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Andrew Forrest made his vast fortune by snubbing the doubters. The approach worked on his iron ore bet two decades ago. This time with hydrogen, writes Eric Johnston, the story couldn’t be any more different.

After refusing to acknowledge any internal warning signs and critics from the energy industry, Forrest kept crashing through. Now his green energy ambitions have crashed spectacularly . And there is more than a financial cost – much of which is yet to be quantified.

Meanwhile, new unemployment figures paint an uncertain picture for borrowers, businesses and investors, and one key question continues to confound: why isn’t our jobless rate higher? For the five years before the pandemic Australia’s national unemployment rate ranged between 5 and 6 per cent. It spiked to 7.5 per cent in mid-2020 but since 2022 has been between 3.5 and the current 4.1 per cent. 

And Qantas will install scientifically-tested jet-lag busting lighting on board its aircraft being used to operate the 20-hour plus flights between Australia’s east coast, New York and London.