Live: Rush Hour

On news.com.au today, a Halloween partygoer has copped a major backlash after his blackface costume started a row on the London Underground, the names of the 11 people killed in Saturday’s attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh have been released and three men have failed in a desperate bid to escape a Queensland prison.

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9.35am

ScoMo hails Australia Day backflip as a ‘win for common sense’

A NSW council’s backdown on changing the date of Australia Day citizenship ceremonies from January 26 has been hailed as a “win for common sense” by the prime minister.

Byron Shire Council last month decided to move the event to January 25, sparking a war of words with Scott Morrison and threats to strip its right to hold citizenship ceremonies.

“A win for common sense. We should always be proud to celebrate Australia Day,” Mr Morrison tweeted on Monday alongside a news article of the council’s backflip.

Citizenship Minister David Coleman has written to all council mayors to reinforce that citizenship ceremonies should be apolitical, bipartisan, non-commercial and secular.

“The government has been very clear on its position that citizenship ceremonies should not be used as tools to support or promote a political agenda or to delegitimise Australia’s national day in any way,” Mr Coleman said in a statement on Monday.

“I welcome mayor Simon Richardson’s and his council’s decision to reinstate the Australia Day citizenship ceremony.”

The date of Australia Day has been the subject of national debate with calls to move it led by many indigenous people who see January 26 as “Invasion Day”.

— AAP

9.05am

Cannabis lab discovered after major Sydney fire

After a major fire ripped through an industrial building in Sydney’s south east this morning, police discovered a hydroponic cannabis set-up inside.

Emergency services rushed to the building on O’Riordan Street, Mascot just after 4am following reports that a fire was spreading through the upper level of building, which also houses a valet carpark.

Fire & Rescue NSW worked to extinguish the blaze, after which inspectors entered the building and discovered a crop of hydroponic-grown cannabis.

Police later said the cars in the car park sustained smoke and water damage.

Once the fire was put out, a hydroponic cannabis growing set-up was found in the upper level of the two-storey building.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said there were no reports of injuries and no one was believed to have been inside the building at the time of the fire.

A police spokeswoman said it was unclear how damaged the upper level of the building was at this stage as it had not yet been deemed safe enough for investigators to access properly.

8.35am

Two charged after Brisbane man stabbed in row

Two men have been charged over an alleged attack on a third man at a home in a Brisbane suburb.

It’s alleged a 31-year-old man was punched and stabbed in the chest with a small knife during an argument at a Moorooka unit on Sunday afternoon. The victim was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Police arrested a 30-year-old man and a 25-year-old man, both from Moorooka, a short time later and charged them with unlawful wounding and attempted robbery with violence.

They will appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

—AAP

8.05am

ScoMo calls watchdog over record-breaking petrol costs

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has put the competition watchdog on notice over rising fuel prices.

The cost of petrol has been rising across the nation, with prices in Melbourne hitting a 10-year high last month, and Adelaide motorists forking out an average of $167.4 a litre as of Monday.

Tens of thousands of Australians took part in a two-day boycott of fuel in response to the record petrol prices over the weekend.

More than 90,000 people said they were going to take part on Facebook, with a further 77,000 people declaring themselves “interested”.

“I want some answers out of the ACCC. They’re the cop on the beat, they’re the ones we fund to go out there and monitor why prices are moving up and down and how they’re timed,” Mr Morrison told K Rock 95.5 this morning.

7.35am

Aussie comedian horrified by weight loss advert

Aussie actress and comedian Celeste Barber has been left stunned after a company used a picture of her as the ‘before’ image in a weight loss advert

The 36-year-old often posts pictures of herself mimicking celebrities in a comedic fashion on her social media pages.

However, a Twitter user informed her that a company selling weight loss products were using her photos as part of their marketing.

The advert was for adhesive slimming patches being sold on Wish Shopping.

It juxtaposed an image of Ms Barber in her underwear leaning over a bath tub, next to an image of a very slim model leaning over a bath.

