News: Qantas and its pilots fail to deal.

Qantas and Pilot’s union fail to agree on pay, conditions

Qantas has until midnight tonight to reach negotiation decisions with the three unions it is in dispute with but these negotiations have already fallen through between the airline and its pilots. It is as yet unknown what the decision will be between the Transport Worker’s Union (TWU) and the aircraft engineer’s union. In all cases, failure to reach a decision could mean further strikes, delays and cancellations. It is up to Qantas whether it agrees to a further 21 days of conciliation or accepts and abitrated decision from Fair Work Australia. Sources from within the unions said no new offers had been made by Qantas in five months and that it was not committed to the negotiations. To know more about the dispute itself, check out our cheat sheet here.

Where is Kerri-Anne Kennerly off to?

Rumours have been circulating all weekend that Channel 9 morning television host Kerri-Anne Kennerly will be ‘boned’. At least in the sense she will be moved on from Mornings with Kerri-Anne, the show she has hosted for decades. Kerri-Anne has been with Nine for 44 years. It was reported she would be replaced by Sonia Kruger, who’s coming to Nine to host Big Brother. But is it true? Channel Nine repeated the mantra it was just ‘rumour and speculation’. Kerri-Anne herself, when asked about the rumours, originally said: “I have heard nothing (about being replaced), but that’s to be expected. It’s a beautiful day outside and I’m off to play golf.” But now she’s confirmed them and said she believes all of the above to be correct and that she wishes Sonia Kruger all the best. As for her, who knows? “I’m a bit of a daytime girl … daytime and live TV is my thing but it wouldn’t hurt to do some other challenges.”

Princess Mary kicks off Aussie tour with GG

The Mary love continues. Crown Princess Mary and Prince Frederik have already been busy royals on their visit to Australia, judging a sculpture festival competition and meeting up with the Governor-General Quentin Bryce. Ms Bryce handed the couple soft toys which they gave to their twins, also in tow, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

Oh, and because you asked nicely, here’s the gallery again:

Meet the real illegal immigrants

The Herald Sun has looked at the biggest illegal immigration problem facing Australia (and it’s not asylum seekers). Visa overstayers are the biggest offenders when it comes to living in the lucky country without the proper processing. Freedom of Information documents show almost 60,000 people in Australia are here after overstaying their visa, 20,000 have been living here for decades. They come from all over but the biggest feeder countries are China, America, Britain and South Korea. There were 4700 asylum seekers who arrived by boat in Australia in 2010/11. It is not illegal to claim asylum in Australia.

Miley Cyrus stands up to weight bullies

Don’t mess with Miley, basically. The 18-year-old pop superstar had enough of weight taunts – people on Twitter calling her fat – so she tweeted back to a photo (left, inset) of an anorexic woman and said: “By calling girls like me fat, this is what you’re doing to other people. I love MYSELF & if you could say the same you wouldn’t be sitting on your computer trying to hurt others.” She later posted a picture of Marilyn Monroe and said: “Proof that you can be adored by thousands of men even when your thighs touch.” Miley 1, bullies zero.

Parents could be dobbed in if they refuse to treat their kid’s ADHD

Controversial draft guidelines drawn up by an expert working group for the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has advised parents could be referred to child protection authorities if they fail to act and treat a child’s diagnosed Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder (ADHD) ‘as with any medical intervention’. It also states that not all children with ADHD would benefit from ‘pharmacological treatment’.

Here’s Mia discussing that and more on the Today Show’s ‘What’s Making News’ segment this morning:

Investigations continue into horror nursing home fire

As details of the deadly blaze are slowly revealed, the nurse who spoke of his ‘heroic’ actions to save the elderly in the fire has been arrested as the possibly arsonist behind it. The fire was started early last Friday morning, killing six patients and injuring many more. There are currently still 29 in hospitals across Sydney (though not all with injuries relating to the fire). The nurse who allegedly lit the fire, Roger Dean, has been charged with four counts of murder so far. Investigations will now focus around staff checks at the home (the management body says Mr Dean passed all relevant checks when he started).

Bullied kids’ parents need to back off

Kids need to fight their own battles when it comes to bullying, says US human behaviour expert Dr Demartini. “A kid who is bullied is a by-product of over-support,” he said. “If you have an over-protective mummy or daddy and over-protective everything and you think that everything has to be nice you are guaranteed to be attracting a bully. You have to teach the child the truth. If you teach them a fantasy world where we are all meant to be nice and get along, they will not appreciate how life really is.” He advocated fighting back – literally – if violence was used because it would circuit break the bullying.