10 things you need to know this morning in Australia

Happy Tuesday, all. Ten things you need to know this morning, coming at you fast.

1. An attempted spill motion against NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian ended before it even began. The attempt to knife Berejiklian, which didn't even make it to its expected 10am announcement, was to be mounted by right-wing Liberals who are bristling over the "rushed" process around the abortion bill. Turns out you need more than three people backing your coup to make it work.

2. Oil prices are – as expected – soaring in the wake of the aerial strike on Saudi refineries. There may be no end in sight: the market is skittish on the assumption that hostilities in the region aren't going to abate anytime soon.

3. Further to the above, Trump says that the US is "locked and loaded" in response to the attack. His administration has released evidence which they say points to Iran as the culprit behind the attacks, despite the fact that Houthi rebels have already claimed responsibility.

Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2019

4. Volkswagen has agreed to settle two Australian class actions relating to the so-called 'diesel-gate' scandal which engulfed the company back in 2015. As you might recall, the company was rocked by revelations it had installed defeat devices on its vehicles to cheat emissions tests. The final dollar figure is confidential, but it's possible Volkswagen will have to pay up to $127.1 million to affected customers.

5. The Transport Workers Union is taking Uber to court over an unfair dismissal claim by a former Uber Eats driver. The union is appealing a Fair Work ruling which declared that a driver barred from using the app was not an employee and therefore was not protected from unfair dismissal. This is a local version of the global gig economy labour conversion: are Uber drivers 'just contractors'?

6. Australian intelligence reportedly concluded China was responsible for a massive cyberattack on Parliament and our political parties in the leadup to the last election. According to Reuters, the report suggested that the findings remain a secret so as not to damage our trading relationship with China.

7. As proof that Brexit negotiations continue to go well, Boris Johnson dodged a press conference with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel after facing deafening boos from assembled protesters. Bettel went on with the presser regardless, using his lack of opposition to slam Johnson for blaming the Brexit imbroglio on Europe.

Wall of sound and booing from the British ex-pat protest when Boris Johnson arrives. Not sure how they’re going to be able to do a press conference here pic.twitter.com/QGaQMMXzeW

— Jon Stone (@joncstone) September 16, 2019

8. Netflix has reportedly paid more than $500 million for the global streaming rights for "Seinfeld". You can't poke around on social media this morning without seeing people going wild about it. The deal is a big win for the streaming giant, which lost "Friends" and "The Office" this year.

9. Aussies are turning their backs on private schools thanks to soaring fees and stagnant wages. In fact, public school enrolments are up for the first time in 50 years. It's not an entirely balanced situation though – Catholic schools are the hardest hit, whereas schools which charge more than $20,000 per year are doing just fine enrolment-wise.

10. Coworking firm WeWork, which has captured the world's attention for its disastrous past few weeks, will most likely delay its IPO. The company has been receiving significant – how shall we say – 'feedback' from investors about its sky-high valuation, its corporate governance, and, well, its entire business model.

BONUS ITEM
Planning a long-haul flight sometime soon? Try to make it as painless as possible.

Surviving a long flight has as much to do with what you put in your body as what you put on it pic.twitter.com/BTjoE0Yt1y

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) September 16, 2019