Business – Page 69 – Michmutters

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Rental crisis: employer’s shock at real estate agent’s questions

Rental crisis: employer's shock at real estate agent's questions

Support has piled on for an employer who called out real estate agents who asked “invasive” questions about one of his employees, prompting other Aussies to share their own horror stories and distrust for the industry.

Taking to Twitter, Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari shared his dismay at being asked questions about his employee that he said had no relevance to applying for a rental property.

“I was a reference for an employee & the agent asked q’s like: Total salary, do they come to work on time, are they hard working,” he shared.

“These q’s are none of the agents business & no boss should have the power to spike where u live.”

Now, others on Twitter are sharing their own experiences, and backing up Mr Hilakari’s stance.

“Have you had many girlfriends? Would you trust him with your kids? Does he like to go out late?” answer one. “True questions recently asked to my reference when applying for a rental. Get in the bin.”

“I’ve done one of these too, but even worse,” replied another employer. “It’s stupid. Even if the employee is seconds away from being fired, there is no incentive and a lot of risk for a manager to write anything remotely meaningful. I cannot discuss an employee’s performance with a real estate agent.”

Another was quick to speculate it was likely the real estate agent had taken it upon themselves to ask the questions, and questioned if landlords even knew this was happening: “This is total power tripping and I bet the landlord has no idea it’s even happening and isn’t given that info.”

“That’s 100% correct. Real estate agents think that they are a law unto themselves. They are the root of the housing crisis, as well as developers riding roughshod over homebuyers and governments,” agreed another.

Although most were firmly against the apparently not uncommon line of questioning, not everyone supported renters, with one Twitter user replying that these were fair questions to ask.

“Of course they’re relevant questions. If they don’t make enough money then they may not be able to afford the rent. If they don’t come to work on time then they might not pay their rent on time. If they are not hard working then they may not look after the rental property,” they said.

“Sorry to burst the bubble but these kind of things add up to someone who is probably responsible and would probably reliably pay their rent on time,” said another.

While some argued that seeking to find out what type of person an agent might be allowing to rent a property is fair, others pointed out that those looking to buy weren’t held to the same standard.

“I recently got a mortgage and they didn’t call my employer,” a Twitter user commented. “Pay slips/bank statements were enough. Renters are being scrutinized to a greater degree for a much shorter term/less beneficial to them financial commitment.”

We all know that the process of applying for an overpriced rental is competitive, invasive and absolutely stacked in the landlord’s favor — just look at the reaction one potential tenant got when he asked for something as simple as a reference for the landlord.

Now, Mr Hilakari says changes to the Victoria’s Residential Tenancies Act are needed to regulate the types of questions real estates can ask.

Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Hilakari further explained that he was concerned with invasive questions like this were not only getting worse, but unfairly gave an employer too much power of their employees’ life.

“We’ve received reference checks for rentals before for and the questions being asked are getting much more invasive,” he said.

“As the rental market has tightened, it seems real estate agents think they have the unfettered right to ask whatever they want.

“Employers are put in the terrible situation of either having to give personal information or risk their employee missing out on a house to live in.

“I’ve had both employers and renters reach out and say they have universally had a gut full. Renters feel completely put over a barrel and feel they have no choice but to share their personal data.

“The system has to change.”

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Wild video of plane’s close landing over Maho Beach

Wild video of plane's close landing over Maho Beach

Incredible footage shows the moment an Embraer plane landed on an island, leaving beachgoers gasping.

A short strip of sand is all that separates Maho Beach in the Caribbean island of St Maarten and its Princess Juliana International Airport.

So, whenever a plane is heading for the landing strip, it almost always ends in screams of fright and awe from those below.

Plans come from out over the water and fly right over the beach; they are around 20m over the tops of people’s heads, but still makes them feel the need to duck.

Footage shared to Twitter shows just how close plans get to beachgoers. Or, perhaps the other way around with people seen playing a game of chicken to get the perfect view and shot.

