Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been nominated to the board of global media giant Fox Corporation.

The nomination comes a day after Rupert Murdoch announced he would be stepping down as chairman of the company in favour of his son Lachlan.

Also nominated to the board of directors was tech executive Peggy Johnson.

READ MORE: Rupert Murdoch steps down as Fox and News Corp chairman

"I welcome Peggy Johnson and Tony Abbott's nominations to the board," Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement today.

Both Abbott and Johnson's nominations will be considered by shareholders at the annual meeting later this year.

Abbott served as prime minister from 2013 to 2015, and was a member of parliament from 1994 until 2019.

Since leaving office, Abbott has served as an advisor at the UK Board of Trade.

If his nomination is approved, he will join a board which also includes former US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

Rupert Murdoch will remain on the board as "chairman emeritus", with Lachlan serving as chairman.

Abbott's salary has not been disclosed, but most board members at Fox are making about A$500,000 in salary.

The Fox Corporation is a US-based company that runs the television arm of the Murdoch empire.

Its sister company News Corp runs the newspaper side of the business, as well as Murdoch's Australian assets, including Foxtel, Sky News and more than a hundred newspapers.

United States Senator Bob Menendez has been charged with secretly aiding the authoritarian government of Egypt and trying to thwart the criminal prosecution of a friend in exchange for gold bars and cash, as prosecutors unsealed a corruption indictment that accuses him of using his foreign affairs influence for personal gain.

The indictment, the second in eight years against the powerful 69-year-old New Jersey Democrat, alleges an illegal commingling of Menendez's professional obligations as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance US priorities and his private interest in cultivating relationships with wealthy businessmen.

The indictment also charges him, his wife and three New Jersey businessmen who authorities say showered the couple with money, gold and a luxury car in exchange for his actions on their behalf. A previous indictment of Menendez stemming from different allegations ended in 2017 with a deadlocked jury.

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Hours after the indictment was unsealed, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Menendez would step down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee "until the matter has been resolved."

Menendez is accused of trying to derail the criminal case against one of the businessmen by pushing to install Philip R. Sellinger as US attorney for New Jersey because Menendez believed he could influence Sellinger. Prosecutors say he also tried to use his position of power to try to meddle in a separate criminal investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General's office.

Authorities found more than US$100,00 ($150,000) worth of gold bars in Menendez's home, and more than US$480,000 ($745,000) in cash — much of it hidden in closets, clothing and a safe, prosecutors say.

Photos included in the indictment show cash that was stuffed in envelopes found in jackets bearing Menendez's name. Investigators discovered a Google search by Menendez for the value of a "kilo of gold," and DNA of one men prosecutors say bribed him on an envelope filled with thousands of dollars in Menendez's home, they said.

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Prosecutors allege Menendez took repeated actions to benefit Egypt despite US. government misgivings over the country's human rights record that in recent years has prompted Congress to impose restrictions on aids.

His steps include ghost-writing a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on US$300 million ($465 million) in aid to Egypt as well as transmitting non-public information to Egyptian officials about military issues, the indictment says.

Menendez in an emailed statement accused prosecutors of misrepresenting "the normal work of a congressional office" and said he will not allow his work in the Senate to be distracted by "baseless allegations."

"For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave," Menendez said. "Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists."

David Schertler, a lawyer for Menendez's wife, Nadine, said she "denies any criminal conduct and will vigorously contest these charges in court."

Menendez appears to be the first sitting senator in US history to have been indicted on two unrelated criminal matters, according to the Senate Historical Office. He faces reelection next year in a bid to extend his three-decade career in Washington as Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate.

"Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey. He has a right to due process and a fair trial," Democratic leader Schumer said in an emailed statement.

Police and a rehabilitation facility had opportunities to support a woman who feared for her safety at the hands of her bikie boyfriend but did not take action, a coroner has been told.

Tina Greer went to visit Lesley "Grumpy" Sharman on his Gold Coast hinterland property in January 2012 after telling others the relationship was over.

The then 32-year-old – who had left her daughter with a friend – never returned.

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Days later Greer's car was found at the Governors Chair lookout at Spicers Gap – a dead-end road passing Sharman's house.

Her body has never been found.

Sharman was a person of interest in the case but was never arrested and died in a car crash in late 2018.

An inquest hearing into Greer's likely death has ended after 25 witnesses testified.

There is sufficient evidence to find Greer was killed by Sharman on or about January 18, 2012, the day she went missing, counsel assisting Stephanie Williams told the Coroners Court in Brisbane on Friday.

Evidence included the history of severe physical violence and control Sharman perpetrated against Greer and that she had moved away from him into her own accommodation with Lili, then aged 13.

In the days after Greer went missing Sharman uncharacteristically switched off his mobile phone and made denials to police about the nature of their relationship.

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Williams submitted that there is insufficient evidence to find where Greer died or what caused her death.

"That lack of evidence can be attributed to Les Sharman's ability to conceal evidence and or conduct criminal activity in an undetected way."

The inquest heard of police speaking to the pair after incidents of violence against Greer but not providing support or referrals to services, Williams said.

