Good afternoon. Interest rates will continue to rise, “but how far they need to go, we’re still unsure,” the Reserve Bank governor, Philip Lowe, told Senate estimates today.
Lowe was asked by the Greens senator Nick McKim why he should keep his job, amid growing criticism surrounding the Reserve Bank’s handling of the inflation crisis.
“I have a seven-year term as the governor of the bank and I intend to serve out that term,” Lowe replied. His job is up for renewal later this year.
The impact of interest rates on rents was a key feature of the hearing, after the Treasury said prior to Senate estimates that rate rises were “certainly one of the drivers” of skyrocketing rents.
But Lowe played down the effect of rate hikes, arguing that “it’s the vacancy rate that drives rents, not interest rates”. The national vacancy rate is hovering at a near-record low of around 1%.
If you’d like to read more, our business reporter, Jonathan Barrett, captured the hearing’s key moments.
Top news
At least four dead from Cyclone Gabrielle | New Zealand’s North Island woke up to devastation today, as flood waters continued to rise. The powerful cyclone left more than 10,000 people displaced, and an estimated 144,000 were still without power. The emergency management minister, Kieran McAnulty, said “it wouldn’t surprise me” if the death toll rose further.
Public school enrolments drop | The latest schools data, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, found the proportion of students enrolled in government schools has dropped from just over 68% in 2002 to 64.5% last year. Meanwhile, independent schools led the rise in enrolments for 2022, with a 3.3% increase compared with 2021.
Centrelink call wait times blow out | The average waiting time between July 2022 and 31 January 2023 across all Centrelink phone lines was 18.04 minutes, up from 14.14 minutes in 2021-22 and 4.06 minutes in 2020-21. The Labor government is blaming the Coalition for cutting the agency’s workforce by around 13% from 2016 levels.
Hawthorn report author arrested | The former Richmond player and author of a bombshell Hawthorn racism report, Phil Egan, has been arrested and according to police is expected to be charged on summons with fraud offences. The 60-year-old vehemently denies police accusations.
$50,000 donation allegedly sought to unseat Alex Hawke | The donation was allegedly sought by Jean-Claude Perrottet, the brother of New South Wales premier Dom Perrottet. Businessman Frits Mare told a NSW parliamentary inquiry that Jean-Claude, along with the Hills shire councillor Christian Ellis, asked for the contribution from him in 2019 to unseat Hawke – a key ally of Scott Morrison.
Kiwi hostage in West Papua | Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua province have released photos and videos of a man they say is the pilot from New Zealand they took hostage last week. “He will be safe with me as long as Indonesia does not use its arms, either from the air or on the ground,” said rebel leader, Egianus Kogoya.
UK ‘Easter bunny’ chocolate thief | A 32-year-old man from West Yorkshire is facing jail after admitting he stole almost 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs. Joby Pool, dubbed “the Easter bunny” by police, used a stolen lorry cab to make off with chocolate after breaking into a Telford industrial unit with a metal grinder.
Perth festival welcomes international acts | Björk leads a strong lineup of overseas performers at this year’s festival, which will also embrace First Nations truth-telling. If the murmurs are true, the extraordinary cost of presenting Björk resulted in a pared-back program this year – but even so, what it does offer is certainly world-class, and the people of Perth are embracing it. The festival continues until 5 March.
Full Story
Lidia Thorpe on Blak sovereignty and leaving the Greens
After her shock resignation from the party, the newly independent senator Lidia Thorpe sits down with Guardian Australia in this 23-minute episode.
What they said …
***
“Low-lying communities and entire countries could disappear forever. We would witness a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale.” – António Guterres
It’s the UN secretary general’s latest warning about rising sea levels. Guterres said slashing carbon emissions, addressing problems such as poverty that worsen the impact of the rising seas on communities and developing new international laws to protect those made homeless – and even stateless – were all needed.
In numbers
Soaring bank profits courtesy of higher interest rates have only increased scrutiny of the Reserve Bank.
Special investigation
Our global investigation team has launched a new series exposing the companies and governments behind the hacking and spread of disinformation designed to disrupt elections. Here’s an excerpt:
“A team of Israeli contractors who claim to have manipulated more than 30 elections around the world using hacking, sabotage and automated disinformation on social media has been exposed in a new investigation.
“The unit is run by Tal Hanan, a 50-year-old former Israeli special forces operative who now works privately using the pseudonym ‘Jorge’, and appears to have been working under the radar in elections in various countries for more than two decades.
“He is being unmasked by an international consortium of journalists. Hanan and his unit, which uses the codename ‘Team Jorge’, have been exposed by undercover footage and documents leaked to the Guardian.”
Tal Hanan has always denied any wrongdoing.
Sudoku
Difficulty level: medium. Click here to view this on our website.
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