AAP

A multi-party Senate inquiry has backed the federal government's proposed code to force tech giants such as Google and Facebook to pay for news.

Former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou is the latest to step down from the Crown Resorts board but chief executive Ken Barton has not yet resigned.

Oil giant Shell will accelerate near-term and long-term plans aimed at reducing its net carbon emissions intensity to zero by 2050.

Australia's share market closed little changed on a day when executives showed more confidence giving earnings guidance as they better understand COVID-19 trading.

Telstra executives continued to assure investors that the decade-long costs of customers migrating to the NBN are almost over, after the carrier's first-half profit slipped by 2.2 per cent.

Crown Resorts has promised "root and branch' changes to satisfy NSW regulators threatening to deny it a Sydney gaming licence, ahead of the April expiry of the venue's liquor licence.

Energy generator and retailer AGL has reported a massive bottom-line loss and says the outlook for the rest of this financial year looks challenging.

Australia's first shipment of coronavirus vaccines has been formally approved and will arrive in the country within weeks.

Anthony Albanese has promised to enshrine job security in workplace law under a plan to make the industrial umpire shore up employment.

Australia's share market has closed higher despite the Commonwealth Bank posting first-half earnings that show times remain difficult in the banking sector.

The state government has called an urgent meeting to consider the findings of a damning report in which Crown Resorts is accused of facilitating money laundering at its casinos.

Commonwealth Bank chief Matt Comyn is not worried about a housing price bubble forming from low rates, saying buying is different to the previous boom.

Crown Resorts has announced three changes to its board after yesterday's damning NSW report, with two directors resigning and Perth-based director John Poynton severing his ties with major shareholder James Packer.

Australia's peak welfare group wants unemployment support payments to be raised in line with the pension, to prevent people from entering poverty.

Investors have suffered broad-based losses on the Australian share market ahead of keenly anticipated economic forecasts in Commonwealth Bank's first-half earnings on Wednesday.

Casino giant Crown Resorts is not fit to run its $2.2 billion Sydney casino because it facilitated money laundering and has other "deep" problems, a highly anticipated report has found.

A State Recovery Coordination Group has been established to help people impacted by last week's devastating bushfire in Perth's north-east.

Suncorp will stop underwriting travel insurance for Australians in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic to focus on its bigger operations.

Employers would be able to offer extra shifts without penalties to part-time workers doing eight hours a day under a proposal from retailers.

The European Union has promised not to block shipments of coronavirus vaccines to Australia.

A prominent business leader has joined growing calls to support struggling companies once JobKeeper payments dry up.

Australia's share market has closed higher and investors have overcome a barrier in their efforts to push the indices above the record highs set in February last year.

The Nationals are upping their campaign to exclude agriculture from any framework for achieving net zero emissions by 2050, but industry groups have already pledged to meet the target.

Schools in Perth are set to resume after last week's lockdown, with masks to be mandatory for secondary students.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has downplayed concerns about the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine as medical professionals begin training to administer jabs.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says the central bank "does not and should not" target housing prices.

UPDATED: More stranded Australians will be able to return home from later in the month when international arrivals caps are returned to higher levels.

Officials are expecting the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to receive approval by the middle of February.

Negotiations over the government's media code has reached the highest levels, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison having a "constructive" meeting with Google's global boss.

Investors' run of three days of gains on the Australian share market has ended, and an analyst cited inflation expectations as hampering results.

Labor is standing by calls to extend the JobKeeper scheme despite the Reserve Bank governor downplaying the need.

WA has quietly entered campaign mode for the March state election against a backdrop of empty streets and bushfire destruction.