In June 2010 when it was reported that Sharman held a gun to Greer's head police had an opportunity to investigate any firearms in his possession.

But that did not occur, even though he was a known bikie member with a history of discharging and carrying weapons, she told the coroner.

Williams said an officer's explanation that a search did not occur because it was likely Sharman would have hidden any weapons is nonsensical and a failure to investigate a known criminal offence.

When Greer disappeared the police response was prompt and extensive, with her immediately regarded as a high-risk missing person, Williams told the court.

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The counsel assisting submitted Salvation Army staff at Fairhaven's Gold Coast rehabilitation centre where Greer was admitted in 2011 responded inadequately to disclosures about being in an abusive relationship.

Case notes refer to her not having skills or self-confidence to break away but there is nothing to indicate she was offered domestic violence counselling or referred to services.

Regarding a staff member noting she wanted to see Greer given the opportunity to realise her god-given potential, Williams said Fairhaven should have done more than hope for a god-given opportunity.

The inquest revealed opportunities for meaningful change, Williams said.

"Lili Greer is to be commended for her perseverance and resilience in advocating for it and in doing so, advocating for her mother and other victims of domestic and family violence."

Lili Greer and other parties involved in the inquest will make written submissions to coroner Kerrie O'Callaghan, who expects to hand down findings in December.

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Exclusive: The chief executive of the Queensland Museum says extra staff and funding will help ramp up repatriation efforts to return hundreds of ancestral remains back to country.

9News exclusively revealed the Queensland Museum holds the ancestral remains of 833 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, the remains of 65 individuals from Pacific Island nations, and 445 additional "secret and sacred objects".

Chief executive Jim Thompson said the museum had returned the remains of about 200 people back to country since repatriation efforts began in the 1990s.

"It's a very complex and sensitive process, it's really difficult," he told 9News.

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"We need to make the community aware of what's in the museum because a lot of people don't know what's in here – they know things were taken but they wouldn't know where they ended up.

"We hold that material as custodians only – we don't own that material in any way, shape or form and decisions about its future can only be made by owners of that material.

"We're working with those people and those communities as much as they can to say, 'Can you take this material back, how would you like it back and when would you like it back?'.

"Often they are not in a position, they don't have keeping places, they don't have places of which they could bury ancestors at the moment so they often ask us to hold on to the material until we can find that."

Six months after 9News first lodged enquiries with the Queensland Museum about the extent of ancestral remains it holds, the Queensland government allocated $4.5 million to ramp up repatriation efforts.

Thompson said the museum often receives items from overseas or individuals across Australia who come across ancestral remains found in private collections.

"We also have a lot of private individuals who are now finding material at home after the deaths of parents or family members and saying, 'What do we do with this? This is material that we should not have in our home'," he said

"While we're repatriating and getting material out and ancestors out, we're actually getting more in so the collection at the moment, ironically and sadly, is going up.

"Our aim is to get all of those back to country but many more items continue to come in, particularly from overseas at the moment.

"These items were collected, without the proper practices at the time and accumulated in museums over a period of time."

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A First Nations Elder, Uncle Bob Weatherall, is calling on the Queensland Museum to provide an extensive register of known items within its collection which could be made available to the First Nations community.

A museum spokeswoman said it would be "inappropriate" to provide a public register of items but encouraged any affected communities to contact the museum directly.

"Penalties apply if an individual or corporation shares information of a secret or sacred nature without express permission of Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples," she said.

"From the time that Queensland Museum Network (QMN) deaccessioned the Ancestral Remains and Secret and/or Sacred material from the main collection, the control and decision-making powers relating to this material were passed into the hands of the identified First Nations communities from whom these items were originally taken.

"Decisions as to who can view and access this material, whether this material is actual Ancestral Remains and Secret and Sacred Objects or any information pertaining to these items, now lies in the hands of those identified communities."

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Identified communities who would like to access Ancestral Remains and Secret and Sacred Objects can contact the museum at re**********@********ov.au

Information publicly available on QMN's Repatriation Program is available via the QMN website.

Ancestral Remains and Secret and Sacred objects are cared for in accordance with the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 and the Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (the Acts).

New Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson has apologised to customers and promised now is the time for the airline to reset and deliver a better service to Australians and its workers.

Hudson, just two weeks into the top job, apologised on behalf of the business to customers for letting them down "in many ways" but has promised to focus on listening to all stakeholders as the company moves forward.

"I am sorry. We haven't delivered the way we should have and we have been often hard to deal with," she said in a video message.

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"We understand why you're frustrated and why some of you have lost trust in us."

She said workers have "tried their absolute best" under difficult circumstances and committed to fixing the issues plaguing the airline.

"We understand we need to earn your trust back not with what we say but with what we do."

'Opportunity to reset': Hudson on taking leadership reigns

Hudson also spoke with the media following the video message and set out her plan for leading the company through torrid times.

"I am determined to fix it, I'm listening, I've heard what customers have said and we're focused moving forward not just to fix the pain points but to deliver more value to frequent flyers and to deliver operationally to the high standard customers expect of us," she said.

