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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly (now) and Natasha May (earlier)

Banks raise interest rates in response to RBA – as it happened

Tanya Plibersek PLAN Australia Extinction OECD Mathias Cormann Bill Shorten Jim Chalmers Labor Mick Tsikas
Westpac has raised interest rates after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate by 25 basis points.
Westpac has raised interest rates after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate by 25 basis points. Photograph: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

What we learned, Tuesday 4 October

And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed – thank you so much for spending part of your day with us.

Before we do, let’s recap the big stories from today:

We’ll be keeping you up to date with the live news blog from tomorrow, with Natasha May kicking it off first thing in the AM. Until then, stay safe.

Updated

Suncorp Bank has just announced it will also introduce new interest rates for home loan customers, following the RBA’s cash rate decision today.

From 14 October, Suncorp Bank will increase home loan variable rates by 0.25% per annum (p.a.).

Flood-affected NSW dairy company to spend millions on rebuilding

Dairy giant Norco will spend more than $59m to rebuild its flood-damaged ice cream factory in the NSW Northern Rivers, three weeks after standing down hundreds of workers.

The factory, which sits on the banks of the Wilsons River in South Lismore, was forced to close after the catastrophic February floods, leaving more than 200 workers uncertain of their future.

The dairy cooperative announced on Tuesday it would rebuild the factory with $34.7m from a federal and NSW government flood package, along with $11m from an outstanding 2019 grant from the state’s Regional Growth Fund.

The company said it would contribute more than $59m to the rebuild, estimated to total more than $100m.

“Norco will be taking on a greater level of risk – something we’re prepared to do in order to safeguard jobs, support other small and medium businesses in region, and offer a sense of hope to a community of people who have already endured so much,” the chief executive, Michael Hampson, said in a statement.

Last month, Norco said it was standing down up to 240 workers because the $34.7m grant from state and federal governments was not enough to save the factory in the short-term.

Updated

MP Julian Hill says ‘stunts’ in employment services system push people further into poverty

A Labor MP has questioned the privatisation of the multibillion-dollar employment services system, saying it’s failed to prepare many disadvantaged jobseekers for work and made others less employable by demeaning them.

Updated

ACCC plans to crack down on companies falsely claiming they are “green”

Internet checks will be run by the nation’s competition and consumer watchdog to crack down on businesses making false “green” claims and online reviews, AAP is reporting.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced at least 200 company websites will be reviewed for misleading environmental claims.

Two internet sweeps will be undertaken over the coming weeks.

The sectors to be probed include energy, vehicles, household products and appliances, food and drink packaging, cosmetics, clothing, and footwear.

The ACCC deputy chair, Delia Rickard, said misleading claims undermined trust in the market:

As consumers become increasingly interested in purchasing sustainable products, there are growing concerns that some businesses are falsely promoting their environmental or green credentials.

The ACCC won’t hesitate to take enforcement action where we see that consumers are being misled or deceived by green claims.

Updated

ANZ to increase variable interest rates

ANZ has announced it will increase variable interest rates across its Australian home loans by 0.25% from Friday 14 October 2022.

The bank said it will also lift its savings rate for the ANZ Plus Save account following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to increase the official cash rate today.

ANZ Group executive Australia retail, Maile Carnegie, said:

We know our customers have been impacted differently by the cost of living and rate changes in recent months. Our experienced teams, as well as tools like our home loan repayment calculator and free home loan check-in, are available to customers to help them better understand these changes.

Customers who may be facing difficulties are strongly encouraged to reach out to us as soon as they can so we can discuss personalised options to support them through this time.

Updated

Essendon CEO resigns over links to City of Hill church

The new Essendon football club chief executive, Andrew Thorburn, has resigned after only being appointed to the role yesterday.

In a statement the club’s board said:

As soon as the comments relating to a 2013 sermon from a pastor, at the City of the Hill church came to light this morning, we acted immediately to clarify the publicly espoused views on the organisation’s official website, which are in direct contradiction to our values as a club.

Essendon is committed to providing an inclusive, diverse and a safe club, where everyone is welcome and respected.

The board made clear that, despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he couldn’t continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon football club and as chairman of City on the Hill.

The Board said it was deeply committed to stamping out any discrimination.

I want to stress that neither the board nor Andrew was aware of the comments from the 2013 sermon until we read about them this morning.

I also want to stress that this is not about vilifying anyone for their personal religious beliefs, but about a clear conflict of interest with an organisation whose views do not align at all with our values as a safe, inclusive, diverse and welcoming club for our staff, our players, our members, our fans, our partners and the wider community.

Acting CEO Nick Ryan will continue in his role whilst we commence the process to appoint a new CEO.

Updated

Survey finds high rates of sexual violence on dating apps

Dating apps need to better protect their users, after a study revealed high rates of sexual violence, stalking, assault and unwanted sharing of explicit images, AAP has reported.

The Australian Institute of Criminology survey of 9,987 app users found three quarters were victims of some form of online sexual violence in the past five years.

One-third experienced in-person abuse from someone they met on an app, with 27% of those reporting incidents of sexual assault or coercion, such as drink spiking.

Among those physically assaulted, nearly 20% said they had been the victim of sexual health abuse such as “stealthing”, when a condom is removed without consent.

The researchers said the figures showed a “significant proportion” of people on apps were exposed to online and physical sexual violence.

“This is highly concerning given the significant and potentially long-term impacts associated with these victimisation experiences,” the study said.

“These impacts include poorer health and wellbeing, including overall life satisfaction, social isolation and lower self-esteem, as well as increased risk of re-victimisation.”

Among heterosexual respondents, 79% of women reported some form of online violence, compared with 61% of men.

Rates of sexual violence through dating apps were higher among LGBTQ+ people, with 87% of women reporting abuse and 79% of men. The vast majority of the 71 non-binary respondents were also victims.

Updated

Queensland Health official says he was given misleading advice on DNA testing

For less than $1m a year, Queensland’s forensics lab could have continued thoroughly testing samples with lower levels of DNA to help solve major crimes, an inquiry has heard.

Queensland Health’s acting director general, Shaun Drummond, told the commission of inquiry into forensic DNA testing that he was given a “disingenuous” representation of the consequences of a 2018 decision to change testing thresholds.

Updated

Parts of south-east Australia facing heavy rain and potential flooding

AAP has a weather update from New South Wales:

Three successive weather systems are posing a risk of widespread flooding in NSW, as heavy showers drench already swollen rivers and push dams above capacity.

“We’re looking at around a month or more worth of rain, particularly across inland areas in NSW,” Gabrielle Woodhouse from the Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday.

An initial weather system will on Wednesday bring widespread totals of 20mm to 40mm from southern Queensland across inland NSW, then through to northern Victoria, blanketing much of the country’s east.

High totals of 50mm to 100mm are expected in inland parts of the state, heightening the risk across already saturated catchments.

“We’ll start to see more of a flash flood risk as well as riverine flood risk over the coming days,” Woodhouse said.

“There is a lot of rain and … it’s falling on very, very wet catchments.”

Rain and thunderstorms hit inland NSW on Tuesday, with a severe weather warning covering much of the state’s west, from Nyngan in the central north, to Deniliquin near the Victorian border, through to Broken Hill in the central west.

The weather system moved east to the coast from inland NSW on Tuesday afternoon.

Updated

Petrol prices rise after return of full fuel excise tax

Petrol prices lifted by almost 10 cents a litre last week, with the national average unleaded sitting at $1.83 a litre, AAP reports.

The rise coincides with the return of the full fuel excise tax on Wednesday, although petrol prices weren’t meant to surge immediately.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said it would take several days for the extra 22 cents a litre to appear at the pump as retailers would need to work through their supplies of discounted fuel.

“As some of the cheaper fuel which has been underground in tanks runs out, and is replaced by the more expensive fuel, but we’ve also got the regular fuel price cycle as well,” he said.

Chalmers also said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would be watching retailers carefully for signs of unnecessarily high pricing.

“Indication so far is that the market is behaving more or less appropriately,” he said.

Updated

NSW changes laws to protect workers’ mental health

From AAP:

New South Wales has become the first state to protect workers experiencing declining mental health as a result of burnout, traumatic injury and workplace harassment.

New changes to the state’s work health and safety laws came into effect in October, recognising psychosocial hazards in the workplace and requiring employers to manage risks.

The head of SafeWork NSW, Natasha Mann, said businesses were already implementing the new psychosocial hazard laws, designed to provide workplaces with clarity on their obligations and specify control measures.

“Psychosocial risks and hazards can cause a stress response leading to psychological or physical harm,” she said.

“They can stem from the work itself in the way it is designed and managed, from hazardous working environments, equipment use and social factors in the workplace.”

Regulations to improve record keeping and operator training for amusement devices and passenger ropeways have also changed.

The changes to regulations for the amusement industry follow a surge in investigations, including an incident at a Sydney show where a four-year-old boy was not strapped in properly to a ride.

Updated

Kristina Keneally’s son charged with fabricating false evidence

From AAP:

The police officer son of former NSW premier and ex-senator Kristina Keneally has been charged with fabricating false evidence following an investigation by the law enforcement conduct commission (LECC).

The LECC issued a statement on Tuesday acknowledging there had “been considerable discussion in the media” regarding an investigation it had conducted into Const Daniel Keneally.

A NSW police statement said a serving 24-year-old constable has been charged with fabricating false evidence with intent to mislead the judicial tribunal.

The LECC said it had investigated a matter concerning an alleged incident on February 24, 2021 and requested the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions review their brief of evidence.

The constable attached to the central metropolitan region will appear at Downing Centre local court on 17 November.

Police said the officer’s employment status was under review.

The LECC said when the criminal proceedings were concluded it would provide a report to the NSW parliament and would not make any further comment on the matter.

Updated

Westpac raises interest rates after RBA decision

Westpac has followed NAB and hiked mortgage rates by the full 25 basis points following the RBA decision today.

“Home loan variable interest rates will increase by 0.25% p.a. for new and existing customers,” the bank said in a statement.