The slow motion clip shows holiday-makers with their phone pointing towards the sky as they watch the Empress of London City’s Embraer 190 land.

They can be seen making just enough space for the aircraft.

“Yep that was me on approach,” one woman said in response to a ‘shocked’ gif. “As for takeoff, it was like going up in a rocket.”

“Whoever built that ocean put it way to close to that airport,” another added.

Maho Beach is a popular spot for people to gather and watch departing and approaching aircraft.

When the plans depart, they do so facing the same way which means those on the beach often get blown away by the engines’ jet blast if they don’t move out of the way.

If you search ‘St Maarten jet blast’ on YouTube it will pull up plenty of footage.

“I literally thought people were [expletive] crazy for doing this!” tourist Tennille told GrindTV via Jukin Media. “I was beside myself, especially here, as it was a 747! The jet stream blows people away.”

“It was the strangest feeling; the jet stream was blowing people from the beach into the water,” Tennille said.

She said people were holding on to the fence so they wouldn’t blow away.

In 2017, a New Zealand woman died after a blast from a jet knocked her into a retaining wall.

The 57-year-old had been standing at a fence that separates Maho Beach and the runway.

At the time of the incident, the unidentified woman had been hanging onto the fence along with several others, according to a statement from the Police Force of Sint Maarten.

The police statement acknowledged that watching planes take off and land at the airport is “well known worldwide as a major tourist attraction” but notes that doing so is extremely dangerous.

Airport and local officials have posted signs along the airport’s chain-link fence, warning them of the dangers of standing there while a plane is taking off, and officers patrol the area during busy hours.

Despite that, the area is still a huge drawcard for thrillseekers and aviation enthusiasts.

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Why Citi bank thinks Qantas can’t outrun poor service

Why Citi bank thinks Qantas can't outrun poor service

“If industry constraints have caused on-time performance issues, logically, we expect a flatter capacity profile in 1H23 (the current half-year period) as more realistic, which is less than what guidance and the market is indicating,” Citi said in the note to investors.

According to Citi’s estimates, Australia’s flight cancellation rate was 5.8 per cent in June and 38 per cent of flights were delayed. But Qantas was above average at 8.1 per cent and had 46 per cent of flights delayed.

Qantas domestic passengers queue for security at Sydney Airport in June.

Qantas domestic passengers queue for security at Sydney Airport in June.Credit:Louise Kennerley

To be fair, the turboil is not confined to Australia; it’s an international scourge. That said, Citi notes that in June, only 2.2 per cent of flights by US carriers were cancelled, and the delay rate was about 22 per cent.

Seow has taken a knife to his previous estimates on Qantas’ underlying pre-tax profit for financial year 2023 – cutting it from $740 million to $514 million. On the back of this, he has lowered Citi’s target share price for Qantas by more than 20 per cent to $4.28 and placed a sell recommendation on the stock. In doing so, Seow managed to knock a bit of the gloss from Qantas’ share price. It fell by 0.3 per cent against the broader market that was up.

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This represents a significant divergence from the broker pack – only one other analyst has a sell on Qantas and the majority have a buy recommendation. The consensus for Qantas’ 2023 earnings sits at about $837 million.

In three weeks, Qantas will report its 2022 financial year results and its chief executive (hopefully) will provide some clarity on how the airline is faring financially since the start of the 2023 financial year in July.

We will then get a better picture of whether Seow is sitting too far out on a limb or whether the rest of the pack has been unduly optimistic.

Citi is broadly supportive of the positive longer-term trends for Qantas and sees a strong profit bounce in the 2024 financial year – higher than the airline made in the last full year before COVID-19 annihilated its performance.

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But Seow is clearly questioning the length of the COVID tail’s impacts on Qantas’ profit performance.

“In summary Qantas charges a premium for tickets, so we expect performance will be a key priority. However, doing so economically appears to be difficult.”