"And when things don't go to plan, because things often won't, that we recover better and empower our people to do that.

"There's an opportunity now to reset."

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What will the airline do differently?

From putting more people in call centres, establishing more frequent flyer seats, reviewing all customer policies to ensure they're fair and giving frontline teams more flexibility, Hudson said these measures are just the beginning.

"This is going to take time and I ask for your patience," Hudson said.

She said over the next year the airline is investing in new aircraft, which will open new routes.

The company is also looking to onboard more staff, which Hudson said will be better for the economy.

In terms of airfares – which have been exorbitantly high amid strong demand, low capacity and high fuel prices – Hudson said they'll stay at the current "low" level.

Hudson a 'very different' leader to Joyce

She took the top job as Alan Joyce's successor earlier this month after the former CEO entered earlier than expected retirement.

Hudson said her leadership style is very different to Joyce's with a focus on listening.

"I am someone who listens and also hears, and when I hear, we are going to act," she said.

"I want to build deeper connections with our people."

She said she was approachable, collaborative and wanted diversity in opinions and ideas.

But the bottom line, she said, was that she was passionate about the organisation and the people.

"I am going to be someone who is very visible," she said.

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Hudson responds to recent controversies

The airline's reputation has taken a battering with one headline after another, from Australia's high court finding its outsourcing of almost 1700 jobs during the pandemic illegal.

Hudson responded to the high court finding saying the organisation accepted the decision and has issued another apology.

"We regret very much having to make that decision and in this moment I would like to apologise to the workers who were impacted by that," she said.

"I am focused on working through the mediation and making sure we reach a settlement as quickly and reasonably as possible."

There was the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's legal action against the airline after it was accused of breaking consumer law by allegedly advertising tickets for thousands of cancelled flights and failing to tell customers about ticket cancellations.

Hudson said Qantas takes the allegations "very seriously".

"There could have been things we have done better during that period as it was an incredibly difficult time," she said.

"The notion we took fees for no service, that is not right, our primary motivation through that period when we cancelled flights was to get customers on the next available flight."

Then the record pre-tax profits of $2.5 billion while customers faced high flight prices and delays.

Qantas was deemed the "13th most distrusted brand in the economy" in August by research firm Roy Morgan.

Just three years prior, the national carrier was the third most trusted brand.

Hudson said her goal was to lift Qantas back to the national carrier "Australians are proud of" and trust.

A man has been charged after a woman was killed and another was injured during an alleged hit-run crash in Brisbane.

At about 6.55am today, a Holden Commodore ute collided with a Suzuki Swift at the intersection of Anzac Avenue and Oleander Street in Kippa-Ring in the Moreton Bay region.

The 72-year-old woman driving the Swift was trapped in the car and died at the scene.

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A group of witnesses from a nearby gym heard the collision and ran to help.

They managed to stabilise the adult passenger and provided CPR to the driver for more than 10 minutes.

"We ripped open as much as we could of the door and I was giving her CPR and mouth-to-mouth," David Biddle told 9News.

"Unfortunately, she did pass away and that was somebody's mother and grandmother."

The woman's daughter, the female passenger, was taken to hospital with serious injuries after paramedics arrived.

The ute driver allegedly fled on foot.

Police said they later located 27-year-old Andrew Stewart-Smith man four kilometres from the scene in a drain, at about 9am.

Stewart-Smith has been charged with operation of a motor vehicle causing death, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm, failing to remain at the scene of an incident and rendering assistance, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and stealing.

He is known to police, 9News understands.

Investigators said the ute had been allegedly stolen from a Stafford address on September 18 or September 19.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam of the incident is urged to contact police.

Stewart-Smith will appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Saturday. 

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter responded to the crash about 3.45pm.

Another fiscal hole allegation has arisen – this time around Labour’s costings.

Any hopes mortgage holders have that interest rates could soon fall have been dashed as the global fight against inflation continues.

The head of the US central bank said the battle to control inflation is far from over, meaning the path to lower interest rates is more difficult to achieve.

"The worst thing we can do is fail to restore price stability. If you fail to restore price stability… inflation comes back," US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said.

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The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey backed up these comments, sending the market into a panic.

"We will need to keep interest rates high enough for long enough to ensure that we get the job done," Bailey said.

"Whatever happens we will do what is needed to get inflation back to normal."

But what does this all mean for Australia?

Well, forecasters had thought interest rates would stop rising globally and come back down in the short term.

But this has all changed with concerns the rate will stay stagnant – and high.

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In Australia, the big banks previously predicted there would be two interest rate cuts next year.

Now, the market forecasts none.

The cash rate in Australia currently sits at 4.1 per cent after it was held for the third time at the Reserve Bank of Australia's September decision.

The central bank said inflation had passed its peak but continued with its signature phrase that "further tightening of monetary policy may be required" in the future.

"Inflation is coming down, the labour market remains strong and the economy is operating at a high level of capacity utilisation," the bank said.

Neither major party is offering much to people on low incomes.