Category Archives: Reserve Bank of Australia

Jim Chalmers labels Peter Dutton’s budget reply an ‘unhinged’ and ‘nasty’ rant

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Opposition leader promised in speech on Thursday to restrict property investment by non-residents

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has criticised the opposition leader Peter Dutton’s budget reply speech as “unhinged” and lacking in economic credibility, as he set out around Australia to explain the government’s own economic plan.

With parliament now in recess for a week, Chalmers headed to Port Augusta in South Australia with the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, and SA state and federal colleagues to promote the government’s renewable energy transition agenda, badged as Future Made in Australia.

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PM promises ‘Labor party budget through and through’ – as it happened

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More details on government’s plan to cap international student numbers

The government has released a little more information on its plan to cap international students in a bid to ease housing shortages and clamp down on sub-standard education providers and agents. It will introduce legislation next week which will:

Prevent education providers from owning education agent businesses.

Pause applications for registration from new international education providers and of new courses from existing providers for periods of up to 12 months.

Require new providers seeking registration to demonstrate a track record of quality education delivery to domestic students before they are allowed to recruit international students.

Cancel dormant provider registrations to prevent them being used as a market entry tool by unscrupulous actors.

Prevent providers under serious regulatory investigation from recruiting new international students.

Improve the sharing of data relating to education agents.

[The Coalition will announce its] energy policy not at the time of the media’s choosing or at a time of the government’s choosing but a time of the Coalition’s choosing.

But it will be very clear in advance of the next election the way we want to go about opening up a new energy source for Australia. That will deliver emissions free energy and lower energy prices by increasing the mix of types of energy over the long term.

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Jim Chalmers flags cost of living help for job seekers in federal budget

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‘There is more than one way to help people who are on income support,’ treasurer says when suggesting rebates and concessions could be boosted

The federal government is poised to expand rebates and concessions available to job seekers in next week’s federal budget, which is also expected to increase rent assistance.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has confirmed that Tuesday’s budget will not increase the jobseeker payment but suggested it would boost concessions linked to social security payments, among a suite of measures designed to offer cost-of-living relief without pushing up inflation.

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Reserve Bank leaves interest rate on hold at 4.35% despite higher than expected inflation

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Mortgage holders have avoided another rate rise with the RBA opting to keep rates steady for the fourth consecutive meeting

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Borrowers have been spared a 14th interest rate rise and further increases are not certain as the Reserve Bank of Australia avoids a “tightening bias” even as inflation retreated slower than previously expected.

The RBA left its cash rate on hold at 4.35% for a fourth consecutive meeting on Tuesday in a result that was widely expected. Only one economist, Capital Economics, predicted the central bank would lift the cash rate.

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One in 20 Australian mortgage holders are spending more than they earn

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Reserve Bank says households are generally weathering the record run of interest rate rises but 5% of owner occupiers are in a dire financial position

About one in 20 mortgage holders are spending more than they earn because of higher interest rates and cost-of-living increases but that share should halve by the end of 2025, the Reserve Bank said in its latest financial stability review.

The semi-annual report, released on Friday, was generally upbeat about the financial health of households and businesses, finding “nearly all borrowers continue to service their debts on schedule” even though conditions are likely to remain challenging for many this year.

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Australia politics live: Coalition slams Keating for China meeting; RBA tipped to hold rates

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Former PM called ‘reckless’ for accepting talks with foreign minister Wang Yi. Follow the day’s news live

Energy minister Chris Bowen is on a bit of a media blitz this morning.

More renewables are coming on to the grid, which is lowering the default price of energy, but this is Bowen’s main message (he is speaking to ABC radio RN here)

Nuclear is the most expensive form of energy in the world at the moment. There will be a real choice at the next election between the cheapest form of energy and the most expensive.

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Reserve Bank tipped to hold interest rate but economists split on when cuts will start

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Pundits and investors expect the RBA to leave its cash rate unchanged at 4.35% when the board meets on Tuesday

The Reserve Bank is widely tipped to leave its key interest rate on hold at this week’s board meeting, but economists are split on how soon borrowers can expect rate relief.

The central bank will announce the results of its second board meeting for 2024 on Tuesday. Pundits and investors alike anticipate the RBA will leave its cash rate unchanged at its 12-year high of 4.35%.

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Don’t expect a ‘big cash splash’ in this year’s budget, Jim Chalmers tells taxpayers

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Treasurer says falling iron ore prices and a weaker labour market mean the large upgrades to revenue seen in the last two budgets will not be repeated

Australians should not expect a “big cash splash” from this year’s federal budget although the government will bank a smaller share of any increase in expected revenues, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, told a Sydney audience.

Chalmers said there would likely be “additional cost-of-living help in the budget but it won’t be anywhere near the magnitude of the tax cuts”.

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Deal allows police to march in parade – as it happened

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On the “broken promise” of changing the stage-three tax cuts (the latest Guardian Essential poll had Albanese falling in the trust stakes) the prime minister said:

We made not an easy decision. We made the right decision for all the right reasons. We know that families are under cost of living pressure.

The idea that we could sit back and ignore the clear recommendations that this was the best way that we could have an impact on providing that assistance to middle Australia without putting upward pressure on inflation – we couldn’t ignore that.

