Retail trade turnover fell 0.2 per cent, dropping for the first time in nine months.

Economists have suggested this may be because shoppers held off in October to take advantage of pre-Christmas November discounts, such as Black Friday sales.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has somewhat apologised for saying the bank would preserve interest rates.

Mr Lowe suggested the bank would not raise interest rates until 2024, but the cash rate has risen 275 basis points since May, when it was at a historic low of 0.1 per cent.

"We didn't communicate the caveats clearly enough ... they didn't hear the conditionality and that was partly our fault," he said.

The federal National Party will oppose an Indigenous voice to Parliament.

The Labor government wants to change the Constitution to enshrine an Indigenous legislative body.

The body, known as the Voice, would enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to give advice on policies and laws that impact them.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said his party did not believe the Voice would help close the gap; the difference in health and education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Australia's first female astronaut, Dr Meganne Christian, has been chosen as one of the European Space Agency's 17 new astronaut recruits.

From Wollongong, the 34-year-old was chosen from more than 22,500 applicants.

The process involved psychometric, psychological and medical testing.

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