![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751927651_932_Patrick_Commins.png\")
Patrick Commins<\/p>\nTariff disruption is an opportunity for Australia, says economistPatrick Commins<\/p>\n
As the world braces for more weeks of watching and waiting to see what Trump will do with tariffs, the good news is that \u201cAustralia\u2019s in probably the best position to handle\u201d the fallout from the US president\u2019s assault on global trade.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the view of Warwick McKibbin, <\/strong>an ANU economics professor and a recognised world leader on modelling the potential impact from America\u2019s new era of trade protectionism.<\/p>\n As news emerged that the US administration had flagged countries had another three weeks<\/a> after the 9 July deadline to do a deal and avoid higher \u201creciprocal\u201d import taxes, McKibbin told the Australian Conference of Economists<\/strong> on Monday that we should be looking at these disruptions as an \u201copportunity\u201d to expand trade with our partners.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be doing trade negotiations. We should be lowering barriers which make trade harder.\u201d<\/p>\n McKibbin\u2019s conclusion that Australia would be left relatively unscathed by US-led trade disruptions was backed up by separate Productivity Commission<\/strong> analysis which showed our economy could even receive a small boost from America\u2019s higher trade barriers, and concluded that retaliating with our own tariffs would be counterproductive \u2013 a bipartisan position in Canberra.<\/p>\n This \u201csmall, positive effect\u201d comes about as goods previously sold to the US are diverted to us at a cheaper rate and as we also scoop up some of the investment that flows out of America and heavily tariffed countries, the PC said.<\/p>\n But Alex Robson<\/strong>, the PC\u2019s deputy chair, warned the 0.4% modelled lift in GDP did not account for other, harder to model knock-on effects.<\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed tariffs are likely to have a relatively small direct effect on us, but the global uncertainty they\u2019ve brought about could affect living standards in Australia and around the world,\u201d Robson said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Indigenous business must be \u2018backed\u2019 to Close the Gap<\/strong><\/p>\n A landmark report from Supply Nation found Indigenous businesses create $42.6 bn of social value each year and allow First Nations people more freedom to live on their own terms.<\/p>\n Successful businesses lead to better mental health outcomes, more pride among communities and a better connection to culture and Country, the report found.<\/p>\n Supply Nation, which provides Australia\u2019s biggest database of Indigenous businesses, said \u201csocial value\u201d included things such as agency over life, expanded aspirations, financial security and physical and mental health.<\/p>\n Approximately $16.2bn of the social value created was experienced by Indigenous employees, the report said. Supply Nation\u2019s chief executive, Kate Russell,<\/strong> launched the Sleeping Giant Rises report<\/a> at a Business Sydney event on Monday coinciding with Naidoc Week. She told AAP:<\/p>\n By lifting up our Indigenous communities … that is saving government money in terms of welfare payments … but it\u2019s also lifting a sense of pride, aspiration, happiness and wellbeing in those communities.<\/p>\n Governments must consider giving Indigenous entrepreneurs or indigenous businesses a seat at the table when they\u2019re making broader policies like Closing the Gap. They deserve to be backed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Nearly 66,000 First Nations people are employed by Indigenous businesses, and 84% of owners said those employees were better able to support families and feel positive about life.<\/p>\n – Australian Associated Press<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.20 EDT<\/p>\n Bright spots in agriculture amid market volatility<\/strong><\/p>\n With droughts on one side of the country, floods on the other, and political volatility overseas, Australia\u2019s agriculture industry has been right in the thick of it.<\/p>\n But there is reason for \u201ccautious optimism\u201d in the $90.7bn sector<\/a> as uncertain conditions create both threats and opportunities for the nation\u2019s producers, according to Bendigo Bank\u2019s<\/strong> mid-year agriculture outlook.<\/p>\n Cropping, horticulture and cattle were forecast to be on the up in the second half of 2025, while prices for sheep and wool would remain stable, today\u2019s report<\/a> claims.