Keep up to date on the day’s top stories with the national news blog.
Keep up to date on the day’s top stories with the national news blog.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is open to Australia sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, in a major turnaround from the previous day when the government poured cold water on the idea.
Albanese’s comments, which set up a clash with the opposition, came as US President Donald Trump ordered a pause on military assistance to Ukraine following his on-camera blow-up with Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House last week, imperilling the nation’s ability to fight Russia’s invasion.
British Prime Minister Keith Starmer has called for an international “coalition of the willing” to help enforce any ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia, an idea backed by France.
In an unexpected addition to the Australia-US relations debate, WA Premier Roger Cook has shared his very honest opinion on US Vice President J.D. Vance.
Speaking at a business breakfast at Crown Perth, Cook was asked to finish the sentence: “J.D. Vance is a …”
“Knob,” Cook responded quickly.
“Sorry, you’ve got to have one unprofessional moment, don’t you? That was it,” Cook joked.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers was asked about the comments at a press conference in Queensland this morning. While he “would choose different words”, Chalmers said he didn’t think the comments would damage the Australia-US relationship.
“Cook is an absolutely outstanding premier,” Chalmers said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says it will be an “anxious wait” for Cyclone Alfred to make landfall later this week, as he and Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister briefed residents of south-east Queensland and northern NSW on what they should be doing to prepare.
“It’s pretty rare for a cyclone to be this far south, but we’ll be ready for it when it arrives. Australians are there for each other in difficult times like this and all three levels of government will be there for you as well,” Chalmers said.
Speaking from his local electorate in Logan, south of Brisbane, Chalmers said there was “no better time to clean up the yard, clean out the gutters and charge what needs charging today”.
McAllister implored residents to get organised by considering access to information sources, evacuation plans, checking on neighbours and heeding the advice of authorities.
“These are the things we need the community to do at this time. But I’m confident that, working together, we can get through this and keep people safe,” she said.
Asked about the financial cost of the cyclone, Chalmers said that there would be an economic impact and that the government would do what was necessary when the time came, but that for now they are “focused primarily on the human cost”.
Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the US, has given an upbeat view of the alliance between the countries despite the upheaval of Donald Trump’s presidency, as he predicted the AUKUS pact would soon create a defence industry boom in cities around Australia.
Speaking at an Australian National University (ANU) webinar on Tuesday morning, Rudd said that Australia brings “enormous assets” to the table beyond its shared values and close history with the United States.
Pointing to the significant investment in the US by Australian superannuation funds, he said: “So we’re not just a nice bunch of people, we’re not just a loyal ally.
“We’re not just got an interesting bunch of rocks, but we do have an interesting bunch of rocks, critical minerals and non-critical minerals. And we are the biggest mining company in the world, which also commands respect here. We are now a phenomenal source of private capital.”
Asked by ANU international security professor John Blaxland how he responded to “catastrophising” about the state of the alliance under Trump, Rudd said: “The beginning of wisdom and international relations is to be very clear about our own values, be very clear about our own national interests. Be very clear about our partnerships around the world in the company and the countries we choose to work with. Be very clear about our strategy for navigating those interests and values in the world. It will never go perfectly smoothly. Life’s not like that. Politics is not like that.”
Rudd pointed out that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s held a meeting of foreign ministers from the Quad nations – Australia, India, Japan and the US – on his first day in the job and that Trump’s Defence Secretary Pete Hesgeth had strongly endorsed the AUKUS defence partnership.
Trump, however, did not appear to know what AUKUS referred to when questioned about it last week by a British reporter.
Rudd said there was huge potential for the so-called pillar II of AUKUS, which covers collaboration on advanced military technologies such as hypersonic weapons and electronic warfare.
“If I was to make a prediction, in a year’s time you’re going to see AUKUS pillar II new projects, new businesses, new technologies, new platforms cropping up in every city and provincial centre across Australia because the opportunities for investment will be so large and the demand so acute,” he said.
We reported earlier that the prime minister is headed to Queensland either Tuesday or Wednesday as Cyclone Alfred approaches Australia’s east coast. And while residents of the region are busily preparing for landfall, political tragics are wondering what impact the cyclone will have on the federal election.
