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Nat Barr quizzes Jim Chalmers over one major budget flaw

<p>Nat Barr has quizzed treasurer Jim Chalmers over one major flaw in the federal budget. </p> <p>On Tuesday night, Chalmers <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/money-banking/biggest-winners-and-losers-of-the-2024-25-federal-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">handed down</a> his third federal budget that prioritised cost-of-living relief, with one major initiative saving Aussies big on their next energy bills. </p> <p>All Australian families will get $300 off their annual electricity bill, while small businesses will also get a $325 rebate for their bills.</p> <p>Chalmers joined Nat Barr on <em>Sunrise</em> on Wednesday morning to discuss the initiative further, as the host pointed out one major flaw in the government's plan. </p> <p>“If you’re earning a million dollars, why do you need a $300 power rebate?” Barr asked.</p> <p>But Chalmers said wealthier Australians weren’t the focus of the rebate, as everyday Aussies struggling with the rising cost of living were sure to benefit. </p> <p>“It is primarily for people doing it tough — you know, millions and millions of Australians are under cost-of-living pressure,” he said.</p> <p>“We’re trying to help. So more help is on the way for millions of people under the pump. Whether it is a tax cut for every taxpayer or energy bill relief for every household.”</p> <p>Barr asked Chalmers if people earning $1 million were “under pressure”, but the treasurer said offering specifically targeted assistance was logistically impossible.</p> <p>“Once you go beyond (pensioners), you have to design a whole new system because the energy retailers that we use to provide this help, they don’t have income information for people,” he said.</p> <p>“We deliver this relief via energy bills, via the retailers. There’s not a system that allows you to slice and dice that beyond providing it either to people on pensions and payments.”</p> <p>Barr's comments were echoed online, with many slamming the logistics of the rebate on social media. </p> <p>"I'm sure Gina Rinehart is stoked she's getting $300 back on her energy bills," one person commented. </p> <p>Another added, "If this stupid government gives me $300 off my energy bills it goes straight to charity. Join me if you can afford it."</p> <p>A third wrote, "Feel like there should be an exemption in the $300 energy rebate for anyone who has ever slept under a doona with the aircon on."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Sunrise </em></p>

Money & Banking

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Gardener exposes neighbour over loud mowing complaint

<p>A neighbourhood “bully” has been slammed online after threatening to call the police on a gardener for making “too much” noise while cleaning up an overgrown property.</p> <p>James Selmes, from Lush Cut Lawns, was tidying a garden of a home in Blacktown, west of Sydney, when the disgruntled neighbour approached him to complain about the noise.</p> <p>“Mate, I’m just from up the road, how long are you going to be doing this for?” the miffed man asked.</p> <p>Mr Selmes told him he had been working on the lawn for a couple of hours, and that he’d likely be working a few more.</p> <p>“All morning you’ve given me a f***ing headache. You need to finish it up,” the man demanded.</p> <p>The gardener said it had only been two hours and that he was “allowed to mow lawns”.</p> <p>“It’s as simple as that. The neighbours have seen this lawn bad, and no one has even bothered to come and help them,” Mr Selmes said.</p> <p>“Perhaps if you guys helped, we wouldn’t have this issue.”</p> <p>The neighbour rejected his comments, responding “Do you think I care about that?”</p> <p>“Let me tell you again, I’m going to be a nice guy, 15 minutes alright? 15 minutes before I call the police. I can’t have this all morning.</p> <p>“So are you going to be here another two hours?"</p> <p>Mr Selmes advised him there were no laws against mowing during the middle of the day.</p> <p>“I’m allowed to mow lawns in the morning or any time during the day between reasonable hours,” he said, with the neighbour hitting back, “yeah, reasonable!”</p> <p>Mr Selmes again attempted to argue his point.</p> <p>“I’m here mowing the lawn, I’m here to help somebody out, that’s all I’m here to do,” he explained.</p> <p>It was clear the neighbour paid no mind to Mr Selmes’ remarks as he maintained he was going to call the police.</p> <p>“Fifteen minutes, I’ll call the police. You make up your own mind,” he said.</p> <p>At his wit's end, Mr Selmes encouraged the neighbour to call the police if he deemed it necessary.</p> <p>“Go and call the police then, I don’t really care. Seeya!” he said.</p> <p>Once the neighbour left, Mr Selmes said it had taken 18 months for him to receive a negative reaction to his work.</p> <p>“Well, that’s a first. It took me a year-and-a-half for someone to complain about the noise. Oh well, what’s he going to do? It’s not against the law."</p> <p>“Tough sh** as they say. I’m just here to do a job and that’s it. People can be kind of weird, hey.”</p> <p>The video of the encounter was uploaded to YouTube, attracting more than 1.8 million views and nearly 5,000 comments of support.</p> <p>“I bet that guy is a pain in the a*se to the entire neighbourhood. You did a great job on this lawn. And you told the guy what you thought of his threat,” one comment read.</p> <p>“After that encounter with that miserable neighbour, I would have definitely taken my time and made sure every inch of that property was perfect,” another added.</p> <p>“He is the same type of neighbour I had who would yell at the kids for laughing too loud as they played outside. Blessings to you for not letting him bring you down,” a third wrote.</p> <p><em>Image credit: YouTube</em></p>

Home & Garden

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Jim Chalmers confronted by struggling pensioner over the cost of living crisis

