PM

The latest public spray from the former prime minister Tony Abbott has drawn a sharp rebuke from the Prime Minister and a range of senior ministers. Mr Abbott has suggested the Government cut immigration, taxes and spending to stop a 'drift to defeat', but the Leader of the House Christopher Pyne says Mr Abbott often did the opposite as leader. One senior conservative, the Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has described Mr Abbott's decision to speak out as self-indulgent, destructive and sad.

The question of how much company CEOs should be able to take home is as complex as it is controversial. Why should board members take home millions of dollars when ordinary wage earners are struggling for even the most basic of pay rises?

The CEO of Australia Post, Ahmed Fahour, has announced he'll be resigning. It follows intense scrutiny over his $5 million plus pay packet. But the CEO says the debate surrounding his take-home pay has nothing to do with his move to step down.

The Federal Opposition is promising to use parliament and the courts to fight today's ruling which reduces Sunday penalty rates for some workers covered by retail, hospitality, fast food and pharmacy awards. The Fair Work Commission has acknowledged some workers will be worse off, and it'll hold a new round of hearings on transitional arrangements. The Government says the commission is independent, but it's confident the ruling will boost employment and the economy.

The Israeli Prime Minister has criticised two former Australian leaders who are calling for formal recognition of Palestine. Mr Netanyahu landed in Sydney today, and his five day trip to Australia is the first visit ever by a sitting Israeli leader. He dismissed arguments from former Labor PMs Kevin Rudd and Bob Hawke who say that recognising the Palestinian state would encourage Israel to negotiate a two-state solution.

With further indications the Government is preparing to dump the Medicare rebate freeze, Labor cautioning cuts elsewhere in the health system could be made in its place. Government sources have told the ABC that the freeze is about to be jettisoned due to the political damage Labor's 'Mediscare' campaign caused to the coalition at the last election.

Questions have been reignited about the future of Essendon Airport after yesterday's plane crash that killed five people. Authorities believe the plane's pilot was trying to turn back to Essendon Airport, which sits nestled between homes, businesses, and two major shopping centres. Now as Victoria grapples with its worst aviation accident in three decades, the airport's future has come under a cloud.

It's hard enough to ask your boss for a raise at the best of times, but now it's become practically impossible. The latest official figures show wages growth remains at record lows. This new era of stagnant wages also seems to have ruffled some feathers at the Reserve Bank, with the governor telling a gathering in Sydney this morning that households were in danger of drowning in debt.

There's been a new twist in the murder of Kim Jong-nam, brother to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Malaysia's police chief has called two new suspects for questioning. One is Second Secretary at North's Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. The other has unspecified links to North Korean Airlines in the Malaysian capital. Police say the two women who attacked Kim Jong Nam with a cloth laced with suspected poison had trained and planned for the murder.

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.