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Inflation-fighting BoE poised to unleash big rate hike

Inflation-fighting BoE poised to unleash big rate hike

The Bank of England is expected Thursday to follow other major central banks with an aggressive interest rate hike to tackle surging inflation.

The BoE is tipped to lift its main rate by 0.50 percentage points — the biggest amount in more than a quarter of a century.

With inflation spiking globally following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank sprang large hikes last month of 0.75 and 0.50 percentage points respectively.

“After the ECB and the Fed delivered oversized hikes at their July meetings, the Bank of England is likely to feel similar pressure to up the ante at its August meeting,” said BNP Paribas economist Amarjot Sidhu in a note to clients.

The BoE, granted operational independence from the government over monetary policy in 1997, will reveal its latest rate decision at 1100 GMT on Thursday alongside its latest outlook.

That would take borrowing costs to 1.75 percent, at a level last seen in December 2008.

Inflation has also raced higher on supply-chain woes, including labor market shortages in the wake of Brexit, and strong demand for goods and services as the Covid pandemic recedes.

Yet the bank predicts UK inflation will spike to 11 percent later this year — and it was expected to lift this guidance on Thursday.

That could take the average UK household energy bill above £3,000 ($3,600) per year.

“Higher inflation for even longer is the kind of scenario that spooks central banks.”

Economists meanwhile argue that a large rate hike damages the nation’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — and risks the prospect of recession.

“The… anticipated hike would be harmful to the economy and pile on the pain for people across the country,” said Nigel Green, deVere’s boss of financial consultants.

Until now, the BoE has not hiked its rates by more than 0.25 percentage points each time.

Liz Truss is currently ahead in the polls against fellow Conservative and former finance minister Rishi Sunak.

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Westpac, CBA and NAB banks close 37 branches, 182 jobs lost

Westpac, CBA and NAB banks close 37 branches, 182 jobs lost

Dozens of major bank branches are set to be closed over the next few months which will see 182 Australians lose their jobs, according to the Finance Sector Union.

In total, 37 branches will be shuttered across the nation, with the union describing the closures as reaching “crisis point”.

Westpac Group is making the most dramatic cuts with 24 branches being shut down across the country.

In NSW, Westpac branches in the suburbs of Lakemba, Engadine, Corrimal and Kingscliff will be shuttered in coming months, while Queensland’s branches in Ashmore, Nerang and Rockhampton will also be shut.

The closures will also hit Westpac’s Western Australian branches based on Mandurah and South Perthwhile the berrimah branch in the Northern Territory has also been cut.

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The Finance Sector Union said it had campaigned against branch closures for many years but is now seeking government intervention to protect local economies and save what’s left of Australia’s bank branch network.

“This latest list of closures means the big four have closed more than 550 bank branches across Australia since January 2020,” said Finance Sector Union (FSU) national secretary Julia Angrisano.

“We must act to stop the banks walking away from communities in our suburbs and towns. It’s time to examine the impact of these closures which have hit hundreds of communities across the country.”

Others set to close down as part of the Westpac Group include St George’s NSW branch in Five Dockthe Bank SA’s branches in Munno Parra and St Peterswhile the Bank of Melbourne will also lose seven branches.

The Bank of Melbourne branches include Croydon, Coburg, Fitzroy, Sunbury, Footscray, 114 William St Melb and Mornington.

Meanwhile, the NAB is closing nine branches across three states, including sites located in Lavington, Narrandera, Corrimal, Figtree, Cronulla and Maroubra in NSW, Wynnum in QLD and North Melbourne in Victoria.

Two states will be impacted by branch closures by the CBA, including the NSW suburbs of Annandale, Toongabbie and Lindfieldas well as Drysdale and Woodend in Victoria.

Ms Angrisano said communities depend on the banks to deliver financial services and feared the current trend would mean no branches in the future.