Both Westpac and NAB also announced increases to rates for savers – in Westpac’s case, three products are also going up by 25 basis points.

Updated

RAAF deploys maritime aircraft to Mediterranean

Australia has deployed a maritime patrol aircraft to the Mediterranean as part of a Nato operation.

The Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon is to be based in Italy and will operate in the western and central Mediterranean until mid-October 2022, according to a statement issued by defence.

The statement describes Operation Sea Guardian as “an ongoing non-Article 5 Nato maritime security operation aimed at maintaining maritime situational awareness, deterring terrorism, and enhancing capacity building in the Mediterranean region”.

(Article 5 is the principle that an attack on a full member of Nato is an attack on all and triggers collective defence. The statement points out this is NOT in that context.)

In the statement, the chief of joint operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, said Australia’s participation in the operation “reflected Australia’s ongoing partnership in exercising our memorandum of understanding with Nato”.

He added:

Australia is a Nato Enhanced Opportunities Partner and an important Asia-Pacific member for the Alliance.

Our partner status recognises Australia’s significant contributions to Nato operations and the value that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has demonstrated over several decades.

Our participation in Operation Sea Guardian is an opportunity to extend Australia’s interoperability with the alliance to the maritime air surveillance domain.

This represents a natural step-up in our ongoing partnership, focused on responding to today’s global security challenges. Wherever possible, the ADF supports European security initiatives to uphold the rules based international order.

I look forward to seeing the outcomes of the deployment, which will guide our future maritime surveillance cooperation with Nato.

Updated

NAB raises interest rates in response to RBA announcement

National Australia Bank is the first of the big four banks to hike rates in response to the RBA increase this afternoon.

It will increase its standard variable rate by the full 25 basis points from 14 October, the bank said in a statement.

Updated

Reserve Bank closer to 'terminal' cash rate

As predicted, the Reserve Bank’s October surprise shifted sentiment by denting the Australian dollar but stoking stocks.

The question, then, is what might the RBA do next.

Gareth Aird, the chief economist at the Commonwealth Bank, was one of the few economists to make the brave call for a 25 basis point hike rather than the consensus of double that.

Ahead of today’s result, the CBA was tipping the cash rate would peak at 2.85% – or another quarter point increase.

Aird says:

The RBA retains a hiking bias … We expect a further 25bp rate rise at the November board meeting.

Then the RBA will be on hold, he reckons, although there is still some “risk” that it might nudge the cash rate one notch higher to 3.1%.

Other banks, we expect, will be reining in their expectations a bit. Investors who bet the RBA would lift the cash rate above 4% by mid-2023 will also be reassessing their wagers.

Updated

Labor urges Ranger uranium mine owner to raise money to rehabilitate site

The resources minister, Madeleine King, has urged the owner of the tapped-out Ranger uranium mine, in the Kakadu national park, to urgently raise money to rehabilitate the site amid a bruising corporate stoush that has stalled the fundraising process.

Rio Tinto, which owns 86% of Energy Resources Australia, wants to rehabilitate Ranger, at a cost of up to $2.2bn, and has committed to no mining of the Jabiluka deposit, next door, as long as traditional owners the Mirarr people maintain their long-held opposition to the project.

However, minority shareholders in ERA are keen to develop Jabiluka, with one describing it as a “magical” deposit.

Yesterday, the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation’s chief executive, Justin O’Brien, called on the Albanese government to “step in to secure the integrity of Kakadu national park” given ERA does not currently have the money for rehabilitation.

O’Brien said:

This public stoush over whether or not ‘magical’ uranium deposits in a world heritage-listed wetland and Indigenous cultural landscape should be mined is a question of national public policy.

Today, a spokesperson for King said the government “has already committed to Ranger’s comprehensive rehabilitation”, pointing to legislation introduced into parliament on 8 September that, if passed, will indefinitely defer a deadline of August 2024 for Ranger to be handed back to the commonwealth:

When passed, it will allow the government to maintain ERA’s legal obligation to rehabilitate Ranger, to the standard required, for as long as it takes for ERA to complete the job.

It is incumbent on ERA – working with Rio Tinto – to ensure it has adequate funding to fulfil its longstanding commitment to the comprehensive rehabilitation of Ranger.

The government expects ERA to conclude its capital-raising process as swiftly as possible to provide the Mirarr traditional owners and the broader community confidence in ERA’s commitment to rehabilitating Ranger.

You can read our previous coverage of the stoush here:

Updated

The ASX 200 rose 3.5% to 6,675 by 3pm on Tuesday, after the RBA’s decision to lift the cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.6%.

Updated

Victoria’s $580m quarantine hub to close next week

Victoria’s $580m quarantine hub will cease operating from next week, as the nation prepares to end compulsory Covid isolation.

The Victorian government on Tuesday afternoon confirmed the site in Mickleham, in Melbourne’s outer north, would close and could be repurposed ahead of summer. The government has previously flagged the site could be used to house domestic violence survivors of victims of natural disasters.

The hub replaced the use of hotel quarantine in Victoria in February and housed 2,168 residents during this time. The commonwealth funded the creation of the site while the Victorian government was responsible for its operation. But it faced criticism of being a white elephant upon opening due to lack of demand when quarantine was no longer compulsory for returning overseas travellers.

The site will now be returned to the commonwealth, which owns it, in January.

Updated

ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle’s case adjourned

A critical hearing into the case of the tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle has been adjourned as the judge demands lawyers present her with a set of agreed facts.

The hearing is the first test of the Public Interest Disclosure Act, commonly called the PID.

Boyle is facing 24 charges including for using a listening device for private conversations, disclosing protected information and recording someone’s tax file number.

He is arguing for immunity under the PID, after he revealed that the Australian Taxation Office was using heavy-handed tactics to collect taxpayer debt.

The question is whether acts themselves – recording phone calls and other information – can be considered immune, if they were done with the intention of whistleblowing, which in turn could be protected under the PID.

Lawyers for both sides argued in the South Australian district court today for Judge Liesl Kudelka to make a ruling in advance about whether the acts leading up to the “actual disclosure” should all be considered.

Kudelka said she was “having difficulty comprehending the joint approach” and called it an “extraordinary submission”. She asked both sides to take a day to assemble the facts of the charges and come back on Wednesday afternoon.

She said she was “very reluctant” to make a legal decision without all the facts.

The lawyers argued they needed a ruling in order to understand the relevance of any evidence and how to cross-examine witnesses.

Kudelka said she disagreed. “I’ll wait to see how comprehensive or otherwise your facts are,” she said, saying they could “have a crack”.

“[But] do not proceed on the basis that I’m going to necessarily accept that process,” she said.

You can read Christopher Knaus’s reporting here:

Updated

Dollar drops and shares bounce higher on RBA’s ‘dovish’ move

With most of the market pricing in a 50 basis point move today but only getting half that from the RBA, there’s a bit of adjustment going on.

The Australian dollar is down against the US dollar as the attractiveness of the greenback just got a bit more so. Stocks, meanwhile, rose about 1 percentage point to extend today’s rally to 3.5%. (Cue headlines of so many tens of billions of dollars added for the day.)

As the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, told us about his “responsible” budget, he must have been chuffed that today’s pain for households wasn’t so high.

The first media question for Chalmers was the stage-three tax cuts, showing you Canberra’s press club had moved on.

Updated

Upcoming budget must help alleviate cost of living pressures, Taylor says

Taylor:

That is when the pain is really going to be hitting. So this is a tough time for Australians.

But it also has enormous implications for government and policy. We need to see policies and plans that are going to alleviate those pressures on Australian budgets.

Those pressures on inflation, on interest rates stop with an upcoming budget, we want to see a responsible budget, a budget not adding fuel to the fire and the pressures that Australians are feeling, that is is not creating a price and wage spiral and make products unaffordable for Australians.

And we want to make sure that we are seeing those supply-side pressures alleviated. These things need to be dealt with.

Updated

Rate rises are putting pressure on Australians, Taylor says

We are going to jump straight over to the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, who is speaking from Cowra in NSW:

Today we have seen another interest rate rise, and while it was less than expected it was still a significant increase and that is putting pressure on the budgets of so many Australians, Australians with a mortgage, on top of the inflationary pressures we are seeing elsewhere.

More than $1,000 a month in extra payments on a $750,000 mortgage. They are enormous pressures. You are having to scramble and work hard, find a way to make those payments.

We will be seeing payments increasing by Christmas and the end of the year at exactly the time when we see people buying their Christmas presents, Christmas meals and going on holidays.

Updated

Treasurer ‘will take a difficult decision if it is necessary’ in budget

Chalmers says he wants to finish on one point – he does not see budgets as a vanity exercise.

I do not see them as some kind of opportunity to do something fancy. I see budgets as an opportunity to take the right decisions for the right reasons, and I will always put the right economic outcome above a political outcome.

I will take a difficult decision if it is necessary, working with my colleagues, because these are difficult times and people should expect a solid budget, they should expect a considered budget, one that takes the right decisions for the right reasons, for the future of our economy, but most importantly for the future of our people.

Updated

Chalmers has been asked about comments the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, made earlier – saying we will only go into a recession if Labor stuff it up.

Chalmers says:

It is why they do not have any credibility on the economy. What we have been left to clean up has been a consequence of missed opportunities.

Whether it is that skills shortages, 22 different energy policies which we have left with this chaos of energy policies, $1tn in debt.

These characters were in office for the best part of a decade and it will take more than one budget to clean up the mess we have been left with.

Every time he opens his mouth, or Angus Taylor opens his mouth, it is a reminder this is the dregs of the former government which gave us an energy crisis, the trillion dollar of debt, an energy crisis.

Updated

We will fund the NDIS significantly to succeed, Chalmers says

We are onto the NDIS now. Chalmers has been asked how he will deliver on an expanding NDIS:

We want to make sure every dollar spent on the NDIS is spent effectively. Whether it is Bill Shorten, Katy Gallagher, myself, we have been in discussions since we took office because we are big supporters of the NDIS.

