Category Archives: Australia news

Michele Bullock spells continuity at RBA – but respite unlikely for borrowers

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The new chief was one of the board members raising interest rates, but has been brought in to reform the central bank

When the Albanese government announced Michele Bullock as the next Reserve Bank governor on Friday, few were particularly surprised – and that was the plan.

Sure, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, got on the front foot the previous day, prematurely warning against choosing a public servant. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, had shared his shortlist with his shadow, Angus Taylor, but held back Bullock as his pick.

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Government ‘realistic’ about chances in Fadden – as it happened

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Stakes are high in contest for Queensland seat. This blog has now closed

Singleton Roosters to play their first game since tragic bus accident

NSW premier Chris Minns is in Cessnock today, where he will attend the first games of the women’s and men’s Singleton Roosters Australian rules football teams since the bus tragedy that rocked the community in June.

For the rest of winter and into spring, there’s a very high chance of above average temperatures, and actually quite a high chance of unusually warm temperatures as well.

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Qantas and Virgin duopoly dwarfs the Australian banking and supermarket industries, airport peak body says

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Australian Airports Association tells parliamentary inquiry market dominance has allowed the two airlines to jack up profit margins

Qantas and Virgin now account for 95% of Australia’s domestic aviation market, a dominance that dwarfs industries such as banking and supermarkets and has allowed the airlines to jack up profit margins, the national airport body has warned.

The continued duopoly of Qantas Group – which includes budget carrier Jetstar – and Virgin Australia in the domestic aviation sector has also allowed air fares to rise above pre-pandemic levels even when adjusting for inflation, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) said in its submission to a parliamentary inquiry.

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‘Birthplace of the nation’ to close as cash-strapped NSW council can’t afford heritage-listed museum

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Exclusive: Sir Henry Parkes memorial school of arts – home of the 1889 Tenterfield oration – to close in a fortnight

The first museum included on the National Trust register will close its doors at the end of the month, leaving its century-old artefacts of federation locked behind glass until further notice.

The Sir Henry Parkes memorial school of arts is the site of the five-time premier’s famous Tenterfield oration in 1889, regarded as the first direct appeal to the public for an Australian nation-state to unite the colonies.

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Sydney’s unseasonably warm weather set to stay as BoM continues ‘El Niño’ watch

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The Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast expects more warm weather for the east coast, with Sydney hitting a top of 23C on Saturday

Sydney is expected to hit 23C on Saturday, with the unseasonably warm weather forecast to continue for the rest of the winter.

Hugh McDowell, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the bureau’s long-range forecast showed Sydney could expect more unseasonable temperatures.

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No chance China will join Pacific trade pact in near term, Australia warns

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Assistant trade minister suggests consideration of China’s push to join CPTPP ‘some way off’ as UK becomes 12th member

China has no hope of being accepted into a major regional trade pact in the near term, the Australian government has signalled, as members prepare to welcome the UK into the fold this weekend.

The assistant trade minister, Tim Ayres, is visiting New Zealand for a meeting with fellow members of the CPTPP. The UK, which sees joining as part of its “tilt” to the Indo-Pacific region, is to be formally accepted as the 12th member on Saturday.

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NSW delays decision about future of country’s biggest power station until after energy security review

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Owner Origin Energy say ‘nothing has changed’ on plan to shut the coal-fired Eraring plant no sooner than August 2025

The New South Wales government says it will hold off any decision about the future of the country’s largest power station until at least next month, after it receives a “health check” on the state’s energy security.

Origin Energy, owner of the 2880MW Eraring plant near Lake Macquarie, also said on Friday that “nothing had changed” on the plan to shut the coal-fired power station no sooner than August 2025.

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HWL Ebsworth hack: Queensland says its files were taken after criminals release Victorian documents

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State’s chief information security officer says information from Victorian departments and agencies was accessed

Highly sensitive legal documents from the Victorian government have been published on the dark web by cybercriminals, with Queensland also confirming files from at least one of its departments are included in the breach.

The breach is connected to data that was stolen from the law firm HWL Ebsworth in April by a Russian-linked ransomware gang, known as ALPHV/Blackcat, and posted online.

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Renters worse off as landlords begin evictions to skirt new Queensland laws, tenants group says

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Government says new regulations stipulating rents can not be raised more than once a year will be reviewed

Landlords seeking to avoid new Queensland laws limiting rent increases to once a year have left numerous renters worse off, according to the state’s tenants’ rights service

The Palaszczuk government on Thursday said it would review the laws – just two weeks after they took effect – amid reports landlords had evicted tenants in order to get around the regulation.

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‘Serious and systemic issues’: CEO and board chair resign amid scathing review of pesticides regulator

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Review of Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority followed claims senior member of staff urinated on colleagues at Christmas function

The board chair and CEO of Australia’s agricultural and veterinary chemical regulator have resigned, as an independent review found “serious and systemic issues” within the organisation.

The federal minister for agriculture, Murray Watt, said the government would take “firm action” to ensure the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority’s integrity after the review’s findings.