<p>A struggling pensioner with just $20 in her bank account has quizzed treasurer Jim Chalmers on what essentials she should be forced to give up in order to keep up with the surge in cost of living prices. </p> <p>The Treasurer appeared on ABC's <em>Q+A</em> on Thursday night for a post-budget breakdown, when Fiona got her chance to ask him a question. </p> <p>“With non-discretionary items rising faster than CPI indexation, welfare recipients like myself are meant to be grateful for (the rise to indexation). What essentials should I be cutting from my budget?” she said. </p> <p>Age, Carer and Disability Support Pensioners will receive a rise of $38.90 a fortnight for singles and $58.80 for couples as part of routine indexation, but Fiona said it was still not enough.</p> <p>“It’s all falling behind, I’m playing catch up,” she said.</p> <p>Her desperate plea left Chalmers struggling to offer her any hope, as he warned inflation would continue to rise, forcing the government to make difficult decisions. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jim Chalmers spruiked the simplicity of his first budget, but as the price of items rises faster than the rate of welfare - is it really ‘bread and butter’ for struggling households? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QandA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#QandA</a> <a href="https://t.co/p0eECVajlR">pic.twitter.com/p0eECVajlR</a></p> <p>— QandA (@QandA) <a href="https://twitter.com/QandA/status/1588105528353296384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>“The best thing we can do is try and address inflation. That’s what the budget was about,” he said. </p> <div id="indie-campaign-DifJheZrCrms7j4pmefw-0" data-campaign-name="NCA FINANCE Cashed Up Newsletter OneClick SignUp" data-campaign-indie="newsletter-signup" data-jira="TSN-268" data-from="1645448400000" data-to="1680181200000"></div> <p>“But I don’t want to pretend to Fiona or to anyone in Fiona’s position that the budget nine nights ago fixed all of these challenges. "</p> <p>“I do need to be upfront with all of you about the nature of this challenge that we are confronting right now."</p> <p>And our best contribution to this problem is being restrained in our spending.”</p> <p>Dr Chalmers was called up by host Stan Grant, who said Fiona’s question had been more about hard decisions she was having to make. </p> <p>For example, she said she had to make the choice to go for an eye scan rather than go to a doctors appointment because her GP no longer bulk bills. </p> <p>Dr Chalmers was unable to give Fiona a straight answer, rather saying he understood how difficult it was for people in a similar position.</p> <p>“The cost of living is going through the roof, and that has a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable amongst us, and we understand that,” Dr Chalmers said. </p> <p>“My responsibility to you, Fiona, and to the whole country, is to try and take the right economic decisions, to make sure we are not making inflation worse.”</p> <p>“The main thing I can do here – the worst thing that could happen for Fiona and for people around Australia – is if we let this inflation get out of control … That’s what I’m trying to avoid.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Q+A / Getty Images </em></p>

Retirement Income

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Support the environment. Don’t mow your lawn

<div> <div class="copy"> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mowing urban lawns less often or less severely increases biodiversity, saves money and reduces pests, according to research from the British Ecological Society.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A meta-analysis of data from North America and Europe found strong evidence, the researchers say, that greater mowing intensity at home, in parks and on roundabouts and road verges has negative effects, particularly on invertebrate and plant diversity. Pest species thrive, however.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Even a modest reduction in lawn mowing frequency can bring a host of environmental benefits: increased pollinators, increased plant diversity and reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” says Chris Watson from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, Canada, lead author of a <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13542" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paper</a> in the <em>Journal of Applied Ecology</em>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">“At the same time, a longer, healthier lawn makes it more resistant to pests, weeds, and drought events.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The reason, Watson says, is that regular mowing favours grasses, which grow from the base of the plant, and low growing species such as dandelion and clover. Other species that have their growing tips or flowering stems regularly removed by mowing can’t compete. {%recommended 6627%}</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">“These findings support a lot of research done by the turfgrass industry that shows that the more disturbance a lawn gets, the higher the likelihood of pest and weed invasion,” he adds. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">For their meta-analysis, the researchers identified 14 studies undertaken in urban areas between 2004 and 2019 that measured mowing intensity (either height or frequency) as an experimental factor. They also included three unpublished studies of their own. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A separate case study was used to estimate the economic costs of high-intensity lawn management – which are known to be considerable.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Previous studies have shown, for example, that the cost of allergies to ragweed, which is common in North America and Europe, is around CAD$155 million per year in Quebec and €133 million a year in Austria and Bavaria. </span></p> <p>As it has a more rapid reproduction than other species, the researchers say, ragweed is able to colonise disturbances caused by intense mowing.</p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can also save money more directly. In their case study, Watson and colleagues analysed mowing contractor data from the city of Trois-Rivières. They estimated a 36% reduction in public maintenance costs when mowing frequency was reduced from 15 to 10 times per year in high use lawn areas and from three times to once a year in low use areas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Watson acknowledges that people worry that leaving grass long attracts ticks and rodents but says there is little evidence to support this. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">“The presence of ticks are more strongly related to host populations, like deer, than type of vegetation,” he says. “With respect to small mammals, some species prefer longer grass, whereas others do not.”</span></p> <p>The plan now is to expand the research and begin applying the findings to improve lawns.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> </div> <div id="contributors"> <p><em>This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/sustainability/support-the-environment-dont-mow-your-lawn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Nick Carne. </em></p> </div> </div>

Home Hints & Tips

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Is this Australia’s oldest lawn mower?

<p dir="ltr">Geoff has tried to retire five times but just can’t seem to adhere to a lifestyle without work. </p> <p dir="ltr">A bit shy of 80, Geoff and his wife Gayl, 69, have together purchased a Jim’s Mowing Franchise and is now mowing lawns in Mackay and Ayr.</p> <p dir="ltr">The even more exciting bit is that Geoff is basically booked out - working from sunrise to sunset. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I'm up at 5.30 every morning and in bed by 8. I work from sun up to sun down," Geoff said. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I've got so much work I am now going to employ my own kids and my grandkids. They have to help me out because I've got so much work on I can't keep up with it all.</p> <p dir="ltr"> "People can't believe I'm turning 80 and I'm mowing five lawns a day."</p> <p dir="ltr">Geoff and Gayl are part of a group of retirees who refuse to stop working. </p> <p dir="ltr">A study of 4,000 elderly people, conducted by National Seniors Australia shows 20 per cent of pensioners would consider returning to the workforce after retirement if Age Pension requirements. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sixty per cent of respondents said the main reason to re-enter the workforce was to earn more money, while 15 per cent wanted to keep active, and 12 per cent wanted to contribute to society. </p> <p dir="ltr">Professor John McCallum, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of Research at National Seniors said that elderly Australians re-entering the workforce will become more common. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We have got something we are looking backwards at and not looking forwards for the next 20 years of an ageing society, which continues to 2040, and not setting up the systems to really make it work and to benefit the economy, frankly,” he said. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Supplied</em></p>

Retirement Life

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Jim’s Mowing boss urges for investigation on “cold, sexist, racist” letter

