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Eric JohnstonAssociate Editor

Eric Johnston is an associate editor of The Australian. He has more than 25 years experience as a finance journalist, including a former business editor of The Australian. He has been business editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and financial services editor with The Australian Financial Review. His work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

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CommentaryCompaniesAn hour ago

New Star Entertainment Group chief executive Steve McCann

McCann’s $11m exit: How Star’s rescue became golden parachute

Dealmaker Steve McCann was never going to be around for the long haul – and all the signals from Star’s new backers early on were they wanted their hand-picked team in place.

CEO SURVEY 2026CEO Survey

The sun behind power transmission lines during high temperatures in Columbia, South Carolina, US, on Monday, July 28, 2025. Nearly half the US will wilt under hot, sticky conditions through the bulk of the week as temperatures and humidity soar from Chicago to New York City and New Orleans, boosting power demand and raising health risks. Photographer: Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg

‘Point of no return’: CEOs warn of tipping point on energy costs

Business leaders have issued frank views over energy affordability, questioning green targets at the cost of ‘deindustrialisation’ as manufacturers fight for survival.

CommentaryCompanies

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JULY 08 2025: A general view of the Australian Stock Exchange in the Sydney CBD, ahead of the RBA announcement on Rates today. Photo: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Australia’s stock exchange is broken: can it really fix itself?

The ASX faces unprecedented regulatory intervention as problems run deep that have been building for years. This requires a fundamental reset.

CEO SURVEYCEO Survey

**EMBARGOED FOR 13/12/2025** 10 December 2025; Australia's most influential chief executives come together to discuss the outlook for the economy, growth strategies, and the challenges facing the corporate sector in the year ahead, presented in partnership with Deloitte. Sources: Supplied. Artwork by Frank Ling. Ratio 4:3. For DIGITAL or PRINT. Snippets: 16:9 - c20a6578574101b8d4b276915db62919 4:3 - 0c21f5a5967220b4640696b01fedc63e 4:3 (text only) - e3bd43d388cc04c46f0c99a8f3c7d7dd

‘Burning platform’: CEOs sound alarm over productivity crisis

Nearly 80 CEOs are unified in worrying that Australia’s productivity malaise has reached crisis point, threatening to lock Australia into a low-growth spiral.

CEO SURVEY 2026: FULL LISTLeadership

**EMBARGOED FOR 13/12/2025** 10 December 2025; Australia's most influential chief executives come together to discuss the outlook for the economy, growth strategies, and the challenges facing the corporate sector in the year ahead, presented in partnership with Deloitte. Sources: Supplied. Artwork by Frank Ling. Ratio 4:3. For DIGITAL or PRINT. Snippets: 16:9 - c20a6578574101b8d4b276915db62919 4:3 - 0c21f5a5967220b4640696b01fedc63e 4:3 (text only) - e3bd43d388cc04c46f0c99a8f3c7d7dd

In their own words: top CEOs answer the big questions

From the economy, energy and technology demands, explore the full responses from the nation’s most influential business leaders in The Australian’s exclusive CEO Survey.

Eric Johnston and Lilly Vitorovich

Legal battleCompanies

24/10/2025. Shayne Elliott, former CEO of ANZ arrives at Federal Court in Sydney. Britta Campion / The Australian

Ex-ANZ chief sues bank over $13.5m bonus claw back

ANZ’s accountability crackdown has triggered an extraordinary legal battle with former boss Shayne Elliott over a $13.5m bonus for which he claims there was a ‘clear agreement’.

Eric Johnston and Max Aitchison

CEO SURVEY 2026Leadership

Incoming Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell. Picture: Supplied

‘National crisis’: what our top CEOs really think

Influential chiefs have offered frank C-suite insights about challenges ahead. Here are the 10 biggest issues from The Australian’s CEO Survey for 2026.

CEO Survey 2026CEO Survey

IAG CEO Nick Hawkins, SGH CEO Ryan Stokes and Zeller CEO Ben Pfisterer.

CEOs hit back on WFH mandates: ‘We shouldn’t still be debating this’

Australia’s top CEOs have delivered a resounding rejection of government intervention in workplace arrangements, saying it is ‘a sledgehammer to productivity’.

CommentaryMarkets

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - 09 DECEMBER 2025: RBA Governor Michele Bullock gives a statement after the RBA's Monetary Policy Decision to keep interest rates on hold. Picture: NewsWire / Christian Gilles

RBA is sugar-coating inflation and we will all pay the price

The RBA’s reluctance to slam the door on rate cuts looks increasingly like a costly mistake and governor Michele Bullock needs to get tough before it’s too late.

CommentaryCompanies

Stacks of containers sit at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 31, 2025. World economies were jittery on March 31 ahead of US President Donald Trump's

Macquarie’s monster port deal shaping up as bigger test

The timing is no coincidence. Macquarie’s $9.2bn tilt at Qube will be the first major deal to face the treasurer’s revamped merger rules – and the ACCC is ready to move.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/eric-johnston