Former Gold Coast City councillor Cameron Caldwell is heading to Canberra after winning the federal seat of Fadden for the Liberal National Party.

Mr Caldwell will replace former Turnbull and Morrison government minister Stuart Robert who resigned from federal parliament earlier this year.

The new MP fought off a tough campaign by the Labor party which had highlighted Mr Robert's involvement in the robodebt scandal that engulfed the previous coalition federal government.

Robodebt is the name given to an unlawful debt recovery program that saddled almost half a million welfare recipients with hundreds of millions of dollars in false Centrelink debts between 2015 and 2019.

A royal commission investigation into the scheme released earlier this month laid the blame at the feet of senior public servants and coalition ministers including Mr Robert, Scott Morrison, Alan Tudge and Christian Porter.

But Mr Caldwell said the main issue for voters in the by-election was the rising cost of living.

"We are a party that must return to government in order to restore the faith that Australians have in government keeping their promises," he said in his victory speech alongside his wife, Lauren.

Federal coalition leader Peter Dutton said Mr Caldwell would be an exceptional member of the federal parliament.

"He's worked tirelessly for this community for over a dozen years, he's accomplished in law in small business, he's worked hard for his local community, and he will continue that work as the federal member for Fadden," he said.

Labor's candidate Letitia Del Fabbro said on Saturday any swing to Labor would be a blow to the coalition in one of its safest seats.

Ms Del Fabbro, who was contesting the seat for the second time, was credited with whittling down Mr Robert's margin from 11.2 per cent to 10.6 per cent at the 2019 federal election.

But late-night polling from the Australian Electoral Commission on Saturday appeared to show there had been little change in voting patterns, with a likely swing to the LNP.

In her concession speech, Ms Del Fabbro said it was still a "bloody good result" for Labor.

"A little while ago I called Cameron Caldwell to congratulate him on being elected as a new member," she said on Saturday night.

"As you know, we knew this would be an uphill battle, so I guess it has always been an important message to the LNP to not take the Gold Coast for granted."

Labor has won Fadden once - in 1983 upon the election of the Hawke government.

© AAP 2023

Gold Coast interim coach Steven King insists his side's intensity during an emotional defeat of St Kilda can be maintained and that "anything is possible" with a maiden finals berth still on the table.

The Suns beat the Saints by 26 points on Saturday to cap a week that started with the sacking of head coach Stuart Dew.

Dew was axed with a season to run on his contract by a board that believes there is a gap between where the side sits on the ladder and where they should be.

But after their comprehensive win the Suns improved to 8-9, just one win and percentage outside the top eight.

Two more wins in the final six rounds would equal last year's club-best campaign while five more would likely lock in a maiden finals appearance.

Victory came after back-to-back thumpings against top two sides Collingwood and Port Adelaide, but King said Saturday's performance wasn't a one-out.

"In terms of a sugar hit, we've played a couple of really handy teams the last two weeks," King said.

"One (Collingwood) wasn't great but I thought last week against Port ... there was enough in that game to suggest these boys can play against anyone when we're on the right path."

Jack Lukosius kicked four goals and unlikely pair Rory Atkins (32 disposals, two goals) and Sam Flanders (33 disposals, five clearances) starred for the Suns.

The off-contract Flanders was drafted with star duo Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson and King said he had shown there was a place for him in this side too.

"Sometimes a player just needs that breakout game to feel like they belong," King, a Geelong premiership ruckman, said.

"I think Sammy sometimes can, not try too hard but (he was) just chasing that breakout game and I think he's just taken a deep breath, realised any role he plays for us as a team is valued and he gets the rewards.

"He's a very valuable young member of our team and we're certainly a better team when he's in it."

King, who also won a premiership during 10 years as an assistant at Western Bulldogs, said he enjoyed his first experience "in the big chair".

"Today was important to start that journey together; I think anything is possible," he said of their season.

There's an enormous amount of talent here and I was just rapt to see them enjoy the game today and play for one another.

"Memories in this game aren't always positive there's some stuff that punches you in the face sometimes but that can make the group tighter as well."

© AAP 2023

Striking Hollywood actors are expected to join film and television writers on picket lines for the first day of a dual work stoppage that has forced United States productions to shutter as workers battle over pay in the streaming TV era.

The twin strikes will add to the economic damage from the writers' walkout that started on May 2, delivering another blow to the multi-billion-dollar industry struggling with changes to its business.

