TRANSCRIPT
- The RBA lowers interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.1 per cent.
- Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomes the cut to the cash rate.
- And in sport, Novak Djokovic breaks his silence on Jannik Sinner's doping ban..
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The Reserve Bank of Australia has lowered interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.1 per cent - the first rate cut since November 2020.
At its meeting today, the RBA board decided to lower the cash rate target from 4.35 per cent to 4.1 per cent and the interest rate paid on Exchange Settlement balances to four per cent.
The decision comes at a critical time for the Albanese government as a federal election will be held within the next three months with cost-of-living concerns a key election issue.
The official cash rate has been at 4.35 percent since November of 2023, after eighteen months of persistent hikes to try to counter inflation.
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Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has welcomed the first cuts to interest rates since November 2020.
Dr Chalmers says each of the four major banks has already indicated that the benefits of the Reserve Bank's rate cut will be passed on in full.
"Each of the major banks will be passing on in full the benefits of the decision that was taken by the Reserve Bank today. I don't take credit for those decisions that they have made and announced already. In each case, they were already well progressed in their planning. But I wanted to say that I consider that a very good thing that each of the four major banks has already indicated that the benefits of this rate cut will be passed on in full."
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Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she is aware of an unverified video appearing to show Australian man Oscar Jenkins in Russian captivity.
The video appears to have been filmed on January 17 and allegedly shows Mr Jenkins, who was detained by Russian Forces while fighting for Ukraine in December, speaking about his conditions.
The video came shortly after reports that Mr Jenkins had been killed in captivity.
Minister Wong has warned that Russia is very prone to misinformation and disinformation.
"We've obviously provided a great deal of military support and humanitarian support to Ukraine. We obviously continue to back Ukraine against Russia, and Russia's illegal and immoral war against the people and territory on Ukraine. I'm not going to speculate on matters, obviously there's a lot of dialogue and negotiations currently being engaged in but I will say again the UN charter protects all of us, it has a prohibition against countries invading your territory and we all have to stand firm against Russia and Mr Putin."
The Minister says Mr Jenkins is a prisoner of war and is calling for his release.
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A Delta Air Lines plane has flipped and came to a rest upside down upon arrival in the Canadian city of Toronto's Pearson International Airport, injuring 18 people.
All 80 people on board survived and those hurt had relatively minor injuries.
The airport confirmed on social media platform, X that an incident occurred with the Delta flight from Minneapolis with 76 passengers and four crew on board.
Todd Aitken is the Toronto Pearson Fire Chief.
"The cause of the crash is still under investigation and being led by the Transportation Safety Board. It's not appropriate for us to comment at this time. What we can say is the runway was dry and there was no crosswind conditions. We also want to give an update. We can now confirm that 18 injured passengers have been transported to the local area hospitals."
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To sport,
Tennis star Novak Djokovic says the tennis anti-doping rules are unfair and inconsistent.
This comes as three-time Grand Slam winner Jannik Sinner accepted a three-month doping ban after testing positive for an anabolic steroid, clostebol, last year.
The 23-year-old will miss three months but no grand slam events after admitting responsibility for two failed drugs tests last year.
The deal came after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed an initial decision which cleared the world-number-one.
Now, Serbian tennis legend Djokovic says Sinner's treatment has left other players confused.
"Right now there is a lack of trust generally, from the tennis players both male and female towards WADA and ITIA and the whole process, so we are either going to agree that all the cases will be transparent from the beginning or all will be kept private until the result. It's inconsistent - it appears to be very unfair. It is not a good image for our sport, that's for sure."
The World Anti-Doping Agency has defended its decision to ban Sinner for doping for three months.