<p><span>Jim’s Group founder and CEO, Jim Penman, is urging the Australian Federal Police to investigate an abusive letter that was received by Greens senator Lidia Thorpe.</span><br /><br /><span>Thorpe is Victoria’s first Indigenous senator and informed Parliament on Tuesday that “people need to be called out” after she received an abusive letter claimed to be from the head of one of Australia’s most easily recognisable and well known gardening companies.</span><br /><br /><span>“I have only been in this job, in public office, for a matter of weeks and the misogyny, sexism and racism is coming in thick and fast,” she told the Senate.</span><br /><br /><span>Penman denied being behind the abusive letter and told <em>7News.com.au</em> that a “fraudster” must have attached a copy of an electronic signature to a letter that had Jim’s Group logo at the top.</span><br /><br /><span>He has also written to the Victorian Parliament’s Clerk of the Senate to ask how the letter was allowed to be aired without its authenticity being checked.</span><br /><br /><span>“Why don’t you get off your fat black ass and instead of wasting time marching around private property on ‘Djab Wurrung country’ to stop tree felling, actually do some work with your taxpayer funded job?” the letter starts.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838756/lidia-thorpe-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/6b56c6b20ea84c7b9ac3852579944a53" /><br /><br /><span>“Taxpayers money was not meant for fat-assed women to go giving food to tree hugging hippies!</span><br /><br /><span>“Devote your time to going to the gym to exhaust your hormonal frustration and lose some weight.”</span><br /><br /><span>The Jims Group CEO said he was appalled by the contents of the letter.</span><br /><br /><span>He went on to say he suspects that the letter was written in response to his stance against Victorian premier Daniel Andrews lockdown policy.</span><br /><br /><span>He released a statement to <em>7News.com.au:</em></span><br /><br /><em>This is not my letter.</em><br /><br /><em>The signature is an electronic version, which anyone can put together by typing my name into the appropriate software.</em><br /><br /><em>It’s an obvious copy of the media releases put out by my PR consultant.</em><br /><br /><em>Not my signature, not my letterhead, and apart from the third paragraph not my sentiments either.</em><br /><br /><em>It is vile, sexist, racist and abusive.</em><br /><br /><em>The letter was a clear attempt to smear me as a response to my challenge to the Premier over the lockdown.</em><br /><br /><em>I wrote to the Senator this morning conveying my regrets that an attempt to smear me had led to such vile statements being made about her.</em><br /><br /><em>I find it especially offensive that comments about a woman’s political appearance be used as a weapon against her, in a way no man would be attacked.</em><br /><br /><em>This is all the more appalling in that the writer is clearly on the left politically, so that making such racist and sexist comments amounts to extreme hypocrisy.</em><br /><br /><em>The writer of this letter is not only malevolent but incompetent.</em><br /><br /><em>The least amount of research would show that I am strongly committed to environmental clauses, involved in mass tree planting and measures to reduce carbon emissions in Jim’s Group, such as the switch to battery powered mowers.</em><br /><br /><em>I’m not likely to criticise someone else for being a ‘tree hugger’!</em><br /><br /><em>The writer knows virtually nothing about me but is clearly well versed in aboriginal affairs.</em><br /><br /><em>We have asked the Federal Police to investigate and will insist that all efforts be made to track him down this fraudster.</em><br /><br /><em>We have also written to the Clerk of the Senate to ask how such a matter could be aired without the least amount of checking.</em><br /><br /><em>We have confirmed that the Senator’s office has the original of the letter, which will be made available to the police.</em></p>

News

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Jim's Mowing joins Class Action against VIC Government

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Around 700 Jim's Mowing franchisees who were prevented from working under stage four restrictions in Victoria are joining a multimillion lawsuit against the Victorian Government.</p> <p>Carbone Lawyers managing partner Tony Carbone told NCA NewsWire that his firm would be pushing for around $20 million on compensation.</p> <p>“The bottom line is these gardeners should have been working, how is it possible that a gardener working on their own outside can infect anyone,” he said.</p> <p>“The government’s whole decision making on who can and can’t work was so arbitrary these gardeners have been left so destitute they are suffering from mental illness.”</p> <p>Swinburne Law School Dean Mirko Bagaric said that this would "dwarf" any class-action lawsuit that had occurred previously and could be the biggest in Australia's history. </p> <p>“Nearly every Victorian has been adversely affected by this,” he said.</p> <p>Jim's Mowing founder Jim Penman said to NCA NewsWire that around 700 of his franchisees and self-employed tradesmen had been impacted by the lockdown, losing around $3,000 a week.</p> <p>“We hold the Premier, the Health Minister and other senior ministers personally responsible for the failures of quarantine that unleashed this disaster upon our state,” Mr Penman said.</p> <p>“Further, the Premier’s arbitrary action in ignoring the advice of the Department of Health and Human Services and barring sole operators from working, brought needless loss and misery upon many.</p> <p>“The senseless waste of this measure is shown by the fact that council gardeners continued working in groups through the lockdown, thus raising the risk of infection.</p> <p>“This senseless policy still continues, with dog grooming salons allowed to operate with multiple staff, while sole operators cannot. A rational policy would have insisted that all gardening and dog grooming work be done by individuals, thus reducing the risk of infection with far less mental and financial injury.”</p> <p>He also said that Carbone Lawyers were "so confident' of the win that they've agreed to a "no win no fee" arrangement.</p> <p>“Yes I’ve lost a bit of money during this but I’m not interested in getting that money back I just want every one of my franchisees to get every cent back because they’re the ones who are doing it tough and going through a lot of financial pressure,” the mowing magnate said.</p> <p>This is the latest development after Penman revealed to seek compensation for individual franchises through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).</p> <p>He said that both legal pathways would still be going ahead with Mr Penman saying “both options will be pursued”.</p> <p>“I don’t care how it’s done I just want the money to go back into the hands of these hard workers who should have never been prevented from working and earning an honest living.”</p> <p>Jim's Mowing franchises were ordered to stop work on August 5 after the Premier's strict decision to not allow lawn mowing and garden maintenance during the new COVID-19 guidelines.</p> <p>The Premier’s office was contacted for comment, with a spokesperson saying: “It would be inappropriate to comment on a matter before the courts”.</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.jimsmowing.com.au/" target="_blank">jimsmowing.com.au</a></em></p> </div> </div> </div>

Legal

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Karl Stefanovic’s fiery interview with upset CEO of Jim’s Mowing

