Menulog to shut down in Australia due to ‘challenging circumstances’
Menulog will close its Australian operations after 20 years in business, the company announced today.
In a statement, the company said:
While Menulog has a proud 20 year history, it has been navigating challenging circumstances. This strategic decision reflects our focus on accelerating growth and investments in other markets.
About 120 employees will be affected by the closure, who will be provided redundancy packages. The company will also provide eligible couriers with a four-week “voluntary payment”.
The managing director for Menulog, Morten Belling, said:
Today is a tough day for the Menulog business and I would like to reassure everyone this decision was not taken lightly.
Our priority now is to support our customers, couriers and partners. This is why we are providing everyone a two-week transition period, in which customers can redeem unused vouchers and credits.
The Menulog platform will remain operational until midnight 26 November.
Key events
Josh Taylor
High court challenge planned for child social media ban
Today marks four weeks until the under-16s social media ban kicks in on 10 December, and NSW Libertarian MLC John Ruddick says he plans to challenge the law in the high court.
The case has yet to be filed, but Ruddick’s office said the law would be challenged on the grounds of the right of freedom of political communication.
There are only a handful of days the high court will sit before the 10 December deadline, but Ruddick’s office expects it will get a mention before then.
Google – which had threatened to challenge YouTube’s inclusion in the ban on that ground, and two others – has yet to mount a challenge to the law.
Josh Taylor
Union calls for gig economy standards following Menulog shutdown announcement
The Transport Workers’ Union has called for the remaining food delivery companies, including DoorDash, Uber Eats and Hungry Panda to support work standards, following the announcement that Menulog would shut operations in Australia in two weeks.
Menulog had supported legislation to put the standards around pay and exit payments in place – which can be set by the Fair Work Commission.
The TWU national secretary, Michael Kaine, said:
This will be a shock to the thousands of food delivery riders who rely on Menulog for income. We will be working to ensure those workers receive pay for their work and fair exit payments over the coming weeks.
In the gig economy, workers are still languishing with below-minimum wage rates, no sick leave or superannuation, and deadly pressure to rush to make a living and avoid being deactivated.
We urgently need standards in the gig economy to stop the relentless downward spiral. New laws introduced by the Albanese government will significantly level the playing field – but DoorDash, Uber Eats, Hungry Panda and Easi now need to come to the table to ensure we get standards in place as soon as possible.
Tory Shepherd
Critics say effort is an attempt to ‘politicise abortion care’
South Australian Abortion Action Coalition co-convenor Brigid Coombe said the bill was a “cynical attempt to politicise abortion care” that ignored “years of expert patient-centred deliberation”. She said:
Its cruelty is out of step with medical and community values.
Fair Agenda’s senior campaign manager, Amy Barrett, said the bill “would deny a woman facing devastating pregnancy complications the chance to make the best decisions for herself and her families, in consultation with her healthcare team”.
Sarah Game has campaigned alongside anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe, who has been banned from the state parliament after alleged “threatening and intimidating tactics”.
Game says if a mother’s life is at risk or her health is threatened, doctors should do an emergency caesarean or induce labour so the baby is born alive.
Tory Shepherd
New effort to water down abortion rights in South Australia
Another move to water down abortion rights is under way in South Australia, less than a fortnight after an ill-fated federal move.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce and Liberal backbencher Andrew Hastie were among those suggesting a law to allow parental leave after a stillbirth would be used by women needing a late-term abortion.
Experts say anti-abortion tactics from the US that focus on late-term abortions – which happen rarely, and overwhelmingly for medical reasons – are being imported to Australia to “chip away at rights”.
Late today, the SA legislative council will debate a legislative amendment introduced by former One Nation MLC Sarah Game, who is now independent. The current law allows abortions from 23 weeks when there is significant risk to the physical or mental health of the pregnant person. Game’s bill would water that down to only allow abortion that saves the life of the pregnant person or another foetus, or if there was a significant risk of foetal abnormalities.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the bill was “based on a fundamental misunderstanding” of the “extraordinarily rare” procedures, which “almost always invariably involve circumstances of severe fetal abnormalities incompatible with life, or serious threats to the pregnant woman’s health and life”.
