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Latest inflation data is ‘stunning’, treasurer saysJim Chalmers says the latest inflation figures are “very encouraging news” but won’t predict whether it’ll result in a rate cut at the next Reserve Bank board meeting.The treasurer is speaking to Sky News (and will be doing a press conference shortly), and gives himself a bit of a pat on the back for how much inflation has dropped since Labor was first elected in 2022.
These are pretty stunning numbers. When you consider when we came to office, inflation had a six in front of it. Now it’s around a third of that very, very encouraging development … No doubt the Reserve Bank board will weigh that up.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShareUpdated at 03.49 BSTKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureOver to the Press Club in Canberra, where Tech Council of Australia chair and Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar is now taking questions after his speech focused on an AI future.For any parents struggling with navigating screens and online safety for their children, the tech heavyweight says his three school-age children have “very defined screen time” and that he makes sure he is aware of what they are viewing.“We spend time with our kids together and educate them about age-appropriate things they need to be worried about on the internet, in the same way we educate them about crossing the road,” he said.He said he spends time looking at what his children are spending time on and then, at “every stage, when they adopt a new platform, we spend time chatting with them about the dangers and the opportunities of that platform.”ShareNSW premier says protest on Sydney Harbour Bridge would be a ‘logistical and communications Everest’Jordyn BeazleyThe New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has been asked about claims by a member of his own government that he overstepped his authority by ruling out a protest involving a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.(We covered the comments made by upper house Labor MP Stephen Lawrence here, who said it is a matter for the police, not the state.)Minns responded that his point, in ruling it out, was purely to do with the route and not the protest itself. He said that closing down the bridge for such an event is “a logistical and communications Everest”.He said:
I do appreciate and I completely recognise that many Australians are very concerned, very concerned about the humanitarian aid crisis in Gaza, as well as human rights for Palestinians. I’m not dismissing that. I’m not suggesting that the motives of the protesters are wrong or misplaced. I completely accept that many people living in New South Wales would want to protest this international situation.My point, and it’s an important one, is that to close down the Harbour Bridge, which has happened maybe two or three times in a decade, is a logistical and communications Everest. It’s incredibly difficult to do. And I understand that some people say, ‘look, it’s easy to shut down the bridge.’ It’s not easy. When it happens for a marathon, it’s nine to 12 months in the planning. It doesn’t happen overnight.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge. Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PAShareUpdated at 04.28 BSTPatrick ComminsChalmers says economy is ‘softer than we would like’Jim Chalmers says “the economy is softer than we would like”, which he blamed on “a period of higher interest rates”, global uncertainty linked to Trump’s trade war, and the ongoing pressure on households from high living costs.The treasurer’s comments at a press conference in Parliament House this morning come after fresh figures showed inflation fell to 2.1% in the year to June, from 2.4% in March.“We need to get the economy growing quicker (and) in a more sustainable way,” he said, acknowledging that there has been “some softening around the edges of the labour market”.
We are attentive to those cyclical issues – weaker growth, getting on top of inflation – but we’re also increasingly focused on the bigger structural issues.
Analysts are now locking in a Reserve Bank rate cut at the next board meeting on 11-12 August.Stephen Smith, a partner at Deloitte Access Economics, said the inflation number “shows Australia’s policy settings must shift from containing inflation to stimulating economic growth”.Smith said that interest rates at current levels were “hard to justify given ongoing global economic volatility and the continued sluggishness of our own domestic economy”.ShareUpdated at 04.18 BSTBillionaire’s lawyers fight subpoena in Latham DVO hearingAnne DaviesLawyers for the billionaire WiseTech founder Richard White are hoping to quash a subpoena to produce any communications with the former partner of New South Wales MP Mark Latham, Nathalie Matthews.Nicholas Olson, appearing for White in a court hearing on Wednesday, foreshadowed the application and said he would seek a suppression order on the material. There was also an application to set aside a subpoena directed at Matthews regarding the communications.Latham’s lawyers have sought the material under subpoena as part of his defence against a Domestic Violence Order (DVO) application Matthews has made against Latham and after texts reportedly between Latham and Matthews allegedly referring to White were published by the Australian newspaper earlier this month.White is not accused of any wrongdoing.Latham’s defence is seeking to have the DVO application lodged by Matthews set aside.The matter is scheduled to return to court on 6 August for a further mention.Among the allegations Matthews has made in documents filed with the court are that Latham intimidated her and forced her into demeaning sexual acts.Latham has strenuously denied the allegations.Latham is also facing a censure motion in the NSW upper house over unrelated matters when the state parliament sits next week.ShareUpdated at 04.10 BSTCoalition says Australia should not recognise Palestinian state ‘with Hamas still in control of Gaza’The Coalition says it has “serious concerns” about the government recognising a Palestinian state “outside of a proper two-state process”.The government has said recognition does not have to come at the end of a peace process with Israel.Shadow foreign minister Michaelia Cash has said in a statement that recognition cannot happen “with Hamas still in control of Gaza”, and that Australia should “not reward” Hamas with a pathway to statehood.