This is just a terrible incident that’s occurred here. The loss of the two young men and I feel for the grieving of the family, the friends. They obviously were full of life, because so many people interacted with them. It’s a really tough day for, as well, the queer community, and it’s been a very difficult time.

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Greens-Coalition alliance may force Chalmers to keep power to overrule RBA on rates

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Chalmers had announced plans to scrap the veto power but former treasurers and RBA governors say it is a vital ‘safety valve’

An alliance between the Greens and Liberal parties in the Senate could force Jim Chalmers to keep a government power that allows treasurers to overrule Reserve Bank decisions on interest rates.

Chalmers announced plans to scrap the veto power in the government response to recommendations from a panel which reviewed the Reserve Bank operations and made suggestions for improvement.

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Former governors and treasurers advise against removing government’s power to overrule RBA

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Critics of treasurer Jim Chalmers’ proposed reforms say the Reserve Bank is independent enough

Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces an uphill battle to get his Reserve Bank reforms through the parliament – with former treasurers, RBA governors and senior economists criticising key aspects of his legislation.

Chalmers accepted all the recommendations of last year’s RBA review board, including removing the government’s reserve powers to intervene and overrule the central bank if judged necessary, and appoint a second ‘governance’ board of economic academics.

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Labor says it’s looking for ways to ease cost-of-living pressures. Just don’t mention the stage-three tax cuts

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The cuts are already baked into the RBA’s forecasts and economists say there is little point looking at alternatives

Come 1 July, Australian taxpayers will have $20bn more to spend, a pulse of demand in the economy that will keep interest rates higher than they otherwise would be.

That is courtesy of the controversial stage-three tax cuts that are legislated and, it seems, unlikely to be delayed or modified by the federal government.

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Labor could raise welfare payments for cost-of-living relief without stoking inflation, economists say

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Albanese government would need to couple any increases in unemployment benefits and pensions with savings, experts say

Addressing competition issues and increasing unemployment benefits and pensions are ways the Albanese government could tackle cost-of-living pressures but they would have to be coupled with savings to avoid reigniting inflation, economists say.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Wednesday said he had asked Treasury and the finance department to develop “further propositions” for providing cost-of-living relief by the May budget.

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Australia’s property market faces fresh peaks and troughs with slowing prices and interest rates tipped to drop

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Price trends are unlikely to be straightforward in 2024, even if the RBA’s next move is a rate reduction

Australia’s “rollercoaster” real estate market faces fresh peaks and troughs in 2024 as the prospect of falling interest rates contend with a recent slowdown in price increases.

Renters, meanwhile, are experiencing smaller increases in payments but the share of income going to rent remains at near-record levels with little relief in sight.

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Bracket creep is cooling Australia’s economy – it’s good news for interest rates but not for household budgets

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The weak economy probably means the next RBA rates move – short of an inflation surprise next month – will be a cut

Philip Lowe used his final speech as Reserve Bank governor to call on fiscal policy to “provide a stronger helping hand” in managing inflation so the central bank didn’t have to carry most of the load – and the ire.

“Raising interest rates and tightening policy can make you very unpopular, as I know all too well,” Lowe said on 7 September, 10 days before many battling borrowers cheered him out the door.

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Australia’s inflation rate eased to 4.9% in October, reducing likelihood of another rate rise as weak consumer spending reduces likelihood of another interest rate rise

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Consumer price index rose last month at an annual rate of 4.9%, which is lower than economists had forecast

Australia’s inflation rate has eased sharply in October as weak consumer spending made it less likely the Reserve Bank will inflict another interest rate rise on the economy.

The consumer price index rose at an annual clip of 4.9% last month compared with a 5.6% pace in September alone, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists had expected CPI to come in at 5.2%.

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Man found dead after statewide search – as it happened

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Hostage release essential if truce to last, Paterson says

Rewinding to Liberal MP James Paterson’s appearance on RN Breakfast this morning, wheN he said more needs to be done to free the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza.

We don’t know how many of them are still alive, and their continued release would be essential for any continuing ceasefire because otherwise Israel continues to have a legitimate military objective.

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Housing prices back at record levels, defying Australia’s interest rate rises

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The 7.5% drop from the April 2022 peak has been recovered, but some cities are faring better than others, CoreLogic analysts say

Australian home prices are back at record levels, recovering all of the 7.5% dip from their previous peak in April 2022, according to the data group CoreLogic.

As of Wednesday, Corelogic’s home value index had climbed 8.1% higher than the recent nadir reached at the end of January this year, defying five additional interest rate rises by the Reserve Bank since then.

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BoM provides El Niño update – as it happened

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Birmingham says China ‘doesn’t appear to be acknowledging the facts’

Shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham is speaking with ABC RN and is asked about sonar pulses from a Chinese warship that left one Australian naval diver injured.

The Australian navy and Australian defence force operates always with professionalism, and I’m confident that Australia’s version of events is a credible.

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Wages grew by 1.3% for Australian workers in the September quarter amid tight labour market

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Wage price index increase in line with expectations as Fair Work minimum wage decision helped pay packets close gap with inflation

Australians’ wages grew in the September quarter as decisions by the Fair Work Commission and a tight labour market helped pay packets close the gap with inflation.

The country’s wage price index rose 1.3% in the quarter alone and 4% compared with the September quarter a year ago, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

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