The League of Nations was once described as "the greatest humbug in history", but it has had a lasting impact on Australia: it helped the nation untie its British apron strings and find its foreign policy voice.

For 120 years, it was a successful mining engineering business, riding the highs and lows. But an aggressive move into a new form of technology, the solar industry, burned RCR Tomlinson and left it in administration.

Labor's proposed changes to the way dividends are taxed in super funds has angered many retirees, but that is unlikely to derail the reforms.

The collapse of one of the nation's oldest engineering companies, RCR Tomlinson, has destroyed Christmas for thousands of families, according to the union dealing with the fallout from the unexpected job losses.

The typical Australian is now worth more than $260,000, knocking Switzerland off the top of the global rich list.