<p>In a fiery interview with Karl Stefanovic on the <em>Today</em> show, Jim Penman, CEO and founder of national gardening franchise Jim’s Mowing, labelled Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews the “worst political leader since federation”.</p> <p>“This idea that he consults with business is ludicrous,” said Penman. “It is a joke.”</p> <p>“He is an utter incompetent. He has stuffed the quarantine, he is stuffing the contact tracing, he is stuffing the testing. The only thing he is good at is trashing the Victorian economy.</p> <p>“I cannot think of anybody remotely as bad as this.”</p> <p>“Our industry is no threat to public health at all,” Penman explained to Karl, referring to the sole operators currently working for his Jim’s Mowing franchises. “A lone operator working alone in a garden is no threat to health. But, when you throw tens of thousands of people out of work without need, you talk about mental health issues, suicide, drug addiction, domestic violence and the rest.</p> <p>“He should be tossed out by his own party.”</p> <p>Penman also wrote a highly critical letter to the Premier on September 7 after Daniel Andrews announced the extension of Victoria’s lockdown period:</p> <p>“Premier, you will have blood on your hands. Every day I hear stories of misery and despair. Putting people out of work without need is a massive risk to health and wellbeing.</p> <p>“I have one Franchisee whose son barely survived a suicide attempt. His daughter too is severely depressed... This extension has filled them with despair.”</p> <p>“Drop this senseless measure,” Penman appealed in his letter, asking Mr Andrews to “put human welfare” ahead of political advantage.</p> <p><strong>Images:</strong> Getty Images</p>

Home & Garden

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Jim Parsons finally reveals why he quit the Big Bang Theory

<p>Jim Parsons opened about the “intense summer” that made him realise it was time to step away from his starring role on<span> </span><em>The Big Bang Theory</em>.</p> <p>The 47-year-old actor played Sheldon Cooper for 12 seasons on the show before he decided it was time to say goodbye, a decision that ended the show in 2019.</p> <p>Now he’s revealed why. Appearing on<span> </span><em>David Tennant Does A Podcast With …</em><span> </span>Parsons spoke about the reason for his departure.</p> <p>It turns out that a particularly tough summer spent in New York City gave him a moment of “clarity”.</p> <p>After finishing Season 11 in summer 2018, he moved to New York to appear in<span> </span><em>The Boys In The Band on Broadway</em>. He also agreed to film a commercial for Intel. On his way to the commercial shoot, he noticed his dog had become “gravely ill”.</p> <p>“He just looked so bad and I was so tired and I just started crying,” he told the host. “I was like, ‘This dog’s going to die while I’m off working and I feel so bad.’”</p> <p>In the end, he and his husband, Todd Spiewak made the tough decision to put their dog down so he would no longer be in pain. He spent the next few days in a dark place, realising something needed to change in his life, but not being sure what.</p> <p>To top it off, he slipped and broke his foot. He felt one bad thing was happening after the other, which is when Parsons had a moment of “clarity” that the change in his life was bidding farewell to<span> </span><em>Big Bang Theory</em>.</p> <p>“The bottom line was that it was a really intense summer,” he said. “The dog passing away, he was 14, and Todd and I had been together for 15 years at that point, so it just was the end of an era.</p> <p>“I had this moment of clarity that I think you’re very fortunate to get in a lot of ways, of going, ‘Don’t keep speeding by.’ You know? ‘Use this time to take a look around.’ And I did,” he said. “I was like, ‘I gotta make a move.’”</p> <p>His father died at the age of 52, and he came to a realisation that he would be 46 by the time Season 12 ended, which he was contractually obligated for. </p> <p>Parsons then spent some time thinking how he would want to spend the next six years.</p> <p>“I’m not superstitious or anything like that. It was just a context thing,” he told Tennant.</p> <p>When he returned to Los Angeles, he broke the news to Big Bang Theory writers Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro that he would not entertain the idea of a Season 13.</p> <p>Lorre explained that he considered moving the show forward without Sheldon, but ultimately decided not to.</p>

TV

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Jim’s Mowing boss urges his mowers to break COVID ban

<p>One of the country’s most recognisable names in home services is taking on Victoria’s premier over Stage 4 lockdown restrictions.</p> <p>Daniel Andrews made an announcement on Monday, that under the newly implemented State of Disaster, many services will not be permitted to operate from Wednesday.</p> <p>Speaking to the media, Andrews said: “There will be no cleaners, there will be no mowing your lawns.</p> <p>But founder of Jim’s Group, Jim Penman, has urged franchisees to continue working.</p> <p>He claims the government’s own guidelines say building and grounds maintenance workers are permitted to operate when required.</p> <p>“I’ve had legal advice where there is clear written approval that trumps a verbal statement from a government Minister,” said Mr Penman.</p> <p>“Despite what the Premier says, the written guidelines (from the Department of Health and Human Services) are clear we can operate.</p> <p>“We do a lot of work for the NDIS, elderly people, gutter cleaning, picking up branches and leaves off paths which can be a significant health hazard. If they do it safely, it’s legal for them to work.”</p> <p>Under the new restrictions, Victorians who are caught breaking the law will be hit with a $4,957 fine.</p> <p>Penman says if franchisees are fined he will pay it - and challenge it with the state government.</p> <p>In a letter to his franchisees he wrote: “I urge you to continue working and will take personal responsibility for any problems that arise. In the very unlikely event that fines are imposed, Jim’s Group will challenge and (if necessary) pay them.”</p> <p>The Franchise Council of Australia says Penman is taking it too far.</p> <p>“Encouraging people to break the rules is absolutely irresponsible,” a Franchise Council spokesperson said.</p> <p>Andrews said the decision to enter a State of Disaster was not made lightly.</p> <p>“As heartbreaking as it is to close places of employment, that is what we have to do,” Andrews said.</p> <p>“Throughout all of this, we’ve tried to be as logical as possible to understand intricate and detailed supply chains and be aware of all the consequences of each decision we make.</p> <p>“All of this will be challenging and very difficult but it is what is necessary.”</p>

Legal

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“Exacerbated by global heating”: An interview with NSW firefighter Jim Casey

