Hello, it's Wednesday, June 8. Here's what you need to get caught up on today's news.
One thing to know: the High Court made a key ruling on a citizenship challenge
The High Court has ruled a law allowing the Home Affairs Minister to strip suspected terrorists of their citizenship is unlawful.
The case before the court involved Delil Alexander, who was jailed in Syria after allegedly joining Islamic State.
He claimed he could not be released from jail because he had nowhere to go, after the Australian government stripped him of his citizenship in July 2021.
The main issue in the case was whether the law allowing the Home Affairs Minister to strip him of his citizenship was valid under the constitution.
Here's some of what the lead judgement in the decision said:
"The power to determine the facts which enliven the power to impose such a punishment is one which, in accordance with [chapter 3] of the constitution, is exercisable exclusively by a court that is a part of the federal judicature."
What that means is: Effectively the High Court ruled that while the government of the day could pass laws relating to citizenship, the consequence of stripping someone's citizenship without them facing trial on Australian soil was so serious it should only be handled by a judge.
We heard more about interest rates
The Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and NAB have joined Westpac in passing on the Reserve Bank's interest rate rise to mortgage borrowers in full.
All three banks said they would raise home loan variable interest rates by half a percentage point from June 17.
Here's the lowdown:
- CBA said it would pass the full value of the RBA's rate hike on selected deposit accounts
- ANZ said it was reviewing its current savings rates
- CBA will extend availability of a term deposit rate of 2.25 per cent for 18 months
- ANZ offered a term deposit rate of 2.25 per cent for 11 months from June 13
- NAB introduced a term deposit rate of 2.25 per cent for a year from June 17
Westpac took the lead as the first major bank to pass on the full value of the RBA's rate rise on Tuesday.
The news Australia is searching for
- Matthew McConaughey: The actor spoke at the White House, telling Congress to "reach a higher ground" and pass gun control legislation after the mass school shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
- State of Origin 2022: The series kicks off tonight at 8:10pm at Sydney's Olympic stadium. Here's everything else you need to know.
News you might have missed
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The Nadesalingam family have arrived in Brisbane, as they travel from Perth back to their adopted hometown of Biloela.
One more thing... how expensive is lettuce right now!?
The cost of certain fresh produce, like lettuce and tomatoes, has more than doubled in recent weeks and the industry says prices aren't coming down anytime soon.
You could be paying more than $10 for a lettuce.
The wet weather in south-east Queensland meant growers lost one crop and struggled to plant the next one when the freezing temperatures set in.
Wholesalers say items like baby leaf spinach and wombok are going for three to four times the normal price — and they expect the shortage to last for a couple of months at least.
That's it for now
We'll be back tomorrow with more.
ABC/wires
