Michele Bullock becomes first woman to serve as RBA governor  

We were delighted to see Michele Bullock will become the first woman to lead the Reserve Bank of Australia, replacing incumbent, Phillip Lowe.   

When her seven-year term begins on September 18, Ms Bullock will become the ninth RBA governor. She has sat on the board as deputy governor since April 2022 and has worked at the central bank since 1985.  

She will lead the bank as it undergoes a once in a generation reform and close scrutiny due to the dozen rate rises since May placing many families under financial stress.

Bullock said she was “deeply honoured” to have been appointed as governor and is committed to ensuring the RBA delivers on its policies and objectives for the benefit of the Australian people.  

Monash Business School study investigates ethnic hiring discrimination

We were disappointed to learn a two-year study conducted by Monash Business School found applicants with ethnic names were less likely to get callbacks than English-sounding names, particularly in the recruitment of leadership positions.  

More than 12,000 job applications were sent to upwards of 4,000 real advertisements in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane to investigate hiring discrimination against six ethnic groups for leadership positions in 12 different occupations. Despite having identical resumes, ethnic minorities received 57 per cent fewer callbacks.  

The study suggests using anonymous job applications, improving the training of recruiters to reduce ethnic discrimination, and implementing diversity management and inclusion practices.  

National exclusion register to minimise harm stemming from gambling 

BetStop, a national exclusion register, will allow problem gamblers to voluntarily ban themselves from online betting companies for periods ranging from three months to a lifetime.

Launching on 21 August, the ban can be applied to the 150 licensed Australian online betting companies, with providers unable to open an account or place a bet for gamblers on the register.  

The initiative follows a June parliamentary report looking into online gambling reform that recommended a ban on online betting advertising. 

BetStop will be promoted on betting websites and apps, marketing materials and a public awareness campaign.   

Meta launches new Threads app  

Meta has launched its rival to Twitter, Threads, with 30 million people signing up in its first 24 hours.  

The new platform will allow users to share text updates and join public conversations through posts of up to 500 characters, links, photos, and videos up to five minutes in length.  

Meta’s aim of building Threads was to enable positive, productive conversations, with users being able to control who can mention or reply. Like Instagram, people can filter replies, unfollow, block, restrict, or report a profile.  

Currently, users can not delete their Threads account without deleting their associated Instagram profile, however, Meta has confirmed Threads can be deactivated in the meantime. 

Australia’s first grocery store becomes 100 per cent renewable 

Aldi is the first national grocery store in Australia to be 100 per cent renewable and has been independently verified by the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Regulator.

ALDI achieved its commitment to power its operations with 100 per cent renewable electricity six months ahead of schedule, using offsite wind farms and onsite solar panels.  

It is the only supermarket in Australia to power all offices, stores and warehouses using only renewable electricity sources, while its competitors are aiming to achieve these results by 2025.  

After setting a benchmark for corporate Australia, Aldi now intends to continue this success and reduce its emissions worldwide.