“The banks notify the FSU about upcoming closures. In this case, two banking brands are being withdrawn from the same location in Corrimal, NSW. Imagine the impact of losing two more banks in the same suburb?,” she said.

She said the banks had failed to support local communities and cost savings from branch closures were designed to increase the banks’ already huge profits.

“We need an inquiry into bank branch closures to assess the impact on local communities when the banks pull out of suburbs and towns,” she said.

“The UK has a formal ‘community impact assessment test’ and we need a similar test to ring-fence our branches and make sure banking services the public which they derive their profits from.”

A Westpac Group spokesperson said with more than five million digitally active customers, it was investing in services to complement how our customers choose to bank.

“Declining customer use of branches means that in some instances, we may take a difficult decision to leave a branch location. In these instances, we continue to support our customers with access to banking services via Bank@Post, telephone, mobile and virtual banking,” they said.

“We take steps to ensure customers are notified in advance about the changes and are directly connected with the services they need to continue to do their banking. For those who are new to digital banking, or may require more assistance with the changes, we provide dedicated support and education to make the transition easier.

They added that the “majority” of affected employees would secure a new role within the group.

Krissie Jones, from NAB executive retail, said as more and more customers are choosing to bank online, we’ve made the difficult decision to close some branches that receive less customer visits.

“Increasingly Australians are banking digitally, with more than 94 per cent of customer interactions now taking place over the phone, by video or online,” she said.

“While these branches will no longer be there, we will still be there for our customers – just in different ways,” she said. “Over the past few years, fewer customers are coming into branches to do their banking and foot traffic has lessened, which has been accelerated by Covid.”

She added there will be no job losses at NAB and the branch team will also be working with customers over the coming weeks to talk with them about the various banking alternatives available.

CBA did not respond to news.com.au’s request for comment before publication.

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Facebook user’s Coles butter photo divides people online

Facebook user's Coles butter photo divides people online

One savvy shopper who scored a bargain on butter has hit back at critics who told her she shouldn’t have cleared the shelves.

The woman took to popular Facebook page Markdown Addicts Australia to share her bargain from Coles in Lake Haven, NSW.

She said she found 500g packs of Western Star butter for just $1.88 – down from its usual price of $7.50.

The woman revealed she had purchased all the butter available in the store that had been marked down.

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Some were quick to judge the woman for her actions, saying it’s fine to take advantage of a sale but she should have left some for others.

“During these hard times and so many people doing it tough I would have left some for someone else. But that’s just me,” one person said.

Another expressed disappointment as it was also their local store – and the brand of butter they use.

But the original poster was quick to defend herself against anyone who questioned her actions.

“All you clowns commenting, ‘Of course I did’ or ‘I would’ve left some’: I left shelves and shelves of meat, didn’t take a single thing, so I did leave some for others,” she wrote.

“But I bake every week so butter this cheap I wouldn’t go past.

“And no I’m not sorry because butter is expensive and I just happened to be lucky today.”

Others defended the woman – with one person adding that they would have taken the butter and all of the meat.

Another said: “As someone who works in a supermarket, thank you!

“We hate having to bin products so if you see it, buy it! We don’t care how much you buy (unless there is a limit for some reason). Take it all! Right place, right time.”

One group member congratulated the woman for her actions.

“Good on you for grabbing some. Baking brings lots of joy (and sometimes tears, when things don’t go right). Keep doing what you love, and I would have taken some too.”

Read related topics:cabbages

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Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and NAB close 37 branches

Dozens of bank branches will be closed over the coming months, after more than 550 sites were shut since 2020

Dozens of branches from the major banks are set to close – including Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and NAB

  • At least 37 branches are to be axed with the loss of 182 jobs across the nation
  • Westpac are closing 24 more branches, NAB axing 8 and Commonwealth shut 5
  • Bank bosses say it’s in response to consumers switching to online banking
  • Finance union bosses warn it’s leaving rural communities without banks

By Kevin Airs For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

Dozens of bank branches will be closed over the coming months, after more than 550 sites were shut since 2020.

