City Canberra Financial News

Former PwC Australia CEO Luke Sayers was so concerned about the conflicts between the firm’s consulting and traditional audit business that he led a secret push, known as Project Kookaburra, to float the consulting business for $1 billion.

Virgin Australia has told staff it has offered to help get Australian citizens out of Israel if they want to leave, after the transport minister sought help from airlines and Qantas pledged to add two flights starting on Friday.

PwC Australia spin-off Scyne has been approved by the powerful Finance Department to take on the federal government contracts of its predecessor and accept new Commonwealth work.

Qantas says it has extended a Chairman’s Lounge membership to every secretary and deputy secretary in the federal bureaucracy, as well as the chair and chief commissioners of key government agencies.

Westpac will maintain a presence in the South Pacific after the federal government indicated it wants to see Australian companies playing a role in the region.

Singapore’s Temasek has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for its 40 per cent of gas and electricity distribution giant Jemena.

UK companies a 4 billion pound ( USD 4.9 bn) contract to design and manufacture a nuclear-powered attack submarine as part of the country's AUKUS programme with Australia and the United States, Al Jazeera reported. The first of the submarines will be delivered into service in the UK in the late 2030s and the first Australian ones will follow in the early 2040s. The SSN-AUKUS program aims to enhance the capabilities of the UK, Australia, and the US to counter regional security challenges, particularly from China in the Asia-Pacific region, Al Jazeera reported. UK's Defence Ministry in a statement on Sunday said that the contract with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock «represents a significant milestone for both the UK and the trilateral AUKUS programme as a whole». It said that the new submarines, known as SSN-AUKUS, «will be the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated» by the Royal Navy and will «combine world-leading sensors, design and weaponry in one vessel». The plans for SSN-AUKUS were unveiled in March by the leaders of Australia, the UK and the US and came as the three countries ramped up their efforts to counter China in the Asia Pacific region. The nuclear-powered vessels — which have far greater stealth and range and mark the first time Washington has shared nuclear-propulsion technology with a country other than the UK — represent a significant upgrade to Australia's current diesel-powered fleet, as per Al Jazeera. Previously, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles described the AUKUS deal as «the biggest step forward in our military capability that we've had since the end of World War II». Through the AUKUS, Washington intends to sell Canberra up to five of its

By Kirsty Needham

Boeing’s global president and chief executive Dave Calhoun says the backlog of orders for new passenger aircraft is not going to ease any time soon, with the waitlist stretched well into the 2030s.

Dealmakers from Singapore’s Temasek appear to be accelerating hopes to offload the 40 per cent of gas and electricity distribution giant Jemena, meeting with prospective buyers this week, sources told Street Talk.

Qantas chairman Richard Goyder and new chief executive Vanessa Hudson will front up at a Senate inquiry into aviation landing rights on Wednesday but former boss Alan Joyce will not appear until he returns from overseas.

CANBERRA (Reuters) — Australian crop yields could be 4% below current levels by 2063, reducing the country's economic output by A$1.8 billion ($1.2 billion) a year, unless action is taken to mitigate the impact of climate change, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Tuesday.

Canberra Airport boss Stephen Byron has called on Qantas to give a free flight to every passenger on the Canberra-Sydney route who has been stuck on the tarmac after the airline’s monthly cancellations hit a record high of almost 15 per cent.

Canberra Airport’s chief has blasted Qantas, accusing it of mistreating its staff and customers, and breaching contract conditions as he called for heavier regulation to finally bring the national carrier “to heel”.

Australia (a close ally of Canada) Penny Wong has stated that the Albanese government is deeply concerned by allegations that India was behind the murder of a Sikh man in Canada. However, she downplayed that India would meddle in Australia's internal affairs. Speaking at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Wednesday, Wong said the Australian government had raised the issue with its Indian counterparts and would continue to monitor the situation closely.

Infrastructure dealmaker Scott Charlton will leave tollroad group Transurban at the end of November to run Sydney Airport as the nation’s biggest airport lobbies Canberra to stop airlines hoarding take off and landing slots.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. While Canada said it had raised the matter with France, it is unlikely that Paris will raise the matter with India or issue a statement. The US expressed concern at the allegations and said it is critical for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. «We are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau,» White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a brief statement. A spokesperson for Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong said Canberra's concerns had been conveyed to New Delhi at «senior levels». «Australia is deeply concerned by these allegations and notes ongoing investigations into this matter,» the spokesperson said in a statement.

Hindustan Times. “We remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners. It is critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a brief statement.

SYDNEY (Reuters) — Thousands rallied in Australia on Sunday to support recognising the country's Indigenous people in the constitution, a proposal that is struggling ahead of a referendum next month.

A group of Indigenous Australian Rules football players, led by 1980s legend Phil Krakouer, launched a landmark class action against the AFL on Friday, claiming the game failed to protect players from vile racial abuse on the field that resulted in life-altering damage.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says electric planes will be in the skies and a green hydrogen industry will be up and running by the end of the decade, as Australia charts its course to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.