We created the thing and we want it to succeed and part of that is making sure we get maximum value for money.

We want the NDIS to work for Australians with disabilities and we will fund it significantly to do that task.

Updated

Treasurer says budget spending will be ‘intelligent investment in dealing with some of the issues that are pushing up inflation’

Jim Chalmers at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra
Jim Chalmers at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Chalmers is asked if he will ensure there is not a net increase in discretionary spending over the next couple of years:

What I have said for some years in conversations like this one, what matters is not just the aggregate level of spending but what the spending is for and the cost of living relief I will include in the budget in three weeks’ time would give an economic dividend.

It is an investment in, whether it is dealing with labour and skills shortages, whether it is investing in energy, cleaner and cheaper renewable energy, really right across the board. The spending we have proposed is an intelligent investment in dealing with some of the issues that are pushing up inflation.

Updated

Chalmers has been asked about repatriating the Australians currently stuck in Syrian refugee camps and if the opposition is fear-mongering by suggesting they may be radicalised:

I am not going to comment on the timing or the contents of any meetings of the National Security Committee. I will not do that on this occasion or on any occasion. Our priority is the protection of Australians and Australia’s national interest informed by the security advice.

Updated

‘We have not changed our position on those tax cuts’: Chalmers

Our political editor, Katharine Murphy, has doubled down on the tax cuts, asking Chalmers if the government is “considering amending, delaying or scrapping” the stage-three tax cuts.

It is a similar answer to what I gave Greg. We have not changed our position, we have not altered our position ... I understand your question. Obviously, any responsible government looks for ways to make the budget as a sustainable and responsible as I can, but we have not changed our position on those tax cuts for all the reasons I have run through.

Updated

Chalmers says government has not changed its position on stage-three tax cuts

Chalmers is asked again about the stage-three tax cuts – he says the government has not changed its position.

We have not changed policy. I will not go into conversations we have from time to time and proposals we have from outside parliament, but I have tried to be as upfront with you as I can. We have not changed our position.

As we finalise the budget, we are obviously factoring in … the need to make sure every dollar spent is defensible when it comes to being affordable, sustainable, responsible and sufficiently targeted, but we have not changed our position on the tax cuts.

Updated

Storm clouds are gathering in global economy, treasurer says

Chalmers on the US possibly falling into a recession:

The likelihood of recession has tipped over from possible to probable in some of these big economies which are very important to ours.

I have tried to be upfront to Australians about that.

The OECD, the IMF, the World Bank and others have said that they can’t rule out a global recession and that obviously has implications for us. We would not be spared completely a downturn of the US or global economy, for obvious reasons.

I think one of the biggest things that has changed in the last month or two is the way that our expectations for the global economy have deteriorated so substantially. We’ve had concerns for the global economy for some time now.

The weight of opinion around the world is that the global situation has gotten much worse, even in the last few weeks. The storm clouds are gathering in the global economy and that is not irrelevant to us as we finalise the budget.

Updated

Treasurer says ACCC is watching petrol prices

Chalmers says the government has been in contact with the ACCC about the end of the petrol excise.

We have been in contact with them during the last few weeks about petrol prices but also about the issues with Optus and before that issues with gas.

We are talking with the ACCC pretty regularly.

We get regular monitoring of what is happening with petrol prices and what we need to understand when it comes to petrol prices as there are two things going on. Firstly the petrol excise relief came off on Wednesday night and that obviously has implications for price at the pump as some of the cheaper fuel which has been underground in tanks runs out and is replaced by the more expensive fuel. We also have the regular fuel price cycle as well. You need to disaggregate those two things, which is what the ACCC is doing.

Updated

Chalmers has been asked if he is worried that the RBA’s tightening could jeopardise efforts to combat inflation:

They have made it clear that they think there is more work to be done by tightening interest rates. That remains to be seen whether that is the case or not. Our own Treasury forecast expects it to get worse not better and will moderate it during the course of next year.

We certainly hope that is OK. The decisions taken by the independent Reserve Bank are taken by them alone without me second-guessing them.

Updated

Chalmers asked if government will backflip on stage-three tax cuts

Chalmers has thrown to questions – the first is from the ABC’s Laura Tingle, who asks about the stage-three tax cuts and why the government is not planning to follow the UK’s lead and backflip on tax cuts for high earners:

Chalmers says:

I think the broader point is sufficiently relevant to us that when you get monetary policy and fiscal policy out of whack, as the British are at risk of doing, then there are consequences not for the budget but for the economy as well.

This is a point I have been making since the last time we spoke, Laura, that I do see what is happening in the UK as a cautionary tale of getting that fiscal and monetary balance out of whack.

We do need to ensure that spending in the budget, particularly in these uncertain global times, is geared towards what is affordable and sustainable and responsible and sufficiently targeted. I think that is one of the lessons from the UK.

Updated

Chalmers foreshadows 'responsible' budget in 'difficult time' for economy

Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks at a press conference
Treasurer Jim Chalmers at a press conference following the latest RBA rate rise. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the three most important pieces of context before the budget are rising inflation and interest rates, the deteriorating global outlook, and structural pressures on the budget.

As we do finalise the budget, we will put a premium on what is responsible, what is affordable, what is sustainable and what is sufficiently targeted to deal with the economic cards that we have been dealt.

This will be a budget which is about difficult decisions in difficult times. It will be an opportunity for us to ensure that our budget settings are best calibrated to what we’re seeing in the global economy and the consequences for Australia in our own economy as well.

Our commitment to the Australian people is to take the right and responsible path and not just the path of least resistance as we finalise this budget.

We do need to make the budget more responsible, affordable, sustainable and is targeted as possible to deal with cost of living pressures that Australians face, to deal with the deteriorating global situation and to deal with these persistent structural pressures on the budget which had been ignored for too long.

Updated

RBA rate rises are important context for upcoming budget, Chalmers says

Chalmers:

This is now the sixth in as many months and the statement from the Reserve Bank governor today indicates that it is likely that there will be more interest rate rises as well. This is important context for the budget that we are currently finalising to be handed down in three weeks today.

The three most important pieces of context for the budget that we are currently finalising is, first of all, rising inflation, rising interest rates and falling wages.

Secondly, deteriorating global outlook. The storm clouds are gathering again in the global economy and that is not irrelevant to us as we put together our budget at home. Similarly, what is happening in the United Kingdom has been, I think, a cautionary tale in dealing with this substantial turbulence brought about by high and rising prices, whether it is energy or food security or other important ways. Storm clouds are gathering in the international economy and that is important context for the budget we are currently finalising.

Thirdly, persistent structural pressures on the Australian budget in areas like health, in NDIS, defence, and the rising cost of commonwealth debt as interest rates rise as well.

Updated

Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks to media after RBA rate rise

Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra
Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Jim Chalmers says it is three weeks until the budget is handed down and only one week until he goes to Washington DC to meet with other treasurers about the global economy.

Perhaps most importantly for Australians, today we saw another increase in interest rates by the independent Reserve Bank: 25 basis points to take the cash rate to 2.6%.

Now, just because this is a bit less than many people were anticipating and just because it is consistent with what we are seeing around the world, won’t make it that much easier for Australians to find room in their household budgets to meet the increasing cost of servicing the mortgage.

Updated

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is speaking now following the RBA rate rise.

Updated

Savers should start to see better bang for their buck after latest RBA rate rise

Reacting to the RBA decision, the head of consumer research at Finder, Graham Cooke, said one group of people who would be happy about another hike to the cash rate would be savers:

After years of earning next to no interest, savers are finally starting to see better bang for their buck.

This time last year, you’d be lucky to find a savings account offering more than 1.50% pa. If your savings account doesn’t have a ‘3’ in front of it today, you could be getting a better deal.

One account is actually offering 4.00% pa. If you’re able to meet the eligibility criteria, it’s certainly worth considering.

However, some economists believe the banks are not passing on enough of the cash rate rises to savings account interest rates.

The big four banks have passed on the previous five home loan rate rises in full, but the average ongoing savings rate between the four of them is just 2.09%.

Updated

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to speak to media at 3pm – I will bring you that as soon as he is up.

Updated

RBA opts for smaller rate rise amid uncertainty in global economy

As the dust starts to settle, you can see the RBA rate rise story play out here:

It seems uncertainty about those headwinds gathering on the global economy swayed the central bank to opt for a smaller rise of 25 basis points rather than a “super-sized” one.

As the RBA put it:

“One source of uncertainty is the outlook for the global economy, which has deteriorated recently,” it said in the statement accompanying the move.

“Another is how household spending in Australia responds to the tighter financial conditions,” the RBA said.

This is noteworthy because it means the RBA is happy to be patient to see how previous hikes hit households.

And here’s how the latest rise will affect those on a typical variable rate 25-year mortgage, according to RateCity:

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Reserve Bank softens its rates stance

The quarter-point rate rise will surprise much of the market, with the notable exception of the Commonwealth Bank, which forecast correctly the moderate increase.

At 2.6% the cash rate is at its highest since August 2013, so just over nine years.

The tone of the language accompanying the rate increase was also modified compared with previous statements.

“Today’s further increase in interest rates will help achieve a more sustainable balance of demand and supply in the Australian economy,” it said. “This is necessary to bring inflation back down.

“The Board expects to increase interest rates further over the period ahead,” leaving it a bit vague about its move next month.

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RBA lifts cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.6%

The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate today by another 25 basis points to 2.60%, its highest level in more than nine years.

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Record gas and critical minerals exports boost Australia’s earnings – and greenhouse gas emissions

Record exports of gas and critical minerals are pumping up Australia’s earnings and its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, AAP is reporting.

The Resources and Energy Quarterly report, released on Tuesday, showed the commodities sector would post $450bn in export earnings in 2022-23, up from an expected $422bn.

Australia is also “well placed” in the global push for low-emission technologies with exports of critical minerals more than doubling in two years, the report by the Office of the Chief Economist said.

Exports of vital metals including copper, nickel and lithium are expected to generate $33bn in export earnings in 2022-23 as Australian mines benefit from rising prices and expanding production.