<\/p>\n Aussie beef will continue to be on the menu in the US, where herd numbers are in decline due to drought and increased costs of agricultural inputs<\/p>\n Weather conditions have both helped and hindered production, as rainfall in NSW and Queensland improved soil moisture, boosted summer crop yields and gave winter sowing a strong start.<\/p>\n However, heavy rainfall and flooding in both states has damaged farm infrastructure and reduced livestock numbers in some regions. At the same time, severe drought in parts of South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria has stifled production, upped the cost of feed and created a poor cropping outlook.<\/p>\n With varying long-term rainfall forecasts across the nation, weather will be key to performance in the final half of the year, the report said.<\/p>\n The season so far underscores the growing unpredictability of Australia\u2019s agricultural climate<\/strong>, demanding resilience and adaptability across the sector from producers and the broader supply chain.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n – Australian Associated Press<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.00 EDT<\/p>\n Queensland zoo to reopen two days after woman loses arm to lioness<\/strong><\/p>\n A woman has lost her arm after being attacked on Sunday at a Queensland<\/a> zoo by a lioness, which the zoo insists \u201cwas not hungry\u201d or maltreated.<\/p>\n Queensland\u2019s health minister, Tim Nicholls,<\/strong> confirmed that the woman, who is in her 50s, had \u201clost her arm\u201d in the attack, which took place at about 8.32am on Sunday<\/a> at the Darling Downs zoo, south of Toowoomba.<\/p>\n In a Facebook post<\/a> on Monday afternoon, Darling Downs zoo said the victim was \u201cnot an employee, a keeper or a zoo visitor\u201d, but \u201ca much-loved member of the zoo owners\u2019 family\u201d. In a post on Sunday<\/a>, they said the woman had been \u201cwatching keepers working in the carnivore precinct\u201d, something they said she had \u201cdone many, many times over the past 20 years\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has still not been possible to interview her to establish what led to this tragic incident,\u201d the zoo wrote in the Monday post, adding that there was no plan for the animal to be put down.<\/p>\n We can confirm that she was attacked by a lioness. She was not in its enclosure.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The zoo emphasised in the post that the animal \u201cwas not hungry, skinny, taunted or tortured\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cA full investigation has been carried out by Workplace Health<\/a> and Safety Queensland,\u201d they went on.<\/p>\n As a result the Darling Downs zoo will reopen at 9am tomorrow [Tuesday] morning.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Read the full story:<\/p>\n Share<\/a> One report, 33 recommendations, but Kumanjayi Walker inquest findings draw on two centuries of pain<\/strong><\/p>\n The conclusions of coroner Elisabeth Armitage<\/strong> on how similar deaths could be prevented reflect the impact of colonial massacres and domestic abuse.<\/p>\n Armitage sets forth a course over 683 pages<\/a>, with 33 recommendations, to stop more deaths like Walker\u2019s. He was shot three times by Zachary Rolfe,<\/strong> then a police constable, at house 511 in Yuendumu, a town 300km north-west of Alice Springs, during a bungled arrest in November 2019. The house is barely 400 metres from where Armitage handed down her findings on Monday.<\/p>\n The murder charge that Rolfe faced and was found not guilty of more than four years ago centred on 3.1 seconds between when he shot Walker the first time, and when he shot him twice more.<\/p>\n But Armitage was working in centuries, tracing back the impacts of colonisation on the Warlpiri, expanding on the link between the horrors they had faced from police and governments for generations.<\/p>\n Read the full story here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Queensland nurses to escalate industrial action<\/strong><\/p>\n Queensland\u2019s nurses will today escalate industrial action, continuing a battle with the state government over wages and conditions.<\/p>\n Sarah Beaman<\/strong>, the secretary of the Queensland nurses and midwives\u2019 union, said the decision was a \u201chistoric step in our push for a deal that recruits, respects and retains this state\u2019s frontline nursing and midwifery workforce\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNurses and midwives are holding our health system together through sheer heart, skill and determination,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n We\u2019re at breaking point \u2013 and we\u2019re done being disrespected. We are over the state government\u2019s stalling tactics.