The World Today
Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida
ABC Listen, podcasts, radio, news, music and more. Hello and welcome to the world today. It is Thursday, the 10th of October. I'm Sally Sarah, coming to you from Nunnawal Country in Canberra and acknowledging other custodians. (upbeat music) Today, Big Box retailers are Senate inquiry to investigate the market dominance of retail giants such as Bunnings and IKEA and connecting with the past, members of the stolen generations access a digital archive with thousands of photographs, home movies and family trees. I'm really excited about finally getting some answers. Even though it's late in life, I'm happy for those answers to come to me for sure. (upbeat music) The US President Joe Biden has described it as the storm of the century. Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida. Milton remained a category five storm, the highest level, with maximum wind speeds of 260 kilometers per hour as of Wednesday morning, Florida time. It has now been downgraded to a category three but has grown in size and spawned at least nine tornadoes. Sarah Monda filed this report. (dramatic music) As wild winds and rain lashed Florida's west coast, Christian Burke and his mum Patti are staying in their home despite the evacuation orders. Their house is designed to withstand category five storms and they're feeling confident they'll be safe. - Probably a few days without power and they'll turn it back on. I don't recommend this to anybody, not a soul, but we're gonna be fine. - Ahead of the storm's arrival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents not to be complacent. - There will be, you see it already developing and there's gonna continue to be storm surge, both on the west coast and eventually on the east coast of Florida. And we're gonna see a significant amount of rainfall on the northern part of the storm. There's already been 116 tornado warnings with 19 confirmed touchdowns throughout the state, nine flash flood warnings and four additional flood watches with many, many more to come. - Governor DeSantis says search and rescue personnel are standing by. - And we hope that there's not a big need for that, but we're prepared for that. And that's not just our state and local. It's also our national guard, our state guard. We have about 9,000 national guard personnel between Florida and other states. - In the days leading up to Hurricane Milton making landfall, numerous government and whether officials pleaded with residents in low lying areas to evacuate. Florida's west coast is home to about 3 million people, but Governor DeSantis says it's now too late to leave. - Now at this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely. So you have to shelter in place and just hunker down. - Dan Whitaker is a storm chaser and photojournalist who is on the ground in Sarasota trying to capture the event. - Where we're in an extreme wind warning currently as this hurricane makes landfall. It is very windy and it is just starting to really do, I think the effects that we're gonna be noticing from the wind here. - He says parts of the area have lost power and there are still a few people remaining in the city. - It's kind of a ghost town. Honestly, it would be better to see it more of a ghost town. I'm in an area where it was predicted to potentially go up to 10 to 15 feet of storm surge and the hotel that I booked and I'm expecting to kind of leave is full. And so are all the other hotels right here on the water. - Just a few weeks ago, Hurricane Helene caused widespread damage in Florida. Al Archer is the owner and chief meteorologist of the Continental Weather Corporation in Tampa. He says it's hard to know how climate change is fueling the hurricane events. On years where you have an above normal number of hurricanes or maybe a few strong ones like this year has been, it's easy to attribute it to climate change. Next year could be a quiet year. And then all of a sudden it's not talked about anymore. - Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has accused Donald Trump of being responsible for what he's called an onslaught of lies over his government's response to Hurricane Helene and Milton. Speaking from the White House, Mr. Biden has warned that the irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation is undermining confidence in the preparations for Milton. - They're saying people impacted by these storms will receive $750 in cash and no more. That's simply not true. They're saying the money is needed for this crisis is being diverted to migrants. What a ridiculous thing to say, it's not true. - Milton is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which started on June 1. Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921. - It's Sarah Monda reporting with the giant warehouses, vast inventories and loyalty programs, the so-called big box retailers such as IKEA and Bunnings are dominant players in the retail landscape. But have they become too powerful? Some independent retailers say they're struggling to compete against the corporate giants. The Senate inquiry is set to investigate as part of a broader push to ensure Australians are getting value. It comes as Treasurer Jim Chalmers today announced new legislation to overhaul the country's merger rules. Business reporter Amelia Turzon has been looking at the issue. Amelia, good afternoon. Tell us what big box retailers are and how they operate. - If you go shopping for power tools on the weekend, you're probably going into a big box retailer. Generally, people think of them as brands such as Bunnings, big format stores where you go in and there's specialty products. Other examples could include retailers like IKEA. You've got pet retailers now dominating big box retailer, pet stock and pet barner to major companies in this space. Now, as these companies have been growing their power in all sorts of industries, there have been concerns that they are getting too much market power. In fact, early