Albanese meets with Indonesian president
Indonesia’s president has met with Anthony Albanese for his first official visit to Australia since being sworn in as leader, AAP reports.
After arriving in Sydney on Tuesday night, Prabowo Subianto was welcomed at Kirribilli House ahead of one-on-one talks between the two leaders.
While the short trip will be the first time the Indonesian leader has come to Australia since being sworn in, with Prabowo previously visiting Canberra in August 2024 as defence minister and president-elect.
He has served as Indonesia’s president since October 2024.
After the meeting with the prime minister, Prabowo will travel the short distance to Admiralty House to meet with the governor general, Sam Mostyn, where there will be a ceremonial welcome and state lunch.
Albanese and Prabowo will then visit the Royal Australian Navy base at Garden Island.
Albanese said the bilateral meeting would strengthen ties between the two countries:
Australia and Indonesia share a deep trust and unbreakable bond as neighbours, partners and friends.
Together we are committed to working for a secure, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
I look forward to building on our previous discussions about how we can develop the strength and depth of our bilateral relationship.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
What to expect from Liberals’ net zero meeting
Liberal MPs will soon begin filing into a Parliament House meeting room to thrash out the party’s position on a net zero emissions target.
Here’s a quick rundown of how the meeting is expected to play out.
The shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, Dan Tehan, will put forward a set of “principles” to shape the party’s approach to climate and energy policy and a set of “open questions” for debate and endorsement of his colleagues.
We haven’t seen the exact wording of the proposed principles or the “open questions” but we can safely assume that MPs will be asked if they want to remain committed to a net zero emissions target.
Every member of the Liberal party-room will get the opportunity to contribute, meaning the 12pm meeting could drag on for a few hours.
Guardian Australia understands the decision on whether or not to retain the climate target will not be put to a formal vote.
We’re expecting Tehan to stand up for a press conference following the meeting to explain the outcome.
The Liberal members of the shadow ministry will reconvene at 9am to endorse the position before negotiations start on an agreed policy with the Nationals, who have already agreed to dump a net zero emissions target.
A joint party-room meeting is scheduled for Sunday to endorse the new Coalition position.
Menulog to shut down in Australia due to ‘challenging circumstances’
Menulog will close its Australian operations after 20 years in business, the company announced today.
In a statement, the company said:
While Menulog has a proud 20 year history, it has been navigating challenging circumstances. This strategic decision reflects our focus on accelerating growth and investments in other markets.
About 120 employees will be affected by the closure, who will be provided redundancy packages. The company will also provide eligible couriers with a four-week “voluntary payment”.
The managing director for Menulog, Morten Belling, said:
Today is a tough day for the Menulog business and I would like to reassure everyone this decision was not taken lightly.
Our priority now is to support our customers, couriers and partners. This is why we are providing everyone a two-week transition period, in which customers can redeem unused vouchers and credits.
The Menulog platform will remain operational until midnight 26 November.
Tom McIlroy
Chalmers says turning back on net zero policies would be ‘act of economic insanity’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is adding to the pressure on Liberal MPs debating whether to ditch net zero by 2050 policies on Wednesday, pointing to the economic importance of cutting emissions.
“The transformation to cleaner, cheaper, more reliable energy is a golden economic opportunity for Australia and we’d be mad to miss it,” he said in a statement ahead of the meeting, adding:
To turn Australia’s back on net zero and practical climate change action would be an act of economic insanity.
The only outcome worse for our economy than a disorderly transition would be to abandon net zero completely.
Chalmers pointed to Treasury analysis released at the time of Labor’s announcement on new climate targets for 2035. The report warned about a “disorderly” approach to the energy transition, warning of lower economic growth, reduced investment, missed export and employment opportunities, and higher electricity prices
Chalmers lashed the Coalition for “extremism” on climate change.