<p>The current bushfire crisis has so far destroyed over <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/aussies-demand-climate-action-scotty-delivers-marketing-and-anthony-rolls-over/">10 million hectares</a>. Unprecedented in its scope, it’s also taken the lives of <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/too-little-too-late-morrison-will-mourn-bushfire-victims/">32 people</a> – including 12 firefighters – while <a href="https://www.cnet.com/how-to/australia-fires-have-killed-more-than-a-billion-animals-so-far-how-you-can-help/">over a billion animals</a> have perished in the flames. And the true environmental, economic and health costs remain unknown.</p> <p>So, it comes as a bit of a shock for many to learn that 23 former fire and emergency leaders had been trying to warn the federal government about the crisis that was likely coming and the need for greater investment in protective measures as far back as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-14/former-fire-chief-calls-out-pm-over-refusal-of-meeting/11705330">April last year</a>.</p> <p>In order to combat any finger pointing that might come their way, politicians of the right have been <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/debunking-the-myth-that-the-greens-caused-the-bushfire-crisis-an-interview-with-mlc-david-shoebridge/">propagating the idea</a> that the Greens are to blame for the unprecedented bushfires, due to their supposed opposition to hazard reduction burns. Although, there’s no evidence to justify this.</p> <p>NSW deputy premier John Barilaro came out just <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/barilaro-accuses-government-agencies-of-ideological-opposition-to-hazard-reduction-20200122-p53tns.html">last week</a> accusing NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service of not performing necessary hazard reduction due to “ideological” reasons, even though his government in 2017 cut <a href="http://www.pennysharpe.com/labor_reveals_121m_cuts_no_plan_for_new_parks_the_national_party_trying_to_turn_national_parks_back_into_state_forests_for_commercial_logging">$121 million</a> of its funding, which resulted in reduced <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/120342-parks-and-wildlife-funding-cuts-in-the-spotlight-as-nsw-nationals-play-the-blame-game/">fire prevention staff</a>.</p> <p><strong>Governed by the culprits</strong></p> <p>This nation is “ground zero for both climate impacts and climate policy uncertainty”, states <a href="https://laureatebushfiresclimate.wordpress.com/">an open letter</a> published on Wednesday by Australian Research Council fellows. The 80 leading local academics state that government needs to learn from the catastrophe and take relevant action.</p> <p>These bushfires “arrived at the end of a year with the lowest average rainfall and the highest average temperatures ever recorded across Australia”, the academics outline. “Climate change has arrived, and without significant action greater impacts on Australia are inevitable.”</p> <p>However, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the Liberal National government isn’t willing to take effective measures. Morrison has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/29/australia-is-ground-zero-in-climate-crisis-and-must-show-leadership-top-researchers-say">admitted</a> to climate playing a role in the increased intensity of the fires. Although, he’s only spoken of adaptation to it, rather than action to cut carbon emissions.</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-coal-industry-controls-the-coalition/">major reason</a> behind this unwillingness to act is that the federal government is in the pocket of the coal industry. Indeed, <a href="https://act.greenpeace.org.au/dirtypower">numerous links</a> between government and Big Coal would make it financially counterproductive for Coalition politicians to walk away from the industry.</p> <p>And this is further evidenced at the state level with the NSW Liberal National government’s <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3717">bill before parliament</a>, which seeks to remove the requirement that planning authorities now have to consider the impact of exported coal emissions when assessing new mining proposals.</p> <p><strong>Word on the ground</strong></p> <p>The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ausfca/">Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance</a> is a group of firefighters who’ve joined together to advocate for stronger action on climate. And career firefighter Jim Casey has been speaking out on its behalf at <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-liar-from-the-shire-thousands-march-demanding-action-from-morrison/">a number of Sydney rallies</a> over recent months.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/police-stations-we-attend/auburn-police-station/">Sydney Criminal Lawyers</a> spoke to Fire and Rescue NSW firefighter Jim Casey about the factors that created the most intense bushfires ever seen, how the government would have reacted in a similar manner regardless of who was PM, and the reasons behind those hazard reduction rumours.</p> <p><strong>Firstly, you</strong> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/14/australias-firefighters-need-concrete-support-not-just-the-pms-thoughts-and-prayers"><strong>wrote in the Guardian</strong></a><strong> a few months back, that you’ve been fighting fires your entire professional life and you’d never before seen the types you were being confronted with.</strong></p> <p><strong>But, that was in mid-November, and there’s been much more to come. Jim, how would you sum up what’s happened since then?</strong></p> <p>I take no satisfaction in saying that when I said in November that these fires were unprecedented, I was correct then, but the worsening situation just shows you how much more extreme this season has become.</p> <p>That extremity is not by chance, it’s a changing world. And it’s led to a catastrophic fire season.</p> <p><strong>So, you’ve been out there on the frontline during the crisis. In your opinion, are we passed the worst of it?</strong></p> <p>I’m not prepared to say that we’re past the worst of it, because you just don’t know what’s going to happen.</p> <p>It is worth noting that a lot of the fuel load near major population centres has been significantly reduced just by fire. And we’ve had a limited return of rain.</p> <p>But, having said that, we’ve still got months of summer to go – anything could happen. So, I’m hoping the worst is over, but I wouldn’t make that commitment.</p> <p><strong>And what’s it been like out there for you fighting the fires? </strong></p> <p>It’s been fighting bushfires or carrying a larger load in the city. We’ve had less resources in the city, because people are at the frontline, so it’s busy all around.</p> <p>It’s either busy in Sydney, up in the Blue Mountains, or down on the South Coast. To be honest, it’s been full on. But, that’s the nature of the job.</p> <p><strong>You’re a spokesperson for the</strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ausfca/"><strong>Australian Firefighters’ Climate Alliance</strong></a><strong>. You accept the science linking the severity of the crisis to changing climate conditions.</strong></p> <p><strong>For those in the community coming to grips with the effects of changing climate on bushfires, how do you explain the implications?</strong></p> <p>For a fire to occur you need three things: temperature, oxygen and fuel. So, for a wildfire – a bushfire – you’ll see more intense fires, when you’ve got more fuel on the ground, where the atmosphere is windy and when the temperatures are high.</p> <p>For these fires, all three of those factors have been exacerbated by a change in climate. We’ve seen extreme weather behaviour in terms of windstorms, and so forth, which is associated with a warming world.</p> <p>We’ve got a fuel load on the ground that’s higher than anyone wanted. That’s partially because of the reduced window for hazard burns during winter, which is the result of a warming world.</p> <p>Then finally there’s the question of temperature. The 1 to 1.5 degree of warming is an issue. But, by far, the bigger concern is the extreme weather spots, which occur within that warming.</p> <p>So, the runs of very hot days in the high 30s or low 40s. That’s the kind of thing that turns the bushfire into a firestorm.</p> <p>All three of the factors behind what makes a fire work – all three – have been exacerbated by global heating.</p> <p><strong>You’ve been addressing the crowd at a number of recent rallies in Sydney, which have been calling out Scott Morrison on his lack of climate action.</strong></p> <p><strong>How would you describe the leader of this country’s form during the current crisis, which is now into its fifth month?</strong></p> <p>My favourite take on it is from the Betoota Advocate, which is the <a href="https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/nation-begins-to-understand-why-scotty-got-the-arse-from-all-those-marketing-jobs/">Nation Begins To Understand Why Scotty Got the Arse From All Those Marketing Jobs</a>.</p> <p>But, seriously, it’s been a conspicuous fail. The prime minister has got a cloth ear. His attempts at empathy come across as either harassing people into shaking his hand or running away from them when they need something. It’s a disgrace. It’s been a fail.</p> <p>But, while Scott Morrison’s personal failings have been made manifest, the real issue is he represents a political party that’s beholden to the mining lobby. And none of the people who would be prime minister instead would be behaving any better.</p> <p>Morrison is someone easy to mock for the way that he’s been handling the situation from beginning to end. And he should be mocked. He deserves the contempt.</p> <p>But, no one should be under any allusions that the next in line for the top job in the Liberal Party would be any better than he would.</p> <p><strong>The right of politics has managed to run a smear campaign, laying the blame for the current crisis at the feet of the Greens, because of its supposed position on hazard reduction burns.</strong></p> <p><strong>You’re a member of the NSW Greens, so you must have been confronted by this argument. How have you been able to account for it being bandied about like its truth?</strong></p> <p>There are some people that it wouldn’t matter what you say they’re going to believe the madness.</p> <p>The thing I’ve found – which is quite compelling – is that I’m a proud member of the Greens NSW, and I conduct hazard reduction burns. It’s part of my job. And I don’t down tools when I am told to do it.</p> <p>It’s just ridiculous. The Greens are not opposed to hazard reduction burns. We are opposed to the idea of concreting the entire countryside and destroying everything. But, most Australians are.</p> <p>The Greens are a scapegoat for a tricky and nasty government that’s been called out. So, they’re trying to find someone to blame. They’ve had a crack at us. Most don’t believe it, particularly when you see the fire chiefs coming out saying that it’s not true.</p> <p>To put this all in context, the Greens have a minority on some councils. We have two lower house MPs in NSW. We’ve got one lower house MP in federal parliament. How we are running this agenda with those numbers is beyond me.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The minister in charge of this state’s bushfire recovery, NSW deputy premier John Barilaro just took aim at NSW National Parks and Wildlife, blaming that organisation for the intensity of the fires because again it hasn’t been properly partaking in hazard reduction.</strong></p> <p><strong>What do you think about the leader of the NSW Nationals accusing National Parks of being at fault?</strong></p> <p>That bloke has got more front than Myers to have a crack at National Parks, when under this government, according to the Public Service Association, there’s been a 35 percent cut in firefighting positions inside the parks.</p> <p>Again, it’s just switch and bait. These people have been caught out not planning for the future. They’ve been caught out cutting funds from parts of the public sector that fight fires.</p> <p>They’ve been caught out running no line at all on climate change. And basically, subsidising the fossil fuel industry.</p> <p>They know that anyone with half a brain is putting all of this together and coming up with the conclusion that they’re vandals. And their concerns for their top end of town mates outweighs any concerns for the environment or the rest of us.</p> <p>So, in an environment like that, they’re looking for someone to blame. And I just urge your readers to take everything they say with a grain of salt, because these people have got blood on their hands, and they’re desperately trying to make sure that no one – no one – blames them.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>And lastly, Jim, as a career firefighter with a grounding in the science of climate, what do you think needs to happen from here, both in terms of immediately on the ground and also at a broader level looking at climate into the future?</strong></p> <p>There are two things that need to happen. The first is the immediate question of how we respond to these crises when they’re upon us. Obviously, they’re needs to be more money put into firefighting. You can’t get around that.</p> <p>At the end of the day, firefighting hasn’t changed for centuries. There’s someone on the end of a length of hose or a hand tool doing their best to put the fire out or build a fire break. That’s not going to change. We need more firefighters on the ground.</p> <p>But, then there are other things we need as well. There needs to be significant investment in aerial capacity and fleets.</p> <p>While these fires were at their worst, there were hundreds of professional firefighters, like me, who could not be used. I had days off, because there weren’t enough fire engines for us as staff. You could fix a lot of this with a $50 to $80 million expenditure.</p> <p>I actually expect that we will see some of that from government. This crisis has frightened everyone and throwing limited amounts of money at this is something they will do. Probably not enough. And we will need to push for more. But, they’ll have a start.</p> <p>The big issue is what they’re doing about the root cause of the problem. And that’s a far more thorny kind of question.</p> <p>This is what we are seeing at 1 degree of global heating. If things were fixed right now, we are still likely to get up to the 2 degree mark. And there’s no indication that that’s going to happen.</p> <p>So, really this is just a taste of the future. Things will get worse, unless action is taken immediately.</p> <p>That means that both the state, and especially the federal government, need to accept the science and get aggressive about trying to make sure that Australia stops burning coal for our own energy consumption, exporting fossil fuels for others, and start making our nation a leader in the world for renewable energy, both for our consumption and export.</p> <p><em>Written by Paul Gregoire. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/exacerbated-by-global-heating-an-interview-with-nsw-firefighter-jim-casey/"><em>Sydney Criminal Lawyers.</em></a></p>

