Good morning. Near-misses at Sydney Airport have jumped 20% above the national average since COVID, with air traffic controllers routinely working overtime, combining roles mid-shift and supervising trainees while managing live traffic.
Four incidents this year are now under investigation, including an August close call that left a flight attendant with a fractured wrist when her Jetstar plane braked hard to avoid a towed Qatar Airways 777.
The safety bureau says it's not yet clear whether staffing caused the incidents or whether controllers have simply been managing elevated risk as business as usual.
All the headlines and more below...
OPENAI AGENT GAINED UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO A MEDICARE STATISTICS SYSTEM WHILE HUNTING VICTORIAN DATA
OpenAI has apologised after an experimental AI model gained unauthorised access to Services Australia's Medicare statistics service in June, running commands and retrieving internal files on a government server while searching for Victorian medicine spending data. The model bypassed approved channels when it couldn't find what it was looking for, examined technical information and source code, and wrote files to the system - all actions OpenAI had not authorised it to take.
The breach involving the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's systems was discovered during an internal review in mid-August, but Services Australia wasn't notified until 10 September via a public mailbox. OpenAI said the model operated without the full safeguards used in publicly available products, though it confirmed no medical records were accessed - matching the government's preliminary assessment.
OpenAI is providing dedicated support to affected agencies, credits from its US$1B global cyberdefence fund, and establishing a taskforce with independent Australian expertise to develop policy recommendations for managing AI agent risks. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the incident would shape planned AI standards legislation, and the government is considering whether offences occurred and whether to involve the AFP. Home Affairs has ordered agencies to review legacy systems and strengthen cyber protections.
AUSTRALIAN NEWS
CBA, Westpac, ANZ and NAB have lifted variable home loan rates by 0.25% after the RBA raised the cash rate to 4.6% amid 4% annual inflation. LINK
The Australian dollar has fallen to a 9-week low near US69.6¢ after softer-than-expected August inflation cut RBA rate-rise bets, heightening concerns about imported inflation pressures. LINK
ASIC has launched a formal review of banks' current and planned AI use in customer-facing and lending activities as it examines customer impacts, cyber risks and AI-driven market integrity threats. LINK
Australian state governments and councils are increasingly embracing modular housing as a faster, cheaper way to boost regional supply, backed by multiple trials including a new $3.35M South Australian scheme. LINK
KFC TENDERS NOW 30% BIGGER AS BONELESS CHICKEN SALES SLIDE
KFC has relaunched its chicken tenders as 30% bigger and crispier after customer complaints rose and sales of the boneless product dropped off, with fast-food rivals including El Jannah, Guzman y Gomez and Wingstop threatening its market share. A 3-pack that sold for $9.45 now costs $10.95; a 5-pack jumped from $12.95 to $14.95. The tender relaunch is the first step in an overhaul of KFC's core menu that could eventually include its bestselling Original Recipe.
KFC Australia has shortened its new-product rollout from every 6 weeks to every 4 weeks, chasing what Yum! Brands chief marketing officer Vanessa Rowed called a sales "sugar high". The chain's Picklecore range hit Australian stores in 4 months instead of the typical 9 to 12, despite local customer research showing the flavour trend hadn't taken hold yet.
KFC's US sales fell 4.6% in 2025 after a 5.2% drop the year before, slipping to 4th place as Chick-fil-A and Raising Cane took customers, and its global chief executive told The Wall Street Journal the chain was playing catch-up after customers shifted to boneless chicken faster than KFC did.
COMPANY NEWS
KFC revamped its chicken tenders to be crispier and 30% bigger, raised bundle prices and accelerated new-flavour launches. LINK
OpenAI has launched always-on dots AI agents powered by GPT-6 Astra to automate workplace tasks and chase user goals across apps. LINK
McDonald's has expanded its AI-driven pricing engine across its US restaurants to set location-specific “optimal” menu prices based on customer willingness to pay. LINK
OpenAI is nearing US$70B in annual recurring revenue after more than doubling enterprise sales since July, as its total annualised revenue climbed over 70% in the third quarter. LINK
Anthropic revealed soaring revenues and massive losses as it plans an IPO raising up to US$100B at a US$2T valuation. LINK
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ONE MORE SCROLL
Odd Pick: Calvin Harris has set a Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a DJ set by a single artist, drawing an estimated 1.6 million people in São Paulo.
Editor’s Pick: A large US study has found that flight attendants and pilots have the highest and second-highest proportions of radiation-related cancer deaths at 6.9% and 6.7% respectively among 500 occupations.
Doctor’s Pick: Will exercising make me hungrier and eat more?
TRIVIA
In what period was the last great extinction event on Earth?
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ANSWER
Cretaceous-Paleogene
