Squiz Today – Wednesday, 5 October

THE SQUIZ

Official interest rates have increased to 2.6% following the Reserve Bank board’s meeting yesterday. That’s an increase of 0.25%, and it takes them to the highest level since July 2013 after they started the march upwards in April to deal with rising inflation. Analysts were expecting a 0.5% hike, but Governor Philip Lowe said the central bank took the foot off the pedal a little as they assess what’s happening with the global economy, household spending, wages and inflation. On a $750,000 mortgage, the increase will raise monthly repayments by $110 – which means that since May, repayments have increased by $1,030. In response, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the current outlook has given the Albanese Government pause for thought as it puts together its first budget to be delivered on 25 October.

WHAT’S THERE TO THINK ABOUT?

As you know, our economy has been smashed recently, and we’re not on our lonesome… Last week, the OECD – an authority on the global economy – issued a pessimistic report on the coming year that strongly featured the R-word (and sadly, they’re not talking about ravioli…). So Chalmers and the government has a bit of new information coming at them – and it’s pretty gloomy. That’s why one question that keeps coming up is whether they’re committed to ‘stage 3 tax cuts’. It’s the 3rd in a series of tax cuts introduced by the former Coalition Government – and supported by Labor – that are set to kick in from July 2024. Long story short, it will see everyone earning between $45,000 to $200,000 paying income tax of no more than 30c on every dollar they earn.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

It’s expensive… It would deprive the federal coffers of $20 billion a year, and critics say it’s a move that’s not affordable given the current economic climate. They also point to what’s just happened in the UK with new PM Liz Truss abandoning plans to cut her country’s top rate of income tax in a U-turn that was harder to execute than turning around a semi-trailer without power steering… Yesterday, Chalmers didn’t rule out changes to the upcoming Aussie tax cuts, saying the UK experience was “a cautionary tale about what can happen if you get your policy settings out of whack in a way that doesn’t suit the economic conditions”. As for Coalition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor, he says it is “absolutely not” the time to scrap the cuts because more money in peoples’ hands will be good for the economy. Watch this space…

Ukraine pushes back in the south and east

Russia no longer has full control of the 4 regions it took steps to illegally annex last week after Ukrainian troops made significant gains in the country’s south and east. Ukrainian soldiers have pushed through the frontline in Kherson province, threatening the supply lines for thousands of Russian troops. They also took back more territory in the northeast after advancing into Luhansk. Ukraine has vowed to take it all back from Russia despite recent threats of more troops and nuclear retaliation from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those fears spiked yesterday when NATO warned that a train operated by Russia’s atomic division was spotted making its way to the frontlines. And never one to miss an opportunity to comment on a global event, Elon Musk (who might yet buy Twitter…) has proposed his own solution to the Ukraine war. Let’s just say it wasn’t received well…

Tassie murderer’s family vows to clear her name after release

One of Tasmania’s most high-profile murderers, Susan Neill-Fraser, has been released on parole after serving 13 years in prison – half her original 26-year sentence. The 68yo was convicted on circumstantial evidence of murdering her long-term partner Bob Chappell aboard their yacht in Hobart’s Sandy Bay on Australia Day in 2009. Her story about where she was when he died changed several times, and she was found guilty of dumping his body in the river and trying to sink the yacht to destroy evidence. Neill-Fraser has always maintained her innocence, and neither Chappell’s body nor a murder weapon was ever found. Throughout it all, she’s had several high-profile supporters, including former Tassie leader Lara Giddings. Neill-Fraser’s daughter Sarah Bowles said her release has “renewed our energy, having mum out to clear her name, overturn the miscarriage of justice, and seek justice for Bob’s memory as well”.

Boosting conservation efforts

In a landmark move, Australia has an “ambitious” new goal to prevent further extinctions of plants and wildlife. According to the latest environmental report card, we have lost more mammals than any other continent. Yesterday, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the “current approach has not been working” as she unveiled a 10-year threatened species action plan to improve things for 110 ‘priority’ species and 20 places. It also makes good on Labor’s commitment to reserve 30% of Australia’s land and sea areas for conservation to improve biodiversity, joining 50 other nations. Conservationists broadly welcomed the plan, but some were critical of ‘priority’ species being the centre of attention. They point to the more than 1,900 threatened species listed in Oz.

La Niña, the (unwanted) gift that just keeps on giving

Unless you’re a fish, duck, or fish-duck hybrid, you are probably not that excited about the weather bureau predicting more wet weather this week with heavy rain expected in eastern Oz from FNQ right down to Tassie. That ups the flood risks for already saturated areas, with at least 50mm expected by Friday up and down the coast, which will be followed by – you guessed it – more rain over the weekend. And you know things are soggy when Victoria’s Dartmouth Dam is beyond full and started spilling over for the first time in 26 years. So far, it’s a quirky tourist attraction, but it could pose serious problems for farmers downstream with more water coming as the snow melts across the Victorian Alps as we head into warmer weather.

An “ordinary” Chinese porcelain vase has sold for €7.7million (A$11.6 million) – almost 4,000 times its valued price of €2,000 – after a bidding war erupted among buyers convinced it was a rare 18th-century artefact. Condolences to the not-so-lucky winner…

British artist Sam Cox has finished a major project – doodling on his home. Instead of marking shapes on a notepad during a phone call like everyone else, he’s covered the house inside and out. All it took was hundreds of litres of black and white paint and 2,296 pen nibs…

You may have heard of Morris dancing – a peculiar form of English folk dancing that is traditionally only done by men. But a dance group in Exeter is allowing women to join for the first time. They really needed the numbers… 

12.30pm (AEDT) – CEO of the Australian Sports Commission and former Olympic swimmer, Kieren Perkins, addresses the National Press Club – Canberra

7.10pm (AEDT) – Men’s Cricket – First T20 – Australia v West Indies – Gold Coast

8.45pm (AEDT) – Nobel Prize for Chemistry announced

Start of Fat Bear Week (until 11 October)

Birthdays for former Pakistani PM Imran Khan (1952), astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (1958), and actors Guy Pearce (1967) and Kate Winslet (1975)

Anniversary of:
• the release of the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961); the first James Bond film Dr No (1962); The Beatles’ first record, Love Me Do (1962); Elton John’s album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973); and Stephenie Meyer’s novel Twilight (2005)
• the death of Steve Jobs (2011)
• the publication of the New York Times investigation into sexual harassment claims against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein (2017)