The invasion of Ukraine has sparked turmoil in energy markets, inflating prices and forcing major economies to look for a replacement for Russian gas, including recent deals inked with Australian giant Woodside Energy.

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Victorian opposition won’t commit to Labor’s hospital upgrade plan

Victoria’s shadow treasurer, David Davis, says he won’t commit to the government’s plan to improve and expand Royal Melbourne hospital and Royal Women’s hospital under a $6bn upgrade.

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Labor’s threatened species action plan will need sufficient funding to succeed, experts say

Conservation experts across the country have responded to the federal government’s new threatened species action plan.

The plan includes the aim of preventing any new extinctions of plants and animals and protecting and conserving at least 30% of Australia’s land mass.

Here’s what they had to say:

Paul Sunnucks is from the Wildlife Genetic Management Group at Monash University:

The substantial targets are accompanied by encouraging statements of intent.

The success of the plan will depend critically on sufficient resourcing to achieve targets that improve the outcomes for threatened species, rather than merely conducting actions. So it is positive to see indicators of success such as ‘All priority species are on track for improved trajectory’ rather than ‘1,000km of fencing installed’.

The level of resourcing is currently not apparent, but an initial solid investment of $224.5m on the Saving Native Species program is indicated. More resources may be forthcoming – for perspective, Australians spend about five times as much annually on dog-grooming products.

Chris Brown is an Australian Research Council future fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute:

This action plan should be extended to marine waters as well.

Australia has not met the 30% target for marine protected areas under any accepted definition, except for that of the previous government. Much of Australia’s marine parks area allows fishing, which significantly reduces their conservation value. For example, if we only consider no-fishing zones, then just 9% of commonwealth waters are protected. I applaud increased action on Australia’s threatened species and increasing protected areas.

Grant Hamilton is the director of the Conservation AI Hub and an associate professor of ecology at the Queensland University of Technology:

The protection of biodiversity has been underfunded in Australia for many years and we are part of the global biodiversity crisis. We need to realign away from just preventing extinctions to the widespread support and expansion of important habitat to enable the growth of threatened populations, and integrating new technologies to help survey large areas to improve management.

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Telstra says risk to former employees from data breach is minimal

Just an update on our previous post regarding the breach of 30,000 current and former Telstra employee names and work emails on the forum where the Optus breach was posted.

A spokesperson for Telstra has confirmed that while the risk to former employees is minimal (they don’t use their Telstra email addresses once they leave the business), the company will attempt to notify them.

Current employees were informed on Saturday. Telstra also says the relevant authorities have been notified.

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Pop star Lorde ‘told off’ over NZ election Instagram post

New Zealand’s biggest pop star, Lorde, has made a late intervention into the Auckland mayoral race, but has fallen foul of election law in doing so, AAP is reporting.

On Tuesday, the 25-year-old posted an endorsement of the Labour candidate Efeso Collins to her 9.5 million Instagram followers.

“I’m proud to be voting Efeso Collins for Mayor of Auckland,” she wrote.

“Local government turnout is low as always – get out there – your community needs you.”

Lorde on stage at this year’s Glastonbury festival
Lorde on stage at this year’s Glastonbury festival. Photograph: Anthony Harvey/Rex/Shutterstock

However, she blundered by posting a picture of a ballot paper with a 1 next to Collins’ name, which runs contrary to the Local Electoral Act’s rules on interfering with or influencing voters.

Shortly after, the Aucklander deleted the post and replaced it with a video.

“Okay so the Electoral Commission told me off because you’re not allowed to post anything about who you’re gonna vote for or show voting papers,” she said.

“Post still applies. Get out there,” with the words “vote vote vote vote vote” posted in her Instagram story.

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Australian share market on track for best day in two years

The local share market has been staging an impressive rally, tracking for its best day in almost exactly two years, AAP is reporting.

At noon on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 156.8 points, or 2.44%, to 6,613.7, while the broader All Ordinaries was ahead 157.4 points, or 2.36%, to 6,813.8.

In percentage terms, the ASX200 was on pace for its best session since a 2.59% gain on 5 October 2020.

In terms of points, the index was on track for its best day since a 222.5-point rise on 16 June 2020.

“Bye-bye September ... this is how we roll in October!” tweeted the ThinkMarkets analyst Carl Capolingua, while adding that the index would need to close above 6,595 for credibility.

The gains came after a broad relief rally on Wall Street, where the S&P500 climbed 2.6%, and ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest rate hike decision, due at 2.30pm AEDT.

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Coroner enlists weather expert for inquiry into Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy

A coroner has enlisted the help of a weather expert and key witnesses as part of an ongoing investigation into the jumping castle tragedy that killed six children in Tasmania, AAP reports.

Tasmania police have provided a “large volume” of evidence to Coroner Olivia McTaggart, in an effort to determine what went wrong during the fatal accident at Hillcrest primary school in Devonport last year.

The coroner has engaged a weather expert to provide an opinion on the weather conditions on the day and a final report is expected soon.

Other evidence submitted to the coronial inquiry includes forensic reports along with video and photographic material.

A case management conference will be held at Devonport magistrates court on 18 October and the investigation could take up to 12 months to conclude.

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Doctors’ seven-point plan promises more affordable GP visits

Good afternoon everyone – this is Cait Kelly and I will be with you for the rest of the day.

We are expecting the RBA to make an announcement on the cash rate before 3pm – I will of course bring you that as soon as it comes.

But first, I have this from AAP:

Australians are being promised more affordable doctors’ visits as part of a pitch to overhaul the way general practitioners work.

The Australian Medical Association says its seven-point plan, to be put forward at a crisis summit on Wednesday, will revitalise the general practice sector, making it a once again desirable career for young doctors.

The plan calls for the indexation of Medicare to be improved so doctors can spend more time with patients and get more back in their rebates, in keeping with rising costs.

The association wants changes to the GP training program to make the field more appealing, and support for GPs to care for patients with chronic wounds.

The plan would support GPs to care for aged-care residents, expand the number of nurses and allied health services available in practices and help doctors deliver more after-hours care.

It would also introduce a voluntary patient enrolment scheme so patients could register with their GP to bolster coordinated, multidisciplinary and patient-centred care, according to the association.

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Hope your Tuesday is treating you well! The fabulous Cait Kelly will now see you through the rest of the day’s news.

Anti-war protests as Brisbane hosts weapons expo

Weapons manufacturers from across Australia and around the world are gathering at Brisbane’s convention and exhibition centre, where the International Land Defence Exposition is being held over the next three days.

Protesters have been gathering for several days, the ABC reports, in response not only to the conference itself but also Australia’s record levels of military spending.

The Greens senator David Shoebridge spoke at the protests today:

We’re here to say that the narrative of inevitable conflict, the idea that more and more of our public wealth needs to be spent on weapons is a narrative we need to fight against. So Greens MPs, state and federal, will be speaking about true security, long-term security, fighting the climate disaster, building those connections, building multilateral initiatives for peace. That’s how we build security. What’s happening in there, with multinational corporations seeking to have ever more of our collective wealth on weapons that will create insecurity, is the real crime.

Australia’s defence has several big projects in the works beyond the now infamous nuclear submarines, there are also joint strike fighter aircraft and old armoured personnel carriers being replaced with new infantry vehicles.

Despite delays to many of these projects, Australia needs to speed up defence procurement, the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, told the conference:

While we have begun by delivering on our election commitment for a defence force strategic review, as you know, it’s led by former minister for defence Prof Stephen Smith and the former chief of the defence force Sir Angus Houston. Work is well under way. Their review will shape our investments for the ADF to deal with current and future strategic circumstances for Australia in the Indo-Pacific region. It will ensure defence’s capability and force structure is fit for purpose.

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Job ads show demand for staff is holding up

Also ahead of the RBA rates decision, ANZ has just posted its data on job ads, and it’s another sign of resilience in the economy to those interest rate rises.

The tally of job ads has barely budged from its June peak despite five RBA rate rises and a sixth expected within hours.

In fact, the number remains more than 56% higher than pre-pandemic times – reinforcing the distinct sense that of all the estimates that forecasts got wrong when Covid arrived, the labour market seems like exhibit A.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise that ANZ Job Ads is holding up so well several months into the rate hike cycle,” the ANZ’s senior economist, Catherine Birch, said. “New Zealand’s job ads series, Jobs Online, is yet to turn down, despite the RBNZ commencing tightening seven months earlier than the RBA.”

In general terms, there’s still a job opening for every person who is unemployed.

What does that mean for the RBA? Well, Birch says the ads and other leading indicators are “still so strong” that the RBA may have to take the cash rate even higher “into restrictive territory” to slow demand growth.

For now, ANZ is predicting the RBA will raise the cash rate from 2.35% now (but not much longer) to 3.35%. Perhaps the ANZ will have to lift its forecast after 2.30pm and the central bank’s latest verdict. We will know soon enough.

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NSW government in contact with emergency services as state prepares for flooding

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has been in “regular contact” with the emergency services minister ahead of predicted flooding later in the week.

He says it is going to be “a very difficult time right around the country” with more wet weather on the way and urges residents to listen to emergency warnings.

Speaking at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday morning, Perrottet said:

My clear message today, as we’re about to go through a very difficult week of heavy rainfall, is please follow the instructions of our state emergency services.

If there’s an evacuation warning in place, please prepare to evacuate.

Please do not drive through flood waters.

It’s going to be a difficult time but we’ve got through the last flooding together and we’ll get through this together on the basis that everyone follows those instructions.

He says SES resources are going to where they are most needed.

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Police hunt four men and a woman after Brisbane shooting

Four men and a woman are allegedly on the run after a man was shot dead in the front yard of a home in south-west Brisbane, AAP reports.

The 38-year-old man died after being struck once in the chest at close range at the home in Oxley in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Det Supt Andrew Massingham alleged that four men and a woman armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, and potentially a handgun, were involved.

He told reporters on Tuesday:

The male deceased was struck at very close range, and we believe the weapon involved was a 12-gauge shotgun.

