Key posts
- Energy minister confident national cabinet can hammer out energy plan
- Australia to strengthen ‘unbreakable’ alliance with US
- Morrison in fight over secret papers
- Mortgage woes deepen as rates hit 10-year high
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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Energy minister confident national cabinet can hammer out energy plan
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he’s confident that the prime minister and state and territory leaders will be able to finalise a plan to tackle rising power prices when they meet on Friday.
Here’s what the Labor frontbencher told ABC Radio a few moments ago:
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen.
In one way, the situation is very complex. But in another way, the objective is very simple: Ensure that Australian industries and business are shielded from the worst impacts of the war in Ukraine. Governments around the world are grappling with this [market intervention] … including centre-right governments.
We’re obviously not contemplating these measures for fun. We’re contemplating these measures to lower energy prices. That’s why we’ve looked very, very carefully at all the options and ideas. Those conversations have been had in good faith. Obviously, the energy ministers’ meeting tomorrow, followed by the national cabinet meeting Friday where the key decisions will be made and announced, will be very important.
Bowen refused to say whether the federal government will compensate the states for lost coal royalties if a price cap is introduced.
Australia to strengthen ‘unbreakable’ alliance with US
Australia and the United States will deepen their already “unbreakable” military alliance by announcing plans to accelerate Canberra’s push to secure precision-guided missiles and expand the American military presence in the Top End.
The US and Australia will also vow to work closer together on foreign policy initiatives in South-East Asia and the Pacific as they seek to restrict China’s influence in the region.
Defence Minister Richard Marles, left, and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin meet outside the Pentagon.Credit:AP
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles are meeting their US counterparts in Washington today for the first annual Australia-US Ministerial consultations since the Albanese government took office.
This year’s talks are particularly significant, coming just three months before the government releases a sweeping review of the nation’s defence forces and reveals which model of nuclear-powered submarine it will adopt under the AUKUS pact.
More on the high-level meetings here.
Morrison in fight over secret papers
Former prime minister Scott Morrison is fighting to use secret cabinet documents to firm up his defence before he fronts the robo-debt royal commission on Wednesday next week.
A closed hearing has been scheduled for tomorrow after Morrison’s lawyer said his client’s “reputation is on the line” if he is unable to refer to the confidential papers to answer questions about the scheme.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison wants to overturn a cabinet secrecy bid to defend himself before the robo-debt royal commission.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Morrison was social services minister when the robo-debt scheme was established in 2015 and prime minister when it was wound back in late 2019 after its income-averaging debt calculation method was ruled to be unlawful.
Morrison’s bid to use the confidential documents is being opposed by the Commonwealth because it is against the public interest to reveal cabinet deliberations.
Read the full story here.
Mortgage woes deepen as rates hit 10-year high
Australian households will have to absorb the sharpest increase in mortgage pain since the 1980s after the Reserve Bank lifted interest rates for a record eighth consecutive month even as it admitted risks to the national economy were growing.
Following its last meeting of the year, the Reserve Bank board on Tuesday took the official cash rate to a 10-year high of 3.1 per cent. It takes the increase since April to three percentage points, the biggest lift in rates since the bank was fighting rampant inflation in the late 1980s.
The cumulative lift in interest rates has added $1418 to monthly repayments on a $750,000 mortgage.
Read the full story here.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning and thanks for your company.
It’s Wednesday, December 7. I’m Broede Carmody 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.
- Former prime minister Scott Morrison is fighting to use secret cabinet documents to firm up his defence before he fronts the robo-debt royal commission next week. Angus Thompson has the full story.
- Shane Wright and Rachel Clun write that Australian households will have to absorb the sharpest increase in mortgage pain since the 1980s. The Reserve Bank yesterday lifted interest rates for the eighth consecutive month. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher will be interviewed on Radio National later this morning. Stay tuned.
- In state news, Victorian Labor could end up with more seats than its 2018 landslide when a handful of seats are decided today. Meanwhile, the majority of NSW voters back cashless gaming cards.
- And in international news, Ukraine has once again struck air bases inside Russian territory.
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