Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce announces his early retirement; federal MPs to travel to the US to lobby for Julian Assange; and in cricket, a Travis Head onslaught lifts Australia to an easy T20 victory.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce announces his early retirement
- Federal MPs to travel to the US to lobby for Julian Assange; and in cricket
- In cricket, a Travis Head onslaught lifts Australia to an easy T20 victory
Qantas Group Chief Executive Alan Joyce has announced he will bring forward his retirement by two months, following a damaging few weeks for the airline.
After serving 15 years in the role of CEO, Mr Joyce advised the airline’s board his decision to retire early will allow the focus to be on renewal.
Vanessa Hudson is the incoming chief executive.
The announcement comes less that a week after the competition regulator launched legal action against Qantas for allegedly selling tickets to flights that had already been cancelled.
Transport Workers' Union national secretary Michael Kaine says he welcomes the decision.
"We think that renewal is needed. Renewal in the board is needed. And we're calling on Vanessa Hudson to take a completely different approach to the one that Alan Joyce has taken. We hope she turns a new leaf. We hope she goes in the opposite direction of Alan Joyce. This now becomes a question about what does the community think about the board? Certainly the board has now covered itself in glory. And there are serious questions about it needing renewal."
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Interest rates are broadly tipped to stay on hold for a third month in a row in September but the possibility of more hikes is still alive.
The Reserve Bank board is due to meet on Tuesday afternoon for its monthly cash rate decision.
A convincing slowdown in the monthly consumer price index, sinking to 4.9 per cent in July from 5.4 per cent in June, has fuelled much of the optimism for another hold in September.
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A delegation of federal MPs have announced plans to travel to the United States this month to call for the release of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The group will meet with members of Congress, the US State Department, and the Department of Justice in a bid to convince them to abandon attempts to extradite Assange on 17 counts of espionage.
The cross-party delegation includes Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, Labor MP Tony Zapia, Independent MP Monique Ryan, Liberal Senator Alex Antic, and Greens senators Peter Whish-Wilson and David Shoebridge.
But while the trip appears to have broad support in Canberra, not everyone agrees it is necessary.
The opposition's leader in the Senate Simon Birmingham says Mr Assange's length of time in custody is a situation of his own making.
"This is not the first time different MPs have chosen to speak up on the issue, and the fact that some are travelling to the US is a matter of their own decision. I acknowledge that this case has gone on for a very long period of time, but much of that period of time many of the delays have been a function either of the time Mr Assange chose to be in the Ecuadorian embassy - which added years to these processes - or of course at present the function of the different appeals that he is entitled to pursue to decisions that have gone against him in court processes."
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Australia's foreign affairs department has backed the integrity of its aid to Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy moved to replace his defence minister following corruption claims.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson says ministerial appointments are a matter for Ukraine, and that there are "robust systems and procedures to protect public funds, assets, and information from fraud and corruption" in Australia.
Ukraine Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has played a crucial role in lobbying Western nations to provide military support, including tanks and rocket artillery and the promise of fighter jets.
He has denied the corruption allegations, and says he has been targeted by a smear campaign.
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The frontman of the US pop rock band Smash Mouth, Steve Harwell, has died at the age of 56.
Harwell's manager has confirmed the singer passed away at his home in Idaho, surrounded by family and friends.
Smash Mouth is best known for its singles 'All Stars' and 'I'm a believer'.
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In sports, Australia have secured a 3-nil T20 clean sweep over South Africa.
A career-best T20I knock from Travis Head contributed to the five-wicket win in the series finale in Durban.
In reply to South Africa's 8-190 on Sunday at Kingsmead, Head thumped a career-high 91 off 48 balls to help lift Australia to victory with 13 balls to spare.
The performance marks Head's first half-century, setting up a strong position ahead of this week's five-match ODI series and increasing his prospects to open at next month's World Cup.
