Key events
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What we learned: Tuesday, 8 July
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for this evening. I hope you have a good night. We’ll be back tomorrow morning with more news for you. Until then, here were today’s top stories:
A divided Reserve Bank of Australia held rates at 3.85%, in a surprise decision that denies further mortgage relief for millions of households. The split decision came as a shock to financial markets and a large majority of experts.
Following the decision, the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, told journalists the decision was “about timing” and the board wanted to “make sure we’ve nailed” getting inflation down before further rate cuts.
The Northern Territory police force responded to a coroner’s findings into Kumanjayi Walker’s death, which were released yesterday. Constable Zachary Rolfe also responded, saying he “does not accept many of the findings” about the night he shot and killed Walker, and accused the coroner of going “far beyond her remit”.
A Sydney court heard that Alan Jones’s lawyers have “grave concerns” about the legality of a search of the former broadcaster’s phone before he was charged with 35 historical sexual assault offences.
Aldi Australia announced it will partner with delivery service DoorDash to trial grocery deliveries as the discount chain grapples with a consumer shift towards online shopping. The service will open to Canberra residents this week ahead of a potential expansion across the country, the supermarket chain said.
And a Queensland zoo under investigation after a lioness attack reopened its doors, two days after the owner’s sister-in-law lost her arm. The woman, in her 50s, remained in hospital in a stable condition after the attack, which took place on Sunday morning at Darling Downs zoo.
Updated at 04.19 EDT
Caitlin Cassidy
Lawyer for officer who killed Walker says coroner went ‘far beyond her remit’
Constable Zachary Rolfe “does not accept many of the findings” made by a coroner into the night he shot and killed Kumanjayi Walker and has accused her of going “far beyond her remit”.
On Monday, the coroner, Elisabeth Armitage, found Rolfe was racist and while she could not say with certainty, she also could not exclude the possibility that his attitudes had contributed to the fatal shooting.
A statement, distributed on behalf of Rolfe by his lawyer, Luke Officer, on Tuesday, said he was entitled to the presumption of innocence after a not guilty verdict returned by a jury in 2022 on charges of murder and manslaughter relating to Walker’s death:
In these circumstances he does not accept any findings that are inconsistent with his rightful acquittal.
He does not accept there was any dishonesty at all associated with these events. Insofar as some may hold a view to the contrary, this was never about race.
The statement also suggested there was a “real risk that a coronial inquest will become a roving royal commission which is not the true purpose of a coronial inquest” and said:
The true purpose of a coronial inquest is to establish the cause and circumstance of death, and in this case the coroner went far beyond her remit.
Updated at 04.03 EDT
More from that AAP report: Victoria police rejected claims its officers were told not to confront the protesters at the restaurant and said an independent officer will review the overall response.
Anthony Albanese flagged more action from his government as it works with a special envoy on anti-semitism but pushed back against hosting a national cabinet.
Speaking to the media in Hobart earlier today, the prime minister said:
Let’s be clear. What people want is not a meeting. They want action.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry president, Daniel Aghion, urged Victorian authorities to disallow weekly pro-Palestine protests in their current form and bring in protest zones.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, labelled the rally “odious” but said protesting was part of democracy.
The protest organisers insisted they were opposed to the Israeli occupation of Gaza and said leaders needed to distinguish between the IDF and Australia’s Jewish community.
The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network condemned what it described as a “smear” against peaceful protesters.
Owners of Israeli restaurant in Melbourne address targeting by pro-Palestine protesters
The owners of an Israeli restaurant targeted by protesters have broken their silence, detailing the “profound impact” of the incident, as police charged more people over the incident, AAP reports.
The demonstration outside Miznon in Melbourne’s CBD on Friday was one of several incidents targeting Melbourne’s Jewish community in recent days, with protesters smashing a window, upending tables and throwing chairs.
About 20 protesters converged on the restaurant, some chanting “death to the IDF” in reference to the Israel Defence Force.
The restaurant said the actions of a few had caused much distress to customers, patrons and staff in neighbouring restaurants.
In an Instagram post, the owners said:
The events on Friday evening had a profound impact on our restaurant and staff.
We are a restaurant, a place of hospitality, of warmth and welcome … we respect everyone’s right to their own nationality and religion. We ask for the same.
The group Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance has taken responsibility for the protest, saying the venue was chosen because the owner was a spokesperson for an Israeli aid organisation that “weaponised aid”.
In a post on Instagram, the group said:
While politicians in so-called Australia clutch their pearls over one meal that was interrupted, we ask people to refocus their attention on Israel’s genocidal reign of terror over the Palestinians.
