Sam Burgess has been charged with intimidation relating to a domestic dispute in Bowral, & more in News in 5.

-With AAP.

1. Sam Burgess has been charged with intimidation relating to a domestic dispute in Bowral.

Sam Burgess’ has been charged over a domestic dispute at a home in Bowral south of Sydney.

“About 4pm on Saturday 19 October 2019, police were called to an address at Glenquarry, east of Bowral, in relation to a domestic dispute,” police said in a statement.

“Police from The Hume Police District attended and an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order was applied for on behalf of a 63-year-old man.

Burgess was charged with the offence of intimidation and will face court in mid December.

The rugby league player’s career has come to a premature end because of ongoing injuries.

#BREAKING: Sam Burgess’ rugby league career has come to a premature end with South Sydney set to medically retire the Rabbitohs hard man because of ongoing injuries.https://t.co/c6RnJKqgoW

— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) October 30, 2019

Burgess confirmed on Wednesday he’d succumbed to a left shoulder injury.

“This decision was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my life, however the decision was out of my hands essentially,” Burgess said.

“I am no longer able to be myself day-in, day-out on the training field and consequently the playing field.

“I have loved absolutely every minute: the highs, the lows, the grand final, coming home, my injuries, my dates with the judiciary.

“It really has been a fantastic ride.”

Burgess battled shoulder issues early in his career, but endured the most damage this season when he needed a clean out in June and later suffered an infection.

The Rabbitohs said it was only then a chronic problem was discovered.

Burgess still has three years to run on his multi-million dollar deal, and the Rabbitohs have already had casual discussions with the NRL on how it will be managed.

Under NRL rules, the salary cap auditor will consider if Burgess was unable to ever return and whether a single event that caused the injury could be determined before ruling whether his salary will count in the cap.

The NRL must also consider if a degenerative issue could have been predicted based on a similar issue prior to when he signed his last contract last September, unless an unrelated event has resulted in a rapid deterioration.

2. Home and Away actor pleaded guilty to assaulting a cop.

After pleading guilty to assaulting two police officers it was thought that former Home And Away actor would accept his punishment and move on. That was until he held a bizarre impromptu press conference outside court. See the video: https://t.co/StqVo9t3u6 pic.twitter.com/tUYc7O08a0

— Central Sydney (@SydneyCentral) October 30, 2019

A former Home and Away actor has slammed “heavy-handed” bouncers and police after being given a good behaviour bond for breaking a female officer’s nose during a late-night scuffle at a Darling Harbour bar.

Keiren Patrick Noonan, 32, pleaded guilty to assaulting two police officers after he refused to leave Sydney’s Cargo Bar in May.

In the Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, the actor and electrician was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order, 100 hours of community service and fined $750.

Noonan was approached by two plain clothes police officers after they saw him refusing to leave the popular Sydney nightspot, agreed facts state.

As the police tried to arrest Noonan, he resisted, hitting the female officer standing behind him in the face, causing blood to gush out of her nose.

The magistrate accepted Noonan’s injuring of the officer was “reckless” and didn’t appear to be deliberate.

Outside court, Noonan said the police and bouncers had been heavy-handed during the incident and it could have been dealt with differently.

“I’m a convicted criminal now, for something … that I didn’t do, to be honest,” said Noonan, who appeared in five episodes of Home and Away last year.

“It’s a disgrace that you can’t even go out in the city anymore and enjoy a few drinks with your friends without … being harassed by this gang that’s dressed in blue and these bouncers that are just super thugs.”

Noonan said he’d told bouncers he just wanted to finish his drink, which they then grabbed out of his hand.

He said he was sorry for the injuries to the female officer.

3. Fair Work vows to hold Woolworths to account for underpaying staff.

Woolworths underpaid thousands of workers by up to $300m https://t.co/n51VUFwEoS

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) October 30, 2019

Woolworths has vowed to pay back nearly 6000 staff after admitting it underpaid them $300 million over a decade.

The supermarket giant on Tuesday said it learned it had underpaid 5700 salaried staff over nine years when a handful of store managers complained they were earning less than their staff.

It says it will return the cash, at an average of around $50,000 per staff member, plus interest.

Interim back payments will be made before Christmas, with the majority of affected staff being current and former department managers at store level.

None of the 145,000 staff covered by an enterprise agreement were affected.

Group chief executive Brad Banducci said Woolworths also expects to make a contrition payment.

“As a business we pride ourselves on putting our team first, and in this case we have let them down,” Mr Banducci said in a statement.

“We unreservedly apologise.