The Coalition has been consistently clear that there can be no recognition of a Palestinian state with Hamas still in control of Gaza, and Hamas can have no role in governing a Palestinian state.
The Albanese Government should explain to Australians why it is canvassing recognition of a Palestinian state while there are still hostages in tunnels under Gaza.
This is a moment for international leaders to be applying maximum pressure on the listed terrorist organisation Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release all remaining hostages and disarm.
ShareUpdated at 03.47 BSTSenate votes down Liberal senator’s Hecs bill amendment to cap indexationThe opposition has abstained from voting on its senator Sarah Henderson’s amendment to the Hecs bill – which would cap indexation at 3%.The Senate is currently debating the bill and voting on several amendments – one by Henderson, and several by the Greens, which have so far been voted down by the government.Henderson, who was dumped from Sussan Ley’s frontbench, went at it alone when announcing this week that she would push the government to cap the indexation rate.The four One Nation senators, Tammy Tyrrell, David Pocock and Ralph Babet voted with Henderson.The government and Greens senators voted against it, meaning it didn’t get up.Senator Sarah Henderson. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The GuardianShareUpdated at 03.30 BSTPatrick ComminsCost-of-living pressures continue despite drop in inflationAs we wrote below, inflation has dropped all the way to 2.1% in the year to June, from 2.4% in March.But it’s not all good news.The ABS’s consumer price index climbed by 0.7% in the three months, as electricity prices jumped by 8.1% in the quarter, after taxpayer-funded energy bill subsidies rolled off in Perth and Brisbane.Michelle Marquardt, the ABS’s head of prices statistics, said “while electricity was up this quarter, it’s down 6.2% compared to 12 months ago as rebates remained in place for most capital cities”.The annual inflation rate was below the 2.2% consensus forecast among economists, thanks in large part to a 10% drop in petrol prices over the year, according to the ABS.There are still plenty of signs of cost-of-living pressures, even if the trajectory is a positive one.Rents were up 4.6% versus a year ago (from 5.5% in March), and insurance 3.9%.Breakfast costs are also higher than this time last year: egg prices are up 19% thanks to bird flu outbreaks, while tea and coffee costs are 9% higher thanks to major issues in overseas coffee bean-growing regions, the ABS said.The price of coffee has surged amid issues with global coffee production. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShareUpdated at 03.37 BSTLatest inflation data is ‘stunning’, treasurer saysJim Chalmers says the latest inflation figures are “very encouraging news” but won’t predict whether it’ll result in a rate cut at the next Reserve Bank board meeting.The treasurer is speaking to Sky News (and will be doing a press conference shortly), and gives himself a bit of a pat on the back for how much inflation has dropped since Labor was first elected in 2022.