They’re hopelessly divided, recklessly divisive and a danger to our economy.
Australia ordered to pay Russia for embassy takeover
Australia can reclaim a proposed Russian embassy site but will need to compensate the country for the forceful takeover, AAP reports.
The high court ruled as valid federal laws passed to reclaim land Russia had leased to build a new embassy in Canberra on national security grounds.
But the commonwealth was liable to pay a reasonable amount of compensation for the acquisition under the constitution, it said in its judgment on Wednesday.
The commonwealth will need to pay half of Russia’s cost for the case.
In 2023, Australia quickly passed laws to cancel Russia’s lease on a plot of land where it planned to build an embassy a few hundred metres from Parliament House.
Russia rejected the cancellation of the 99-year lease, which was granted by the Australian government in 2008, as hostile action amounting to “Russophobic hysteria”.
Penry Buckley
Minns: staff may not have been notified about neo-Nazi rally ‘because it was on the weekend’
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says staff in his office may not have been notified in advance about Saturday’s neo-Nazi rally outside parliament “because it was on the weekend”.
The NSW speaker, Greg Piper, has revealed his staff were told about the rally by parliamentary security. The NSW police deputy commissioner Peter Thurtell has apologised after admitting he knew in advance about the event, which was approved by local police command, and the Sydney Morning Herald has revealed intelligence officers also knew.
The premier, the NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, and the NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, have all said they did not find out about the rally until after it happened.
Asked today why his staff were not notified by parliamentary security, whose procedure is reportedly to warn all MPs about protests outside parliament, Minns said:
If I were to speculate, I would suggest it was because it was on the weekend. The truth of the matter is, people work on the weekend and people come into the office on the weekend. So a glaring oversight. It’s a reason, not an excuse, and one that we need to fix as soon as possible.
On Monday, Minns told reporters a review into the rally would look into communication between police and the premier’s office, saying he didn’t know if an “errant email” may have referenced the rally before it happened.
Children could face life sentences for serious offences under Victorian government ‘adult time’ plan
Children as young as 14 who commit “serious crimes” will be sentenced as adults under a Victorian government plan to combat youth crime, AAP reports.
The state government said on Wednesday that it will adopt an “adult time for violent crime” laws similar to those in Queensland, which implemented the tough approach in 2024.
Children as young as 14 could be tried in adult courts, and possibly face life sentences under the proposed changes to be announced by the premier on Wednesday.
“We’re introducing Adult Time for Violent Crime,” the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, announced in a social media post.
Read more here:
Former independent MP’s son details threats to their family during election campaign to parliamentary inquiry
Krishani Dhanji
Former independent MP Zoe Daniel’s son says his family faced threatening and abusive behaviour during the 2025 election campaign, and took aim at the Goldstein MP and the Liberal party for not publicly condemning the threats.
Arkin Daniel-Reid spoke to the parliamentary inquiry into the 2025 election and said his mum “didn’t want me to speak today” but that he couldn’t “stay silent”.
Evidence given to an inquiry is bound by parliamentary privilege.
Daniel-Reid, in a statement to the committee, described being “tailgated” and “high-beamed” by a car when he was driving in a vehicle with Zoe Daniel campaign stickers. He also said their family vehicle was “doxed”.
I was driving my car dressed in Zoe campaign stickers along the Nepean highway, I was then tailgated and high beamed … I changed lanes and tried to distance myself but was met with the same driver laughing and pointing at me in my rear-view mirror as if it was normal.
After (Daniel) was followed, abused, threatened and spat on, the straw that broke the camels’ back for me was the doxing of our family car. Someone took a photo of our car inside the located electorate office car park with the numberplate left unblurred, posting it to a Facebook page. My sister is often driven to school in that car and it had become the target of some sort.
Daniel-Reed said neither the Liberal party nor Tim Wilson “condemned” the doxing of the car.
