Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, said the RAAF has demonstrated it is ready to conduct long-range, survivable and lethal maritime and land strike from F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft against highly defended targets.

Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (A4ANZ) says Airservices’ data does not account for knock-on effects from delays, with CEO Stephen Beckett saying the air navigation service provider is “not being upfront about the full extent of delays resulting from its actions”.

The departure tax was set to rise from $70 to $80 per person starting in January, which provoked condemnation from both the tourism industry and the airlines; however, the bill is set to be blocked in the Senate, with the Coalition and the Greens both coming out against it.

It’s understood that the government may have as little as two weeks to consider the formal offer, received earlier this year, from the head of ESA with a co-operative agreement for a flight to space.