<\/p>\n Nurses and midwives are today escalating action to keep Queenslanders safe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The action is set to begin from 7am at all state government facilities.<\/p>\n There are about 55,000 nurses and midwives employed by Queensland health.<\/p>\n All union members working for the state government can choose to undertake a range of industrial actions, including taking their full break, not emptying bins or undertaking other office tasks, not taking overtime unless with a minimum notice period, not attending some meetings and not entering details meaning the department does not get some Medicare rebates.<\/p>\n We have not taken this decision lightly, but the government has left us no choice.<\/p>\n This protected industrial action is about making sure there are enough nurses and midwives to care for Queenslanders \u2013 now and into the future.<\/p>\n Fair pay. Safe conditions. Respect. That\u2019s all we\u2019re asking.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a>Aldi trials delivery service for Canberra customers Aldi Australia is teaming up with delivery service DoorDash to trial grocery deliveries as the discount chain grapples with a consumer shift towards online shopping.<\/p>\n The service will open to Canberra residents this week ahead of a potential expansion across the country, the German supermarket chain said in a statement.<\/p>\n Aldi has long resisted offering delivery services given it would increase operational costs. This would either make the business less profitable for its German owners, or require Aldi to increase grocery prices, undercutting its advantage over its more expensive rivals Coles and Woolworths.<\/p>\n An Aldi executive told a government inquiry last year that \u201cif you have employees picking the groceries instead of customers doing their own shopping, obviously that is a cost that is incurred\u201d.<\/p>\n The discount grocer previously ran a short-lived Australian trial in which shoppers could purchase some of its \u201cspecial buys\u201d online. In the UK, Aldi offered deliveries through a tie-up with Deliveroo early in the pandemic but the partnership has since ended.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s dominant supermarkets Coles and Woolworths have heavily invested in their online services to tap into the customer trend towards deliveries, pressuring Aldi to respond.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Thank you Martin Farrer<\/strong> for kicking off the live blog this morning. I\u2019ll be keeping you updated with the day\u2019s news from here \u2013 let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Jewish group calls for national anti-hate unit<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Jewish community is pushing the federal government to set up a national task force to curb antisemitism, the Australian Associated Press<\/strong> reports.<\/p>\n A Victorian taskforce will examine police powers after a spate of alleged antisemitic incidents<\/a> in Melbourne in recent days, including an alleged arson on the East Melbourne synagogue that forced 20 worshippers inside to flee.<\/p>\n The Executive Council of Australian Jewry<\/strong>, an umbrella group for the nation\u2019s Jews, feared further alleged antisemitic attacks and said more than state-based action was needed. It urged the federal government to adopt a 15-point action plan, including the establishment of a national taskforce to clamp down on antisemitism.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where the next attack will be or when or how, all I can say is that it is statistically likely that it will occur,\u201d the council\u2019s president, Daniel Aghion,<\/strong> said. \u201cSo far, we have been lucky in that no one has died.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Tariff disruption is an opportunity for Australia, says economist As the world braces for more weeks of watching and waiting to see what Trump will do with tariffs, the good news is that \u201cAustralia\u2019s in probably the best position to handle\u201d the fallout from the US president\u2019s assault on global trade.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the view of Warwick McKibbin, <\/strong>an ANU economics professor and a recognised world leader on modelling the potential impact from America\u2019s new era of trade protectionism.