A statement from the Liberal party on behalf of Tim Wilson (said) for my mum to apologise for using this very serious issue for political gain, with no public condemnation.
Penry Buckley
Minns government passes planning laws overhauling approvals amid environmental concerns
The NSW government has passed its landmark overhaul of planning laws, amid concerns the laws will apply to mining and power projects.
The bill, which passed the upper house yesterday, includes an overhaul of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (EPA) Act, and establishes a Development Coordination Authority, which the government has described as “a single front door” for advice on major developments across government agencies.
But the legislation, which will amend the EPA to include “housing delivery, climate resilience and proportionality” in its objects and remove regional planning panels, has drawn the concern of climate advocates and a failed amendment by the Greens, amid fears it could allow new mines to be fast-tracked.
As Guardian Australia NSW state correspondent Anne Davies has reported, Minns told a mining summit last month the laws would make a “huge difference” when it came to mineral exploration, although he told Guardian Australia new projects would still be subject to full environmental assessment under the changes.
In a statement today, Minns said:
The Bill’s passage represents a major step forward for NSW housing and planning reform.
For too long, NSW has been held back by a system that was slow, complex and out of step with the necessity to deliver more homes for those who need them.
Qantas flight returns to Adelaide after passengers smell smoke in the cabin
A Qantas flight from Adelaide to Canberra diverted back to its departure point this morning after pilots reported a technical issue onboard and crew saw smoke in the flight deck. The airline said in a statement the plane landed safely shortly after takeoff, and engineers would be checking the aircraft later today.
“Our pilots are highly trained to handle situations like this and the aircraft landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted,” a Qantas spokesperson said in a statement.
Leah Blyth, a senator for South Australia, was on board the plane en route to Canberra for the Coalition’s net zero policy meeting. She spoke about the experience to FiveAA this morning:
Look, it wasn’t scary, it was unusual. Obviously we fly a fair bit … but I’ve never had a cabin sort of fill with smoke quite like that before. So that was certainly unusual.
MP Tony Pasin and senator Andrew McLachlan were also on the flight.
Blyth described the smoke as smelling “electrical”, but praised the airline’s staff for their handling of the incident:
Hats off to Qantas staff who were calm, cool and collected and they got us safely back on the ground with no incident.
It’s never nice being up in the air and smelling, sensing smoke.
All passengers are on a new aircraft that departed about half an hour ago.
NSW confirms state funeral for John Laws next week
The family of broadcaster John Laws has accepted an offer for a state funeral in New South Wales, the premier said this morning. Laws, a titan of talkback radio, died at home on Sunday. He was 90.
The funeral will be held on 19 November at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney.
Premier Chris Minns said in a statement:
On behalf of the NSW Government, I extend my deepest condolences to John’s family, friends, colleagues, and all who listened, learned and were challenged by him.
His legacy lies not only in the thousands of hours on air, but in the connection he forged with millions of Australians.
Tom McIlroy
Climate 200 relaunches fund for community groups supporting independent candidates
Ahead of today’s meeting of Liberal MPs on the hot-button issue of net zero by 2050 emissions policies, campaign outfit Climate 200 has relaunched its fund for community groups looking to support climate-friendly independent candidates.
The Community Accelerator Fund is designed to raise and distribute more than $1m for community groups working ahead of the next federal election. Groups who did well at this year’s federal election but fell short against major party candidates, could again receive early-stage funding from Climate 200.
Climate 200’s post-election review found early funding was critical to success for local groups around the country, and that the sooner groups got to work, the more likely they would be successful. The moves come as some Liberal branches undertake early preselection and after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told Labor officials to move quickly to lock in candidates, giving them the best chance to build name recognition in key seats.
Climate 200’s money can go to recruitment of community organisers, placement of candidate recruitment ads, local events, volunteer training, and communications campaigns.
“As the Liberal party tears itself apart over net zero, community groups are getting on with the job of real leadership, working to get the political leaders they deserve,” co-convener Kate Hook said.
