocktail and a dozen oysters, with Alex being taken to a back room to pay after questioning the huge bill.
The owner of the DK Oyster, Dimitrios Kalamaras, has since branded the Breens “liars” — and labeled other customers complaining as influencers looking for a free meal.
“Unfortunately, all of us who work in the hospitality sector have been approached by notorious influencers who, instead of making their living by advertising products and services to their audience, they put pressure on certain businesses for exorbitant fees and free meals,” he said .
DK Oyster’s rates poorly on TripAdvisor, getting just 2.5 out of five stars.
Many reviewers give it a measly one star, labeling it “terrible”, a “rip off” and “a complete con”.
Even the Greek media have taken to calling the restaurant “notorious” and “infamous”, reporting on accusations of bullying tactics, a lack of menus and inflated bills.
Newlyweds Lindsay and Alex Breen with their expensive drinks and oysters. Credit: The West Australian
The federal government has agreed to cover the multi-million-dollar cost of connecting what will be one of the world’s biggest wind farm precincts to Australia’s power grid.
Key points:
The Commonwealth will pay $160 million to connect a wind farm precinct to the grid
The infrastructure is already under construction
Federal Minister Chris Bowen says it will put “downward pressure” on power prices
Its investment arm, the Clean Energy and Finance Corporation (CEFC), has committed $160 million to connect the Southern Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), to the national electricity market.
The REZ currently consists of two projects in the Southern Downs — the 103-megawatt Karara Wind Farm, controlled by state government-owned renewable generator CleanCo, and the 923MW Macintyre Wind Farm, owned and operated by renewable energy firm Acciona.
It requires 65 kilometers of overhead transmission lines and two switching stations to be connected to the energy market.
Powerlink – the company in charge of managing and running Queensland’s power network – began constructing the infrastructure in March.
Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said CEFC will absorb the cost and that the new investment would unlock up to 500MW of network hosting capacity.
“Connecting the massive project to the national grid not only unlocks $2 billion worth of investment, it also increases reliability of power across the three east Australian states, with clean Queensland-made energy,” he said.
The deal will improve capacity in the energy grid.(ABC News: Chris Gillette)
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the investment was a “game changer.”
“A better future is powered by cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy,” he said
“This CEFC investment is a game changer when it comes to hooking these new sources up to the grid … and we want to see more of it,” he said.
This is the first partnership between a Queensland government-owned company and the CEFC.
Federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said it would increase renewable supplies to households and businesses in southern Queensland and the east-coast of Australia.
Connecting the wind farm precinct to the grid is a “game changer”, Mr Chalmer says.(ABC News: Philippa McDonald)
“The best way to put downward pressure on energy prices is to ramp up investment in renewables, transmission and storage and that is exactly what this $160 million commitment will do,” Mr Bowen said.
The Macintyre wind farm precinct is expected to be operational in 2024.
Mr Chalmers did not commit to a time frame on when households and businesses would benefit from the infrastructure.
“Clearly, projects of this size and this significance can’t be turned on overnight and require some kind of run-up.
“But what this investment means [is] it will be delivered faster than otherwise,” he said.