At least 37 branches will be closed across the country at the cost of almost 200 jobs.

Westpac is making the biggest cuts, with 24 branches about to be shut down across its Westpac, St George, Bank SA and Bank of Melbourne brands.

Meanwhile the NAB is closing eight branches across three states and the Commonwealth Bank will be closing five branches.

Dozens of bank branches will be closed over the coming months, after more than 550 sites were shut since 2020

Dozens of bank branches will be closed over the coming months, after more than 550 sites were shut since 2020

Westpac bosses insisted consumers switching to online banking had sealed the fate of many of their branches, with five million now banking digitally

Westpac bosses insisted consumers switching to online banking had sealed the fate of many of their branches, with five million now banking digitally

The cull has sparked a call for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to step in to guarantee banking services for Australians, especially in remote communities.

‘We must act to stop the banks walking away from communities in our suburbs and towns,’ Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano said.

‘Communities depend on the banks to deliver financial services but if we don’t stop the current trend, there will be no branches left.’

BRANCHES SET FOR CLOSURE

The branches earmarked for the axe, with the loss of 182 jobs, are:

NSW: Lakemba Westpac, Engadine Westpac, Corrimal Westpac, Kingcliff Westpac, Five Dock St. George, Lavington NAB, Narrandera NAB, Corrimal NAB, Figtree NAB, Cronulla NAB, Maroubra NAB, Annandale CBA, Toongabbie CBA, Lindfield CBA.

QLD: Ashmore Westpac, Nerang Westpac, Rockhampton Westpac, Wynnum NAB

VIC: Braeside Westpac, Whittlesea Westpac, Werribee Westpac, Lilydale Westpac, Croydon Bank of Melb, Coburg Bank of Melbourne, Fitzroy Bank of Melbourne, Sunbury Bank of Melbourne, Footscray Bank of Melbourne, 114 William St, Melbourne Bank of Melbourne, Mornington Bank of Melbourne, North Melbourne NAB, Drysdale CBA, Woodend CBA

SA: Munno Parra Bank SA, St Peters Bank SA

NT: Berrimah WestpacWA: Mandurah Westpac, South Perth Westpac

Westpac had previously announced the closure of another 24 branches last month with the loss of 76 jobs.

‘Shutting down branches means Westpac will continue to put profits before people,’ added Ms Angrisano.

‘The bank quite plainly doesn’t care about forcing inconvenience on customers and throwing affected staff onto unemployment queues.

‘This race to shut branches has to stop and it’s time the Federal Government imposed a minimum service standard on the banks to make sure customers are protected.’

At least 37 branches will be closed across the country at the cost of almost 200 jobs

At least 37 branches will be closed across the country at the cost of almost 200 jobs

Westpac bosses insisted consumers switching to online banking had sealed the fate of many of their branches, with five million now banking digitally.

‘Declining customer use of branches means that in some instances, we may take a difficult decision to leave a branch location,’ a bank spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

‘We take steps to ensure customers are notified in advance about the changes and are directly connected with the services they need to continue to do their banking.

‘For those who are new to digital banking, or may require more assistance with the changes, we provide dedicated support and education to make the transition easier.

‘As we continue to adapt to our changing customer needs, this will result in new opportunities for our employees within the Westpac Group as we grow our phone, digital and virtual offerings.

‘We have a robust process in place to assist employees to find new opportunities within Westpac Group, meaning the majority of employees affected secure a new role and continue their career in the group.’

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Collapsed building company Willoughby Homes taken to court to be liquidated

Collapsed building company Willoughby Homes taken to court to be liquidated

The stark reality of a building company’s collapse has been laid bare after the firm proposed that trade creditors would receive 10c back for every dollar they were owed.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sydney-based builder Willoughby Homes was brought to court with creditors calling for it to be put into liquidation because the business was “hopelessly insolvent”.