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“Worst time of my life”: Former Pie Face franchisee left with nothing

<p>A former Pie Face franchisee has tearfully described how she lost everything at the banking royal commission.</p> <p>Marion Messih on Tuesday told the commission she had bought a Pie Face franchise with her brother and sister-in-law in Werribee in Victoria for $330,000 in 2013.</p> <p>The trio believed they could earn $50,000 each a year from the business – but it didn’t take long before they realised the business wasn’t profitable.</p> <p>“If we earned $500 in a week it was a miracle, which was pretty woeful to be honest,” she told the royal commission today.</p> <p>Ms Messih claimed the former owner had exaggerated the profitability of the shop.</p> <p>“He had run the business down. By the time we took it over, the clientele wasn’t there,” she said.</p> <p>Despite that, Ms Messih and her brother and sister-in-law worked hard to slowly boost sales and they were on track to make the business profitable – until Werribee Plaza, where their Pie Face is located, started major renovations.</p> <p>“People avoided Werribee Plaza with a passion,” Ms Messih said.</p> <p>The business was struggling as the same amount of rent was still needed to be paid, so Westpac agreed to a payment plan.</p> <p>However, after Pie Face went into voluntary administration, the bank approved a hardship plan, which meant repayments were stopped to allow Ms Messih to find another job.</p> <p>But Ms Messih’s mother fell seriously ill at the same. She decided to sell her investment property, for which she received $750,000. She planned to use the money to pay off the remaining money owing on her investment property, her mortgage and her portion of the business loan debt.</p> <p>According to Ms Messih, Westpac agreed with that plan but the day before the sale settled, the bank reneged and told her they would use the proceeds of the sale to recover the entire debt –  including the half belonging to her sister-in-law.</p> <p>“It clearly shattered me because that was not all my debt,” she said.</p> <p>Ms Messih’s sister-in-law proposed paying back $50 a week towards her debt, which Westpac “laughed at” and refused.</p> <p>“When the settlement happened on my property, they took it all,” Ms Messih said.</p> <p>When she went to the Financial Ombudsman Service she was told the bank able to recoup 100 per cent of the loan, as she had used it as security to secure her half of the loan to begin with.</p> <p>But Ms Messih said she had lost everything.</p> <p>“I worked hard to get where I was. I should be retired by now but I still owe money,” Ms Messih said.</p> <p>“It was overwhelming and stressful. It was the worst time of my life ... and I don’t ever want to go through it again.</p> <p>“I’ve always paid all my debts upfront and to continually get phone calls from institutions asking when I’m going to make payments ... was really hard.</p> <p>“My kids paid my bills and my loans for me; that’s not what a mother does.”</p>

