Australians with a mortgage have now been hit with a record 10 consecutive interest rate rises, after the Reserve Bank today lifted the cash rate 25 basis points to 3.6%.
But it’s important to pay attention to the Reserve Bank’s words, and in its statement today we see a shift in tone.
After last month’s hike, the bank warned of “further increases … over the months ahead”, but today it dropped its reference to needing multiple raises – a possible hint that we may be nearing the end of rate hikes.
That shift didn’t stop the Greens, however, from launching a scathing response to today’s rate rise, calling it “institutional madness”.
“The RBA’s actions are exacerbating inequality and causing hardship for those who can least afford it,” the Greens senator Nick McKim said.
Deloitte Access Economics also expressed concern about the rate rise, warning without a pause in rate hikes, the RBA “will overshoot and cruel the economy”.
Top news
Sally Rugg loses bid to keep job | The federal court’s Justice Debra Mortimer dismissed Rugg’s application to remain employed as a staffer for the independent MP Monique Ryan pending the full trial of her Fair Work case. Mortimer explained that it would likely not be “tolerable” for the pair to work together for at least four months pending the trial.
Grace Tame’s abuser not guilty plea | Nicolaas Ockert Bester, who abused the former Australian of the Year when she was 15, has pleaded not guilty to accusations he menaced, harassed or offended her online. Bester, 70, is alleged to have made public posts on Twitter in relation to and directed at Tame.
Sea World crash report | Preliminary findings of the investigation into the helicopter crash that killed four people in January have been released, and suggest the pilot did not hear a radio call from the other aircraft before their helicopters collided and crashed.
Lisa Millar abuse | The ABC has accused News Corp and the Daily Mail of amplifying misogynist social media abuse by publishing articles that included “vile” Twitter criticism of an outfit worn by News Breakfast host Lisa Millar. Millar was subjected to trolling for the skirt she wore on Monday’s show, leading to two news stories that included screenshots and abusive tweets, first in the Daily Mail and then in news.com.au on Tuesday.
Children of same-sex couples study | The children of same-sex couples fare just as well, if not better, than those of heterosexual couples, new UK research has shown. “Sexual minority families have even better outcomes in some domains, such as child psychological adjustment and child-parent relationships,” the researchers wrote.
Japan to spend $2.35bn on Victorian carbon capture | Japan is backing a project to turn coal from the Latrobe valley into “clean hydrogen” using carbon capture and storage technology. Dr Fiona Beck, an ANU expert on hydrogen, said investment in producing hydrogen from fossil fuels “risks locking us into using fossil fuels for longer” when costs of producing hydrogen from renewable energy were falling fast.
Russians appear to kill Ukrainian PoW on video | Ukraine has urged the international criminal court to investigate footage circulating on social media that appeared to show Russian fighters killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
Sphinx-like statue discovered in Egypt | The smiling statue may belong to the Roman emperor Claudius, who extended Rome’s rule into north Africa between AD41 and AD54. The statue was discovered in the temple of Dendera, in Qena province, 450km south of Cairo.
Another ‘insane’ Florida bill | A Florida bill that would require bloggers who write about the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, to register with the state proved a step too far even for the godfather of far-right Republicanism, the former US House speaker Newt Gingrich. “The idea that bloggers criticising a politician should register with the government is insane,” Gingrich said.
In pictures …
Not your everyday parliamentary outfit, but apparently for a good cause. The Coalition MP Sussan Ley rocked up to Parliament House today dressed as Tina Turner, which she says was part of “a dare” that saw $200,000 raised for cancer care in the bush.
What they said …
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“Today’s Sydney Morning Herald and Age front page stories on Australia’s supposed war risk with China represents the most egregious and provocative news presentation of any newspaper I have witnessed in over fifty years of active public life.” - Paul Keating
The former Labor PM was responding to the lead story in the Nine newspapers today warning of the possibility of war with China within three years.
In numbers
Global progress on women’s rights is “vanishing before our eyes”, the secretary general of the UN, António Guterres, has warned.
Before bed read
Building your life around close friendships rather than family or romance is a joyous and necessary act of rebellion, and governments should put in place “friendship ministries” to radically rethink the way society is organised, a key French philosopher has argued.
Geoffroy de Lagasnerie says pure friendship – not just interactions with neighbours or work colleagues – must be constantly nourished and invested in, but there was no model or institutional support for that from governments.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: LAYS. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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