Good morning and welcome to the Morning Buzz for Wednesday, June 28. Get ready for a foggy morning which will be followed by a sunny day, with expected highs of about 18 degrees. Enjoy your day!
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Netflix slugs Aussies with price rise alongside GST tax hike
Australians will pay up to 20 per cent more for Netflix as the streaming video giant rolls out a price rise alongside the introduction of the GST "Netflix tax".
Australia's "eBay tax" GST charges — applying to online physical goods purchased from overseas — might have been delayed 12 months, but the "Netflix tax" kicks in on July 1. It applies 10 per cent GST to digital content such as online video, games, apps and e-books.
Netflix is also taking the opportunity to slip a price rise in with the tax hike, slugging Australians with their first increase since the streaming service launched locally in 2015. Read more.
Cost of new metro line from Sydney CBD to Parramatta set to top $12.5 billion
The cost of a new metro rail line running mostly through tunnels between Sydney's CBD and Parramatta is set to exceed the $12.5 billion price of the railway soon to be built under Sydney harbour.
While insisting it was too early to put a figure on the cost of the proposed CBD-Parramatta line, Transport Minister Andrew Constance said it would be a "much bigger project" than the second stage of the government's current metro rail project. Read more.
Training organisation 'took advantage of' 5000 vulnerable students
A failed education company, that left more than 5000 students without the qualifications they paid for, engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, unfair contract terms and unconscionable conduct, the Federal Court has found.
Get Qualified Australia (GQA) was an education consultant that assisted job seekers in obtaining Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) qualifications in industries such as beauty, construction and business.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission instituted legal proceedings against GQA in September last year, after successfully bringing a freezing order against the company in response to a large number of consumer complaints. Read more.
Australia hits 'tipping point' as Melbourne is set to overtake Sydney
Melbourne is set to overtake Sydney as Australia's most populous city; for the first time in history the majority of us born overseas are from Asia not Europe; and there has been a 40 per cent surge in the number of people declaring themselves in a same-sex relationship.
That is the verdict of the 2016 census, released by Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, which found Australia's population has grown by 8.8 per cent to 24.4 million people since the last time the national clock was measured in 2011. Read more.
A teenager has been arrested after a police pursuit in Lansvale on Wednesday morning where the vehicle allegedly failed to stop and crashed into a wall.
About 3am on Wednesday, officers from Cabramatta Local Area Command attempted to pull over a Toyota Kluger on the Hume Highway after checks revealed it was stolen. Read more.
Milestone passed as Australia becomes more Asian than European
Second-generation Australians will soon be in a minority.
The census shows Australia reached a "tipping point" in 2016 where only slightly more than half its residents had two Australian-born parents.
The long-term low of 50.7 per cent is a step down from 54 per cent in 2011 and 57 per cent in 2006.
More than a quarter of Australia's population was born overseas in 2016 (26.3 per cent, up from 24.6 per cent) and for the first time since European settlement most of the overseas-born came from Asia rather than Europe. Read more.
Kogarah RSL Club’s transformation begins
Demolition of the Kogarah RSL Club started on Tuesday to make way for construction of the 220-apartment Veridian project.
More than 95 per cent of the apartments have been sold before work commences on the $83 million project.
When completed the two-tower, 12-storey development will include a 2000sqm home for the Kogarah RSL Club. Read more.
Hawkesbury man charged with 25 offences around western Sydney
A man who allegedly eluded five different police commands has been charged with a string of offences.
Matthew Lumsden, 28, was arrested by riot squad officers at a home on Tabali Street, Whalan, at 10.45pm on Sunday.
His arrest followed a joint inquiry between police from Hawkesbury, Blacktown, Mount Druitt, The Hills and Quakers Hill commands, who were investigating reports of property offences, traffic offences, police pursuits and fraud. Read more.
Prospect Highway 'missing link': planning complete but no funding to start work
It’s a major access road to one of Sydney’s fastest growing areas, yet Prospect Highway will remain a bottleneck for at least another year.
The ‘missing link’ between St Martins Village and Homemaker Prospect goes down to one lane in each direction at points, driving commuters to frustration.
Previous state budgets have allocated millions to planning and yet, despite Roads and Maritime Services completing a detailed concept design, this year the NSW government will spend just $250,000 on minor preliminary work. Read more.
2017 Miles Franklin shortlisted author Mark O'Flynn
The Last Days of Ava Langdon by Leura’s Mark O’Flynn has made the coveted Miles Franklin shortlisting.
The Leura author is one of five writers now battling it out for Australia's most important literary prize valued at $60,000. Read more.
Ben Rohrer takes up role with Cricket Tasmania
As Cricket Tasmania’s new state talent manager, Ben Rohrer will be in charge of identifying the best young cricket talent across the Apple Isle.
He could do worse than recruit 11 Ben Rohrers.
The 36-year-old has been a pillar of strength for the Fairfield Liverpool Lions since he started playing Green Shield for the club as a 15-year-old. Read more.
Brothers to line up for Western Sydney Wanderers as both sign for A-League side
Experienced Wanderers star Kearyn Baccus is welcoming the new competition for his spot in the Western Sydney Wanderers squad.
That’s mostly because it is coming from his younger brother Keanu, 18, who signed his first A-League contract with the club last month.
It’s been a long time coming for the Kings Park brothers with Kearyn, 25, a three season, 42-game veteran for the club, and Keanu being involved in the Wanderers Academy for the past two seasons. Read more.
Connor Watson set to leave Roosters to sign with Wests Tigers
Sydney Roosters are set to lose their utility player Connor Watson to a rival NRL club despite having a year left on his contract.
The 21-year-old rising star is set to join the Wests Tigers on a deal worth around $500,000 a season from 2018 according to a report on Channel Seven News.
Watson, who was named most valuable player at the Auckland Nines in February, has struggled for game time at the Roosters, unable to crack a regular spot in the team's starting roster with only two starts among his 11 appearances. Read more.
Dragons hooker McInnes has no point to prove against Nathan Peats
St George Illawarra hooker Cameron McInnes has dismissed the prospect of launching a personal duel with NSW and Gold Coast rival Nathan Peats on Friday.
McInnes was discussed a potential Blues bolter after an outstanding start to the Dragons' NRL campaign.
Peats was outstanding in his State of Origin debut, after taking over from Robbie Farah. Read more.