These are pretty stunning numbers. When you consider when we came to office, inflation had a six in front of it. Now it’s around a third of that very, very encouraging development … No doubt the Reserve Bank board will weigh that up.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShareUpdated at 03.49 BSTTsunami threat warnings for Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Fiji after earthquake off RussiaThere are tsunami threat warnings for several countries near Australia including Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Fiji.There are no warnings for Australia.We’ll keep you updated, or you can follow the Guardian’s live blog on the tsunami here:ShareUpdated at 02.53 BSTInflation rate falls from 2.4% to 2.1% in year to JunePatrick ComminsInflation dropped to 2.1% in the year to June, from 2.4% in March, as further evidence of waning underlying price pressures paves the way for a Reserve Bank rate cut next month.The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ quarterly report also showed the RBA’s preferred measure of inflation, which removes more volatile price movements, dropped to 0.6% in the three months to June.That lowered the annual “core” rate from 2.9% to 2.7%.The RBA board’s decision to hold the cash rate at 3.85% earlier this month came as a shock to investors and analysts, with the majority of the monetary policy board voting to hold fire until they had further confirmation that inflation was tracking as anticipated towards the 2.5% target.Economists leading into this morning’s release said that a quarterly underlying inflation rate of 0.7% or less would provide that comfort.The prospect of a rate cut on 12 August will be welcomed by mortgaged homeowners struggling with ongoing cost of living pressures, but less so by those hoping to buy a home amid resurgent property prices.ShareUpdated at 02.35 BSTPatrick ComminsJune quarter’s inflation figures to be released at 11.30amThe countdown is on for the 11:30am release of June quarter’s inflation figures, which should determine whether the Reserve Bank cuts rates next month.Michele Bullock, the RBA governor, has signalled that she and her board were waiting on further evidence that inflation is tracking sustainably towards the mid-point of the 2-3% target range, and this morning’s consumer price report should provide that comfort (or not).Economists predict inflation will fall from 2.2% in the year to June, from 2.4% in March.Surely that alone is enough for a rate cut?Not so fast.The RBA targets the “headline” inflation rate, but it leans on underlying measures which remove more volatile price movements (often for things such as petrol and fruit and vegetables) to guide its policy decisions.The so-called “trimmed mean” rate of inflation was 2.9% in the year to March.Analysts reckon the underlying rate needs to come in at 0.7% in the three months to June – or below – to lock in a rate cut.That would lower the annual pace to 2.7%.Reserve Bank of Australia governor, Michele Bullock. Photograph: Jane Dempster/AAPShareUpdated at 02.29 BSTIs YouTube a social media network?YouTube issued a statement overnight saying it should be exempt from the social media ban because it’s a video-sharing platform, not social media.But if you search “is YouTube a social media network” on Google, YouTube’s parent company, its AI overview bot says … yes it is.The overview states: “While [YouTube] is primarily known as a video-sharing platform, it also facilitates user interaction, content creation and community building, which are core characteristics of social media.”Google says its AI overview provides an “AI-generated snapshot with key information and links to dig deeper”, so it’s not reflecting what Google actually thinks.Needless to say, it’s a bit funny.ShareUpdated at 02.19 BSTJosh ButlerCoalition accuses Labor of breaking promise over YouTube under-16s banThe Coalition is accusing the government of a “blatant broken promise” over including YouTube in the under-16s social media ban, after the video service was previously exempt under the draft rules.The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, alleges Labor “deliberately misled the public” over the move, in a statement.
[This is] a blatant broken promise to the Australian people … When the government introduced the legislation in November, they specifically excluded YouTube. This was the premise on which the legislation passed the parliament.
McIntosh noted the government had issued media releases setting out the YouTube carveout, and had written to Google promising the same.But after advice from the eSafety commissioner, the government has changed its mind. The Coalition back the under-16s restrictions, but McIntosh is unhappy with the YouTube issue.
The Albanese Labor government can change a minister, but they cannot hide the fact they deliberately misled the public at the last election by promising to keep YouTube out of the social media age minimum.
The prime minister and the Labor government reaffirmed YouTube’s exemption before the election … It makes you question what has really changed behind the scenes in the government on this issue, and whether it was an election stunt.
The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPShareUpdated at 02.17 BSTPatrick ComminsIMF upgrades Australia’s economic growth outlookThe International Monetary Fund has upgraded its outlook for the Australian and global economy thanks to a “modest decline in trade tensions” after Donald Trump failed to follow through on the worst of his tariff threats.In an overnight update to its April world economic outlook, the IMF forecasts Australian GDP will rise by 1.8% this year, and 2.2% in 2026.The estimates were 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points higher, respectively, than the forecasts three months ago.The IMF in particular noted the de-escalation of trade tensions with China in May, which reduced the effective tariff of imports into the US from 24% to 17% – the highest in 90 years.Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s chief economist, said “this resilience (in the global economy) is welcome, but it is also tenuous”.
