Key posts
- RBA almost has inflation dragon by the tail – but at what cost?
- How an attack on Taiwan could rapidly reach Australia
- Albanese to cement submarines deal in US
- Kyiv ‘absolutely not involved’ in Nord Stream pipeline attack
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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RBA almost has inflation dragon by the tail – but at what cost?
Ever so slowly, the Reserve Bank is catching up with the inflation dragon.
But the growing question for the RBA, and everyone who depends on the economy for a job and a wage and a roof over their head, is what sort of condition we’ll be in once it has the dragon by its tail.
While the bank’s Philip Lowe is signalling a higher cash rate ahead, the rationale for it is being eroded.Credit:James Brickwood
As expected, the bank lifted the official cash rate for the 10th consecutive time yesterday. At the start of May last year, the cash rate was 0.1 per cent. It’s now 3.6 per cent.
It’s the most aggressive tightening of monetary policy since the 1980s, which ended in recession, and some economists fear the same could happen again in the next 24 months.
Read more of the analysis from our senior economics correspondent here.
How an attack on Taiwan could rapidly reach Australia
Within 72 hours of a conflict breaking out over Taiwan, Chinese missile bombardments and devastating cyberattacks would begin pummelling Australia.
For the first time since World War II, the mainland would be under attack. Meanwhile, 150,000 American troops would descend on the Top End seeking refuge from the immediate conflict zone.
Taiwan’s armed forces hold two days of routine drills to show combat readiness in January.Credit:Getty
These are the scenarios Peter Jennings, a former deputy secretary for strategy in the Defence Department, says the nation needs to prepare for.
For more detail on read the piece here, which is part of our Red Alert series.
Albanese to cement submarines deal in US
Australia will cement a decades-long deal to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines at a formal announcement in the United States on Monday amid heightened speculation over whether all the vessels will be made in Adelaide as planned.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will mark the next stage of the AUKUS pact at a meeting in San Diego with United States President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, revealing the likely submarine choice for a project expected to cost at least $100 billion.
Australia will cement a decades-long deal to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines at a formal announcement in the United States on Monday.Credit:US Navy
But the timeframe to complete the eight submarines remains in doubt due to concerns over the mammoth investment required to develop the shipbuilding facilities in Adelaide to do the work, as well as the challenge of creating the workforce to build and serve on the vessels.
The prime minister is expected to head to the US after his talks with Indian counterparty in New Delhi later this week.
Read the full story here.
Kyiv ‘absolutely not involved’ in Nord Stream pipeline attack
A senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Kyiv was “absolutely not involved” in last year’s attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines and has no information about what happened.
A New York Times report on Tuesday cited U.S. officials suggesting a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the blasts in September 2022, seven months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers ride atop a tank in the frontline in Bakhmut. Credit:AP
“Without a doubt, Ukraine is absolutely not involved in the excesses on the pipelines,” Mykhailo Podolyak said in a statement to Reuters. “It does not make the slightest bit of sense.”
He added that Ukraine has no information about exactly who was involved but speculated that what he called Russian efforts to destabilise the region might have been to blame.
“Starting from the first day of construction on the pipelines at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, Ukraine repeatedly drew the attention of its Western partners to the sharply growing strategic risks for the security of Europe carried by the realisation of this project,” Podolyak said.
REUTERS
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, and thanks for your company.
It’s Wednesday, March 8. I’m Caroline Schelle, and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started.
- The Reserve Bank has driven interest rates to an 11-year-high of 3.6 per cent, as the governor will meet the country’s peak mental health body. Later this morning Treasurer Jim Chalmers will speak on Radio National.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will mark the next stage of the AUKUS pact at a meeting with the US president and UK prime minister in San Diego.
- Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe says she was forced to admit she had a relationship with a former bikie, after sharing only one kiss.
- A former deputy secretary for strategy says within 72 hours of a conflict breaking out in Taiwan, Chinese missile bombardments and cyberattacks would hit Australia.
- Turning to overseas news now, where a senior aide for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected claims the country was behind the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline.
- And in the UK, the home secretary announced plans to legislate a bill that will bar asylum claims by anyone who reaches it by unauthorised means.
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