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The heartbreaking truth behind buying a franchise: "They're ruining lives"

<p>The truth behind buying and operating a franchise is being exposed as the Senate undertakes an inquiry into the industry, reading the heartbreaking submissions Australians have sent in.</p> <p>“Being a franchisee has destroyed the lives of myself, my family and caused severe financial distress at 70 years of age,” one person wrote.</p> <p>“I am … now working to try and keep the family home and repay significant loans incurred in relation to the franchise business.”</p> <p>An Australian-wide study asked franchisees if buying a franchise was the worst thing they ever did. 70 per cent of those who had franchises that failed, agreed. Surprisingly, 60 per cent of those whose franchises didn’t go broke, also agreed.</p> <p>Some franchisees become very rich from the companies, with restaurants like McDonald's running so smoothly that there are rarely ever complaints.</p> <p>However, other franchisees have found themselves in unimaginable financial hardship due to the parent company’s unfair business practices.</p> <p><strong>Muffin break</strong></p> <p>Certified practising accountant, Faheem Mirza, started looking for a job where he didn’t have to work full-time so he could care for his child, who requires full-time NDIS support.</p> <p>However, Mr Mirza claims when he bought a Muffin Break franchise, he was told the cost of labour wold be between 21 to 30 per cent of sales. The franchising company denies this claim.</p> <p>“No actual store data was made available prior to the actual commencement of the store operations,” wrote Mr Mirza in his submission to the Senate inquiry.</p> <p>“Once the operations started in June 2016, the labour costs were much higher than anticipated.”</p> <p>Although the sales were going well, Mr Mirza found that running the franchise above board and legally was going to put them in a difficult financial position.</p> <p>The franchising company that owns Muffin Break, Foodco, told Mr Mirza to work up to seven days a week in the café without drawing any wages.</p> <p>“They told me to consider underpaying staff,” he also said.</p> <p>Foodco denied the allegations and there is no external evidence to support the claims about the cost of labour.</p> <p>“We strongly refute the false allegations made by Mr Mirza,” said a Foodco spokesperson.</p> <p>“Our success is entirely underpinned by the success of our franchisees and we are committed to high levels of transparency.”</p> <p><strong>Gloria Jeans</strong></p> <p>Elke Meyer worked as a contractor at Retail Food Group, the brand that owns Gloria Jean’s, up until 2016. She would collect the money owed from the coffee chain franchisees.</p> <p>She recalled the most haunting story that one franchisee told her.</p> <p>“I became deeply concerned with the situation among an increasing group of franchisees when a female franchisee of a Gloria Jeans franchise advised me she and her husband and two young sons had sat on the floor the night before and hugged, and her husband had decided to take his own life so they could get the life insurance and pay out their debt to [Retail Food Group],” wrote Ms Meyer in her submission to the Senate inquiry.</p> <p>“There was an overwhelming sense of hopelessness among a lot of the franchisees I dealt with, but this instance was the most extreme.” (The man did not take his own life in the end.)</p> <p>A spokesperson from Retail Food Group said company’s franchises survive longer than the average small business in Australia’s tough economy.</p> <p>“Indeed, latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicates that new small businesses suffered from a failure rate of circa 45% during [the 2014 to 2017 financial years]. By way of context, average franchisee tenure within [Retail Food Group’s] brand systems well exceeds the timeframe contemplated above,” the spokesperson said.</p> <p>Did you or someone you know buy a franchise? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.</p>

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Channel Seven's Jim Wilson cops backlash for asking athlete inappropriate question

<p>A Channel Seven reporter is receiving backlash after asking wheelchair-bound Aussie athlete, Kurt Fearnley, about how he feels “walking” into the stadium before the opening ceremony.</p> <p>Last night, reporter Jim Wilson spoke to legendary wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley moments before the Commonwealth Games’ opening ceremony in the Gold Coast.</p> <p>“How about walking... and coming into the stadium tonight?” Wilson asked Fearnley.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" width="500" height="573" scrolling="no" id="molvideoplayer" title="MailOnline Embed Player" src="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1662250.html"></iframe></p> <p>The gold-medallist revealed a noticeable grimace but politely responded after Wilson quickly rephrased his question.</p> <p>Viewers were quick to respond on social media to Wilson’s awkward question.</p> <p>“Sorry Jim, did you just say ‘walk in’ to Kurt, one of our greatest wheelchair bound athletes? Come on mate,” one person tweeted. Fearnley has a congenital disorder called sacral agenesis, which prevented the development of parts of his spine.</p> <p>The athlete has won three gold medals at the Paralympic Games and has competed at two previous Commonwealth Games. In 2010, he won the gold medal for the 1500m T54 in Delhi.</p> <p>This year, Fearnley will compete in the marathon event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.</p> <p>Fearnley revealed to <em>Players Voice</em> that this Commonwealth Games could be the last time he represents Australia. “I’ll never say never and there’s a very, very slim chance I’ll have a crack at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020 but it feels right to go out on home soil, having started my international career here 18 years ago,” he said.</p>

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Shock outcome of Jim Carrey’s legal case

