Good afternoon. The Reserve Bank has decided to?hold interest rates?steady at 4.1% today, extending relief to households once again.
It comes after the RBA board decided to leave interest rates unchanged for a second consecutive month. Economists had been split, with a slight majority predicting a 25-basis-point hike, which would have marked a 13th rate increase since the cycle began in May 2022.
Today’s decision was largely expected by investors, with the treasurer, Jim Chalmers,?calling it a?“welcome reprieve for Australians who are already doing it tough”.
- Antarctica projects face budget cuts?| Dozens of crucial climate science projects?might be cancelled, delayed or restricted?due to budget cuts at the Australian Antarctic Division. Multiple insiders said two of Australia’s research stations, Mawson and Davis, will not be fully staffed during the summer season, which is the peak period of scietific research, due to budget constraints.
- Former childcare worker faces 1,623 child abuse offences |?A former childcare worker has been?charged with more than 1,600?child abuse offences against 91 children in Australia and overseas. The Australian federal police allege that young girls, primarily in Brisbane and Sydney, were abused and raped over a 15-year period by the 45-year-old Gold Coast man.
- NSW plans to introduce $5.5m fines for tax leaks |?The New South Wales government is?planning to introduce?fines for companies and people who leak confidential government tax information. The bill seeks to combat confidentiality breaches after the?PwC scandal involving the leaking of commonwealth tax information.
- Craig Kelly told to repay $2,000 |?The expenses watchdog has told?the former MP he must pay back?more than $2,000 for two taxpayer-funded trips to attend party meetings on Clive Palmer’s boat in Melbourne, documents show. Kelly charged taxpayers for air fares, travel allowance and private car use during two trips to Melbourne in February and March last year, while Palmer’s boat was docked in the city.
- Egyptian refugee cleared as security threat?|?Sayed Abdellatif, who has been detained by Australia for more than a decade,?has been cleared by Asio?of being a security threat, but the home affairs department continues to stall on his release. Abdellatif arrived in Australia by boat in 2012, seeking asylum with his wife and children.
- Post-Ashes drinks moved to a nightclub?| Australia’s players were?briefly left disappointed?after believing they were brushed off for the traditional?post-Ashes drinks?by England at the Oval after day five. Australian players were spotted looking into the hosts’ dressing rooms after play, before eventually giving up and leaving the ground at close to 10.45pm, shortly after which England emerged.
- Search for Voyager 2 |?Nasa has?lost contact?with a spacecraft billions of miles away. Hurtling ever deeper into interstellar space, Voyager 2 has been out of touch ever since flight controllers accidentally sent a wrong command more than a week ago that tilted its antenna away from Earth.
- Euphoria actor Angus Cloud dies aged 25 |?The actor?best known for his role on HBO’s teen drama Euphoria, has died aged 25, his family confirmed on Monday. Cloud, who was from Oakland, rose to fame on Euphoria playing drug dealer Fezco “Fez” O’Neill.
- ‘X’ sign atop Twitter office removed |?A giant, glowing X?no longer marks the spot?on the San Francisco high-rise that is headquarters to Elon Musk’s company X, formerly known as Twitter. The city building department logged 24 complaints after a weekend of the big X.
