Your morning Briefing: King coal to rule for 20 more years

Welcome to your morning digest of the top stories of the day.

Hello readers and welcome to your two-minute digest of what’s making news today.

A general view of Liddell power station in Muswellbrook, in the NSW Hunter Valley region, on Sunday, April 22, 2018. Hong Kong based company Alinta Energy has made a $250m offer to AGL to buy the ageing power plant. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING

King coal rules

The nation’s independent energy market operator has called for Australia’s fleet of coal-fired power plants to be operated for as long as possible to prevent a ­future price shock in the transition to renewables, claiming the ageing plants will still deliver the cheapest electricity for the next 20 years.

“Over the next 20 years, approximately 30 per cent of the NEM’s existing coal resources will be approaching the end of their technical lives, and will likely be retired, which highlights the importance of mitigating premature retirements as these resources currently provide essential low-cost energy and system support services required for the safe and secure operation of the power system.”

AEMO report

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HELSINKI, FINLAND - JULY 16: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a joint press conference after their summit on July 16, 2018 in Helsinki, Finland. The two leaders met one-on-one and discussed a range of issues including the 2016 U.S Election collusion. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Success of sorts

Donald Trump has publicly challenged his own intelligence agencies over Moscow interference in the 2016 presidential election, suggesting he trusted the word of Vladimir Putin over US agents. Cameron Stewart, meantime, reports: It was a partial thaw, a success of sorts, but hardly a warm embrace. Both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin declared their Helsinki summit a success, but as they spoke the differences remained apparent.

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John Battams was appointed to the Board as the nominee director of the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) in 2011 and elected by members in 2013. He was appointed as Chair of the Board in November 2015.

Attack falls flat

Bill Shorten’s attack on major health insurance funds for sending executives to an international conference in Portugal has fallen flat following revelations a senior ALP official and not-for-profit funds with union links were among the attendees. The Opposition Leader yesterday attacked “big” health funds for participating in the four-day conference in Lisbon, where chief executives and board members were invited on a river cruise and dined at expensive restaurants. The Australian can reveal Queensland Labor president John Battams, who is chairman of the Teachers Union Health, was ­listed as a delegate and several ­attendees worked for funds connected to ­unions.

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Rod Clement Margin Call cartoon for 17-07-2018. Version: Business Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.

Super man to step down?

Two new directors have stealthily joined the board of chairman Garry Weaven’s $107 billion fund manager IFM. Margin Call reports that this has some in the gossipy ­industry wondering: is the Godfather of Australian superannuation preparing to step down? That would excite the industry super-obsessed members of the Liberal Party. Through Weaven’s longtime leadership of IFM, the former ACTU assistant-secretary has become one of the most powerful figures in the Australian super landscape.

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Serbia's Novak Djokovic holds the winners trophy after beating South Africa's Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 in their men's singles final match on the thirteenth day of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 15, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / NEIL HALL / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE

Joker out of the dark

As Novak Djokovic celebrated a Wimbledon triumph that ended the most testing time of his career, his satisfaction was evident. To achieve greatness on the most sacred site in tennis, with his son Stefan in the stands, sparked immense pride. It was a stark turnaround from the disarray he appeared in just six weeks ago.

“This is obviously very pleasing and satisfying to be able to play the way I played in the last couple of tournaments, in Queen’s and Wimbledon. This is going to be a huge confidence boost and springboard for whatever is coming up.”

Novak Djokovic

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Johannes Leak’s view

Johannes Leak letters page cartoon for 17-07-2018Version: Letters Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.