ST PATRICK’S COLLEGE
Qantas going to court in bid to stop former executive’s move to Virgin
ST Patrick’s College Townsville is Inspire’s School of the Week.
From robotics to rock bands, workouts to wearable art and contemporary dance to community service, the college empowers girls to be curious, visionary, confident and imaginative.
Students learn to challenge the status quo and believe in their ability to make a difference in the world.
The college’s academic and extra-curricular programs teach students to develop critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills.
The college is proud of its Mercy traditions and places great importance on service and social justice through its Mission and Mercy Girls in Action programs.
The college will hold its annual Twilight Open Evening on St Patrick’s Day, Wednesday, March 17. Families will be able to explore the oceanfront campus, meet the expert teaching team and experience the difference.
EVERY day, Bowen support workers are fielding multiple inquiries from people staring down the barrel of homelessness.
Without enough housing stock to move them into, putting roofs over their heads has become a major challenge and one that has prompted a call for a refuge to be set up in the Whitsunday town.
Bowen Neighbourhood Centre co-ordinator Stephanie Cora said homelessness was an issue staff were dealing with daily, fielding about three inquiries about housing a day.
According to Mrs Cora, there has been a “huge increase” in people facing homelessness over the past six months.
Mrs Cora said the neighbourhood centre was an information referral service, not a homeless shelter, but there was not enough housing stock to provide for people needing roofs over their heads.
“Since COVID, people are just not moving,” she said.
“We do not have that transition of people coming and going.”
Mrs Cora said families and singles were the key demographic needing help daily, and locals were not the ones generally requiring assistance.
She believed people were coming into town after hearing about work opportunities around Bowen but then hit a significant hurdle when trying to find accommodation.
“They think we have got a refuge here or that we own (housing) stock,” Mrs Cora said. “There are no refuges or homelessness shelters so we are accessing other shelters in Queensland.”
Mrs Cora said singles could be given tents, but with the recent rain it had been difficult for them to be used.
“We need a refuge, would be great,” Mrs said. that Cora
“It is just somewhere that is available and they are getting that support.
“It would give them that stability to just get settled.”
A Department of Housing and Public Works spokesman said the Queensland government was pursuing initiatives to boost the number of affordable and social housing options across the state.
“Through the Housing Construction Jobs Program, the Queensland government is building more than 5500 social and affordable homes across the state between 2017 and 2027,” he said.
“This includes 60 new homes in the central Queensland region by next year.
“The local investment of $35.5m will not only provide homes for Queenslanders in need, it will support 20 fulltime jobs per year on construction sites.”
The spokesman said under the Unite and Recover for Queensland Jobs strategy, the Works For Tradies initiative was launched in June.
Through this, construction will begin on 215 new homes by year’s end and 20 of those will be in the Mackay/whitsunday region.
“The Queensland government takes a person-centred approach to housing need and provides a suite of products to assist Queenslanders to access sustainable housing,” the spokesman said.
He said social housing was one solution and the government could also help with bond loans, rental grants and head-leasing services to support Queenslanders facing housing stress.
“In the 2020-21 financial year to December 31, 2020, the Mackay Housing Service Centre provided 237 bond loans and 92 rental grants to help people secure a rental home in the region,” the spokesman said.
Mrs Cora said support services around Bowen were banding together to tackle the homelessness issue and doing everything they could to help.
“The one thing we have got is good support agencies that go above and beyond,” she said.
“And luckily the Neighbourhood Centre has a dream team.”
THE market started the week on a positive note, with materials stocks the big winners.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 0.43 per cent to 6739.6, while the All Ordinaries Index added 0.41 per cent to 6971.6.
Openmarkets Group chief executive Ivan Tchourilov said a strong lead from the US set the tone but the ASX gave back about half its earlier gains.
Rio Tinto advanced 2.92 per cent to $121.11, BHP rose 2.38 per cent to $49.38 and Fortescue Metals Group lifted 0.5 per cent to $22.21.
Energy stocks rose after Brent crude broke $US70 a barrel following an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.
Beach Energy gained 4.12 per cent to $1.77, Woodside Petroleum firmed 0.79 per cent to $25.66, Origin Energy found 1.78 per cent to $4.57 and Oil Search strengthened 3.39 per cent to $4.57.
Santos bucked the trend, falling 2.71 per cent to $7.55, after announcing Chinese energy group ENN had sold a 5.14 per cent interest in the oil and gas producer at $7.33 a share.
Woolworths put on 0.54 per cent to $39.16 but Coles was unchanged at $15.50. A strong performer was Treasury Wine Estates, up 6.4 per cent at $10.97. Afterpay fell 3.64 per cent to $111.20.
QANTAS is going to court to try to stop a former executive from starting a job at rival Virgin Australia until September.
Former Jetstar Japan chief executive Nick Rohrlach was recently named as Virgin’s new Velocity CEO, with a May commencement date.
Qantas’s concern about his career change stemmed from the fact he was in line for a senior role at Qantas’s own frequent-flyer business, and was privy to sensitive information. This included details of future expansion plans for Qantas Loyalty, its strategy towards competitors and detail on commercial terms with program partners.
The legal action in the NSW Supreme Court aimed to force Mr Rohrlach to honour a non-compete restraint period of six months, on top of three months notice.
A Qantas spokesman said it was unfortunate to have to take the matter to court but it appeared Mr Rohrlach and Virgin would “have to be forced to do the right thing”.
“Virgin’s behaviour on this matter is disappointing at best and unscrupulous at worst,” the spokesman said. “Virgin chose to recruit a senior Qantas Group executive knowing that he would almost certainly be subject to a necessarily long wait before starting with them.
“If they weren’t aware beforehand, Virgin now knows that his contract requires a sixmonth wait, that Mr Rohrlach had accepted a senior role in Qantas Loyalty and had received highly sensitive information in preparation for starting that role.”
The spokesman said it was “an inglorious sequence of events to formally accept a new job and as part of the preparation for it, receive highly sensitive and confidential information, then turn around just a few weeks later and take a job with a direct competitor where that information would give you a clear advantage”.
“At no point after negotiations between Mr Rohrlach and Virgin began, and right up until he informed Qantas of his new role at Velocity, was it suggested that the flow of information from Qantas should cease,” the spokesman said. A directions hearing was set down in the NSW Supreme Court for Tuesday, with the matter of jurisdiction expected to dominate proceedings.
It is understood that because Mr Rohrlach signed his employment contract with
Virgin Australia in Singapore, the airline wants the matter to be heard there.
A Virgin spokeswoman said the airline was disappointed with Qantas’s public criticism of the matter, and categorically denied it had been “anything but proper and appropriate in Mr Rohrlach’s recruitment”.
“We are confident our position will be vindicated in court,” the spokeswoman said.
The position of Velocity CEO has been vacant for more than a year.