The supermarket plastic bag really is doomed.
Woolworths has pledged to remove the ones you pay for. It said its 15c bags will be phased out across the country over the next 12 months.
The change has already taken place in Western Australia, where Woolworths supermarkets began phasing out plastic bags in March ahead of new plastics laws in the state.
Woolworths stores in South Australia and the Northern Territory will be next, with the transition set to begin in September.
Plastic bags to carry fruit and vegetables will continue to be available to customers in the produce department as the supermarket works to explore more sustainable options, Woolworths said.
Labor has done what it said it would: in its submission on a potential rise to the minimum wage, the new government called on the Fair Work Commission to ensure the pay of low-income workers should not "go backwards".
The minimum wage is currently $20.33 an hour.
One group given some relief from tightening economic times are the residents of flood-devastated parts of northern NSW. They are to get help from the state government with a $40 million package waiving rates for the next year.
"Northern Rivers residents have been to hell and back, and receiving a rates notice for a home or business they still can barely access is the absolute last thing they need," Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said.
"This rates relief is one less thing they need to worry about as they continue to rebuild their lives."
It's 30 years since the High Court of Australia handed down the historic "Mabo Decision".
Named in honour of Torres Strait Islander campaigner Eddie Mabo, the decision overturned 200 years of Terra Nullius.
The doctrine had previously refused Indigenous people rights over their traditional lands and seas.
While working at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland in 1982, Mabo gave a speech calling for Indigenous people to be given their rights.
It sparked a decade-long legal battle that went all the way to Australia's highest judges. One of those judges was Sir Gerard Brennan, who died earlier this week.
Dying in January 1992, Mabo did not live to see the historic ruling in his favour that was to be handed down just five months later.
His wife, Benita Mabo, recalls that unto his dying breath, land claims was his singular focus.
THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Labor backs pay rise in wage submission
- Woolworths to stop selling plastic shopping bags nationwide
- Auditor queries welfare card effectiveness
- It is the 30th anniversary of Mabo Day. What is it and why is it significant?
- What can Australians do about their rising energy costs?
- Aussie billionaire takes on Elon Musk
- Snow properties: Are they worth it, and what's on the market?
- Cost of living relief for flood-hit NSW