this year, in a Senate inquiry, we heard allegations from plant suppliers to Bunnings that they had been forcing them into contracts that were pushing their businesses into the dirt. Now, these concerns have prompted another inquiry now that will specifically look into these large format big box retailers, whether they have too much market power, whether they're abusing their relationships with their suppliers. - Amelia, you've spoken with some independent retailers. What do they have to say? - That's correct. I've been speaking to small retailers in the pet retail space and in hardware. Pet retailers are especially interesting because as I mentioned, we have these two major players now, pet stock and pet barn, pet stocks actually owned by Woolworths and pet barn is owned by a US equity company and between them, they have almost half of the market now. This has been concerning small retailers. Here is a pet store owner talking about just how hard it is to compete with their prices these days. - They're buying it cheaper than I am. It's harder to compete with the bigger guys. - You're selling it for $87.99. Pet barn can do it $25 cheaper. - Yes. - Why? - They can do food at a much cheaper price. I think it comes to purchasing power that the big guys have, which is the bi-pilot loads of stuff and I only buy what I can top up. - That's Namantaka there who's a small independent retailer. And Amelia, as this Senate inquiry gets underway, we've had further announcements from the government regarding its legislation to combat this lack of competition. What are they proposing? - So early this year, we had the powers of the ACCC to intervene in mergers that might be problematic for competition. We've had those powers increased. And just today, we've had the Treasurer and the Chair of the ACCC speak about how they will now be introduced to Parliament. Those powers were introduced actually after concerns were raised by the ACCC about acquisitions in the pet retail space, in fact, specifically about pet stock gobbling up too many small retailers. He is the Treasurer speaking this morning. - Too many potentially damaging mergers slipping through the cracks. And unfortunately, the regime as it exists and the reason why we need to make these important changes is that currently it takes too long and it's not comprehensive enough and we want to address both of those things. - That's the federal Treasury Jim Chalmers then, before him, our reporter Amelia Terzon. Well, a warning that this next story might be distressing for some listeners. A survivor of shocking sexual abuse at a Melbourne primary school has received what his lawyer says is the biggest publicly known payment to a survivor in Australia. The man who can't be named for legal reasons will receive an $8 million settlement from the Victorian Education Department. It was among a generation of students who suffered abuse in the 1960s and 70s at Beaumorous Primary School in Bayside, Melbourne. David Escort reports. - Throughout his fight for justice, this victim of childhood sexual abuse clung to his faith for motivation. We have voiced his comments to protect his identity. - I wouldn't still be here were it not for finding my faith. And that's not for everyone either. But I had to become a Christian to even have a remote chance of surviving and finding a better way of life. - He wants to speak out about his $8 million settlement announced today to inspire hope among other survivors who have lost faith in the legal system. - That's the main thing I'd want to get across to other survivors. Trust your lawyer and get what you deserve. Not what the government wants to give you. For me personally, an apology was never going to give me any closure. I was offered twice and said no. - The man was sexually abused by notorious pedophile Darryl Ray in the 1960s and 70s at Beaumorous Primary School in Bayside, Melbourne. Darryl Ray died in November last year while awaiting trial on 26 counts of indecent assault. The victim's lawyer, Michael Magazanik from Right Side Legal, says his client fought hard to hold the government to account. - This is a very dark chapter in Victorian history. There were multiple pedophiles at that primary school and by Morris. The kids were left at the mercy of those pedophiles. The people in charge turned a blind eye. None of this need ever have happened. - He says his client has been living with the consequences of the abuse for most of his life. He's fought through a long criminal process with his abuser, Darryl Ray. He fought through a pretty hopeless civil claim against the government in the early 2000s when the laws were stacked against him. And because he's tough and he's got grit and endurance, he's come back to it now that there's a level playing field because of law reform and he's managed to hold the government to account and get proper compensation for what he went through. - Last year, pedophile teachers were the focus of the Victorian government's board of inquiry into sexual abuse of school children across dozens of state schools. It revealed decades of failures and a culture that prioritized the reputation of the education system over the safety of children. In response to the inquiry, the government announced a $48 million truth-telling process, acknowledging the state's serious and systemic failure to protect children. Announcing the response at the time, Victorian education minister Ben Carroll said victim survivors will get the chance to share their experiences. - Many of you will be aware above and beyond by Morris and the cluster of schools involved. This is a statewide, system-wide matter where many victim survivors have also come forward. This truth-telling process will be an opportunity for us to acknowledge and put on the public record what other victim survivors have been through. - Michael Magazanik thinks it's a good step, but the government's words must be met with action. I think all of these sort of steps are important. And so I do think governments saying and