Underneath it showed another one of her parody photos - this one also in her underwear, attempting to seduce a man.

Hey @WishShopping what’s this all about? You can’t use my photos especially to sell body shaming products.m! https://t.co/fsL4hWHRwr — Celeste barber (@celestebarber_) October 22, 2018

Unimpressed Ms Barber took aim at Wish on Twitter and asked what was going on.

She wrote: “Hey @WishShopping what’s this all about? You can’t use my photos especially to sell body shaming products.”

7.05am

Australian cannabis industry to boom

About seven people a day are being approved for medicinal cannabis as new research suggests the $18 million industry could be worth billions within a decade.

Access to the drug is still severely restricted two years after its medicinal use was legalised nationally but a new online application system has increased approvals in recent months.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration approved 469 applications for the drug under the Special Access Scheme between August and September. That’s up from just 97 between January and February.

The TGA notes it is unable to calculate patient numbers accurately and it’s possible for one patient to have multiple applications approved.

Regardless, the industry is expected to boom in the coming years, exciting the medicinal cannabis pharmaceutical sector, advocates and patients who have converged on Sydney this week for the CannaTech conference.

Market intelligence firm Prohibition Partners will discuss its new report that suggests the nation’s legal medicinal cannabis market, currently valued at $17.7 million annually, could balloon to $1.2 billion by 2024 and then $3 billion by 2028.

6:35am

Three men fail escape Cairns jail after breakout attempt

Three prisoners have assaulted a police employee at the Cairns watch house during a failed escape bid.

Police say the three men struck the male staffer several times in the exercise yard on Sunday morning as they attempted to escape.

However, the man managed to make it to safety and the watch house was put into lockdown, with the three prisoners returning to their cells without further incident.

The 48-year-old employee was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Two men, aged 27 and 18 respectively, have been charged with robbery with violence in company, attempted deprivation of liberty and attempting to escape lawful custody.

A third man, 19, has been charged with robbery with violence in company and attempting to escape lawful custody.

— AAP

6:05am

Blackface Halloween costume sparks train row

A bloke presumably dressed as Samuel L. Jackson’s character from Pulp Fiction has sparked furious reactions on social media and an awkward public transport argument.

The Halloween partygoer, who wore a wig and a suit as well as dark face paint, defended himself when asked why he chose to do it when he was confronted by a black woman on the London Underground.

“It’s a bit racist that you put black make-up on,” a woman tells him as she tries to explain the problems with the costume.

It’s 2018 ? How is this still happening ? pic.twitter.com/Iaifc7wDGx — Dolli (@DOkoriko) October 27, 2018

However in a clip, filmed by a nearby passenger, he appears to shrug and deny that there is a problem.

Of course, the clip soon found its way onto social media where the partygoer was criticised by thousands for his costume and his attitude

“It’s 2018? How is this still happening?” the woman who posted the clip asked.

“His shrug of the shoulders and utter nonchalance with the woman next to him looking bemused is probably the most scary thing about this video,” one woman responded.

However, some defended him, with one person asking: “People dress in green on St Patrick’s Day and act like leprechauns and you don’t get up in arms.

“If I want to be Jules Winnfield from pulp fiction why not. He’s badass, not cause I’m racist?”

5:35am

Victims of Pittsburgh synagogue attack named

The names of the 11 people killed in Saturday’s attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh have been released.

Two brothers and a husband and wife were among those killed. Six people were injured, including four policemen.

The suspect, Robert Bowers, 46, is in custody and faces 29 criminal counts in what is thought to be the worst anti-Semitic attack in recent US history.

President Donald Trump has called the attack a “wicked act of mass murder”.

Joyce Fienberg, 75

Richard Gottfried, 65

Rose Mallinger, 97

Jerry Rabinowitz, 66

Cecil Rosenthal, 59

David Rosenthal, 54, brother of Cecil

Bernice Simon, 84

Sylvan Simon, 86, husband of Bernice

Daniel Stein, 71

Melvin Wax, 88

Irving Younger, 69