Qantas investigating app issue after customers report seeing strangers’ data
Qantas has confirmed it is investigating an issue with its app after a number of customers have reported being able to see strangers’ data.
The Guardian has viewed screenshots where customers have logged into their profile on the Qantas app, but were presented with a stranger’s profile. This included their name and information, such as upcoming flight details and loyalty points.
A number of users are also reporting the issue on social media.
Qantas has confirmed it is aware of the issue and said in a statement:
Qantas is investigating reports of an issue impacting the Qantas app this morning. We will provide more information as soon as possible.
Key events
Benita Kolovos
Colac Area Health apologises after staff found to have posed as patients during minister’s visit
Colac Area Health’s interim CEO, Professor Steve Moylan, has apologised after a health department investigation found it had staff pose as patients during a ministerial visit to appear busier.
You can read the full story on this below, in case you missed it:
Moylan said in a statement:
We are sorry for what occurred in the Urgent Care Centre, it is highly regrettable and we’ve accepted all recommendations from the independent investigation.
Whilst the investigation found there was no impact to patient care, we know the incident posed a potential risk and that’s something we will ensure doesn’t happen again.
Colac Area Health is committed to learning from this incident and to keep building a better health service for our community, including by acting on the recommendations.
Qantas suggests recent system changes may be behind app issue
Qantas says it is investigating whether an issue with their app this morning was caused by recent system changes.
As we flagged earlier, a number of customers have reported being able to see strangers’ data when they logged into their app today. This included people’s name and information, such as upcoming flight details and loyalty points.
In a statement just now, Qantas said:
We’re urgently working to resolve the issue impacting the Qantas app this morning and we sincerely apologise to our customers who have been impacted.
We’re investigating whether this issue may have been caused by recent system changes.
We recommend that customers log out and log in to their Qantas Frequent Flyer account on the Qantas App. Please also be aware of social media scams at this time.
We’ll continue to provide more information as soon as we can.
Benita Kolovos
WorkSafe responds after charges dropped against Victorian health department over quarantine
Following news that public prosecutors have dropped charges against the Victorian health department over its failed hotel quarantine scheme, the state’s workplace safety watchdog has released a statement:
WorkSafe is deeply disappointed by the decision to discontinue criminal proceedings against the Department of Health in relation to the Victorian hotel quarantine program. As an independent regulator, WorkSafe strives to enforce the highest standards of health and safety for workers and the community it serves.
In September 2021, WorkSafe charged the health department with 58 alleged breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in relation to Victoria’s initial Covid-19 hotel quarantine program, which sparked a deadly wave of the virus through the state.
In March 2023, a magistrate found there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction and the department was committed to stand trial. But earlier this month, the county court ruled evidence given at the judicial inquiry into hotel quarantine was deemed inadmissible.
Following this, the department made an application to have the matter discontinued.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions considered the application and determined that there were no longer reasonable prospects of conviction and discontinued the prosecution.
Cait Kelly
Payments to shareholders from corporate investments grew six times faster than worker pay: Oxfam report
Australian dividend payments to shareholders from corporate investments grew six times faster than worker pay between 2020 and 2023, new analysis from Oxfam has revealed.
Accounting for inflation and through Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, dividend payments in Australia rose 37%, while average real wages in Australia have fallen by 6%.
This is as Australia’s biggest banks, miners and retailers record sky-high profits off the back of higher prices, supply chain disruptions and the alleged use of price gouging and unfair pricing practices.
Oxfam Australia chief executive officer Lyn Morgain said:
Corporate profits and payouts to rich shareholders have gone into the stratosphere, while wages continue to go nowhere.
Millions of people hold jobs that trap them in a cycle of working hard while still being unable to afford enough food, medicine or other basics. The super-rich don’t amass their mega-fortunes by ‘working’—they extract it from people who do
No corporation should be shelling out to rich shareholders unless it’s paying a living wage to all its workers. Governments must cap payouts to shareholders, support trade unions and legislate for living wages. We should be rewarding work, not wealth.
Aukus nations propose removal of export controls between each other
Australia, the UK and US have proposed changes to national exemptions on certain export controls between the Aukus countries.
