Australia news LIVE: RBA flags hit to economy, jobs after lifting interest rates again; Liberals to oppose climate bill

Key posts

  • Greens locked in heated debate over climate change bill
  • RBA forecasts slower economic growth, higher unemployment
  • This morning’s headlines at a glance

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Greens locked in heated debate over climate change bill

Greens leader Adam Bandt has been forced to convene an urgent meeting to decide the party’s stance on Labor’s climate change bill in a last-minute sign of division over whether to vote down its 43 per cent emissions reduction target because it does not go far enough.

With a vote on the bill due within days, the Greens did not reach a consensus yesterday morning and needed extra time to finalise their position in the hope they could extract further concessions from the federal government this week.

Greens leader Adam Bandt (left) declared last week he was open to a deal with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Bandt declared last week he was open to a deal with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the issue. But members of the party room have attacked the Labor target as too weak to prevent dangerous climate change.

The member for Melbourne is expected to announce the Greens’ position on the climate bill in an address to the National Press Club today. He will call Labor a “neoliberal” party and claim the Coalition has moved to the far right.

More on what Bandt will have to say here.

RBA forecasts slower economic growth, higher unemployment

The Reserve Bank’s unprecedented succession of interest rate hikes is expected to dramatically slow the economy and drive up unemployment as it concedes that higher inflation and increased borrowing costs are putting pressure on household budgets and slashing home values.

Economists now believe the RBA may have to start supporting the economy with rate cuts late next year, after yesterday raising rates by half a percentage point to 1.85 per cent – its fourth consecutive monthly rate increase.

The Reserve Bank has lifted official interest rates by 1.75 percentage points in four months, its most aggressive tightening move in nearly 30 years.Credit:Louise Kennerley

On an $800,000 mortgage, the cumulative increase in monthly repayments since the RBA started tightening monetary policy is now $770. Macquarie Bank was the first lender to pass on the rate hike.

Analysts expect the big four to pass on the full 0.5 percentage point rise to home loan customers.

Read the full story here.

This morning’s headlines at a glance

Good morning and thanks for your company.

It’s Wednesday, August 3. 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.

  • The federal Greens still hadn’t reached a consensus on the Albanese government’s climate change bill as of last night. The party’s final stance will be significant because the Coalition will oppose Labor’s signature climate legislation and the government doesn’t have a majority in the Senate. A parliamentary vote is expected within days. Greens leader Adam Bandt is due to speak to the National Press Club this afternoon.
  • Staying with federal politics, and Defence Minister Richard Marles has called for an urgent review of Australia’s defence. As David Crowe writes, there are concerns the nation’s $44.6 billion defence spend isn’t doing enough to prepare the country for growing threats to security.
  • Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia is forecasting slower economic growth and higher unemployment. Yesterday, the RBA lifted interest rates by half a percentage point (to 1.85 per cent). It’s the central bank’s fourth consecutive monthly rate increase.
  • In state news, the Andrews government has asked Victoria’s corruption watchdog to investigate whether Opposition Leader Matthew Guy and his former chief of staff may have committed a crime by conspiring to engage in potentially corrupt conduct. And in NSW, the head of the NRL has clashed publicly with Premier Dominic Perrottet.
  • And in international news, United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has arrived in Taiwan despite Beijing threatening retaliation. Taiwan is a self-ruled island but China claims it as its own.

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