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| UpdatedAustralia Post's Managing Director and group CEO Ahmen Fahour has quit. He was in the spotlight earlier this month over the size of his salary at a government owned company.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedThe question of whether there could be life in other parts of our universe may be a step closer to being answered. A team of American and European scientists has discovered the existence of seven small planets, each around the size of Earth, orbiting a star close to our own solar system. Three of the newly discovered planets are in what scientists call the Goldilocks zone, where life would be sustainable.
Topics: planets-and-asteroids, astronomy-space, space-exploration, united-states
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Three members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors have told the child sexual abuse Royal Commission that the body is struggling to function properly because of a lack of funding and administrative support from the Vatican.
Topics: royal-commissions, child-abuse, catholic, sexual-offences, australia
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| UpdatedAs the US-backed Iraqi forces make headway against IS, Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop meeting with her US counterpart, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Amongst other issues, the two will discuss what a victory against ISIS would look like. The World Today spoke to James Brown, a former Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who is now a policy analyst at the United States Studies Centre.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, terrorism, united-states, iraq
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| UpdatedUS-backed Iraqi forces continue to close in on Islamic State fighters occupying the western half of Mosul. The militant group was ousted from eastern Mosul last month. But the fight to take the western part of the city is expected to become more difficult as forces get closer to the labyrinthine inner city where Islamic State defences are believed to be strong. Roughly three quarters of a million civilians remain inside the city and have no clear escape route.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, iraq
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| UpdatedJames Packer's Crown Resorts has announced a big financial hit today. The gambling and resorts company's profit has fallen around nine per cent to $191 million. This is the first financial result since 18 Crown employees were detained in China over allegations of illegal gambling.
Topics: gambling, business-economics-and-finance, community-and-society, australia, china
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| UpdatedAustralian airline Qantas has announced a 25 per cent fall in half year profit to $515 million. The company is back in the black just a few years after posting a record loss of almost $3 billion, but senior business correspondent Peter Ryan said Qantas is dealing with a number of one of costs, including selling terminal spaces, and redundancy pay offs.
Topics: air-transport, business-economics-and-finance, industry, australia
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| UpdatedThe Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell says small businesses are relieved by the Fair Work decision on penalty rates. She says more jobs will be generated as a result of the lower Sunday rates.
Topics: regulation, business-economics-and-finance, australia
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| UpdatedProtesters are outside the Fair Work Commission in Melbourne, as the decision is heard. Workers in hospitality and retail are to be faced with pay cuts as penalty rates reduce. Greens MP Adam Bandt tells the media he will fight the decision.
Topics: money-and-monetary-policy, australia
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| UpdatedTwo years after it was due, the Fair Work Commission has handed its decision on penalty rates, deciding to cut penalties for Sundays and public holidays for the retail, and hospitality industries. Former Labor MP Martin Ferguson says it's about the modernisation of the Hospitality Industry Award, and that it will actually lead to the reduction of casual employment, one of the objectives of the ACTU.
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Hundreds of thousands of workers are now facing a cut to their pay with the Fair Work Commission slashing Sunday penalty rates for some awards. In a long-awaited landmark ruling, the workplace relations tribunal acknowledged that its decision will cause hardship but said Sunday rates for fast food, retail and hospitality workers are too high. The unions are reacting angrily and vowing to campaign to get the Government to change the Fair Work Act. The Workplace Relations Minister says she's furious that a scare campaign has already begun.
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A group of young Australian singers is preparing for the musical trip of a lifetime - a performance in New York City. The Bendigo Youth Choir from central Victoria won silver at the World Choir Games in the United States a few years ago. Now the new group of talented singers is using songs to distract from the pressures of the modern world.
Topics: choral, bendigo-3550
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A row has erupted in Britain over who signed off on an estimated million-pound compensation payout to a former Guantanamo Bay detainee. Jamal al-Harith was released from Guantanamo Bay in 2004 after lobbying from the Blair Labour government, but is now thought to have carried out a suicide bombing for the Islamic State group in Iraq. A lawyer for his family says regardless of his actions since, Al-harith deserved compensation at the time
Topics: terrorism, unrest-conflict-and-war, united-kingdom, iraq, united-states
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This morning's decision on penalty rates comes at a time when Australian households are feeling the pressure of slow wages growth which is becoming more out of step with the cost of living. According to the ABS, wages are at a record after posting growth of 1.9 per cent in the year to December.
