| WiseTech shares plunged in Sydney after the tech company’s board said it’s reviewing media allegations against billionaire co-founder and CEO Richard White of historical inappropriate behavior. The stock closed down 15%, the biggest decline in more than a year. The move wiped $1.4 billion off White’s wealth to $8.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Mineral Resources has begun an investigation into undeclared payments made to companies owned by its tycoon founder, Chris Ellison, sending its shares down as much as 14%. Qantas Airways faces a multi-million dollar payout to almost 1,700 ground workers illegally fired during the pandemic after a court put the combined compensation for three test-case workers at A$170,000. The response of interest-rate traders to Australia’s recent economic data suggests the Reserve Bank’s policy reaction function is being understood, Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser said. Rates traders pushed back the expected timing of the first RBA cut to April from February after strong jobs data last week. A major Australian business lobby has put forward a plan to address the nation’s housing squeeze, just months out from an election in which cost-of-living concerns including soaring rents are set to be a key issue.
An Indigenous senator has interrupted a reception for British monarch King Charles III during his first visit since taking the throne, calling for a treaty between the Australian government and First Nations peoples. Some of Australia’s large institutional investors are looking for growth in the nascent local private debt market to take advantage of elevated interest rates and as banks shy away from riskier lending. | 
