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The top stories on ABC News.
Westpac shares have risen after the resignation of Chief Executive Brian Hartzer amid the fallout of the money laundering scandal. His exit comes after damaging leaks from a meeting of executives in which he appeared to dismiss the significance of the allegations raised by AUSTRAC. Westpac's Chairman Lindsay Maxsted has also confirmed he will bring forward his retirement.
A report has called for private hospitals to hold "greedy" specialists to account to survive the "death spiral" gripping the health insurance industry. The Grattan Institute has suggested private hospitals bundle costs from doctors, hospitals, medications, prostheses and tests. It says hospitals would either take on excessive specialist costs, or inform patients in advance of extra charges.
Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have reached a new high. The World Meteorological Organisation says the last time the earth experienced a comparable level was 3 million years ago. Other warming gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, have also surged by above average amounts.
And scientists have launched what they call a "google map of sounds" in a project that will record the calls of Australian Wildlife for five years. Solar-powered audio recorders are being installed in remote parts of Australia to create a unique "soundscape" as the environment changes. Scientists will be able to analyse the results, creating an acoustic DNA.