doing the right thing helps. Now, of course, deeds often don't match words. In this case, my client had to fight effectively up to the door of a Supreme Court trial to get proper compensation. - Victim survivor advocate Helen Last has worked with survivors of sexual abuse for decades. She says the government should think about the impact of what she calls moral abuse when a victim loses faith in institutions because they were let down by one. - We certainly see it as very, very serious. If you lose faith in an institution, what else are you going to hang onto to keep yourself steady and to be able to look at what you need to do as an adult? - The government's truth-telling process will be open to survivors of sexual abuse at all government schools and is expected to conclude in 2026. As David Escort reporting, and if you have experienced childhood trauma or abuse, you can call the Blue Knot Helpline and redress support service on 1-300-657-3800. (upbeat music) On ABC radio across Australia, streaming online, and also on the ABC, listen out, this is the world today. What is the role of a police officer? That's the question being asked by officers this week in New South Wales. Almost 2,000 police officers in parts of the state are refusing to perform what they describe as non-core policing duties. They say they've been spread thin on irrelevant jobs such as helping out when an animal wanders onto a trained platform, Luke Radford reports. - The mission statement of the New South Wales Police Force is to work with the community to reduce violence, crime, and fear. But officers say today it's a struggle to meet the objective due to a surge in extra work. Kevin Morton is the president of the New South Wales Police Association. - We're at a staffing issue at the moment where our members are genuinely concerned that the frontline and the genuine cause for assistance are being delayed by the impact of non-police jobs that our members are attending. - It's part of a growing body of what police refer to as non-core police work. Tasks that can be done by other bodies, but instead fall to the police. These include things like tracking down school truants, completing welfare checks, and even wrangling livestock. Kevin Morton says they're also being forced to send increasingly large numbers of police to protests. - It's put a huge drain on our resources, those religious protests. Now, we're not saying that we want to tend those religious protests. What we're saying is the operational shifts that we're using to man those protests, we now want them paid at user pays or canceled rest days. - New South Wales Premier Chris Mins has announced a review into the resources used to manage protesters, but the New South Wales Police Association says that's not enough. So this week, police have undertaken a protest of their own by refusing to do non-core police work in parts of the state. Kevin Morton explains what happened at one of the first stations to take part at Campbelltown in Western Sydney. - They took in 20 calls to the station and 10 more via triple O that were asking for a police response. When you look at those 30 jobs that they got, we triaged those, they risked access to making sure that no member of the community was put at risk, and we were able to re-divert those back to the local council for an animal complaint. - It's not just New South Wales where the police are stretched. Dr Jacqueline Drew is an associate professor at the Griffith Criminology Institute and an expert in police mental health and burnout. - Policing services across the world run significant distress at the moment in terms of relentless workload. Here in Australia, US, Canada, the UK, they're the recruitment and retention crisis. So this has led to star shortages in police agencies and of course then the officers that remain within those agencies need to cover the work. - In Australia, she says nearly 80% of police are already suffering some degree of medium to high level burnout. Without an effort to reduce the rate of burnout, Dr Drew argues there will be serious long-term impacts. - When we think about burnout, often we think about the physical fatigue, but burnout is more than that. Also the cognitive and emotional impact of work. And if we think about the type of work that policing is, it has all three elements in quite large amounts. You know, the relentless workload and the type of work police do has both a cognitive as the complexity of policing increases and the emotional impact of that work. - The New South Wales Police Association says the protest action is expected to continue throughout the week. - Let's look, Radford, reporting there. An investigation into a fatal helicopter crash in Far North Queensland has found that the pilot took an unauthorized and unnecessary flight while being affected by alcohol. The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau has handed down its final report into the August crash at a waterfront Cairns Hotel that resulted in the death of the 23-year-old pilot and left two hotel guests with minor injuries. Our reporter Elizabeth Cramssey has been following the story. Do we know any more about the pilot? - Sally, we know that 23-year-old New Zealand national Blake Wilson had been socializing with friends at various venues before heading to the Cairport and using a security pass to access the helicopter. He'd been working as a ground crew employee for Nautilus Aviation for about four months before the accident. While he did hold a commercial license in New Zealand, he wasn't authorized to fly his employer's aircraft. Nor did he have the appropriate endorsements to fly at night. He also didn't have any experience flying at night. And on the day of the accident, he was actually due to travel to Horn Island to start a new role driving a fuel truck and refueling aircraft. - What do we know about this flight? - So on the 12th of August, in the early hours of the morning, after what was an informal send-off party for Mr. Wilson, he made his way to a