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There were sparks aplenty during a Senate committee grilling of Woolworths' price gouging as the Greens' Nick McKim accused CEO Brad Banducci of spin and told him to answer questions or face the prospect of being in contempt. 

Meanwhile, NAB's former head of repo trading, Dikele Diawara, who launched court action in 2022, has redrafted her human rights complaint against the bank to argue her total employment compensation was less than her peers.

And Star Entertainment Group received a whistleblower complaint about former chief executive Robbie Cooke and the company’s “toxic culture”, the second Bell inquiry into the troubled casino operator has been told.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on Tuesday . The benchmark ASX 200 closed sharply lower, dropping 140 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 7612.50 points and set a new 20-day low. The broader All Ordinaries index also lost 1.8 per cent to close the session at 7862.30 points.

The Big Read

Outdoor power equipment is facing its automotive industry moment, according to Husqvarna chief executive Pavel Hajman.

Lawn mowers, brush cutters and hedge trimmers are increasingly becoming battery powered, with the smell of oil and petrol slowly wafting away from Australian sheds and home workshops.

About 40 per cent of Husqvarna’s products are electric – a ratio that is expected to rise to about 60 per cent by 2026. “There has been double-digit growth in battery products for a number of years, and will continue for a number of years,” Mr Hajman tells The Australian from Stockholm.

Jared Lynch

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