Rafqa Touma
‘What was tolerated in the past will no longer be acceptable’: NT Police respond to coroner’s findings into Kumanjayi Walker’s death
Circling back to a Northern Territory police press conference earlier today, where they said racism’s existence within the force is a confronting “truth we must face”.
The NT police’s acting commissioner, Martin Dole, addressed the media this afternoon following the coroner’s findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker:
Every member of the Northern Territory Police Force, we acknowledge the deep hurt that followed the events of the 9 November 2019 and the long inquest that followed. I extend my sincere sympathy to Kumanjayi Walker’s loved ones and thank every witness and community member who contributed to the coroner’s findings.
They said the recommendations directed to the NT Police Force “ deserve to be considered properly, thoroughly, and with the seriousness that they warrant,” saying their response “will take time”.
NT Police continued:
We also acknowledge the coroner’s findings that all forms of racism have existed within the Northern Territory Police Force at various times and that this was borne out in the evidence received during this inquest. That is confronting. But it is a truth we must face. What was tolerated in the past will no longer be acceptable. We are committed to stamping out racism in all its forms and making this a safer, fairer organisation for everybody.
Most importantly – we know we must listen more closely to our remote communities – not just listen, but listen, hear, and act. That includes seriously re-examining how we return to a meaningful version of community policing – one that reflects its needs and expectations of Aboriginal people and builds trust at a local level.
Shadow attorney general reaffirms opposition’s support for government’s child safety reforms
The shadow attorney-general, Julian Leeser, has reaffirmed the opposition’s support for child safety reforms and says he will discuss the issue when he meets with his government counterpart, Michelle Rowland.
The Albanese government has said it will fast-track legislation in the next sitting week to cut funding to childcare centres that fail to meet safety standards, following shocking allegations that two men in Melbourne sexually abused children who were in their care.
Meanwhile, the Victorian government has appointed the former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and senior bureaucrat Pamela White to lead an urgent review of childcare safety.
Speaking on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing a short time ago, Leeser said the alleged abuse in Victoria was a “tragedy” and that:
You expect your children, that are the most precious thing in life to a parent, to be safe and if we can’t guarantee the safety of children in child care centres than something very badly has gone wrong.
We have been clear that we are not playing politics with this issue and we want to offer the government every support.
We want to provide legislative backing to policies to improve the safety of children and if that also includes a nationally consistent response … that’s a good thing.
Leeser said the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, had “reached out” to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on the issue and that:
I’m due to see the Attorney-General – I think next week – and we will certainly talk about the issues, because this is not a political issue, this is an issue about child safety.
Tom McIlroy
Shadow treasurer blames Labor for RBA’s decision to keep interest rates on hold
The shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, has blamed Labor for the Reserve Bank’s decision to keep interest rates on hold today.
The RBA surprised experts by keeping rates on hold at 3.85%, defying widespread expectations of a reduction, and meaning a potential cut in August will now rely on whether quarterly consumer price data shows inflation is under control.
In a statement, O’Brien said the cost of living remains too high for many Australians.
He said:
Today’s decision means average mortgage holders will continue paying an additional $1,900 in interest payments each month than they were before Labor came to office.
This is a direct consequence of Labor’s homegrown inflation and its failure to boost productivity.
The treasurer was ready to take credit for a drop in the cash rate today but instead he’s pointing the finger overseas to camouflage his own economic failures.
Deputy Leader of the opposition and shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAPShare
Updated at 03.11 EDT
Bullock says the RBA expects the Australian economy to be affected by the Trump administration’s tariff regime, but to fare better than other countries.
She said:
Our judgement … is that there will be an impact on us – and that’s partly what’s driving some of the deflationary impact in our forecasts – but we’re not going to be anywhere near as badly impacted as some countries because we’re not as directly linked to the US.
Our fortunes are much more linked to China. And so that’s why a lot depends on what happens there.
Bullock said the RBA was focusing on the domestic economy and had, in May, forecast three different scenarios: trade peace, trade war, and something in the middle.
She said at the time the country had been “facing a disaster”, referring to widespread fears of an all-out trade war.
While that hasn’t eventuated, the global economic situation is “still much much worse” than it was before April and “world trade is going to be impacted”, Bullock said.
RBA governor says Australia in a ‘great position’
Bullock says alternating between cutting and holding interest rates is “sensible and cautious” rather than “whiplash”, as a journalist at the press conference put to her.
The RBA governor said:
What’s really important is that we get this underlying inflation, which is ultimately where headline inflation will end up … down.