Gyprocking company Regno Trades initiated legal proceedings against Willoughby Homes early last month over an unpaid debt of $184,000.

That means if they followed through on Willoughby Homes’ proposal for receiving 10c in the dollar, Regno Trades would only recover $18,400 – leaving them $166,000 out of pocket.

Two business days before the hearing, Willoughby Homes appointed David Mansfield and Jason Tracy of Deloitte’s turnaround and restructuring department as voluntary administrators, causing creditors to suggest this was an “11th hour” attempt to save the company.

Judicial Registrar Claire Gistham, of the Victorian Supreme Court, granted the administrators of Willoughby Homes an adjournment until the end of the month to come up with an official Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA), which is essentially a plan for creditors to get their money back.

In the heated court case, representatives of creditors argued that the company had “failed so miserably” and should be wounded up immediately because there was “an overwhelming case for insolvency”.

During the hearing, it was also revealed that Willoughby Homes owed up to $4.4 million to homeowners, trade creditors and the tax office.

Despite that, the construction firm has “minimal assets” and only has $14,000 in liquid cash in its accounts at the moment.

It comes after an extensive news.com.au investigation over the last month found Willoughby Homes has been non-functional for some time, with debts to creditors going unpaid, build sites stalling for as long as a year, the company’s home building insurance not being reinstated and finally, all its offices being cleared out and phone lines going straight to voicemail.

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Regno Trades acted as the plaintiff while three supporting creditors also joined the case – H & R Interiors owed $73,925, an ex-employee owed $53,000 in unpaid wages and Finese Electrical and Air Conditioning, owed $4531.

Another creditor, Kamaljit Pawar, also joined the case. The Sydney man built a house with Willoughby Homes in 2014, which was left with significant defects and he has been fighting to have them fixed ever since.

There are 44 impacted homeowners, 16 of whom have houses at “varying stages of construction” while the other 28 customers have handed over deposits but no building has commenced.

There are also a number of creditors and employees impacted. It’s understood employees are owed $67,000 in unpaid superannuation and about $600,000 is owed to deposit holders. Over a million is owed to the Australian Taxation Office.

There was debate about how much the company actually owes in total, with administrators putting the figure at $2.3 million but Mr Pawar’s lawyer Rodney Kent said he’d reviewed documents and said it was higher.

“There are substantial defaults” amounting to $4.5 million, he said.

Mr Kent also added that the owner of Willoughby Homes, Steve Willoughby, had four properties and possibly five, which could be sold to pay back debts.

SC Peter Fary, acting for the plaintiff and three supporting creditors, called for Willoughby Homes to be placed into liquidation because it had “failed so miserably”.

“This isn’t the first winding up application, in fact it’s not even the first winding up application this year,” he said.

“One has to ask why the director hasn’t caused the company to address its insolvency at an earlier point in time.”

He said it made no sense for the company to remain in administration because Willoughby Homes was unable to carry out any construction work.

“Is it seriously suggested that a company with no capital will continue building contracts in administration where it failed so miserably before?” I have asked the court.

“These matters go to another issue of commercial morality,” he added, urging the registrar to consider “Whether as a matter of commercial morality it’s appropriate for this company to continue in existence”.

Mr Fary said Willoughby Homes had “minimal assets and significant liabilities”.

In the hearing, it was stated Willoughby Homes only had $14,000 in cash as well as some motor vehicles, property and equipment that it could sell to pay back debts.

Administrators called in at the ’11th hour’

The lawyers representing creditors were also critical of the last minute appointment of administrators, last Friday, when they said it appeared likely that the firm had been trading insolvent for months.

“This is an 11th hour appointment, the appointment of an administrator at the last minute should be treated with skepticism,” Mr Fary said.

“One can’t escape the conclusion of these facts that there is likely to be an insolvent trading claim of a significant magnitude.

“One can readily infer that insolvency was some time ago.”

