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Outgoing Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is set for a grilling by senators on cost of living pressures, as the airline is criticised for its huge profits.

Mr Joyce, who will step down in November, will appear before a Senate committee on the rising cost of living on Monday.

It will be the first time in almost a decade the airline boss has appeared before a parliamentary committee.

The Flying Kangaroo posted a record underlying profit of $2.47 billion for the past financial year, after it recorded a loss of almost $2 billion the year before.

The airline had been under fire for posting the profit despite receiving $2.7 billion from taxpayers in financial support during the pandemic, including $900 million from the JobKeeper program.

Mr Joyce previously said the airline would not repay the money to the government because the funds went to employees.

The government has said it had no intention of pursuing the return of the money, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledging record profits were a sign of the tourism industry bouncing back after a pandemic-induced downturn.

Competition in the airline industry is also expected to feature during questioning, after a request from Qatar Airways to the federal government for additional flights to Australia was rejected.

Despite both airlines being members of the Oneworld alliance, Qantas opposed the plan for the extra Qatar flights.

An inquiry last week was told Qantas was deliberately cancelling flights between cities to stop competition with other airlines.

Executive general manager of Sydney Airport Rob Wood told a parliamentary inquiry Qantas and Virgin aimed to prevent new companies accessing airports.

Qantas rejected claims it had been hoarding slots at airports.

© AAP 2023

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Newcastle have booked a fairytale NRL finals berth with a 32-6 thrashing of Cronulla, but their eighth straight win may have come at a cost as star player Kalyn Ponga injured his right shoulder.

It is now impossible for the Knights, who sat 14th on the ladder after 19 rounds, to be ousted from the top eight with a week to play in the regular season.

Ponga guided the Knights to Sunday's home victory, scoring their first try, putting them in position for their second and setting their fourth up as the Knights scored five unanswered four-pointers after halftime.

But the Newcastle captain lay in pain on the ground after receiving a late hit from Sharks centre Jesse Ramien ahead of Newcastle's fourth try in the final 20 minutes.

Ponga surrendered goalkicking duties to Dane Gagai but tried to play through the discomfort.

When Greg Marzhew crossed and put the result beyond doubt in the final 15 minutes, Ponga came off with what was believed to be an injury to his acromioclavicular (AC) joint.

Knights coach Adam O'Brien had no prognosis post-match, but with a home final now locked up intimated he could rest Ponga for the clash with St George Illawarra next week even if the injury wasn't serious.

Dane Gagai or Lachie Miller appear the likely options to come in.

"I won't be stupid with (Ponga) that's for sure," O'Brien said.

"Lachie Miller hasn't left us yet. He's training well.

"He'll come in and do a good job."

Any long-term absence would be disastrous for Newcastle, given Ponga's pivotal role in resurrecting their season.

The Knights are already missing the other key cog in their attack, halfback Jackson Hastings, whose ankle injury forced him out of a second consecutive game on Sunday.

Despite the gaping defeat, the Sharks have likely done enough to seal a finals berth of their own.

They would only miss out if they lost by a large margin to Canberra next week, South Sydney beat the Sydney Roosters and North Queensland thrashed reigning premiers Penrith.

"It was disappointing in the end, that second half. We were just defending our tryline the whole day," Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said of the Knights loss.

"I didn't think we exerted any pressure on them, we just kept releasing it."

The lowest Newcastle can finish is sixth, meaning they will host a home final for the first time since 2006 even if they lose to 16th-placed St George Illawarra next week.

"We didn't speak about grand finals in the summer but we spoke about how good would it be to be in a semi-final at home," O'Brien said.

"I'm really proud of the boys to achieve a goal that we set a long time ago."

After his opposite man Connor Tracey opened the scoring, Ponga shrugged out of a Matt Moylan tackle to level the scores 6-6 at halftime.

Ponga helped the Knights to their first lead of the afternoon when he beat five defenders and belted 50 metres on a kick return.

"That was a massive play," O'Brien said.

The Sharks' defence was still recalibrating when Bradman Best scythed through on the left for a try that confirmed all momentum for the Knights and they never looked back.

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An Australian couple who plunged 10 metres from a fortress wall while holidaying in Dubrovnik are fighting for their lives after suffering serious injuries, according to local media reports.

A 34-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman reportedly fell from a medieval clifftop fortress near the Croatian coastal city in the early hours of Saturday.

They were taken to Dubrovnik General Hospital where the woman remains in a critical condition in intensive care.

Her companion is in a serious condition after undergoing emergency surgery.

Trauma specialist at Dubrovnik General Hospital Dr Ivan Bencic told Croatian media outlet HRT the woman had suffered a spinal cord injury, cerebral damage and fractures in her vertebrae.

A spokeswoman for Dubrovnik-Neretva police told local news station Dubrovacka Televizija the couple had been intoxicated and cuddling or kissing when they fell.

The fall is being treated as an accident.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia was providing consular assistance to two injured people in Croatia.

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FMG'S LEGAL BATTLE WITH THE YINDJIBARNDI PEOPLE

* 2003 - Yindjibarndi launch claim for native title

* 2007 - Fortescue Metals Group begins exploration drilling on Yindjibarndi country in what will become the Solomon hub and bulldozes Ganyjingarringunha Jinbi, a freshwater spring

* 2008 - Fortescue and Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (YAC) begin negotiations for Solomon mine hub

* 2009 - Negotiations fail between Fortescue and YAC which sought 0.5 per cent of all future royalties, the standard rate paid by major iron ore miners in the Pilbara

* 2009 - National Native Title Tribunal grants FMG two further mining leases for the Solomon Hub, after WA government agrees to conditions

* 2010 Wirlu-murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (WMYAC) is formed, with financial backing from FMG

* 2011 - WMYAC holds a meeting in Roebourne, where they bus in Yindjibarndi people and pay them $500 each for attending. The meeting votes in favour of an agreement with FMG about developing Solomon

* 2013 - Fortescue begins mining at Firetail, part of the Solomon Hub, on Yindjibarndi land without agreement from YAC, the registered native title body

* 2017 - Federal Court grants Yindjibarndi exclusive native title over area where the Solomon mine is located. FMG appeals

* 2019 - Full bench of the Federal Court rejects Fortescue's appeal. FMG seeks leave to appeal in the High Court

* 2020 - High Court dismisses FMG's application

* 2023 - Hearings begin in case that will decide whether Yindjibarndi should receive compensation and, if so, who should pay.

© AAP 2023