Topics: economic-trends, australia
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| UpdatedNASA scientists have announced the discovery of seven Earth-size planets with the potential to support life. The cluster of planets, known as Trappist 1, are roughly 40 light years away, with three of them orbiting stars in the so-called 'Goldilocks' or habitable zone.
Topics: planets-and-asteroids, astronomy-space, space-exploration, united-states
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| UpdatedA group of north-east Victoria residents are putting a proposal before the Victorian government to help save Australia's largest timber building- the Mount Buffalo Chalet.
Topics: architecture, 19th-century, mount-buffalo-3740
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| UpdatedForeign Minister Julie Bishop is in Washington on the first ministerial visit to the US capital since the infamous phone call between Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull about the refugee resettlement deal. She told AM she has so far had 'warm and engaging' discussions with Vice President Pence, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about opportunities for the two countries to work together, and has invited both men to visit Australia. She denied that the relationship between the two countries was in need of repair.
Topics: bishop-julie, world-politics, australia, united-states
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| UpdatedThe energy market operator has found that problems, outages and faults with coal and gas plants resulted in hundreds of megawatts of load shedding during the worst of the NSW heatwave. The 10th of February was a very hot day for the state, and the AEMO report reveals the state narrowly avoided larger outages.
Topics: electricity-energy-and-utilities, alternative-energy, climate-change, nsw
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| UpdatedRetailers say the Fair Work Commission can stop more retail chains from going out of business by cutting Sunday penalty rates for workers in a decision due today. But the federal opposition says it would be absurd to cut rates with several years of stagnant wages growth already inflicting pain on low income workers.
Topics: industrial-relations, hospitality, retail, regulation, australia
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| UpdatedOn Wednesday's program: The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls for Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks as the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Sydney as part of his historic trip to Australia; Serious questions are being asked about the future of Melbourne's Essendon Airport after the plane crash that killed 5 people yesterday; And the latest official figures show Australia's wages growth stuck at historically low levels.
Topics: australia
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The life expectancy for people living in the developed world continues to rise, with South Korean women soon expected to live, on average, beyond 90 years. Odds are also good for Australians, with a life expectancy of 84 years by 2030. In Australia, the increase in life expectancy is being driven by a cut in smoking, a lowering of blood pressure, and improvements to road safety. But experts also warn that as people are expected to live for longer, for at least the foreseeable future, that means adequate social and health structures must be put in place.
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South Australia is digesting the news, that once again manufacturing is leaving the state, and with it, jobs. In a shock announcement, Coca-Cola Amatil's Adelaide bottling plant will close by 2019, with the loss of about 180 jobs from the company. In response, concerns have again been raised about the cost of doing business in the state, and how to transition more workers, on top of Holden's closure later this year.
Topics: industry, business-economics-and-finance, food-and-beverage, australia, sa
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Where is the man who ran Clive Palmer's Queensland Nickel? Tomorrow, a Federal Court will consider issuing an arrest warrant for Palmer's nephew, Clive Mensink who was the only formal Director of the collapsed company. His uncle Clive Palmer is accused of acting as a shadow director. Mr Mensink has so far declined to return from overseas to face questions from the special purpose liquidator. The union representing some of the 800 sacked workers has appealed to Mr Mensink to return.
Topics: courts-and-trials, business-economics-and-finance, law-crime-and-justice, australia
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Volkswagen has been accused of pressuring drivers to accept a software upgrade for vehicles implicated in the global emissions scandal, or face the possibility of no compensation. The company asked some drivers to sign waivers if they refused the software fix being offered as part of a voluntary recall. But Volkswagen says the document has been updated to reflect the rights of customers.
Topics: courts-and-trials, business-economics-and-finance, industry, automotive, law-crime-and-justice, australia
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Leaders of Catholic religious orders in Australia have told the child sexual abuse Royal Commission of their shame at the high level of offending among religious brothers. The Commission heard orders including St John of God, the Christian Brothers and De La Salle usually pay the legal fees of those accused of abuse and do not dismiss them from the order.
Topics: royal-commissions, community-and-society, child-abuse, religion-and-beliefs, law-crime-and-justice, australia