Yahoo News Afternoon Update: Greens and Coalition attack Labor after rate rise; strategic Ukraine dam destroyed; and a rare wolverine spotted
Good afternoon. More tough news for mortgage holders today as the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate by a further 25 basis points to bring it to 4.1% – its highest level in 11 years.
That will see “Aussies with an average loan size of $577k … spending over $15k more each year on their mortgage compared [with] what they were in April last year,” according to Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder. The RBA governor, Philip Lowe, justified his decision by saying inflation, although past its peak, was still too high at 7%, and warned of further increases to come.
Meanwhile, Kathleen Folbigg has issued her first public statement since her release.
Top news
Political reactions to RBA rate rise | The reactions have come in swift from all sides. The Greens have accused Labor and the RBA of using “everyday people as cannon fodder in the war on inflation”, and have urged the government to intervene. The Coalition has blamed Labor’s budget for adding to “the inflationary fire”. It was a point the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, preemptively dismissed, adding that the “rate rise today is not because of the budget, and it’s not because people on the minimum wage are being paid too much, and we should be really clear about that”.
Folbigg speaks | The woman pardoned after spending 20 years in jail over the murder of her four children says her release was “a victory for science and especially truth”. She spent her first day catching up with close friend Tracy Chapman over pizza and a glass of Kahlua.
Merri Creek rapist jailed for 20 years | Joel Russo – the 29-year-old man who dragged a woman into a Melbourne creek and tried to drown her before subjecting her to hours of horrific sexual abuse – has been handed a 17-year minimum jail sentence.
NSW persisting with ‘unlawful’ Covid fines | The New South Wales government is signalling it will not withdraw any additional Covid fines despite a supreme court decision finding a huge volume of pandemic-related infringements were unlawful.
AMA disturbed by solitary confinement of children | Australia’s peak medical body says Guardian Australia’s revelations about children locked in solitary confinement for weeks at a time in a Queensland youth prison are “highly concerning”. “Evidence shows jailing children under the age of 14 harms their health, wellbeing and development,” it said. Read our investigative report into Queensland’s shocking youth detention system.
Catholic church’s ‘new type of cruelty’ | The Catholic church is taking an aggressive approach to civil claims by abuse survivors in cases where perpetrators have died. It is using the deaths, and the absence of records and other living witnesses, to argue it cannot receive a fair trial. Survivors are now lobbying to change the law to prevent institutions unfairly using legal stays to stop them taking cases to trial.
Mike Pence, Cornel West announce presidential bids | The two high-profile names from opposite ends of the political spectrum announced their US presidential campaigns today. Read about Pence’s launch here, and West here.
Ukraine dam destroyed | The Ukrainian army has accused Russia of blowing up a strategically important dam on the Dnieper River, and called for people living downstream to evacuate in the face of catastrophic flooding. Here’s everything you need to know about the importance of the dam.
Wolverine spotted in California | … for the second time in 100 years. While wolverines are native to California, they’ve been essentially extinct from the state since the 1920s.
Ducking hell! | Apple says it will upgrade its autocorrect feature that annoyingly corrects one of the most common expletives to “ducking”. Apple users will soon be able to type the expletive without cursing aloud each time it autocorrects.
Full Story
The AFL racism investigation that led nowhere
Last week, an investigation into historical allegations of racism against Indigenous players at the Hawthorn football club ended with no findings against coaches. Now six complainants in the Hawks racism saga have revealed themselves in an open letter and say they will take their claims to the Human Rights Commission. We discuss in this 25-minute episode how both sides feel let down by the investigation process and what the AFL needs to do next.
What they said …
***
“For the last 20 years I have been in prison, I have forever and will always think of my children, grieve for my children, and miss them and love them terribly.” – Kathleen Folbigg
In numbers
And Indigenous deaths in custody are at their highest in the 15 years that records have been kept, according to new data from the Productivity Commission.
Before bed read
Australians are buying more clothes than ever, but few are made or designed locally. Why has Australian fashion fallen to pieces? Browse through this very slick interactive timeline showing the decline of the industry from the 1990s to today.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: SOLA. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know. Sign up for our Morning Mail newsletter here.