Hollywood has not faced two simultaneous strikes since 1960.

Both SAG-AFTRA - Hollywood's largest union, representing 160,000 film and television actors - and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are demanding increases in base pay and residuals from streaming television, plus assurances their work will not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).

The actors' union said on Thursday its board had unanimously agreed to a strike after failing to reach a deal with studios including Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc.

Officials said actors would join picket lines in New York and Los Angeles from Friday.

The WGA's work stoppage has rippled through California and beyond, hitting caterers, prop suppliers and others who rely on Hollywood productions for business.

The economic damage is expected to spread after actors join the picket lines.

Fran Drescher, former star of The Nanny TV show and the president of SAG-AFTRA, called the studios' responses to actors' concerns "insulting and disrespectful".

"We are the victims here," Drescher said at a press conference on Thursday.

"We are being victimised by a very greedy entity."

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group that negotiates on behalf of studios, said it had offered significant gains to union members.

They included the highest percentage increase in minimum pay levels in 35 years and "groundbreaking" protections regarding the use of actors' images by generative AI, the organisation said.

"Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods," the AMPTP said.

The strike by roughly 11,500 writers has sent late-night television talk shows into endless re-runs, disrupted most production for the autumn TV season and halted work on big-budget movies.

The actors' walkout will shut down the studios' remaining US-based productions of film and scripted television and hamper many overseas shoots, including in Australia.

Many streaming services have yet to turn a profit after companies spent billions of dollars on programming to try and attract customers.

© RAW 2023

The Reserve Bank of Australia has a new leader but the internal pick is unlikely to stray far from her predecessor's path when it comes to setting interest rates.

Philip Lowe will be replaced by Michele Bullock when his seven-year term finishes in September, making her the first woman to head the central bank in its 63-year history.

Ms Bullock has served as deputy governor since April 2022 after a near four-decade RBA career, which has included several senior positions.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ms Bullock was "eminently qualified".

"Michele will be in an important job at an important time with the challenges we face globally," he said on Friday.

Ms Bullock said she was deeply honoured to be appointed.

"It is a challenging time to be coming into this role but I will be supported by a strong executive team and boards," she said in a statement.

The prime minister thanked Dr Lowe for his service, particularly for his efforts to support the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government considered a shortlist of candidates that included Ms Bullock, Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy and Finance secretary Jenny Wilkinson.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Ms Bullock represented the best combination of experience and expertise along with a fresh leadership perspective.

"This is the right call but it's not an easy call," he said.

The treasurer said Dr Lowe's term was ending with respect, gratitude and dignity, noting that extending an RBA governor's tenure was an "exception rather than a rule".

Dr Lowe was at the helm of the bank throughout the turbulent pandemic period but it was during the recovery phase that his leadership landed him in hot water.

His prediction interest rates would stay on hold at low levels until 2024 attracted criticism after the RBA lifted rates much earlier in response to fast-rising inflation.

The governor later apologised for not adequately communicating the caveats attached to his guidance.

Dr Lowe has also been in the top job throughout an independent review and has confirmed the bank will act on most of the recommendations.

Ms Bullock will have the challenging job of steering reform as well as the unfinished task of returning inflation to target.

Inflation has passed its peak but was still growing at 5.6 per cent annually in May, well above the two-three per cent target range.

Most economists agreed borrowers could expect to see a continuation of monetary policy decision-making, with Ms Bullock involved in all the meetings in the present tightening cycle.

UNSW Business School associate professor Mark Humphrey-Jenner said none of Ms Bullock's communications to date suggested her views deviated much from those of her predecessor.

He told AAP the tightening cycle will likely have ended by the time she takes the reins, and her first test as leader will be determining how long to keep interest rates high before cutting them.

Former treasury official and economist Steven Hamilton said Ms Bullock was the best option but there was a valid argument to bring in an outsider to "shake things up" in light of the review findings.

He told ABC TV the decision to go with an insider, who was still able to implement change but unlikely to "scare the horses", was the right one given the uncertain economic environment.

Mr Hamilton said the review did call for some "pretty dramatic" cultural and governance changes and appointing someone who had been at the institution for 40 years raised a "legitimate question".

But he said Dr Lowe should not be criticised for lifting interest rates to tackle high inflation as the RBA has been doing since May 2022.

© AAP 2023