“The highest priority for Woolworths Group right now is to address this issue, and to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Mr Banducci said he expected to forfeit his bonuses but would not be drawn on his future.

The Fair Work Ombudsman will conduct an investigation and has vowed to hold Woolworths to account for breaching Australia’s workplace laws on a massive scale.

Ombudsman Sandra Parker says she’s shocked Woolworths has joined other big companies including Wesfarmers, Qantas, Commonwealth Bank, Super Retail Group and Michael Hill Jewellers in underpaying staff.

Sunglass Hut, 7-Eleven and George Calombaris’ hospitality group MAdE are others to admit wage underpayment recently, while accusations have also been levelled at Neil Perry’s high-end Rockpool restaurant chain.

The underpayment was uncovered by Woolworths in a review triggered by the implementation of the new enterprise agreement covering its supermarkets and Metro stores.

Woolies said it has only analysed two years of data but the issue could date back to 2010.

More underpaid staff could be uncovered when the company extends its review to all its Australian businesses, which include Big W department stores and Dan Murphys and BWS liquor.

“Lately, we are seeing a disturbing number of large corporates publicly admitting that they have underpaid their staff,” Ms Parker said in a statement.

“Some of these matters go back many years and several comprise millions of dollars owed to workers. This is simply not good enough.”

The retail union, the SDA, says it will be in stores talking to impacted salaried workers to ensure they are supported as needed.

It has called on all retailers to audit their payroll settings especially for salary staff.

Federal Labor’s industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke says they have been calling in vain for five years for the Liberals to do something about worker underpayment.

Mr Burke said Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not take wage compliance seriously and that sent a message to businesses that they don’t need to take it seriously either.

Labor wants a wide-ranging parliamentary inquiry into the issue, he said.

4. A number of Catholic, Anglican and Baptist church bodies have joined the national redress scheme.

A number of Catholic, Anglican and Baptist bodies have joined the national redress scheme, paving the way for payments and services to be provided to more abuse survivors.

To date, the commonwealth, all state and territory governments and 67 non-government organisations covering more than 41,900 sites, such as churches, schools, homes, charities and community groups, across Australia have joined the scheme.

Federal families minister Anne Ruston announced on Thursday another 550 sites had joined the scheme, reducing to 12 per cent the proportion of redress applications on hold because institutions had not joined.

New to the scheme are the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, as well as sites falling under the Anglican Church of Australia, Baptist Churches of Western Australia, and the Baptist Church of Victoria.

As well, the Queensland government has agreed to be a funder of last resort for Beemar Yumba Maud Phillips Memorial Children’s Shelter, Beulah Homes, OPAL House and OPAL Joyce Wilding Home.

5. Mobile phones will be banned at Western Australian public schools.

Students in all WA public schools will be banned from using mobile phones during school hours from 2020 in a drastic move by the state government https://t.co/8H6M8NhpwT

— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) October 29, 2019

Mobile phone use will be banned during school hours at West Australian public schools from next year, with the state government saying it will reduce distraction from studies and encourage face-to-face social interaction.

Students will also be prohibited from using smart watches, ear buds, headphones and tablets during class.

Pupils from kindergarten to Year 6 will not be permitted to have mobile phones in their possession at all, while students from Years 7 to 12 must have them turned off and out of sight.

Smart watches must be set to airplane mode.

Those who contravene the rules will, in the first instance, be forced to hand over the device, which will be returned at the end of the day.

A parent will have to go to the school to collect the device for second contraventions.

Exemptions can be made by teachers including for educational use or medical conditions.

“We want to create the best possible learning environment for WA kids, and our policy will allow students to focus on their school work, without the distraction of a mobile phone,” Premier Mark McGowan said.

“The policy will improve the health and wellbeing of students, by encouraging children to connect socially in class and in the school yard.”

Currently, some students text each other while sitting side by side at lunchtime, Mr McGowan said.

Opposition leader Liza Harvey said she backed the ban, which was already in place at some private schools.

“Kids are at school to learn, not to be distracted by their phone,” she said.

Federal education minister Dan Tehan welcomed the “off and away all day” policy, saying it was a tough but right decision.

Mr Tehan said the Commonwealth put banning mobile phones on the Education Council agenda earlier this year and heard research that found low-achieving students benefited the most, equating to an additional 10 school days a year.

“We will continue to support all jurisdictions and schools to limit the use of mobile phones in schools,” he said.

The announcement on Wednesday follows consultation with teachers, parents and students, and was made at Ocean Reef Senior High School, which has had its own ban since the start of 2018.