While the trade shock could turn out to be less severe than initially feared, it is still sizeable, and evidence is mounting that it is hurting the global economy.”
Compared to the IMF’s pre-April and pre-trade war forecast, global growth is expected to grow 0.2 percentage points more slowly. Gourinchas said”:
At around 3%, global growth remains disappointingly below the pre-Covid average.
ShareAlbanese ends the press conference stressing that Australians don’t want the conflict brought here.
My priority has been to try and navigate what is a very difficult situation but, you know, the young Jewish boy or girl going to the local school should not be harassed because of who they are. They are not responsible for what is going on in Gaza. And Arab Australians or Muslims are not responsible for what Hamas did.
He says the media also has a responsibility not to stoke tensions in the community.ShareUpdated at 02.07 BSTAlbanese not surprised Aukus review taking US longer than 30 daysAlbanese says he’s not surprised that the US is delaying the completion of its Aukus review until Australia’s spring.The office of the US under secretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, released a statement on X a short time ago, stating the review would be completed in the US fall, and that it would engage with the UK and Australia during that review.Albanese says:
We expected a review from an incoming government just like the Keir Starmer government did it. We expect that those things take longer than just 30 days.
ShareUpdated at 02.07 BST‘Sometimes out of a crisis comes a moment of opportunity to actually advance forward’Albanese is asked whether the government will place more sanctions on Israel, and accuses those calling for more sanctions of just using “slogans”.He says the government is “about meaningful action” and lambasts protesters who caused his electorate office to be shut down on Friday.There’s been a lot of comparison between the number of sanctions on Russians, compared to Israelis, but Albanese says Israel is democratic, while Putin’s regime is not.Pushed further on his comments that Hamas should not have a role in a future Palestinian government, Albanese is asked what that means for senior bureaucrats that have been involved in the Palestinian health administration.Albanese says the government is “not at that point of detail”.
Clearly one of the things that the Palestinian Authority have said is to speak about a demilitarised Palestinian state. What that implies is not just no military in the conventional sense but also obviously no paramilitary.
If people are serious, and I’ve been serious about the rights of Palestinians and them having justice since, you know, well before I came to this place … One of the things that I’ve said … is that sometimes out of a crisis comes a moment of opportunity to actually advance forward, in a real way, advance forward for Israelis and Palestinians.
ShareUpdated at 02.04 BSTAlbanese asked about recognising Palestinian stateOn to other issues, Albanese is asked whether the government is now looking at a specific timeframe for recognising a Palestinian state.Albanese says there’s not a timeline, but specific circumstances to enable that to happen.He says he spoke to Keir Starmer overnight, and expects to speak with the British PM again in the coming days.
We’ve signed another statement today with many nations. That statement, I think, has a number of things in it are important.
Asked whether Starmer declaration on statehood has influenced Albanese’s thinking, the prime minister the world is “continuing to engage with each other” formally and informally.
The world was horrified by the terrorist act and the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October. The world looks on what is happening in Gaza and expresses that it is unjustified and it is a tragedy, the ongoing loss of innocent life.
ShareUpdated at 02.05 BST‘My government is pro Wiggles’: AlbaneseThis morning Wells said Wiggles management tried to appeal to the government to allow YouTube to be exempt from the ban.She says they told her that YouTube is a video platform, not a social media platform – the same argument a spokesperson for YouTube made in a statement overnight.Wells clarifies that it was Wiggles management, not the actual Wiggles, who made the appeal, and Albanese adds” “We’re not here to sledge the Wiggles. My government is pro Wiggles.”Wells also said a bit earlier that in terms of age-restrictive content, it should be up to the social media companies to explain why kids might have access to that content.Anthony Albanese at a press conference this morning: ‘We’re not here to sledge the Wiggles.’ Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShareUpdated at 01.58 BST
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