Police at the scene of the fatal shooting in Oxley, Brisbane
Police at the scene of the fatal shooting in Oxley, Brisbane. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Massingham said the man had been sitting in a car near the home when the five turned up and allegedly started assaulting another man who lived at the home.

The 38-year-old then got out of his car and started running to the man’s aid when he was shot.

The second man has suffered minor injuries and is being questioned by police.

Police are probing an alleged dispute between the two men and the five suspects one to two weeks before the shooting.

Massingham said:

Certainly there was significant conflict amongst the whole group.

He said the alleged dispute was not related to a number of recent gang shootings in the city’s south.

The attack lasted about 30-40 seconds and he said that neighbours heard more than one shot being fired.

Detectives are still hunting for the five, and are reviewing CCTV footage of a car leaving the scene, which is across the road from a primary school.

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Housing approvals and home loans mixed in latest ABS data

Ahead of the RBA’s rate decision this afternoon, there’s some economic data to chew over from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

One set deals with building approvals, which are a sign of future work to come, amid the slew of rate rises we’ve had already – and the expectation the RBA has more hikes ahead.

So, the total number of dwellings approved bounced back, with a 28.1% increase in August reversing July’s 18.2% retreat.

Most of the rise came from approvals for new apartments. There was roughly a doubling tally in “approvals for private sector dwellings excluding housing” for the month, the ABS said.

That number at 6,766 approvals, though, seems a bit chunky since the July figure for “other residential dwellings” approved was the lowest since January 2012.

Approvals for houses were more stable, with the number,10,459, rising 4.1% in August compared with a 0.8% increase in the previous month.

From a year earlier, housing approvals were down more than 14% while those for flats were off 1.2%.

Other data for housing from the ABS offered another view of how the economy is going. The value of new loan commitments for housing dropped 3.4% to $27.4bn in August, easing from the 8.5% decline in July, the ABS said.

Investors were more skittish than owner-occupiers in their borrowing activity, with the former taking out 4.8% less in loan commitments, or $8.85bn for the month, compared with the 2.7% decline for new owner-occupier loans at $18.54bn.

While both gauges are down from a year earlier, owner-occupier loans remain 36% higher than February 2020, when the Covid pandemic got going, while investor loans are up 70%.

It’s also interesting that personal and business borrowing tallies were also up in August.

In seasonally adjusted terms (as all the above numbers are), total fixed-term personal finance rose 9.5% in August, while loans to buy vehicles rose 17.7%, with both measures building on increases in July.

On those latter measures at least, higher borrowing costs thanks to the RBA are yet to dent demand – which suggests their work is not yet done.

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Angus Taylor defends stage-three tax cuts after UK government’s U-turn

Taylor was also asked – given the news out of the UK where the government has done a U-turn on unpopular tax cuts – whether the stage-three tax cuts the Morrison government legislated should be revised.

However, the shadow treasurer says he does not accept those tax cuts are the wrong call in this new economic environment.

This is not until 2024. We want to see growth. It’s so important that we see growth in the Australian economy. That means that we have a stronger budget. We can provide the services that Australians need. And so, we do want to see ... We do want to see the tax cuts coming through. They’re very different from the UK tax cuts.

The ABC points out they’re still tax cuts that are going to benefit the wealthy. Taylor responds:

This is a very big tax bracket that’s covered by the tax cuts. It’s not the top tax bracket. It’s very different from the UK. We haven’t seen anything like the reaction from the markets that we saw in the UK. So I think drawing that analogy, which I know some in Labor are doing, I think, is very inappropriate. They are not the same thing. But we do have to see both a longer term focus on growth and making sure that there’s the incentive for businesses and people to get out there and invest and work and take risk and all of those things that you need to have a strong economy. But at the same time, in the short term, we need to see pressure taken off interest rates and inflation. And getting that balance right is crucial. Longer term tax cuts make sense, but at the same time, a responsible budget in the coming weeks is absolutely crucial to take pressure off interest rates, take pressure off the cost of living. We know many Australians are really starting to see the pain of these interest rate increases and government can make a real difference and prevent those further increases from otherwise happening.

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Push and pull between government and RBA is bad for economy’s engine, shadow treasurer says

Angus Taylor, the shadow treasurer, spoke to the ABC this morning from the town of Blayney in NSW’s central west where he is part of the 23rd “pollie pedal” cycling through regional NSW in support of not-for-profit veteran support organisation Solider On.

Taylor was asked about the RBA rate hike expected later today which is tipped to see the sixth interest rate lift in as many months.

If it is what’s expected today, we’re going to see Australians with a typical mortgage paying more than $1,000 a month more than they were earlier in the year. So this is a really big hit on Australians. Obviously, the Reserve Bank is independent. They have to make their own decisions. But what’s critical is that this government policy that means that they can put the least possible pressure on interest rates.

We do want to see a clear plan. We do want to see government policy that’s accommodating to the Reserve Bank so that they don’t have to raise interest rates as much as they otherwise would. That means a responsible budget in the coming week; that’s enormously important to ensure that the Reserve Bank doesn’t go as far as it otherwise would have to.

When asked about what he thought about the chances of a recession, Taylor said:

it’s very clear there are risks. Very real risks.

That’s why it’s so important that there be a plan from the government coming in this budget or a responsible budget to ensure that they done have to go as far as they otherwise would.

If the government is spending large amounts of money that otherwise wouldn’t have been spent, they’re putting the foot on the accelerator and the Reserve Bank has to put the foot on the brake. And the foot on the brake and the foot on the accelerator is bad for the engine and that’s why it is so important that we see a responsible budget.

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‘No-gap fee’ private hospital opened in Melbourne’s east

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Alcott wants more support for people living with a disability not on the NDIS

Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott today delivered a new report into the National Disability Insurance Scheme to the minister for the scheme, Bill Shorten.

The report recommends placing more people with disability in leadership positions. Alcott has also said investment in the NDIS benefits both participants and the economy.

He encourages all people to read this support, he told the ABC this morning, because:

We have to get away from get talking about the NDIS where it is a costly pain … when it is really an incredible scheme benefiting so many people.

But there are areas where it can be improved to maximise the benefit. There about 500,000 people on the NDIS, but there are 5 million people in this country with some form of physical or non-physical disability not on the scheme.

We are calling for community, mainstream support, federal and state government to gather around us so they can get the support they need to get be the best versions of themselves and get access to all the benefits. The care and whatever else they need.

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Victoria pushes regional social housing build

Victoria’s government will give $219m to community housing agencies for planning and construction of nearly 50 social housing projects across the state’s regional areas.

The housing minister, Danny Pearson, today announced the grants from the social housing growth fund.

Seventeen community housing agencies will receive funding for 46 projects to deliver up to 683 homes in regional Victoria.

Pearson told reporters in Delacombe in Ballarat:

This is about making sure that we’ve got social and affordable housing throughout regional Victoria, to make sure that people get the housing they need, where they need it, and when they need it.

The sites were chosen in areas of high growth and demand, following community housing agency bids assessed by Housing Victoria.

The state government has allocated $1.25bn of its $5.3bn big housing build program to regional Victoria.

Seven of the 46 projects will include new homes for Aboriginal Victorians.

Victorian vacancy rates are down to 3.6% in Melbourne and 2.1% in regional Victoria, according to Homes Victoria data.

Last week the Council to Homeless Persons called on political parties to commit to building 6,000 social properties each year for 10 years and bolster the homelessness prevention worker numbers. Chief executive Jenny Smith said:

More renters are being pushed into homelessness because they can’t find a rental they can afford.

Victoria’s opposition said a Coalition government would immediately move to fast-track land and partnerships with housing associations, not-for-profits and the superannuation industry.

The shadow minister for housing, Richard Riordan, said the Andrews government had proven over eight years it had no capacity to solve the housing crisis in regional Victoria and an announcement of 683 homes would “not put a scuff mark on the priority waiting list”.

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Consumers take fright as turmoil worries hit home

We can’t read too much into a weekly survey, but it’s worth noting the latest survey of consumer sentiment by ANZ and Roy Morgan might also get a look in when the RBA board meets (perhaps during morning tea over pastries and sannies).

Anyway, confidence hit a snag in the last week, with the main measure retreating 2.6% (from already low levels, historically).

David Plank, ANZ’s head of Australian economics, said:

A plethora of negative news last week ranging from the UK’s mini budget to hawkish Fed commentary impacted the Australian dollar, which weakened to its two-year lows [against the US dollar].

Meanwhile, the other important component in the weekly report – which would be of interest to the RBA too – is the notable jump in inflation expectations.

Plank rightly links it to the end of the fuel excise “holiday” last Wednesday night. What’s interesting, perhaps, is that service stations in many parts of the country were pushing up their “bowser” prices in advance of the excise change (which added back about 24 cents a litre).

Current prices in NSW, for instance, remain about 183 or so cents per litre, and Melbourne’s are sitting on an average of 190 cents. That’s not a lot different from a week ago, so perhaps the surprise is that prices haven’t risen much - so far.

The ACCC, too, has fuel prices in the major cities flat or lower than a week ago. Go figure.

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How can the government protect Hunter Valley species while continuing to approve fossil fuel projects?

Just circling back to some of the questions Plibersek faced in her press conference following the release of the threatened species plan in Sydney.

Reporter:

There are a number of proposals to expand and reopen mines in the Hunter Valley. Is today’s announcement a blanket no from your government that species could be threatened?

Plibersek:

It’s absolutely not a blanket no. But we know that our environmental laws at the moment are not fit for purpose. Our environmental laws at the moment are slow and cumbersome for business, and don’t give plants and animals and landscapes the protections they need. So we do need to reform our environmental laws.

Professor Graham Samuel did a very thorough review of the environmental protection and biodiversity conservation act for the previous government. He made a number of very important recommendations. We’re working through the recommendations at the moment and our government will provide a response to the Samuel Review by the end of the year.

We’ll use that response to inform the redesign of our environmental laws. We’ll introduce those new laws into the Parliament next year. But right now, we know that our environmental laws aren’t working. They’re not working for business. And they’re not working for the environment. We need to do better.