According to a statement from defence, the changes would enable the defence industry across all three countries to “work more seamlessly in a license-free environment, while strengthening collaboration and making it easier to develop advanced scientific, technological and industrial capabilities”.
Defence says the changes would:
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Remove the requirement for around 900 export permits, valued at A$5bn per year, which would otherwise be required under current export controls from Australia to the US.
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Remove the requirement for approximately 200 permits, valued at over $129m per year, required for defence exports from the UK to Australia.
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Enable licence-free trade for over 70% of defence exports subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations from the US to Australia.
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Enable licence-free trade for over 80% of defence trade subject to Export Administration Regulations from the US to Australia.
Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on the draft arrangements.
Bonza ‘unlikely’ to resume flights, minister says
The transport minister has conceded that budget airline Bonza is unlikely to get back off the ground, AAP reports. This comes as the budget airline entered voluntary administration yesterday.
Federal transport minister Catherine King said a hotline had been set up for affected passengers but admitted the chances of Bonza resuming operations was small. She told ABC TV:
We have been speaking to the [administrators] overnight, they’re trying to get the airline back up and running, I think they have got to look at the books a fair bit. It’s unlikely that will happen.
Planes are certainly cancelled until May 2 at the very least, and then customers will need to get on to the Bonza website or on to the administrators to find out what the next steps are.
Concerns remained about passengers who had been stranded following the airline’s financial woes, King said.
Obviously, by going into voluntary administration, those planes are still available here in Australia. I think it would be Bonza’s preference they get up and flying quickly, but that is going to be absolutely a matter for the administrator.
Our concern has been about how do we get people home, particularly at the tail-end of the school holidays.
Benita Kolovos
Vicki Ward suggests internet providers should be held accountable for violent content
Vicki Ward, Victoria’s minister for the prevention of family violence, said she was hopeful national cabinet would come up with a plan to tackle violence on social media, including pornography and “terrible” influencers.
She hopes there is a conversation around “how we hold our internet providers accountable for violence that we see online”, and told reporters:
We see kids who, through no fault of their own, have pornography come into their messages, come into their threads, and then it starts a slippery slope. We see influencers who are held up as heroes who are not heroes. They are weak men who prey on the vulnerabilities of other weak men to belittle and damage and hurt women. These influences are not safe people. They are not good people. They are not people who should be held up and valorised, they are terrible people who preach violence against women and we have to do something online to stop this.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian minister says family violence a cultural issue
Victoria’s minister for the prevention of family violence, Vicki Ward, spoke outside parliament earlier as national cabinet meets to discuss the national crisis of violence against women.
She said while she welcomed the meeting, there was only “bits and pieces” that can be done at a national level. Ward says:
There are bits and pieces that we can do but the core issue is changing behaviour and that is absolutely what has to be addressed. When you’ve got at least 57,000 male perpetrators of family violence in our state last year alone – and that’s just what Victoria police knows about – we know that we have a serious problem [and] the behaviour of a number of men in our society that we have to change.
Asked whether more needed to be done by the justice system to tackle repeat violent offenders, Ward said:
The justice system does step up. We do have magistrates, we do have our courts that take this seriously. This is a whole community response. It’s not just a justice problem. It’s not just a government problem. It is a community problem and community has to be a part of the solution, just as government is.
We are leading the nation when it comes to responding to family violence. We have people coming internationally to see what we’re doing. We have visitors from interstate coming to see what we’re doing. We are doing a lot. There is still more to do. But it is a cultural change that we have to see in our communities.
Two charged after woman’s body located in North Bondi yesterday
Two men will face court on drug-related charges after the body of a woman was located in North Bondi yesterday.
Emergency services were called to a unit in North Bondi around 9.20am yesterday following reports a woman was found unresponsive, and the body of a 19-year-old woman was located.
A 32-year-old man, who had an outstanding warrant, was arrested at the home and taken to Waverley police station.
Yesterday afternoon officers executed a search warrant at an address in Bondi and seized 1g of methylamphetamine and cannabis. Police also arrested a 34-year-old man at the address.
