Here is a look at what is making news around the country today.
Today’s national news includes Optus outage hitting businesses and the economy, mutton prices dropping by 75 per cent, Starbucks posting its first profit in Australia, and the driest October weather recorded since 2002.
Business
Mutton prices drop by 75 per cent
Australia’s sheep industry is in crisis, with prices near the lowest level in 16 years forcing some farmers in the country’s west to give their animals away for free to pet-food manufacturers, Yahoo Finance reported. Mutton prices have plunged 75 per cent over the past year. Sheep prices have also slumped, with older animals fetching an average of just $34 in October and some reports of animals selling for less than a dollar a head. El Niño is expected to bring drier and hotter conditions, increasing the number of animals sent for slaughter because of lack of pasture. Many abattoirs are now operating at capacity.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/australia-farmers-giving-sheep-away-210000020.html
Starbucks posts first profit in Australia
Starbucks has achieved its first profit in Australia since entering the market in 2000. Starbucks Australia posted a 35 per cent rise in revenues for the financial year to 31 June 2023 of $157.3 million. It made a profit of $3.15 million during the period following losses of $5.5 million in 2022, and $13.3 million in 2021, the World Coffee Portal has reported.
Technology
Optus outage hits businesses, economy
Hundreds of thousands of businesses were left without internet access and had daily trade disrupted as a result of the Optus outage. Millions of Australians were without mobile and NBN services after the nation’s second-largest telecommunications provider reported outages early on Wednesday. Optus said some services were “gradually being restored.” Australian Communications Consumer Action Network chief executive Andrew Williams said Optus customers should count their “losses” sustained because of the outage and seek their entitled compensation, news.com.au reported.
Weather
Driest October weather on record since 2002
Australia recorded the driest October in more than 20 years due to an El Nino weather pattern, which has seen hot, dry conditions. The Bureau of Meteorology said last month was Australia’s driest October since 2002, with rainfall 65 per cent below the 1961–1990 average. After three years of plentiful rain, the El Nino weather phenomenon has brought hot and dry weather to Australia, with September the driest since records began in 1900, Reuters has reported.
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