Turnbull commits to full company tax cut plan … Optus to invest $1 billion in regional mobile … Reject Shop shoppers rocked by dead mouse in Spongebob biscuits

By Dominic Powell and Emma Koehn. 

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says Australia is not alone in its push to reduce company tax rates to boost productivity, saying recent meetings with G20 leaders showed many other nations were on the same path.

“On some issues they had less in common but on one thing they shared – you’ll be interested to know – was a plan to reduce company tax rates,” he said during a speech in Melbourne on Thursday evening.

“Everyone knows that the more you tax investment, the less investment you get. But now this basic economic premise is a point of contention,” he said, confirming yesterday the next tranche of the 10 year enterprise tax plan will be considered in the Senate before the end of 2017.

Optus spends $1 billion to boost regional coverage

Aussie telecommunications company Optus has today announced a $1 billion investment for “improving and expanding” its regional mobile network over the next 12 months.

The company will put a focus on building a range of new sites across remote parts of Australia, along with upgrading a number of sites from 3G to 4G technology and improving the 4G capacities.

“This represents one of the single largest investments in regional mobile infrastructure in Australia’s history,” Optus chief executive Allen Lew said in a statement.

“Optus’ funding is earmarked to expand coverage and improve overall network performance for residents, businesses, and our wholesale partners. It will also help build the network resilience that is critical to supporting public safety and emergency services during natural disasters.”

Customers take Reject Shop to court over dead mouse in biscuits

Fairfax reports a mother and her daughter are demanding damages from discount retailer The Reject Shop after they found a deceased mouse inside a packet of biscuits bought from the store.

The lawsuit reportedly claims the pair were left with post traumatic stress disorder after the daughter purchased a packet of biscuits, expecting nothing more than an array of crumbly treats in the shape of cartoon character Spongebob Squarepants.

Instead, she was reportedly served a dead mouse, and upon returning to the store with her mother to demand an explanation, the two were reportedly laughed at, claims the lawsuit, with staff telling them there was nothing they could do.

Both daughter and mother are claiming the incident left them with nervous shock, along with psychiatric injury, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“In addition to launching a thorough enquiry we have written to both the importer of this product and the manufacturer seeking a detailed explanation of their processes in this regard,” Reject Shop chief executive Ross Sudano told Fairfax in a statement.

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