Plibersek was then asked about a new species of lizard was found in Muswellbrook (a legless lizard named the Hunter Valley delma) and how the government will manage the protection of this species and others in the Hunter while approving coalmine projects.

The minister said she won’t be commenting on individual projects today, but she would say this:

We need to work cooperatively with state and territory governments to better protect our environment. Yes, to give faster decisions on projects, but also to better protect our environment. And I think that there’s a lot of goodwill and a lot of willingness there.

Australians made it very plain at the last election that they care about the environment. You see the number of people who volunteer and donate to environmental organisations, that Australians care about the environment.

I think that state governments realise that and I’m very much looking forward to working in partnership with state governments to protect our precious places.

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Severe weather warnings for heavy rainfall issued across eastern states

Nick Kyrgios will seek to have assault charge dismissed on mental health grounds, court hears

Nick Kyrgios will seek to have his assault charge dismissed on mental health grounds, AAP reports.

Lawyers for the tennis star appeared in the Australian Capital Territory magistrates court on Tuesday and asked for an adjournment so forensic mental health reports could be prepared.

They will then apply to have the matter dismissed under a section of the local crimes act.

The act gives magistrates the power to dismiss a charge if they are satisfied an accused is mentally impaired and dealing with a matter in that way would benefit the community along with the offender.

The common assault charge relates to an incident in January 2021 that was reported to ACT police in December.

Kyrgios’s lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith said the tennis player’s mental health history since 2015 made the application appropriate, citing a number of public statements made by the world No. 20.

The court heard Kyrgios wanted to attend the application hearing in person.

The matter was stood down to arrange a date for the hearing.

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Victorian government promises new medical precinct in Melbourne’s north

The Andrews government has pledged to deliver Australia’s biggest hospital project by upgrading two of the state’s healthcare institutions and creating a new medical precinct in the inner north of Melbourne.

Under the plan, the government would upgrade the Royal Melbourne Hopsital and the Royal Women’s Hospital and construct a new medical precinct in North Melbourne that will be connected by a new train station. The new precinct – near Arden station – will focus on elective surgery, outpatient treatment and rehabilitation.

The Victorian government made the commitment on Tuesday morning. The premier, Daniel Andrews, said the total investment for the project would be between $5bn and $6bn:

This is a big project. It’s not an easy project … but it is the investment we need to set up our state for the future.

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Telstra staff data breach

While all focus is on Optus, Telstra too is dealing with its own, much smaller, data breach, after the names and email addresses of 30,000 current and former Telstra staff were posted on the same forum the Optus breach was posted on last week.

In a note to staff on Saturday, Telstra’s group executive for transformation, communications and people, Alex Badenoch, said the data breach was of a third party that had previously provided Telstra’s Worklife NAB rewards program for staff.

The data, dating back to 2017, contained the first names, last names and work email addresses of 30,000 Telstra employees who worked for the company prior to 2017, with 12,800 of those still employed by the telco.
Telstra is working with the third party company to figure out how the breach occurred.

She said:


We understand this may cause some anxiety to our people, particularly in the current climate of heightened awareness around cyber security.
If you wish to find out more about the breach, or to find out if your email address was exposed, please contact our cyber team...

In the meantime, we remind you as always to remain vigilant about any unexpected communications.

The executive said that the company’s current rewards program had not been compromised, but out of an abundance of caution, the passwords of all users had been reset.

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New environmental laws to be introduced next year, minister says

Taking questions, Plibersek was asked how does she plan to deliver on mining while keeping with the government’s climate targets?

We recognise Australia has a continued need to develop. We do have a responsibility to make sure that Australians have jobs. That we’re able to build the new roads and housing and solar and weekend farms that will power the nation. But we need to do it in a way that is environmentally responsible. We need to do it in a way that gives business faster decisions, but gives the environment better protections. And that will be the focus of our environmental law reform. We’ll be introducing new environmental laws into the Parliament next year.

Environment minister encourages ordinary Australians to play their part

Plibersek:

Now, of course, that means extra investment and the Australian Government went to the last election with a commitment to invest $224.5m on threatened species. $1.2bn on the Great Barrier Reef, and to make a number of other environmental investments.

But it’s not just about what Government does. Of course, this plan has been created in cooperation with scientists and conservationists, working with incredible conservation organisations like Taronga Zoo.

There’s also a real opportunity for ordinary Australians to play their part. Lots of Australians are involved in organisations like Landcare. They donate to environmental groups. They look after their own backyards. And you know, one of the features of this plan is to deal better with feral species like cats and foxes.

One of the best contributions people can make is keeping their cats inside. Not letting those cats we know, cats and foxes together, kill an average of seven million Australian animals every night. So we have to do much better in dealing with feral species. And also introduce weeds like gamba grass particularly across northern Australia that really change our landscapes and make them hostile to the creatures that are dependant on them.

I really hope that Australians take the opportunity to have a read of the report and work in partnership with the Australian Government to protect our precious plants and animals and precious places for future generations.

‘We can create little Noah’s arks’: Plibersek launches threatened species action plan

We brought you the news this morning that environment minister Tanya Plibersek was today launching the government’s threatened species action plan.

In a media blitz this morning she said the new plan was more ambitious than the former Morrison government’s five-year plan.

Plibersek has now launched it at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. This is what she said:

The threatened species action plan is an ambitious and a specific plan to stop further extinctions in Australia. We learnt from the state of the environment report which I released some months ago that the state of the Australian environment is bad and getting worse.

We are the mammal extinction capital of the world. We’ve seen around 100 species lost in the time since colonisation, and we absolutely have to turn that around. If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting the same results. This plan is a more ambitious plan with a target of zero new extinctions.

It delivers on our target of protecting 30% of our land and 30% of our oceans by 2030. The prime minister and other world leaders have signed up to that ambitious conservation target. By protecting more habitat, we can protect the homes of these precious plants and animals and the landscapes that mean so much to Australians.

So, this new plan, as well as drawing much more on First Nations knowledge, also prioritises 110 species and 20 places. Now, this doesn’t mean that we don’t look at other threatened species, but it means that these prioritised species create a kind of halo effect by focusing in on these species and these places, we have the biggest chance of success. If we focus on these species, we also protect the species around them.

And by protecting 20 priority places, that give us a really broad range of Australian landscapes and ecosystems, we can create little Noah’s arks, places that we can be confident that we are returning to healthy populations of plants and animals.

Updated

Optus hands over data to government

Optus has finally handed over data to Services Australia, almost a fortnight after a massive data breach was revealed, AAP reports.

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten confirmed the government agency had received the data today and was assessing it to see what could be drawn from it. He told reporters in Canberra:

We shouldn’t have to play hide and seek and wait to day 13 to get material.

What it’s about is the horses bolted. We’re trying to close the gate.

All I’m motivated by is ... to get the information so I can stop hackers from hacking into government data and further compromising people’s privacy.

Shorten said Optus had revised its estimates to 50,000 compromised Medicare records and 150,000 passports. He called for the telco to be more forthcoming with information.

It comes as a majority of Australians would back a move to strengthen privacy protections in the wake of the massive data breach.

Guardian Essential poll results published today found just over half of respondents supported tighter restrictions on the amount of information companies could collect on consumers.

Updated

SES deploys extra resources to central and western NSW

Carlene York says the areas of concern are in western and central parts of the state:

The predicted rainfall can see renewed river rises to levels experienced during the past month. So this is just going to top up the river system with communities including Gunnedah, Wee Waa and Warren expected to be affected by flooding.

Nyngan at the moment is stable but we’re keeping an eye on where the flood waters will fall and whether or not it affects the rivers around there. The majority of rivers have been very close to full over the past year, and this added rain will just increase the risk in those areas.

So in preparation, New South Wales SES has deployed additional resources across those areas of risk. We have additional vehicles, boats, and we have aviation assets also in parts of southern, central and western New South Wales to support those communities. We’re also working closely with our emergency service partners and have additional resources from them out there.

So, during the school holidays, it is an increasing risk of people travelling around the state.

Updated

Four people rescued from flooding in Griffith last night

NSW SES commissioner Carlene York has now taken to the mic at that press conference about the weather in the state:

What we’re facing at the moment is the continuous rolling weather events. And we know that the ground is saturated. The dams are full to overflowing and the rivers are in various states flooded across the New South Wales state. So we’re looking at what is coming through firstly on Wednesday and then also preparing for the second event that’s coming through Friday into Saturday and Sunday.

So, we’ve had a really busy year at the New South Wales SES and this year, we’ve had over 60,000 requests for assistance. And just in September, over 2,200. And flood rescues in the last month have been over 100. So it’s a really important message to send to the community that they have to make safe decisions when travelling around the New South Wales state. Just overnight, we had a flood rescue in Griffith where four people were required to be rescued after their car was washed away in flood waters.

So my message to the community is, you see water across the road, turn around and make another route. It is dangerous to go across waters. You can see what’s under the road, and often it is fast-flowing and can easily lift and move a car and put you and the other people in the vehicle at risk, and you then place our volunteers at risk in going in to have to save you. Which is what happened in Griffith last night.

Updated

Inland NSW on flood alert as month's worth of rain expected in next five days

A press conference is being held to discuss the weather in NSW, where an emergency warning has been issued for inland NSW.

Gabrielle Woodhouse from the Bureau of Meteorology is giving an overarching picture of the weather:

Currently, across New South Wales, we are looking at two very significant systems moving across the state over the coming days.

The first one is expected to start to develop rain and thunderstorms over inland parts of New South Wales today. In fact, there is already a severe weather warning in place for heavy rainfall across the region. Now, this system is expected to move further east and bring moderate to heavy rainfall, quite widespread, to inland areas of New South Wales today and tomorrow, and then weaken as had moves towards the south-east on Thursday.

A second system is expected to follow up and bring widespread rain to inland parts of New South Wales again, particularly around the western slopes and ranges from Friday, which will spread east towards the coast on Saturday and Sunday where a low pressure system may develop. Currently we’re seeing wet conditions on the ground.

