What we learned today, Tuesday 4 April
Thanks for following along on the blog today. Here’s a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
For the first time in 11 board meetings, the Reserve Bank of Australia has left its cash rate unchanged at 3.6%.
The federal government announced a ban on TikTok for all Australian government devices due to security concerns. Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said he would be deleting his account, however, Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, will not be following suit.
According to the South China Morning Post, China has issued an invitation “in principle” for Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to visit Beijing. However, assistant minister to the PM, Patrick Gorman, said any official travel announcement would come “at the appropriate time”.
The NSW Labor government unveiled its ministry and, for the first time, women make up half of the ministers.
Zachary Rolfe has officially been dismissed from the Northern Territory police, a spokesperson has confirmed, as per reporting by the ABC.
Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, said becoming a republic is “inevitable”, even if Australians are proud to have the British monarch as their head of state.
A government review has found that Medicare compliance errors are costing taxpayers between $1.5bn and $3bn a year.
Australian actor and transgender activist, Georgie Stone, addressed the National Press Club, calling for access to healthcare, plus funding and legal protections for LGBTQ+ people.
Updated
What does Australian government devices TikTok ban mean for the platform’s future?
Among all the talk of TikTok today, my colleague, Josh Taylor, has put together a fantastic explainer on the government ban - who it applies to, what the security risks are and what data the app collects:
Updated
