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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Antoun Issa

Afternoon Update: RBA’s rate hike surprise; higher tobacco taxes; and Serena Williams’ Met Gala reveal

Pedestrians walk past the Reserve Bank of Australia building in central Sydney
The market had largely expected the RBA to hold interest rates this month following a slight easing of inflation. Photograph: Steven Saphore/Reuters

Good afternoon. It’s a Tuesday surprise with the Reserve Bank defying the expectations of most economists and hiking the cash rate 25 basis points to 3.85%.

The market had largely expected the RBA to hold interest rates this month following a slight easing of inflation. The rate hike comes amid significant scrutiny of the central bank, with Greens senator Nick McKim warning in a column today that the federal government’s planned reforms might actually push the Reserve Bank further into the interests of corporations.

In other news, the health minister has revealed a tax increase on tobacco which will kick in later this year.

Top news

A combination photo shows newly appointed Qantas Group CEO, and current CFO, Vanessa Hudson and outgoing Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce during a news conference
Qantas’ chief financial officer, Vanessa Hudson, will become the airline’s first female CEO in November, replacing Alan Joyce. Photograph: Reuters
  • New Qantas CEO | Qantas’s chief financial officer, Vanessa Hudson, will replace Alan Joyce as the airline’s chief executive in November, making her the first woman to run Australia’s national carrier. But the Labor senator Tony Sheldon said Joyce standing down was not enough, and that the airline needed a broader “renewal”.

  • RBA rate hike | The Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe acknowledged inflation in Australia has “passed its peak,” but said 7% was “still too high”. “Given the importance of returning inflation to target within a reasonable timeframe, the board judged that a further increase in interest rates was warranted today.”

  • Higher tobacco taxes | The Albanese government will increase the tax on tobacco by 5% per year over the next three years, the health minister has revealed, alongside a suite of measures to crack down on vaping. “We know that a higher-price cigarette is a more unattractive cigarette,” Mark Butler said on Tuesday.

Peter V’landys speaks to the media during a NRL press conference at Rugby League Central
NRL chairman Peter V’landys has provoked furious reactions after comments describing the sport as ‘wagering content’. Photograph: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
  • NRL chief sparks outrage | Anti-gambling advocates have reacted furiously to the NRL chairman Peter V’landys’s open pursuit of gambling revenue, criticising his description of sport as “wagering content” as scandalous and counterproductive. V’landys said the “quiet part out loud” in his quest to generate revenue from the US betting market, an anti-gambling advocate claimed.

  • Toyota Australia exec talks down EVs | Sean Hanley, the automaker’s sales boss, said it was too early for electric vehicles to replace all cars. But the comments drew criticism from environmental groups that said it was “laughable” that Toyota is pushing for petrol cars amid a climate and cost-of-living crisis.

Police prevent protesters from moving into Place De La Nation after a fire was started below a block of apartments. Thousands turn out for the May Day Rallies. Protests have been seen since Emmanuel Macron introduced the pension reform, which increases the age for retirement from 62 to 64.
Traditional Labour Day marches turned into anti-government rallies in France as part of ongoing demonstrations against raising the age of retirement from 62 to 64. Photograph: Andy Barton/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
  • Aged care providers accused of playing down incidents | Aged care providers have reported the highest number of instances of “unreasonable force” in a quarter since records began two years ago, with the sector facing accusations that they have downplayed the harm caused. The behaviours include squeezing, grabbing, pinching, rough handling, hitting, pushing and forcing someone to move against their will.

  • France clashes | At least 108 police were wounded and 291 people detained across France as violence erupted in several cities, after trade unions transformed their traditional Labour Day marches into anti-government demonstrations against the rise in the retirement age.

Aric Hutchinson and Samantha Miller
Aric Hutchinson and Samantha Miller, who were riding in a golf cart after their wedding reception when a drunk driver collided with them, killing Miller. Photograph: GoFundMe
  • US bride killed moments after wedding | Samantha Miller, 34, was leaving her wedding reception when a drunk driver slammed into the newlywed couple’s golf cart on a South Carolina beach road. Three others in the golf cart were injured, including the groom, who remains hospitalised and in critical condition.

  • Serena Williams’ Met Gala announcement | The tennis champion confirmed she was pregnant with baby number two, telling reporters at the star-studded Met Gala in New York that there were “three of us” on the red carpet when she arrived with husband Alexis Ohanian.

In pictures

Jeremy Pope, fashion detail, attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. He is wearing an ultra-long coat with a black and white image of Karl Lagerfeld on it, and the train drapes down the full flight of stairs.
The Met Gala theme this year was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, in tribute to one of the longest careers in contemporary fashion history. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Karl Lagerfeld was the theme at this year’s Met Gala in New York, with frocks – like Jeremy Pope’s outfit above – honouring the late fashion designer. Check out our photo gallery.

What they said …

Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks to the media during a press conference
The treasurer Jim Chalmers has not yet confirmed reports the government plans to raise jobseeker for recipients over 55. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

***

“The government’s supposed plan to raise the rate of jobseeker exclusively for those over 55 is bafflingly cruel, discriminatory, and stupid.” – Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union

The government has yet to officially confirm the budget will only give a rise for older unemployed Australians, but this morning treasurer Jim Chalmers defended the idea.

In numbers

Infographic which reads: $347 - what a single person on jobseeker receives per week - the average weekly rent in a capital city is $520

Half of voters support raising the rate from $50 a day, significantly outnumbering the 28% who oppose, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

Before bed read

A protestor rides a skateboard over burning garbage bins during a demonstration after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote
‘France devotes a higher percentage of its GDP to redistributing market inequalities than any of its wealthy peers,’ writes Alexander Hurst. Photograph: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

Has France gone to hell? Many in France seem to think so, but the facts tell a different story.

It performs better than most OECD countries on inequality reduction, climate action and infrastructure – more than 200km of new metro track and 48 new stations is being built in Paris for 20% of the per-km cost of New York City’s most recent line extension.

“How sad if the real narrative about France – a remarkably successful social democracy – were lost to the lowest common denominator of the challenges it faces,” writes Alexander Hurst, adjunct lecturer at Sciences Po, the Paris Institute for Political Studies.

Daily word game

Screenshot of Wordiply game. Play now!

Today’s starter word is: RENT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.

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