Received

Former Queensland premier Mike Ahern, whose short reign followed Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen and grappled with the fallout from the tumultuous Fitzgerald inquiry, has died aged 81.

Mr Ahern died peacefully surrounded by family on Friday morning at home on the Sunshine Coast after a battle with cancer, his family said in a statement.

The Aherns have been offered a state funeral as the former premier is remembered as a man of integrity and a giant of Queensland politics.

Mr Ahern was premier from December 1987 to September 1989 after a prominent stint under Mr Bjelke-Petersen, who resigned after damning revelations in the Fitzgerald probe into police and official corruption.

His family said "he took over the reins as premier at Queensland's most troubled time" and implemented the Fitzgerald report "lock, stock and barrel".

"Despite it inevitably cutting short his political career he was always satisfied he had made the state a better place for all," his family said.

Mr Ahern's rise in 1987 came after Mr Bjelke-Petersen seized control of politics in Queensland for much of 1987, serving as premier and treasurer.

Almost all the levers of power rested in his office and he reserved access to department briefings to his inner circle of trusted ministers.

Tensions boiled over in November when he effectively stopped speaking to most of his executive team and wrote to governor Walter Campbell, requesting he sack a quarter of his ministers, which the governor refused.

The premier was eventually successful getting three ministers sacked, including Mr Ahern.

Victory would be short-lived.

Mr Ahern took leadership of the National Party days later and Mr Bjelke-Petersen resigned from politics on December 1.

As the new leader, Mr Ahern famously declared he would implement the findings of the Fitzgerald findings "lock, stock and barrel".

However, publication of the landmark report in 1989 seriously damaged the Nationals and, falling in popularity and facing internal discontent, Mr Ahern lost the leadership to Russell Cooper that year.

But it was not enough to save the Nationals, whose three-decade reign ended at the polls two months later as Wayne Goss led Labor back from the wilderness.

Both sides of Queensland politics remembered Mr Ahern as a respected and admired leader.

"I always had the greatest respect for Mike Ahern, regardless of our political differences," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

"He was always ready with a smile and a conversation and was a genuinely agreeable, down-to-earth character."

The premier sent her government's condolences to Mr Ahern's family as well as an offer of a state funeral.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton paid tribute to Mr Ahern's "discernment, pragmatism and moderation" as he steadied the ship after the Bjelke-Petersen years.

"As a man of integrity, Mike as premier instituted reforms which delivered greater political and public service transparency and accountability and, in the process, helped revive public confidence in Queensland's institutions," he said.

Queensland Liberal National leader David Crisafulli said the state had lost a political giant who always put people ahead of politics.

"Mike Ahern let the sun shine in on government in Queensland more than three decades ago," he posted on social media.

"The decisions he made back then still resonate with Queenslanders today."

Federal Nationals leader David Littleproud said "the National Party family has lost one of its greatest".

Mr Littleproud, whose father Brian was a backbencher in the Bjelke-Petersen years and later a minister, said he still wore the tie and cufflinks gifted to him by the former premier.

"Mike Ahern and my father are two of the greatest influences on me and my pursuit of politics," he said.

"It's difficult to describe all that Mike Ahern achieved and stood for, but integrity is what Mike Ahern embodied in all that he did during his time in public office."

Mr Ahern is survived by his wife Andrea and his five children Louise, Claire, John, Christine and Sharon.

© AAP 2023

It's been harder than expected to dislodge surging price pressures.

But the Reserve Bank boss believes there's a credible path to returning inflation to target in the next few years while keeping most people in their jobs.

Outgoing governor Philip Lowe said no one, including him and his colleagues at the central bank, anticipated such persistent inflation back when it started hiking interest rates last year to head off rising consumer prices.

But he said central banks around the world responded to stubborn inflation and the "worst is over".