<p>Jim Carrey will not face trial in the death of his ex-girlfriend after his lawyer showed the lengths she went to try and blackmail him.</p> <p>Irish-born Cathriona White died by suicide and her family claimed the actor supplied her with drugs following her fatal overdose in 2015 and infected her with three sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs).</p> <p>But the 56-year-old Golden Globe winning actor’s legal team proved that White blackmailed Carrey with fake STD results. She had forged medical records which showed that she had no STDs before she met Carrey.</p> <p>A court document shows that White used a friend’s test results, referred to as Jane Doe, to fake her own results.</p> <p><img width="404" height="303" src="http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/8aa4f452d0769d9dd042cc9729a9e703" alt="Jim Carrey and cathriona White in happier times. Picture: Instagram" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>According to The Hollywood Reporter, the wrongful death lawsuits, filed by White’s estranged husband Mark Burton, and mother Brigid Sweetman, were dismissed January 25.</p> <p>Carrey filed a countersuit last September claiming that the legal action was an attempt to exploit a famous actor.</p> <p>He said that White had tried to blackmail him by threatening to leak to the press false allegations that he had given her STDs.</p> <p>She also alleged that he introduced her “to cocaine and prostitutes”.</p> <p>White, 30, had an on-off relationship with Carrey from 2012 to her death in 2015. She has suffered depression and spoke of suicide before taking her life in 2015.</p> <p>A spokesman for Carrey told The Hollywood Reporter: “Jim is looking forward to moving on with his life now.”</p> <p> </p>

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Jim Carrey – "I woke up with 10 minutes to live"

<p>Actor Jim Carrey has described the mass panic that overcame thousands of people caught in the middle of the terrifying Hawaii ballistic missile warning, after an alert was accidentally issued to resident’s phones over the weekend.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/finance/legal/2017/06/jim-carrey-to-face-trial/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>55-year-old <em>Dumb and Dumber</em> star</strong></span></a> described the incident on Twitter, and how for a moment him and many other Hawaiians felt as though they had, “minutes to live”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">I woke up this morning in Hawaii with ten minutes to live. It was a false alarm, but a real psychic warning. If we allow this one-man Gomorrah and his corrupt Republican congress to continue alienating the world we are headed for suffering beyond all imagination. ;^\ <a href="https://t.co/Kwca91IIy2">pic.twitter.com/Kwca91IIy2</a></p> — Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimCarrey/status/952284494257508352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>“I woke up this morning in Hawaii with ten minutes to live,” Carrey wrote on Twitter.</p> <p>“It was a false alarm, but a real psychic warning. If we allow this one-man Gomorrah and his corrupt Republican congress to continue alienating the world we are headed for suffering beyond all imagination.”</p> <p>Thousands of people in Hawaii were thrown into panic by the false alert, with a second phone alert issued 38 minutes later confirming that it was a false alarm.</p> <p>Many locals had already fled to bomb shelters, including former basketball star Magic Johnson who was photographed hamming it up with other residents by a Twitter user.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Just got this text from a friend re: Hawaii: <br /><br />“My friends are in a ‘fall out shelter’ in Hawaii due to the missile threat and hanging with Magic Johnson.”<br /><br />Get a false nuclear holocaust alarm, hang with a legend. Only in 2018... 🤦‍♂️ <a href="https://t.co/Lg0AwJUy5D">pic.twitter.com/Lg0AwJUy5D</a></p> — John Haltiwanger (@jchaltiwanger) <a href="https://twitter.com/jchaltiwanger/status/952252012053303301?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>Hawaii Governor David Ige apologised for the incident at a press conference: “I am sorry for the pain and confusion it caused.</p> <p>“I, too, am extremely upset about this and am doing everything I can do to immediately improve our emergency management systems, procedures and staffing.”</p> <p>What’s your take on the incident?</p>

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Several killed after van mows down pedestrians in London

<p>A number of people have reportedly been killed after a van collided with pedestrians and worshippers outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, North London.</p> <p>A witness claims around 10 people were mowed down by the van on Seven Sisters Road. Emergency services are onsite.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Anyone an idea what exactly happened? <a href="https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk">@metpoliceuk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/finsburypark?src=hash">#finsburypark</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sevensisters?src=hash">#sevensisters</a> <a href="https://t.co/d4VoQtcJZr">pic.twitter.com/d4VoQtcJZr</a></p> — Thomas Van Hulle (@Thomasvanhulle) <a href="https://twitter.com/Thomasvanhulle/status/876589634515554305">June 18, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>A statement from the Metropolitan Police confirmed they were called to the scene of the incident just after midnight local time.</p> <p>“There are a number of casualties being worked on at the scene,” authorities said. “There has been one person arrested.”</p> <p>The incident is the latest in an unfortunately long list of tragedies for London and the UK as a whole. In March, <a href="/news/news/2017/03/uk-terror-attack-brings-london-to-its-knees/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Westminster Bridge</strong></span></a> became the scene of a lone wolf terror attack, while <a href="/news/news/2017/05/manchester-rocked-by-suspected-terror-attack/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Manchester</span></strong></a> and <a href="/travel/international/2017/06/uk-pm-theresa-may-responds-to-london-attacks/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">London</span></strong></a> were both targeted last month and the latter was just rocked by a <a href="/finance/insurance/2017/06/london-tower-inferno-what-we-know/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>terrifying inferno</strong></span></a>.</p> <p>A major section of the road has been cordoned off.</p> <p>More to come.</p>

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Jim Carrey to face trial

<p>Jim Carrey is set to face trial for the death of his girlfriend Cathriona White after two wrongful death lawsuits were filed against him.</p> <p>White, 30, was found dead in her Los Angeles home in September 2015. The make-up artist overdosed on various prescription drugs. A coroner ruled her death as a suicide.</p> <p><img width="456" height="342" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/article_small/public/thumbnails/image/2015/09/29/16/Cathriona-White-Jim-Carrey.jpg" alt="Cathriona-White-Jim-Carrey.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>White’s mother Brigid Sweetman and her estranged husband Mark Burton sued the actor, alleging that Carrey provided the drugs used in White’s suicide.</p> <p>A judge at Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday refused to dismiss the lawsuits filed against Carrey and set a trial date for 26 April 2018. It is estimated the trial will last 20 days.</p> <p>Carrey’s lawyer, Raymond Boucher, branded the lawsuits “predatory” and “malicious”. </p> <p>Speaking after the hearing, Mr Boucher said: "Mr Carrey loved Ms White dearly and so obviously it will be a very painful process for him."</p> <p>The 55-year-old actor denied all allegations. In a statement issued during the time of the first lawsuit, Carrey said: What a terrible shame.</p> <p>"It would be easy for me to get in a back room with this man’s lawyer and make this go away, but there are some moments in life when you have to stand up and defend your honour against the evil in this world.</p> <p>“I will not tolerate this heartless attempt to exploit me or the woman I loved. Cat’s troubles were born long before I met her and sadly her tragic end was beyond anyone’s control.</p> <p>“I really hope that someday soon people will stop trying to profit from this and let her rest in peace.”</p>

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