Mr Kent agreed, adding: “This is so late in the day and so inappropriate… Deposit holders have lost their money in circumstances where signing contracts was totally illegal.”

However, the administrator’s legal team argued that it was far from an 11th hour appointment.

QC Hugh Smith, representing the administrators, argued, “We’ve all been involved in 11 hour appointments, this is not that.”

Administrators were appointed late on Friday, giving them two business days – Monday and Tuesday – to sort out the company’s finances.

“As such this is not an 11th hour appointment,” Mr Smith insisted.

In another twist, the administrators insisted that a category of creditors – the deposit holders – be paid back in full while all the other credits only received 10c in the dollar.

The Deloitte administrators held a meeting for deposit holders only on Monday ahead of the court hearing and claimed a vote was 100 per cent in favor of the resolution to keep the company in administration so that they would receive their promised funds.

However, register Gistham grilled the QC on how many people actually voted, which turned out to be only 15 people.

“The priority here is quite extraordinary, on the one hand you’ve got 100c in the dollar, and the other hand is 10c to the dollar,” Mr Fary said.

“My client is as vulnerable as anybody else, all of their businesses are at risk of going under as well if they’re not paid,” Mr Kent added.

Later on, in a conversation with news.com.au, Mr Kent added: “It’s disappointing that their first meeting only involved certain creditors and not all of the creditors. I’ve never seen this done before. My client didn’t even know that meeting was taking place.”

After opposition, the administrator’s lawyer indicated they would reconsider whether 10c in the dollar was appropriate compared to 100c in the dollar for deposit holders.

The registrar added the case until August 31.

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Bacon hack: Chef shares boil method for crispy bacon

Bacon hack: Chef shares boil method for crispy bacon

A chef revealed his foolproof way to get perfect crispy bacon every time.

“If you want perfectly crispy bacon you have to boil it,” said chef Roice Bethel in a TikTok video.

“I know that sounds like it wouldn’t work, but it does.”

I have explained the unlikely method works because it adds time to the cooking process, the new york post reports.

“The muscle cooks extremely quickly, the fat takes a longer time to render out,” Bethel, who has over 665,000 followers, said.

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Adding water to the pan and boiling the bacon means the temperature won’t get too high too fast.

“Once the water completely evaporates … the meat’s not overcooked or burnt and the fat has perfectly rendered so it’s nice and crispy,” the chef told viewers.

So far, the video has had 2.9 million views.

Some people in the comments section were amazed at this hack and vowed to try it for themselves.

“Tried this morning and it was a game-changer,” one person commented.

Others tried to compete with their own methods of cooking bacon.

“Baked bacon is by far the best bacon ever. Hands down,” one person said.

“Three minutes in the microwave between two sheets of paper towels will do the same thing,” wrote another.

But some commenters just didn’t like the idea at all.

“This is just training wheels for people who don’t know how to control the temperature of their bread,” one read.

“Or just make it properly,” read a second one.

This story originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

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Perth woman booted off Jetstar flight for wild suitcase issue

Perth woman booted off Jetstar flight for wild suitcase issue

Ready to begin the five hour flight from Sydney to Perth, Clare Vertannes had her Apple Airpods and noise-cancelling headphones on when she was approached by a Jetstar flight attendant.

At first, the actress and events co-ordinator thought she was being upgraded to first class.

Unfortunately, reality was less desirable.

“I was sitting there minding my own business, and then she was like: ‘Can you please come with me?’” Ms Vertannes told news.com.au, speaking of the flight she took in April 2022.

“I was getting really excited because it genuinely didn’t cross my mind [that I was about to get kicked off the plane]. It’s wasn’t until we walked off the plane, that I started asking questions.”

‘A very dangerous item’

Once her and the flight attendant were on the tarmac, the Perth woman was informed that staff had found a “very dangerous item” – a battery pack – in her checked luggage.

While portable chargers containing a lithium ion battery are banned from check-in baggage, Ms Vertannes was certain she had not packed hers in her suitcase.