"We are now in a place where it is credible to say the inflation will be back within target within a couple of years, and that we can come through this episode with a structurally lower unemployment rate," Dr Lowe told a parliamentary committee hearing in Canberra on Friday.

Since May last year, the RBA has lifted interest rates from a record low of 0.1 per cent to 4.1 per cent.

For the past two months, the cash rate has sat unchanged, however, sparking speculation the peak has been reached.

In his opening remarks, the governor once again left the door open for more tightening.

He said there were two main risks complicating this scenario - household spending habits, which have proved hard to read, and strong services inflation.

On services inflation, he again flagged lacklustre productivity as a key problem and fielded many questions about how best to tackle the challenge.

"It's the number one medium-term economic issue," he said.

Dr Lowe said the slowdown in business investment likely explained the poor productivity performance during the pandemic years.

"They couldn't get the people, they couldn't get the raw material, the capital equipment," he explained.

With these disruptions largely resolved, he was optimistic businesses would restart their investment plans.

In his final appearance before the House economics committee as head of the RBA - with his deputy, Michele Bullock, who will replace him in September - Dr Lowe spelled out the trade-offs of pursuing a faster return to target than the base case of late 2025.

It would be possible to bring inflation down a year earlier but that wasn't in the "national interest" - interest rates would have to go "substantially higher", pushing up unemployment and slowing the economy much more.

A more drawn-out return to target, on the other hand, risked normalising high inflation.

While a recession is not expected, the RBA does expect growth to slow.

In its latest set of forecasts, the near-term outlook for growth was shaved back a bit, with the economy expected to expand by just 0.9 per cent in the 12 months to December.

RBA official Marion Kohler said it was more about growth slowing down earlier, with the ongoing backlog of work in the construction sector largely responsible.

"They've got a large pipeline of work to go through but have problems finding the right labour in some of the trades," she said.

© AAP 2023

The NRL has confirmed two games will be played in Las Vegas to launch the 2024 season, with Manly, Brisbane, South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters locked in to feature.

The matches will be the first for premiership points to be contested outside Oceania and were confirmed on Friday afternoon after months of build-up.

The Roosters will play the Broncos in one of the match-ups, with the Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles clashing in the other.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys travelled to America in May to investigate the feasibility of the fixtures.

It has taken an additional three months to plan the games, with the league currently liaising with the four clubs over logistics.

The 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium - home to the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders - will be announced announced as location of the matches, played in the first week of March.

The fixtures offer an opportunity for Australian rugby league to break into the lucrative American sports gambling market, and to convert fans of the similarly gladiatorial NFL.

"The 2024 Las Vegas matches will form part of an exciting 'Australia Week' in Las Vegas where we will be showcasing rugby league and Australia to the US market," Abdo said.

"We are now working collaboratively with the four clubs to finalise arrangements for the proposed matches in Las Vegas and make this a blockbuster event for fans by maximising travel, attendance and enjoyment of a unique rugby league experience.

"Rugby league will be on a stage which the sport has simply never been on before and we look forward to giving all clubs the opportunity in coming years."

South Sydney and Manly had been linked with the NRL's plans to parachute into the American market to begin the 2023 season before plans were scrapped over logistical difficulties.

The clubs remained at the forefront of Las Vegas discussions, with the NRL hoping to use the high profiles of Souths co-owner Russell Crowe and celebrity Manly fan Hugh Jackman to sell the game to Americans.

Reports linked the Broncos with the Vegas fixtures earlier this month, while Canberra and Melbourne were among other sides considered but ultimately overlooked.

Aside from promoting the game internationally, the NRL anticipates significant interest from existing fans in attending the fixtures.

"It will be an exciting adventure for not only our players and staff to be a part of this historic event, but it will also give our members and supporters the opportunity to travel the world to watch their team play in the United States," Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly said.

"We're confident that we can develop a strong fan and member base off the back of this Las Vegas event in February and March next year and we look forward to growing our club and the sport internationally."

© AAP 2023