Now, I wouldn’t say cut, hold, cut, hold is whiplash. I would say that’s sensible cautious approach to lowering interest rates in a sensible way.
You will recall maybe if you go back, a lot of people are criticising us for not going higher and not getting inflation down more quickly.
I think Australia has done remarkably well. Who would have said two years ago that we would be sitting here now with inflation at two something and unemployment at 4.1%? Not many people.
We’re in a great position.
Updated at 02.08 EDT
Michele Bullock says RBA’s call to hold cash rate ‘about timing rather than direction’
Bullock has been asked about the split in the RBA board on today’s cash rate decision, which the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, mentioned earlier.
My colleague, Patrick Commins, is at Bullock’s press conference. He asked if she could disclose more about the three people who didn’t vote in the favour of the majority (which voted for rates to remain on hold), whether they were RBA staff and what they voted for.
Bullock responded:
They’re unattributed votes. So, I can’t tell you who voted what way.
What I can say is that what it demonstrates, I hope, is that there was really good active debate in the boardroom about the pros and cons of holding and easing, and I would characterise it as saying that the difference between the two camps really was down to a slightly softer reading.
Bullock said those who wanted to cut rates had a “slightly softer reading” of the available inflation data and were more concerned about the downside risks to the economy, particularly from international volatility.
She said she wanted to emphasise that decision was “about timing”.
Bullock returned to this point in a later question from another journalist, when asked what she would say to mortgage holders disappointed about today’s decision.
She said:
I’m very conscious of that. I’m also really conscious that we don’t want to end up having to fight inflation again. We want to make sure we’ve nailed it.
And as I said, the biggest thing here is that it wasn’t really directionally – where we think we’re heading in terms of easing. It was more about timing.
Updated at 02.24 EDT
RBA governor says bank needs more time to assess whether inflation is on track for 2.5% target
The RBA governor, Michele Bullock, has been addressing the media after the bank’s surprise decision to keep the cash rate on hold.
Explaining why the bank did not follow through with market expectations of a 0.25% cut, Bullock said economic conditions “remain uncertain” and its board was waiting to confirm whether inflation was still on track to reach 2.5%.
Bullock said:
The two monthly CPI (consumer price index) indicators have been broadly consistent with our forecast for headline inflation and show that we’re moving in the right direction.
However, some components suggest that underlying inflation in the June quarter could be a little higher than our forecast.
So the board decided to wait a few weeks to confirm that we’re still on track to meet our inflation and employment objectives, as well as a very thorough consideration of Australian economic conditions.
Chalmers welcomes RBA’s publication of division of board’s votes
This is the first time in the bank’s history that the votes on the cash rate decision have been made public, which has revealed – also for the first time – that the board was split.
Three members of the bank’s nine-person monetary policy board voted to cut rates today.
Chalmers, who introduced the reforms in a bid to make the bank more transparent, said:
This is quite a substantial change in the way that the Reserve Bank reports its decisions. I welcome the transparency that comes from the publication of those votes.
Obviously, it will be a source of some interest that the Reserve Bank board was not unanimous on this occasion that there were different views expressed around the boardroom table, and we know that because of the publication of these unattributed votes.
However, Chalmers said he didn’t think the way individual board members voted should be revealed.
He went on:
I think this is an appropriate level of transparency.
[This] is a very big step in the right direction, we want to make sure that people can participate in these reserve bank meetings openly [and] that the public knows whether the decision was taken unanimously, or otherwise.
And I think this strikes the right balance.
Updated at 02.37 EDT
Treasurer says he doesn’t ‘second guess’ Reserve Bank’s decisions after interest rates left on hold
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been speaking after the RBA’s decision to leave interest rates on hold at 3.85%.
At a press conference in Canberra, he said:
I don’t second guess decisions taken independently by the bank or its board. I don’t make predictions or pre-empt future movements in interest rates.
Chalmers would not be drawn on whether he believed the central bank’s board had made the correct decision or not.
Asked by a reporter if he could “just be frank” on whether it was his “personal opinion that the board got this call wrong”, Chalmers said:
I don’t express those sorts of opinions when it comes to decision taken independently by the Reserve Bank.
And there’s a good reason for that. And the reason is I’ve got my own job to focus on. The Reserve Bank – its board and its governor – has its own job to focus on.
Updated at 01.16 EDT
Catie McLeod
Hi, I hope you’ve had a good day so far. I’ll take you through the rest of this afternoon’s news.
Rafqa Touma
Thank you for joining us on the blog today. Handing over to Catie McLeod who will keep you posted this afternoon.