Conventional Canberra wisdom would suggest the most likely chain of events is an election announcement this Sunday or Monday for an April 12 poll. But would the prime minister still call the election if Queensland and NSW are in the middle of recovering from a natural disaster?
The question was put to Treasurer Jim Chalmers when he spoke to the media from his electorate in Queensland.
“Honestly, the timing of the election couldn’t be further from my mind this morning,” he replied.
“The prime minister will call the election some time in the next couple of months. That is a matter for him in consultation with his colleagues.”
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister held a press conference in Queensland, as the state’s south-east and NSW’s northern rivers prepare for Tropical Cyclone Alfred to make landfall later this week.
The pair spoke from Logan, within the treasurer’s electorate of Rankin.
Watch the press conference here:
In other economic news, the Reserve Bank has reserved the right to lift interest rates or hold them steady for an “extended period” if inflation fails to ease in line with its expectations.
Minutes of the bank’s February meeting, at which the cash rate was sliced to 4.1 per cent, reveal the internal debate over the cut, which was the first in more than four years.
Describing the case for a rate cut as a “stronger one” than holding steady, the minutes show a larger-than-expected fall in inflation pointed to easing price pressures. They also noted that the domestic economy, particularly the jobs market, may be a little softer than official figures suggested.
A separate risk to the economy was the high “uncertainty about US government policy” which could reduce the willingness of businesses and households to spend.
But in a sign of the possible risk posed by a rate cut, the minutes show the board believes it could reverse course if inflation lifts.
“If the evolving data signalled that inflation was proving more persistent than expected, it would be reasonable to maintain a more restrictive stance of policy by holding the cash rate at 4.1 per cent for an extended period – given members’ assessment that this level would still be restrictive – or by even tightening policy if the outlook was for inflation to rise materially,” the minutes showed.
“On balance, members judged that accepting the risk of needing to adopt such a course of action was preferable to accepting the risk of holding interest rates high for too long.”
Anthony Albanese is likely to be delivered some good economic news later this week, with signs the economy has picked up a little speed.
The national accounts covering the final three months of 2024 will be released tomorrow, but key partial measures show the trade sector and government spending boosted GDP through the period.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning reported that net trade will add 0.2 percentage points to growth while the economy will get a similar sized boost from overall government spending.
Total public demand lifted by 1.9 per cent through the December quarter, driven largely by increased spending on big state and federal infrastructure projects.
Coupled with other measures of economic activity, the national accounts may show an end to the per capita recession that has afflicted the country since the end of 2022. Overall economic growth, which nose-dived to just 0.2 per cent in the year to the end of September, is likely to push up above 1.1 per cent in tomorrow’s figures.
At a press conference responding to a new report on the gender pay gap in Australia, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher argued that the Coalition’s proposed ban on working from home in the public service shows the opposition is out of touch with modern families.
Gallagher flagged there would be “more to say” in the election campaign on “supporting women and driving equality across the country”, but insisted that it had been a central focus of the government’s first term.
“Whether it’s been women’s safety, housing, educational opportunities, you know, you name it, we’re in that space looking for ways to shift the dial and make sure women get the fair treatment and equality that they deserve,” she said, before turning her attention to the Coalition’s new bid to send public servants back to the office.
Gallagher said the biggest risk to progress for women was the opposition, and that they didn’t have women’s interests at heart.
“I mean they’ve now said working from home is going to be cancelled, clearly the opposition have no idea about how modern working families operate,” she said.
“Working-from-home arrangements are a part of private and public sector workplaces in the modern age.”
The Australian WPGA Championship has been called off as Cyclone Alfred bears down on Queensland.
The PGA of Australia and WPGA Tour of Australasia announced on Tuesday that the women’s golf championship would be scratched and not rescheduled for 2025.
“After monitoring weather forecasts and following dialogue with the Queensland government, Gold Coast City Council, Mulpha Group, Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club and the Ladies European Tour, we have taken the unprecedented decision to cancel the event ahead of the first day’s play set to take place on Thursday,” a statement read.
“With the predicted high rainfall, extreme winds and expected flooding, the decision has been made to ensure the safety of players, staff, fans and all stakeholders, which remains the priority.”
(Note: A previous version of this post incorrectly attributed the cancellation to Golf Australia. It has been amended to reflect the decision was made by PGA of Australia and WPGA Tour of Australasia.)