<\/p>\n As news emerged that the US administration had flagged countries had another three weeks<\/a> after the 9 July deadline to do a deal and avoid higher \u201creciprocal\u201d import taxes, McKibbin told the Australian Conference of Economists<\/strong> on Monday that we should be looking at these disruptions as an \u201copportunity\u201d to expand trade with our partners.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be doing trade negotiations. We should be lowering barriers which make trade harder.\u201d<\/p>\n In April, US president Donald Trump revealed a slew of reciprocal tariffs on nations including Australia. Photograph: Carlos Barr\u00eda\/Reuters<\/p>\n McKibbin\u2019s conclusion that Australia would be left relatively unscathed by US-led trade disruptions was backed up by separate Productivity Commission<\/strong> analysis which showed our economy could even receive a small boost from America\u2019s higher trade barriers, and concluded that retaliating with our own tariffs would be counterproductive \u2013 a bipartisan position in Canberra.<\/p>\n This \u201csmall, positive effect\u201d comes about as goods previously sold to the US are diverted to us at a cheaper rate and as we also scoop up some of the investment that flows out of America and heavily tariffed countries, the PC said.<\/p>\n But Alex Robson<\/strong>, the PC\u2019s deputy chair, warned the 0.4% modelled lift in GDP did not account for other, harder to model knock-on effects.<\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed tariffs are likely to have a relatively small direct effect on us, but the global uncertainty they\u2019ve brought about could affect living standards in Australia and around the world,\u201d Robson said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bondi Junction stabbing copyright case ends<\/strong><\/p>\n The copyright case brought by the fiance of Bondi Junction stabbing victim Dawn Singleton<\/strong> has ended with a judgment in favour of defendants, Nine, on the eve of the trial.<\/p>\n Nine had been accused by Singleton\u2019s partner, Ashley Wildey<\/strong>, of breaching copyright by republishing the young woman\u2019s social media photos in the wake of her murder by Joel Cauchi<\/strong> before he was shot dead by police last in April 2024.<\/p>\n The copyright case was set down for two days in the supreme court of New South Wales before both sides agreed to a judgment in favour of the defendants on Monday. No order was made as to costs. Nine\u2019s statement reads:<\/p>\n \u201cNine welcomes the NSW supreme court judgment in favour of Nine confirming that the photos, which were widely published by multiple media outlets throughout Australia and overseas after being placed on social media, were appropriately used by Nine.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how we reported the case:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Reserve Bank widely tipped to cut rates today Borrowers should be in for some welcome good news today, with the Reserve Bank<\/strong> board widely expected<\/a> to deliver an interest rate cut at 2:30pm, Sydney time.<\/p>\n Financial markets and economists agree that a second straight cut is essentially a done deal \u2013 though there\u2019s always a chance that the central bank will surprise us all and hold.<\/p>\n If they do follow up with a 0.25 percentage-point move lower to 3.6%, it will be the third cut in the RBA\u2019s cash rate target after moves in February and May.<\/p>\n Weak household spending and a bigger-than-expected drop in inflation in May both supported the case for lower rates, economists say, not to mention the looming threat of Donald Trump\u2019s trade war.<\/p>\n A rate cut today would trim $76 from the monthly interest bill on a $500,000 mortgage, bringing the total benefit of this year\u2019s cuts to nearly $230 once lenders pass them on to their customers. Of course, what\u2019s good news for existing homeowners is more problematic for would-be homeowners, who are seeing property prices accelerating again<\/a> as borrowing costs fall.<\/p>\n The RBA\u2019s governor, Michele Bullock<\/strong>, will hold a press conference at 3:30pm where she will no doubt be asked whether we can expect further rate cuts this year.<\/p>\n![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751927651_692_4164.jpg\")
In April, US president Donald Trump revealed a slew of reciprocal tariffs on nations including Australia. Photograph: Carlos Barr\u00eda\/Reuters<\/p>\n\n
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Andrew Messenger<\/p>\n\n
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Nino Bucci<\/p>\n\n
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Jonathan Barrett<\/p>\n![\"Rafqa](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Rafqa_Touma.png\")
Rafqa Touma<\/p>\nPatrick Commins<\/p>\nPatrick Commins<\/p>\n