George Calombaris, the restaurateur and MasterChef TV star, has hit out at the Federal Government’s Fair Work Act, claiming that public holiday and weekend penalty rates could scupper his new venture.
Speaking to The Power Index, Calombaris said that waiters at his new Melbourne eatery Mam Baba are paid “$40 an hour on Sundays… and it’s not like they’ve had to go to uni for 15 years”.
“It’s really difficult to stay open and we only do it because of tourism, but the reality is it’s uneconomical. So our labour laws are something that need to be looked at and we keep talking about it.”
Gina Reinhart plans dynasty handover: Report
Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest individual, is grooming her youngest child to take over her entire $10 billion dynasty, according to reports.
The Australian says that 25-year-old Ginia Rinehart is favoured by the mining magnate due to the fact her three siblings are battling their mother in the NSW Supreme Court in an attempt to remove her as the head of a family trust.
France and Germany look to speed up debt deal
The leaders of France and Germany have pledged to speed up measures to ease the eurozone debt crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that an agreement to stricter budgetary controls were “progressing well”, despite the refusal of the UK to back the plan.
Overnight
The Australian dollar was up slightly, to 102.32 US cents.
