The Reserve Bank of Australia’s bid to drive down inflation through interest rate hikes looks to be working as the annual inflation rate fell in February to 6.8% – the slowest pace since June last year.
Among the key drivers behind this month’s CPI was new housing, up 9.9% compared with a year ago. Also on the march were power prices, up 17.2%, while petrol was up 5.8% – “barely a road bump compared to the 43.2% annual pace recorded last June”, our economics correspondent Peter Hannam notes.
The Greens Treasury spokesperson, Nick McKim, immediately declared “the rate rises must stop” after the “strongest indication yet” that inflation has peaked.
But opinions are split on whether the pain for borrowers will continue. Three of Australia’s big four banks expect the RBA will next Tuesday lift the official cash rate for the 11th month in a row, while investors are predicting the central bank will pause for the first time since last April.
Top news
NSW Labor’s path to majority government narrows | Chris Minns looks increasingly likely to be leading a minority government after two more seats were called for Labor opponents on Wednesday. One of the winners was Gareth Ward, a former Liberal minister turned independent MP, who was suspended from parliament as he fights sexual and indecent assault charges. The new Labor premier has previously indicated he would seek to suspend Ward from parliament if he was re-elected.
Hillsong founder charged with drink-driving in the US | Brian Houston has taken to Instagram to acknowledge his “foolish decision” to drive with a blood alcohol reading of 0.08 in California last year. The Hillsong founder said “all hell had broken loose” within the global Pentecostal church at the time the charges were laid last February. “I was under immense pressure and emotional strain,” wrote Houston, who stepped down as Hillsong leader last year.
Netanyahu rejects Biden’s call to ‘walk away’ from judicial overhaul | A “very concerned” Joe Biden has weighed in on Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judicial overhaul in Israel, which has been delayed after protesters spilled into the streets on Monday. The Israeli prime minister promptly issued a statement: “Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”
Obama says US ‘not quite as polarised as we seem’ | Barack Obama has suggested Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has led to greater polarisation in western societies through news coverage designed to “make people angry and resentful”. The former US president did have some good news on his homeland for observers from afar. “60% to 65% of the country, let’s call it 70%, does occupy a reality-based world,” Obama told a packed Sydney theatre on Tuesday night. “And that’s true within the Republicans.”
Queensland hate symbol ban to include Nazi salute | The Queensland attorney general, Shannon Fentiman, has confirmed the Nazi salute will be captured under proposed laws that strengthen the state’s response to vilification. It comes as Tasmania’s attorney general, Elise Archer, also tabled a bill to ban the Nazi symbol and salute, which she called “a blatant breach of both our moral and community standards”.
$250,000 gold nugget unearthed in Victoria | An amateur prospector has discovered a 4.6kg gold rock in the “golden triangle” between Bendigo, Ballarat and St Arnaud. Part of the prospector’s “incredible” luck, says the owner of the prospecting store that valued the find, is that he found the nugget using a $1,200 metal detector – at the low end of the pricing range for detectors.
Independent labs find no EPO in Peter Bol samples | Lawyers for the Australian Olympic runner Peter Bol have blasted Sport Integrity Australia in a letter alleging that Bol’s sample, which tested positive for synthetic erythropoietin, never actually contained the performance-enhancing drug. The letter says Bol “is innocent and always has been”, calling on the anti-doping body to publicly end the investigation and admit its mistake.
Full Story
Aston byelection: Dutton’s high-stakes battle for the suburban Melbourne seat
On Saturday, residents in the Melbourne electorate of Aston will vote to decide which candidate should replace former Liberal cabinet minister Alan Tudge, who held the seat for 13 years. Chief political correspondent Paul Karp joins Jane Lee to discuss the battle for Aston, what it means for Peter Dutton and how people in the area are thinking about their vote in this 23-minute listen.
What they said …
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“I’m particularly disgusted by this behaviour and I will not tolerate it. For a staff member to be treated in this way when they’re simply doing their job is disrespectful and a very serious matter.” – Milton Dick, federal speaker
Angus Taylor and Dan Tehan were among seven Coalition MPs to issue apologies for leaving parliament after the speaker had ordered doors to be closed, injuring an attendant in their haste.
In numbers
Australia does not directly track the number of ADHD diagnoses but 2.8% of adults are thought to be affected, with the vast majority not formally diagnosed. Assessment and support services for people with the condition will be the subject of a Senate inquiry proposed by the Greens.
Before bed read
First there was the Wagatha Christie trial, now it’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s alleged collision with a fellow skier in Utah setting the standard for celebrity court cases. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Guardian’s UK columnist Marina Hyde has some thoughts – and they are as hilariously caustic as always.
Daily word game
Play the Guardian’s new daily word game and share your score with your friends. How does Wordiply work? You have five goes to get the longest word including today’s starter word: SUG.
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