Australias

Image:bluebay -- ShutterstockMuch like the All Blacks taking down another shoddy and patched-as-well-as-can-be Wallabies outfit, the NBN never stood a chance against New Zealand's Ultra-Fast Broadband, as the two networks were compared in a report released by the consumer watchdogs on either side of the Tasman. The Trans-Tasman Measuring Broadband report compared 100/20Mbps plans on full fibre and HFC connections in Australia, and full fibre in NZ, as well as full-fibre only NBN Ultrafast against NZ Fibre Max plan,…

Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes just scored a major coup in his quest to end Australia's use of coal energy. The Wall Street Journal reports AGL Energy, Australia's worst emissions producer, has withdrawn plans to 'demerge' its retail power and generation units (thus keeping coal power plants running longer) after Cannon-Brookes bought over 11 percent of the company's stock. The breakup plan is unlikely to pass a shareholder vote after the tech executive's move, AGL said. Both the chairman and CEO of AGL are…

Australia's biggest carbon emitter AGL abruptly announced on Monday the departure of its chairman, CEO and a string of board members, while scrapping a long-planned move to spin off its lucrative coal business. In a statement to investors, the company said Peter Botten would resign as chairman and Graeme Hunt would step down as CEO when a replacement is found. Operations at AGL -- Australia's largest energy company -- have been under fierce scrutiny since billionaire green activist Mike Cannon-Brookes tried to buy the…

SYDNEY—A tech billionaire brought down plans by Australia’s biggest polluter to spin off its coal-fired power plants into a new company, handing a big win to environmental activists who want a faster shift toward cleaner energy. Mike Cannon-Brookes, the Australian co-founder of Nasdaq-listed Atlassian Corp. , first tried to buy AGL Energy Ltd. AGL -1.69% in February after joining with Canada’s…

Fifty thousand years ago, Australia was populated by big birds—really big birds. One of them, known as mihirunga, or the “thunder bird,” was six times the size of a modern emu; it may have weighed in at 250 kilograms and stood more than 2 meters tall. But the giant Genyornis newtoni disappeared 45,000 years ago, and researchers have long puzzled over whether human hunters or climate change was the culprit. Now, a new analysis of ancient eggshells—the leftovers of a prehistoric…

Pacific Avenue – Give It Up For YourselfFor fans of: Oasis, Tribes, Primal ScreamAs we slide out of a period of global malaise and totter squinty-eyed back out into the sunshine, Kiama’s Pacific Avenue have released this towering, life-affirming anthem, perfect for getting back among the great unwashed. Like the Britpop heroes to whom they owe a sonic debt, Pacific Avenue write songs of optimism against a backdrop of despair – when the future is burning, it sure is comforting to look back at how far we have come, and…

Credit: Shutterstock Rental housing in Australia is less affordable than ever before. It is no exaggeration to call the situation a crisis, with vacancy rates at record lows. But…