vehicle just after 1 a.m. and drove to the Cairport, where he used a security pass to gain access to the helicopter around half past one. Now the R44 was flown towards the Cairns CBD. It actually orbited over the apartment where he lived before heading towards the Cairns Marina and continuing along the coastline. The flight was quick. It only lasted around four minutes. Air safety regulations do require that pilots flying above a city or a town to remain at least 1,000 feet above the highest feature. But the investigation has found that Mr. Wilson's flight didn't ever exceed an altitude of 500 feet. So about 70 seconds before the crash, the chopper flew over the pilot's apartment building a second time before heading back to the coastline where it pitched up and descended steeply almost immediately before crashing into the hotel roof around 151. Now investigators still haven't been able to determine what the reason was for Mr. Wilson taking off in the first place. - Elizabeth, are there any recommendations from this Australian Transport Safety Bureau report? - There were no recommendations made in the report and these investigations from the ATSB aren't about taking administrative or regulatory action. But here's what the ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell had to say a little earlier. - The ATSB primarily investigates to identify industry systemic safety issues and to then influence the adoption of targeted actions to reduce future risk. As such, we are able to finalise this investigation. After determining it was unlikely that broader safety issues or lessons would be uncovered beyond what is published in this report. - That's Angus Mitchell, their Chief Commissioner at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and before him, Elizabeth Cramsie reporting. (upbeat music) For members of Australia's stolen generations, the process of reconnecting with their indigenous heritage is often a lifelong and very challenging process. But in South Australia's Riverland, a new digital archive is being launched to help make it a little bit easier. Community members say they hope the database, which includes thousands of photos, home movies and family trees, will help more Aboriginal people restore connections to their culture. Elise Armanini reports. - Naurin Jerrywoman, Aunty Deanna Zekicius from South Australia's Riverland is a survivor of the stolen generations, removed from her family as a child and sent to a white foster family. She's been on a lifelong mission to wind back the clock and reconnect with her culture and identity. - Aboriginal people are pretty deep and very emotional about their connection to country and to their families. That has been one of the biggest problems that Aboriginal people have been facing is growing up in a system that doesn't really accept them. - She's encountered many roadblocks but a new indigenous archiving project being likened to an ancestry.com for First Nations people has renewed the 72 year old's hopes of uncovering the full extent of her history. - It means a lot to me. I've been searching my whole life, trying to find who my grandparents were. All I've had in my life was my three sisters and we were separated for quite a while as well. So being on my own was pretty devastating to me. I didn't know where I was, who I belonged to and didn't know where I was going as well. - The Digital Archive, known as the Nauranjeri Keeping Place project, is being spearheaded by Anamatna and Bangladesh woman, Dr. Rebecca Richards. Australia's first indigenous road scholar, she grew up in the Riverland and now she's returning to the communities of her childhood to help preserve and explore the history of its Nauranjeri people. - As an anthropologist and researcher, I never thought maybe I couldn't come back but I'm happy, so happy that I can still contribute to my community here in the Riverland. - The platform enables Nauranjeri people to search a database of thousands of names. Uploaded photos, home movies and even digitally constructed family trees help them visually retrace their family history. - We're looking at using this keeping place software to create a Nauranjeri archive so that Nauranjeri people are able to record their own histories. So you wouldn't actually have to be reliant on someone like an anthropologist like myself but community members can be able to do it if we give them the tools and the things to be able to do that. Probably gonna go on for about a year or so and then hopefully we'll hand it over to community and they will be the ones who are responsible for administering the whole archive. - Auntie Deanna feels the project is overdue, experiencing firsthand the devastating impacts that disconnection from culture has had on her community. - I've been in my early 70s. It's taken my lifetime to find answers that could have been provided for me along the way. That could have made my life a little bit easier. A lot of people have been struggling through their lives and sometimes they don't even find the answers and that's the saddest thing about it. When I was working with the bringing them home counselors and reconnecting people to their families, there were ones we could not reconnect to their families and that was really sad. I'm really excited about finally getting some answers, even though it's late in life, I'm happy for those answers to come to me for sure. - That's knowing Jerry Woman, Auntie Deanna Zeckertis ending that report from Elise Armanini. And that's all from the World Today team. Thanks for your company. I'm Sally Sarah. - Hi, I'm Sam Hawley, host of the ABC News Daily podcast. He was a giant on the American music scene, but Sean Combs, or Diddy, is now facing charges that put him at the centre of what could be a much needed me-to-moment for the industry. Today, what we know about the case and whether it will change the global music scene. Look for the ABC News Daily podcast on the ABC Listen app. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (dramatic music)