Good afternoon. Michele Bullock’s appointment as the incoming RBA governor this morning has been welcomed – albeit cautiously by some.
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, pointed to Bullock being the first female Reserve Bank governor as a “historic moment for Australia”. The Greens, who had pushed for the outgoing chief Philip Lowe to be replaced, were less enthusiastic, saying Bullock’s appointment was “business-as-usual” given her prior role as RBA deputy governor.
The ACTU came out on the front foot, calling on the new RBA governor to halt interest rate rises, saying the central bank had “punished working families for a problem that they did not cause”.
Top news
Network Ten wins case against Peter van Onselen | The former Network Ten political editor has lost a contract breach lawsuit against his former employer over a scathing column he wrote in the Australian. Ten made no claim for damages but has until 21 July to submit a claim for costs to the court.
‘Serious and systemic issues’ with pesticides regulator | A senior staff member urinating on colleagues at a Christmas function is one of the allegations that surfaced in a damning review of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. The board chair and CEO have resigned after the review uncovered “serious allegations of poor governance, poor workplace culture and poor leadership that clearly left the APVMA at risk of not meeting those integrity standards”.
Deloitte admits misuse of government information | The scandal that has engulfed global giant PwC is widening, with Deloitte the latest big four consultancy firm to disclose a breach as part of an ongoing Senate inquiry. It has so far refused to provide any more details about the incident due to client confidentiality.
Push for ketamine subsidy | Researchers supported by Australia’s peak body for psychiatrists have applied to have ketamine treatments for depression subsidised by Medicare, following the results of a trial which found a low-cost version of the drug can treat severe depression.
China says Australia relations ‘stabilised’ | China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, said relations have “stabilised, improved and developed” under the joint efforts of both countries, after a meeting with the Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, at the Asean summit in Jakarta. Wong said it was a “constructive discussion”, but pushed for faster action on China’s crippling trade sanctions on certain Australian goods.
Sudanese army shells market, kills at least 30 | Most of the victims in the incident at the Shaabi souk in Omdurman were children and women, according to witnesses. Residents of the country’s most populous city have described this week as the worst for civilian casualties since the outbreak of war in April.
US cluster munitions arrive in Ukraine | The bombs, which open in air to deploy scores of deadly bomblets, are banned in 120 countries, but not in the US, Ukraine or Russia. Human rights organisations criticised Joe Biden’s decision to supply Ukraine with the controversial bombs, noting that at least 149 civilians were killed or injured worldwide by the weapon in 2021.
Jared Kushner appeared before grand jury | Donald Trump’s son-in-law was among several witnesses to testify before a grand jury in recent weeks about the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, US media reported. Testifying at a federal courthouse in Washington DC last month, Kushner, a former White House adviser to Trump, reportedly said it was his impression that Trump truly believed the 2020 election was stolen.
India’s historic moon mission | India’s space agency is readying to launch a rocket that will attempt to land a rover on the moon and mark the country’s arrival as a power in space exploration. Built on a budget of just under US$75m (A$109m), the Chandrayaan-3 is set to blast off from India’s main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh at 2.35pm local time.
What they said …
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“How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting.” - Fran Drescher
Hollywood actors have joined with writers on strike, grinding production to a halt. It’s the first time Hollywood actors and writers have gone on strike together in 63 years. Watch Drescher’s fiery speech.
In numbers
Health authorities are urging more young people to get the flu vaccine after two children died from the virus.
Before bed read
A reader’s husband is paying escorts for live sex videos, since his wife “has been sexually unavailable to him because I was pregnant back-to-back with two kids after our marriage”. When she confronted him about it, he offered a dismissive reply. Is it cheating, she asks our advice columnist?
“… perhaps he’s not obliged by your marriage contract not to pay for these video sessions,” writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith. “But nobody thinks the way we should treat our spouses is to do what we’re obliged to and nothing more. Not continuing to hurt you in this specific area seems like a straightforward way to be nicer to you.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: TEEN. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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