So the further rainfall, while looking to around a month or more worth of rain, particularly in inland areas of New South Wales, what this means is that we’ll start to see more of a flash flood risk as well as a riverine flood risk in the coming days. Whilst we move through the rest of the week, we urge everyone to stay on top of the latest forecasts and warnings from the bureau’s when sites and app. They’ll be updated quickly as we see the rainfall starting to fall and we can see flash flooding and flooding even in areas away from some of the river systems that have been in flood for quite some time.

For coastal areas, it seems like the northern part of the coast, they’ll see some showers, are less likely to see as much rain as inland and southern parts of the state. As we see the low pressure system develop over the weekend, we may see increased rain, wind and waves over the southern parts of the New South Wales coast. For those people inland, we urge you to stay abreast of the bureau’s warnings and the forecast, particularly as it is the end of the school holidays coming up.

Updated

Telstra signs deal with Queensland windfarm

Telstra has signed a deal to buy a quarter of its electricity from a Queensland windfarm that will be the largest in Australia when it comes online in 2025.

The telco signed the power purchase agreement with Ark Energy, which has a 30% stake in Acciona’s MacIntyre windfarm near Warwick, south-west of Brisbane.

Tesltra said the deal moved the company closer to a 2025 goal of underwriting renewable energy equivalent to all of its electricity consumption. Telstra executive Kim Krogh Andersen said the company was already backing solar parks, windfarms and carbon farming:

We have now supported more than $1bn of renewable energy projects across Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.

When these projects are fully operational, our share of their renewable energy output will be more than two-thirds of our consumption, a long way toward our target of 100 per cent by 2025.

The MacIntyre windfarm will have a capacity of 1026MW with 180 turbines, about 50km south-west of Warwick.

Tesltra says the deal with Ark Energy moves the company closer to a 2025 goal of underwriting renewable energy equivalent to all of its electricity consumption.
Tesltra says the deal with Ark Energy moves the company closer to a 2025 goal of underwriting renewable energy equivalent to all of its electricity consumption. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Updated

Severe weather warning for inland NSW

Nationals embark on ‘listening tour’

Nationals leader in the Senate Bridget McKenzie is speaking to Sky News about this “listening tour” the junior Coalition partner is embarking on to win back support of women and young people.

McKenzie emphasises that the last election was a “successful” one for the party, whichd held all its seats and transitioned some seats from retiring National MPs.

But as Guardian Australia’s rural editor Gabrielle Chan pointed out after the election, a lot of previously safe margins saw big swings away from the party that has traditionally represented rural interests. This was especially the case in Nicholls, one of the electorates with a retiring MP, where there was a real challenge from an independent.

McKenzie framed it this morning that “certain cohorts” including women chose to vote for other parties and other candidates. She said “you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to say that was an issue” at the last election.

She said the listening tour would be about more than talking to women about the issues that have stereotypically been seen to concern them, such as childcare, looking at the culture surrounding the Coalition’s treatment of women.

She highlighted Christine Holgate’s treatment as a “highly successful woman, following the rules” as one example of the Coalition’s actions that had alienated female voters.

Updated

Factory fire extinguished in Sydney’s west

Fire and Rescue NSW has extinguished a large fire that engulfed a bookbinding factory in Sydney’s west this morning.

The blaze broke out about 6.30am inside the building, and was extinguished two hours later.

FRNSW said:

More than 15 fire trucks and 60 firefighters were called to the scene.

It was quickly discovered the factory contained blocks of highly-flammable magnesium.

Firefighters initially entered the building to attack the flames and confirm no-one was inside, but were forced to retreat when an explosion occurred.

They continued to attack the fire from a safe distance outside.

One firefighter sustained magnesium burns to his left forearm whilst another was treated for an elevated heart rate. Both have been taken to hospital for assessment …

HAZMAT crews monitored the impact of the smoke plume and worked to protect local waterways from possible water run-off.

Updated

Natalie Ward puts hand up for NSW seat

NSW upper house Liberal minister Natalie Ward has thrown her hat in the ring to contest the seat on Sydney’s northern beaches being vacated by retiring Speaker Jonathan O’Dea at the state election, AAP reports.

Ward has been an MLC since 2017 and in May last year was appointed minster for sport, multiculturalism, seniors and veterans before becoming roads minister, as well as taking on the portfolios of women’s safety and the prevention of domestic and sexual violence.

She said in a statement today:

I have lodged application forms to nominate for Liberal Party preselection for the electorate of Davidson.

As an experienced member of cabinet, I believe that I can provide the people of Davidson a strong voice in parliament.

She is the second Liberal MLC looking to switch to the lower house at the March poll.

Last week infrastructure minister Rob Stokes flagged he was one of a growing band of Coalition MPs retiring at the election, leaving a vacancy in the northern beaches electorate of Pittwater. Upper house MP and Pittwater resident Natasha Maclaren-Jones promptly put her hand up to run in the blue-ribbon seat.

Liberal electorates in Sydney’s north are expected to face strong challenges from independents, after a swathe of “teal” MPs were swept to office in the May federal election.

The teals moniker was used to describe independent candidates with a “blue” Liberal background carrying an environmental green tinge to the federal election.

Premier Dominic Perrottet brushed off the threat from independent challengers when asked about it by reporters yesterday, saying the backlash against the federal Coalition “was based on policy”:

When it comes to integrity, when it comes to women and when it comes to climate, on those key issues the NSW government leads the way.

He was also confident the party would have more diversity to choose from when preselecting candidates:

Nominations are open and there’s a lot of interest from strong women who want to run and represent their local community.

Updated

Peak medical body launches plan to tackle GP crisis

The strain on general practice is at the centre of problems across Australia’s healthcare system, as the lack of access to the doctors who are often the first port of call for medical problems creates ripple effects down the line.

Today the Australian Medical Association is releasing a plan to improve access to GPs, with a seven-point program to give patients more time with their GPs, improve Medicare indexation and attract more doctors to the field.

A doctor measures a patient’s blood pressure
‘GPs are at the very heart of our healthcare system.’ Photograph: Andriy Popov/Alamy

AMA president Prof Steve Robson says this would create a modern Medicare that delivers patients more time, more care and more health:

GPs are at the very heart of our healthcare system and are doing a great job under immense pressure and very difficult circumstances.

But it’s clear Australians are finding it more difficult to access a GP because of growing patient demand, increased doctor burnout from the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, and increasing reports of general practices facing financial and sustainability issues.

Australia’s growing and ageing population is increasingly developing more complex healthcare needs, GPs need urgent action to give them the support they desperately need to deliver affordable and accessible healthcare to their patients.

The plan calls for:

  • The introduction of voluntary patient enrolment so patients can register with their trusted general practice or “medical home” to bolster coordinated, multidisciplinary and patient-centred care.

  • Supporting general practice to deliver more care after hours.

  • Expanding the number of nurses and allied health services available in general practices.

  • Supporting GPs to provide care to aged-care residents.

  • Supporting GPs to provide evidence-based wound care to those patients with chronic wounds.

  • Changing the GP training program to make general practice more appealing to the next generation of doctors.

  • Supporting GPs to spend more time with patients and improve the indexation of Medicare to reflect the rising costs of providing high-quality medical care and running a medical practice.

Robson said the AMA acknowledged the $750m investment in primary care the government was making through the strengthening medicare taskforce. But he said the federal health minister had only recently acknowledged how critical this issue has become:

Now is the time to act and invest and change the primary healthcare system to ensure it can meet patients’ needs.

The release comes ahead of a Royal Australian College of General Practice summit to be held in Canberra tomorrow which will consider practical steps to relieve growing stresses and strains on GPs, who see 85% of patients accessing medical help each year.

Updated

Victorian Greens propose $15,000 ‘eco-bonus’ to help buy EVs

Victorians would receive a $15,000 “eco-bonus” to switch to electric cars and petrol-powered vehicles would be banned by the end of the decade under a plan by the Greens, AAP reports.

Subsidy payments of about $3,000 would also be made to electric car owners for bi-directional chargers, enabling them to charge their vehicle through solar panels in an effort to drive down greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the Greens’ electric vehicle rapid uptake plan, the sale of petrol cars would be banned from 2030 and Labor’s electric vehicle tax would also be scrapped.

Victorian Greens MP and transport spokesman Sam Hibbins said transport was the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state and electric vehicles were the way of the future:

Electric vehicles are essential to the clean energy revolution.

Bi-directional charging will allow people to use their car as a clean energy battery and help stabilise the grid as more rooftop solar is installed.

Last month the federal government’s landmark climate bill passed in parliament, enshrining its emissions target of 43% by 2030.

Updated

Much of Australia preparing for heavy rain

Heavy rain is predicted across much of Australia this week from the Top End through to Tasmania.

The peak falls are forecast for tomorrow, with showers from north-east Queensland extending west to inland NSW and northern Victoria along with gusty easterly winds on the southern coast.

The NSW SES had this advice reminding people how to prepare their family and animals.

Updated

Links between screen time and depression in teens investigated

Depression is on the rise among young people connected to increased screen time, according to some pretty sobering research out from the Black Dog Institute.

Their report out today, Turning the tide on depression, investigates how depression is impacting four groups in Australia: children, adolescents, young adults and young First Nations people.

A girl looks at her phone under the bed covers
The relationship between depression and screen time is stronger in adolescent girls than adolescent boys, research has found. Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

Dr Alexis Whitton, research fellow at the Black Dog Institute, spoke to ABC Radio about the findings. Whitton said the relationship between depression and screen time was stronger in adolescent girls than adolescent boys.

She said the causal relationship was unclear, as it might be that when girls are feeling down and looking for sources of support, they turn to their screens – but of course this might not be helpful.

What can be done?

Whitton said the Black Dog Institute was calling for more nationally representative surveys of adolescent mental health as the latest survey was 10 years ago, which is not frequent enough to offer evidence-based responses.

She said a blanket ban on screen time might not be the answer.

The crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. The Indigenous crisis hotline 13 YARN 13 92 76.

Updated

RBA rate rise expected

Many eyes will be turned to computer screens at 2.30pm Canberra time when the Reserve Bank will announce its verdict on interest rates.

We look at the likely outcome here, with markets pricing in a sixth rate hike in as many months, which would extend the current record series of rises:

Since the cash rate target is now at 2.35%, today might be the perfect time to lift it to a more regular number, such as 2.75%. That would be a 40 basis point increase, sending a message about being tough on clamping down on inflation while also signalling that the central bank doesn’t want to extinguish economic growth before it sees how previous interest rates are working.

It typically takes three months for variable loans to be fully adjusted, and the RBA itself has said it can take as long as 18 to 24 months to see the full impact of rate changes reverberate through the economy.

Before that rate decision is known, we’ll get a few more economic numbers such as lending data and housing approvals for August. Something for the RBA board to mull about over their luncheon break, perhaps.

Updated

Sexual violence rife on dating apps

Dating apps need to better protect their users after a study revealed high rates of sexual violence, stalking, assault and unwanted sharing of explicit images, AAP reports.

The Australian Institute of Criminology survey of 9,987 app users found three-quarters were victims of some form of online sexual violence in the past five years.

One-third experienced in-person abuse from someone they met on an app, with 27% of those reporting incidents of sexual assault or coercion, such as drink spiking.

Among those physically assaulted, nearly 20% said they had been the victim of sexual health abuse such as “stealthing”, when a condom is removed without consent.

The researchers said the figures showed a “significant proportion” of people on apps were exposed to online and physical sexual violence.

The study said:

This is highly concerning given the significant and potentially long-term impacts associated with these victimisation experiences.

These impacts include poorer health and wellbeing, including overall life satisfaction, social isolation and lower self-esteem, as well as increased risk of re-victimisation.

Among heterosexual respondents, 79% of women reported some form of online violence, compared with 61% of men.

Rates of sexual violence through dating apps were higher among LGBTQI people, with 87% of women reporting abuse and 79% of men. The vast majority of the 71 non-binary respondents were also victims.

The abuse was not isolated – users said they experienced sexual violence online and in-person multiple times from different perpetrators.

Almost half the victims said an abuser unmatched or blocked them, or deleted their own profile, in an apparent attempt to avoid being caught.

The study said dating apps should prioritise safety via easier reporting processes, tougher ID verification to ban perpetrators, and censorship of explicit images.

The histories of conversations between users also need to be stored by the platforms to help victims who report abuse to the authorities, the authors wrote:

Considering the long- and short-term implications for victim-survivors after experiencing these harmful behaviours, there is an obvious need to develop mechanisms for protecting users.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800-RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.

Updated

A shift on stage-three tax cuts would move the first Albanese budget from B for boring to B for big

Speaking of stage-three tax cuts in that Tanya Plibersek interview, Guardian Australia’s political editor Katharine Murphy has penned this piece today.

She writes that Labor understands any broken promise will be weaponised by its political foes but an economic storm is brewing and it’s time to change tack.

Updated

Arson investigation into fatal Melbourne fire

Arson investigators are expected to be called to the scene of a fatal house fire in Melbourne, AAP reports.

Victoria police said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire at Maidstone, in the city’s north-west.

Emergency services were called to a single-storey Baird Street property after reports of flames coming from the roof of the house about 3.15am on Tuesday.

Fire and Rescue Victoria said firefighters received several triple-zero calls about the fire, with concerns about the safety of an elderly resident. Firefighters pulled an unresponsive man from the house and handed him to paramedics, but he was declared dead at the scene.

Police said a crime scene was established and an arson chemist and fire investigators were expected to attend later on Tuesday.

The house was extensively damaged in the blaze, which 30 firefighters were involved in bringing under control.

Updated

Is the government reconsidering stage-three tax cuts in light of UK U-turn?

The question of whether the Albanese government will continue to pursue stage-three tax cuts is more pressing in light of the parallel that is being drawn with the situation out of the UK, where the government has just made a U-turn on new PM Liz Truss’ tax cut for high earners.

Patricia Karvelas asks Tanya Plibersek:

On stage-three tax cuts, can we really afford these – look at the UK?

Plibersek:

These tax cuts haven’t come in. They won’t until 2024, I think it’s important for us to have a look at the October budget statement and have a good look at the state of the economy there and Labor’s plans to repair it. We’re in a pretty tough economic position ... we’ve got to have all of the information in front of us before making any further decisions.

Updated

Plibersek pressed on climate trigger

We’re now getting to the pointier end of Tanya Plibersek’s interview.

RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas asks the environment minister about the criticisms that have come from the Greens that the government cannot continue to approve new fossil fuels projects if it is serious about climate change:

Do you admit that climate change is increasing the rate of species decline?

Plibersek:

It sure is, climate change is significant, the natural disasters we’ve experienced ... land clearing ... all of these are putting enormous pressure on our natural environment.

The first and most important measure of our new government was to set higher ambition on carbon pollution reduction, just recently I introduced new laws strengthening our ozone layer protections and of course our prime minister signed up to the international leaders pledge to protect 30% or our oceans and 30% of our land by 2030 – these are all very ambitious targets.

The Greens have introduced amendments to the EPBC Act to create a climate trigger – will Plibersek support it?

I will respond to the Samuel review, we’ll consider all of those recommendations and any other changes we need to make to our environmental laws.

Updated

Species protections have ‘halo effect’ for the whole ecosystem

Plibersek said the plan to protect threatened species would have a positive “halo effect” on the ecosystems they inhabit.

Updated

Threatened species action plan to harness more First Nations knowledge and leadership

We mentioned in our first post that environment minister Tanya Plibersek is today launching the new government’s threatened species action plan.

Plibersek is now speaking to ABC Radio about this new plan, which she says is more ambitious than the previous Coalition government’s five-year plan for threatened species last year:

It’s more ambitious and it’s more focused, it includes an objective for zero new extinctions.

A stronger ambition to protect more land ... if we don’t protect the habitat for threatened plants and animals then it’s impossible to protect the plants and animals.

Plibersek also said the new plan calls on more First Nations knowledge and leadership in environmental conservation.

Tanya Plibersek
Minister for environment Tanya Plibersek. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Multinational tax reform gets under way

The Albanese government has kicked off the multinational tax reforms it promised during the federal election, AAP reports.

Labor pledged to support the OECD’s “two pillar” approach to crack down on multinational tax avoidance, which includes a 15% floor rate for corporate tax globally to help eliminate tax havens.

The OECD reforms also involve a new mechanism allowing multinationals to be taxed in part based on where they sell products and services rather than where they situate their headquarters and intellectual property.

The Labor government has now opened consultation on its tax reform agenda.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said:

This is all about consulting widely on the proposed OECD multinational tax changes and what they’d mean for Australia.

Chalmers said the reforms would ensure multinationals paid their fair share of tax and would help fund critical services.

OECD secretary general Mathias Cormann, a former Western Australian senator, said he was “quietly optimistic” about the global corporate tax reforms.

Speaking at the OECD’s forum on tax administration plenary in Sydney on Friday, Cormann said the global minimum would become “self-perpetuating” once most countries were signed up:

As it will not be in any country’s interest to leave money on the table for other jurisdictions to collect at their expense.

Mathias Cormann
Secretary general of the OECD Mathias Cormann. Photograph: Adriano Machado/Reuters

Updated

Young Australian women feel more disenfranchised by politics than global average

A global survey has found Australian young women and girls have a worse opinion of politics than the global average.

Sixty per cent of those aged 15 to 24 don’t think politicians act in the best interest of girls, compared with a 43% average around the world.

Plan International surveyed almost 30,000 females for the report Equal Power Now: Girls, young women and political participation.

Plan’s chief executive officer Susanne Legena said:

It has been a tumultuous couple of years for women in Australian politics. But, even so, these results are disappointing.

Australian girls feel irrelevant and disenfranchised when they should be being encouraged to take part in political discourse and the political process.

This new report found that a clear majority of young women and girls care deeply about politics, with 97% of those surveyed agreeing that participating in politics is important and 83% saying they have personally done so.

We have to do more in Australia to remove the barriers to entry and make women feel like they have a place in parliament.

In better news, a separate survey found young Australian women felt more hopeful after the 2022 election, which saw more women and people from diverse backgrounds elected to parliament. Forty-two per cent of women and gender-diverse people aged 18 to 21 said they were now more likely to consider a career in politics.

Updated

Good morning!

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek is setting the goal of no new extinctions in an overhaul of the threatened species action plan.

The plan will prioritise 110 species and 20 places and deliver flow-on benefits to other threatened plants and animals in the same habitats.

Fifteen species and three ecological communities have also been added to the threatened species list, many of which were badly affected by the black summer bushfires.

Plibersek said:

These are the strongest targets we’ve ever seen.

Our current approach has not been working. If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, we’ll keep getting the same results. Australia is the mammal extinction capital of the world.

The need for action has never been greater. I will not shy away from difficult problems or accept environmental decline and extinction as inevitable.

Plibersek has also pledged to conserve at least 30% of Australia’s land mass, which firms up Labor’s election promise to protect 30% of land and 30% of sea areas by 2030.

You can read the full action plan here.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia is meeting today when it is expected to raise interest rates for the sixth time in as many months.

The aggressive rate hikes from the central bank has brought rates from record low levels during to the pandemic to 2.35%, with today’s decision expected to see the rate go up another half a percentage point to 2.85%.

Also today, Australian of the Year Dylan ­Alcott will hand a report to NDIS minister Bill Shorten which will suggest overhauling the funding model for NDIS providers, elevating employment outcomes for people with disabilities and handing NDIS participants greater autonomy over the services they need, according to the Australian.

Shorten said it was a “quality report” and that he supported its principles.

I’m Natasha May – I’ll be with you on the blog through to lunch and if there’s anything you think I may have missed feel free to ping me @natasha__may on Twitter or email me at natasha.may@theguardian.com.

Let’s jump in!

Updated

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