The 32-year-old man was charged over the outstanding warrant, three counts of entering a vehicle or boat without consent of the owner/occupier, destroying or damaging property less than or equal to $2000, hindering or resisting a police officer in the execution of duty, and having goods suspected stolen in/on premises.
The 34-year-old man was charged with two counts of possessing a prohibited drug.
The 32-year-old was refused bail to appear before Downing centre local court today, and the 34-year-old man was issued a field court attendance notice to appear at Waverley local court on 18 June.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the woman’s cause of death, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Investigations are ongoing as detectives continue to look into a number of lines of inquiry, including misadventure.
No charges have been laid over the woman’s death.
Prime minister delivers opening remarks at national cabinet
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has delivered his opening remarks at a national cabinet meeting, convened to address men’s violence against women.
Albanese told the meeting:
In the spirit of national unity, today is about who we are as a nation and who we are as a society. Too many women in Australia live in fear and too many are dying from violence. This statistic that a woman is dying every four days is completely unacceptable. Not just to the leaders of states and territories and the nation, but unacceptable for all Australians.
Too many children are growing up with trauma and too many children are growing up without their mothers. And too many stories are ending on the same heartbreaking way. If we want to change this then we all have to take responsibility. Governments, media, civil society. It is very clear that governments alone can’t do this, but we can, of course, show leadership …
For some of us, this is deeply personal, and for all of us, this is incredibly important. [There] are actions that we can take here and now, immediate steps, but there is also the longer term cultural challenge that we face as well. We are committed to dealing with these issues and today we want to read some important outcomes, building on the work that governments have done to date, but doing more, because we know that not enough has been done.
Qantas investigating app issue after customers report seeing strangers’ data
Qantas has confirmed it is investigating an issue with its app after a number of customers have reported being able to see strangers’ data.
The Guardian has viewed screenshots where customers have logged into their profile on the Qantas app, but were presented with a stranger’s profile. This included their name and information, such as upcoming flight details and loyalty points.
A number of users are also reporting the issue on social media.
Qantas has confirmed it is aware of the issue and said in a statement:
Qantas is investigating reports of an issue impacting the Qantas app this morning. We will provide more information as soon as possible.
Probe as two Melbourne restaurants go up in flames within minutes
Detectives are investigating fires at two Italian restaurants in Melbourne’s north-west that started within minutes of each other, AAP reports.
The first blaze broke out at a La Porchetta on the Melton Highway in Taylor’s Lakes at about 2.45am yesterday.
Just minutes later, another fire started at an Italian restaurant on Mount Alexander Road in Essendon. Smoke billowed over the area but firefighters contained the fire to a small section of the venue and stopped it from spreading to a nearby car wash.
No one was inside either restaurant at the time and both were severely damaged by the flames. Officers have not revealed if they are believed to be linked.
Both restaurants have been taped off and deemed a crime scene as detectives work to establish the cause of the fires.
Charges dropped against Victorian health department over quarantine
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian health minister has confirmed public prosecutors have dropped charges against the state’s health department over its handling of the hotel quarantine program that contributed to the state’s deadly second Covid-19 wave.
WorkSafe had charged the health department with 58 breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in September 2021, alleging the department failed to provide a safe workplace for its employees and failed to ensure people were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
Mary-Anne Thomas said the charges were dropped by the office of public prosecutions yesterday:
I’m advised that that has happened yesterday.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian health minister says she had ‘no reason to think anything was untoward’ during regional hospital visit
Continuing from our last post: Mary-Anne Thomas said she has cast her mind back to the visit and doesn’t remember anything untoward.
I visit health services all the time and I see that our health services are experiencing record demand. We know that for a fact. But I didn’t notice anything in particular, I had no reason to think that anything was untoward. It’s certainly not something that ever crossed my mind that a health service would work to deceive a government minister in such a way.
She said it was not common practice to speak to patients during a tour:
The last thing they want is a politician in their faces, so I’m very mindful and respectful of patient privacy. I don’t look to make eye contact or engage with patients.
Thomas said it was now up to Colac Area Health to take action against the staff members involved. She said this could include “counselling, training, or indeed disciplinary action”.
She said Ambulance Victoria were also conducting their own investigation after confirmation a fake patient was brought to hospital by ambulance.