“I held up my battery pack and told them I didn’t have a second one,” she said.

“The flight attendants that kicked me off the plane were really rude. I understand they have jobs to do but they didn’t even give me the time of day to explain.

“I asked them to call someone to confirm because there was nothing in my suitcase but I was told to go to baggage claim.”

At the same time she was told she would miss her existing flight and she’d have to pay for her next one.

She claims the flight attendant told her she wouldn’t be reimbursed “because you’ve held up everyone on the current flight”.

On her way to baggage claim, Ms Vertannes began crying.

“It was like I was going to the principal’s office. It was so terrible,” she said.

However, she remembers the surreal moment when she realized the airport had made a terrible mistake. As she was walking to the baggage claim, she claims to have overheard a staff member on the phone.

“She was like: ‘Why would she do that? What’s wrong with you people? I told you to wait for confirmation,’” said Ms Vertannes.

“She then saw us walking towards her she just stops and says into the phone: ‘I think the lady you’ve kicked off is in front of me and she is not impressed.’”

A missed flight and a miscommunication

That’s when she was told that there had been “a miscommunication”. While airport staff had initially found something dangerous in her bag, it turned out to be a false alarm.

“There was nothing in my suitcase. I was actually hoping that there had been something wrong with my luggage, especially after all this drama,” joked Ms Vertannes.

“I said look: ‘Thank you for your apology but I need to get home. Can I get back on my flight now?’”

However, in the time Ms Vertannes had reported to baggage claim, her original flight had taken off. She was then told the next flight wouldn’t be until tomorrow.

While Ms Vertannes said the airline initially refused to pay for another flight that day, she was determined to return to Perth.

“I literally just sat there and stared at her. I know the airport staff was doing their best but I knew that nothing was going to get done unless I just sat there,” she said.

After “an hour or two”, she was approached by a Qantas staff member, who are the parent company for Jetstar. In another twist of events, she had been offered a flight for that day free of charge, however it was scheduled for 8pm, which at that point was around eight hours away.

Looking back at her airport debacle, Ms Vertannes said she was surprised by the lack of services given to her by the airlines.

In a statement to news.com.au, Jetsar says they “sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding and are looking into what took place”.

Much to be desired

Despite the “miscommunication,” she claims she was told she was unable to check in her luggage early. While she decided to meet up with her boyfriend from her back in the Sydney CBD, she was told that she would have had to pay $50 to store her luggage from her at the airport.

Another blow came as she was sitting in her Qantas seat.

“I’m sitting on the Qantas flight and I get an email from Jetstar. It says: ‘thank you so much for your purchase of a pie. That’s $10,’” she said.

“Someone on my flight had charged on foot to my seat and I got that invoice. I was done.

“I remember getting that on the flight and not even being surprised.”

The experience left much to be desired.

Now, in the four months from the ill-fated flight, Ms Vertannes says she’s finally ready to talk about her it.

“When I got back I genuinely needed to recover from the trauma,” she said.

Sharing her experience on TikTok, Ms Vertannes amassed more than 67,100 views, 5100 likes and 285 comments.

Despite this, she hasn’t been thrilled with the airline’s response.

“The flight really upset me. It had an effect on my mental health and it was really stressful. [I asked for] two return flights to a destination around Australia,” she said

“I wanted some form of compensation and I thought I was being quite reasonable.”

To date, in documents seen by news.com.au, Ms Vertannes has been given a $116.22 cash refund and a $350.76 voucher which Jetstar says aligns with the purchase methods used to buy her flight from Jetstar to Qantas.

Later, when she tried to get reimbursed for the $50 taxi fare into the city, she was told they were “unable to provide you with any compensation nor cover your out of pocket expenses”.

“I kept on being in all these phone calls but everything just got too annoying so I took the voucher,” she said.

“But all I wanted was just some compensation and to not be left on the phone for two hours. It’s not that hard.”

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