The Charge Around Australia project will power a Tesla electric car with 18 of the team's printed plastic solar panels, each 18 metres long, rolling them out beside the vehicle

The company has had issues accessing some projects in New South Wales due to flooding, while a worker crunch caused by Covid-19 has made it tough to staff operations

A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said officials would raise the issue with the Solomon Islands on a planned visit this week.

Improved energy supply has become a priority for SLN as it tries to turn around its operations after losses in recent years linked to high costs and social unrest

Canberra is concerned the security deal, details of which have not been publicised, could foreshadow a Chinese military presence fewer than 2,000 km from Australia

Global policymakers have moved quickly to prevent soaring inflation from derailing a fragile world economic recovery

The consortium includes New Zealand infrastructure investor Morrison & Co and Australian pension scheme Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation

The data will be a disappointment to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who was hoping a figure below 4% would bolster his economic credentials in the run-up to the election next month

The government confirmed it would provide A$125 million each to Viva and Ampol to revamp their refineries to start producing cleaner petrol by 2024

The central bank said in a statement its biggest rate increase in more than 20 years was intended to take the cash rate to a more neutral stance

A leaked memo showed Beijing had told the Solomon Islands in December it wanted to send a security team of 10 Chinese police to its embassy

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment released on Wednesday dipped 0.9% in April from March, when it slid 4.2%