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ACCC to compel companies to back up environmental claims with evidence

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Australia’s competition watchdog publishes draft guidelines in a bid to stamp out greenwashing

Companies should have evidence to back up claims they make about their environmental sustainability, according to draft guidelines developed by the competition watchdog in a bid to stamp out greenwashing.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) published the draft guidance on Friday after its recent greenwashing internet sweep identified concerning practices ranging from overstating climate action to companies developing their own certification schemes.

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RBA lifer Michele Bullock may have the luck of playing good cop to Philip Lowe’s bad

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The Reserve Bank of Australia’s first female governor will begin her appointment at or very near the end of the cycle of rate rises

Australia will get its first female Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, and the order of the day is continuity with change.

Continuity because Bullock is an extremely well qualified RBA lifer with four decades of experience.

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Alleged threat to kill federal MP made late at night, court told

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Simon Geoffrey Raymond, 39, has been in custody since Tuesday after he was arrested over alleged threats against Anne Webster

A man accused of threatening to kill a federal MP will spend at least the weekend behind bars after a brief court hearing in Queensland.

Simon Geoffrey Raymond, 39, of no fixed address, has been in custody since being arrested by federal police at Brisbane airport on Tuesday.

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Rooty Hill death: Dusan Rakic charged with murder after ex-wife’s body found in Sydney

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Police allege former husband also breached his bail and an AVO, after Christine Formosa Rakic’s body was found in Western Sydney home

A Sydney man allegedly breached his bail before killing his ex-wife, leaving her family in tremendous pain and disbelief.

Christine Formosa Rakic was found dead in a Rooty Hill home on Tuesday night in the latest of a spate of alleged domestic violence-related deaths across Sydney in recent weeks.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service can be contacted on 1800 737 732

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Solomon Islands denies policing deal with China poses ‘threat’ to Pacific security

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Statement comes after US, Australia and New Zealand expressed concerns about new agreement with Beijing

Solomon Islands has said that its policing pact with China poses no “threat” to the Pacific, rebuking western powers that raised fears the deal could inflame regional tensions.

Prime minister Manasseh Sogavare inked a raft of deals during a trip to China this week, including an agreement allowing Beijing to extend its police presence in the developing Pacific nation until 2025.

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Nationals accuse Labor of ‘hypocrisy’ over response to scathing APVMA report – as it happened

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Cabinet meeting to decide Lowe’s successor today

Philip Lowe will be replaced as the Reserve Bank governor, with today’s cabinet meeting to decide his successor, Guardian Australia has confirmed.

If I was asked to continue in the role, I would be honoured to do that and I would continue.

If I am not asked to continue in the role, I will do my best to support my successor, and the treasurer has said he will make an announcement before the end of this month.

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No campaign runs opposite claims on Indigenous voice across different social media pages

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Exclusive: Advance lobby group runs multiple Facebook pages that target different demographics, including one that purports to be a neutral news source

The no campaign in the Indigenous voice referendum is running three different social media strategies, each targeting different groups of Australians with apparently contradictory messages, a Guardian Australia investigation can reveal.

The lobby group Advance, one of the lead organisations in the no camp, runs one Facebook page highlighting conservative criticism, another highlighting progressive complaints, and a third portraying itself as a neutral news source.

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Queensland LNP leader accused of bowing to party’s ‘far right’ in qualifying his support for treaty

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The Liberal National party’s David Crisafulli has ruled out ‘compensation, reparations, sovereignty, right of veto’, described as key components of a treaty

The Queensland LNP leader, David Crisafulli, has been accused of bowing to the “far right” of his party by ruling out support for what a veteran activist says are four critical elements of the state’s Indigenous treaty.

Though it opposes the federal voice to parliament, the state Liberal National party unanimously voted in May to establish a truth-telling inquiry and First Nations Treaty Institute, passing legislation designed to begin the treaty process.

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Voice would help ‘change frustration’ over health and education, Linda Burney says

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Canberra has to listen to locals, minister tells a community meeting in WA, as Richard Marles says Indigenous affairs is an ‘offence to the fair go’

The Indigenous voice would help “change the frustration” of Aboriginal Australians in health and education, Linda Burney has said, adding that those issues had been “ghettoised” into her portfolio in the past rather than dealt with more closely by responsible ministers.

Speaking at a major community meeting in Western Australia’s Pilbara region on Wednesday night, the minister for Indigenous Australians said that the proposed national voice was part of the Albanese government trying to “do things differently”.

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Labor’s refusal to extend school chaplaincy tax deduction will cause cuts, Christian group says

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Parents’ secular education group wants chaplains scrapped and student wellbeing officers employed instead

Australia’s largest supplier of school chaplains has labelled the Albanese government’s decision not to extend its eligibility to receive tax deductible gifts “disappointing and unexpected”.

Scripture Union Australia has warned the decision would probably result in cuts to chaplaincy services after Labor allowed its deductible gift recipient (DGR) status, previously granted by the Morrison government, to lapse.

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