Key events
Rishworth dismisses oppossition criticism over Cheng Lei’s treatment at Chinese-Australian press conference
The social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, has backed the prime minister’s response to the incident with journalist Cheng Li yesterday, dismissing opposition criticisms.
Appearing alongside opposition senator Bridget McKenzie on Channel 9’s Today Show, Rishworth asked why the issue was being made “so political” before adding that she was “pleased” Li was at the press conference:
I agree with you, Bridget, that there needs to be a free and open press. And I’m pleased that Cheng Lei was at that press conference [and] asked the prime minister a question.
Of course, we expect appropriate behaviour, when it comes to our the freedom of journalists and the freedom of the press. But she asked the prime minister a question, and good on her, and he answered it.
Liberals criticise treatment of journalist by Chinese officials at press conference
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham has condemned the treatment of journalist Cheng Li at federal parliament yesterday.
Li was blocked by Chinese officials during the press conference featuring prime minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese premier Li Qiang.
Birmingham told Sky News it was “counterproductive” and that Li should have been “treated with respect.”
This was an entirely counterproductive and inappropriate act by Chinese officials that should have been called out by our prime minister and government officials.
It is a reminder that we have two very different systems, the Chinese system and the Australian system, different systems of government, of course as a democracy, different respect when it comes to media, to freedom of speech, but this visit is taking place in Australia.
The freedom of press is paramount. Cheng Li is an Australian citizen, an Australian journalist – she should have been treated with respect.
Pocock says Dutton using cost-of-living crisis to ‘whip up fear’ and division on climate change prices
Pocock is next asked about polls that show growing divisions on climate change, particularly amidst a cost of living crisis. The senator said he believed much of the division came from the cost-of-living crisis, and that the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, was using the crisis to “whip up fear.”
It is concerning, I think a lot of this comes from so many Australians genuinely doing a tough at the moment, having to make really tough decisions, from telling their kids that they can no longer play basketball or be part of the scouts group because they can’t afford the … 500 bucks a year that costs, to other Australians who are deciding between going to see the GP or fulfilling a script and putting food on the table.
People are doing it tough and so when they hear politicians talk about these targets in the future … I think Peter Dutton use this to whip up fear.
The thing I would love to see is that is the government step up and actually use the technology that we have now to help Australians who are doing it tough save money on electricity bills. We know that household electrification, solar batteries, moving away from from gas can save Australian households not a $300 one-off energy bill rebate, but thousands of dollars every year into the future.
David Pocock says gambling ads ‘denigrate’ power of sport
Independent Senator David Pocock is on ABC’s RN Breakfast this morning, addressing a lack of government action on the proliferation of gambling ads during sports broadcasts.
Pocock was initially asked about Gillon McLachlan and what it means to have a former head of the AFL now in charge of Tabcorp, but Pocock turned his attention to the gambling industry in general.
He said the industry was “saturating” their ads across online and television broadcast of sports, which he said “denigrates” the power of sport:
We’re seeing gambling companies spend some $260m a year on advertising and just saturating online TV. And I think that’s where the government needs to step in, because this is about young people in the way we think about gambling and the effects that it has, if you just think this is a totally normal thing that everyone does to enjoy sport.
Let’s actually focus on sport for what it what it can be. They get this sense of being part of something bigger than themselves, working towards goals, making friends. Yeah, that is the power of sport, and I think we we denigrate that, we lose some of that when we turn it into just an avenue for the gambling industry to make money.
Li’s busy day in Perth
Strengthening business links and critical minerals will be top of the agenda for the final day of Li Qiang’s visit to Australia.
Fresh from high-level talks at Parliament House with Anthony Albanese, China’s second-highest official travelled to Western Australia for meetings with business and community leaders today.
Li visit a lithium plant in Perth before attending an Australia-China CEO roundtable event.
The roundtable will involve representatives from major Australian companies including Wesfarmers, Rio Tinto, ANZ and Fortescue discussing economic opportunity and free-trade agreements between the two countries.
Li will also visit Fortescue’s research and development facility in Perth.
The visit by Li to Australia, the first by a Chinese premier in seven years, has restored hope of China lifting all remaining trade sanctions that had been imposed since 2020.
While sanctions had been lifted on items such as beef and wine, trade restrictions remain on Australian rock lobster.
via AAP
Peter Hannam
Rates expected to stay on hold at RBA meeting
The Reserve Bank wraps up its latest two-day board meeting this afternoon with Australia’s borrowers expected to be spared another interest rate rise.
All economists surveyed by Reuters are expecting the cash rate to remain steady at 4.35% for a fifth consecutive meeting.
Attention is likely to focus on the wording of the RBA’s statement and comments by governor Michele Bullock when she holds the now customary post-gathering media conference at the bank’s temporary digs in Sydney. (Its HQ is in the midst of a costly and lengthy refurbishment after the Martin Place building was found to have more asbestos than expected.)
The board is almost certain to have considered another rate rise – which would have been the 14th since the cycle began in May 2022. Mortgage holders on a typical $600,000 loan are already paying back about $1450 more each month since then, according to RateCity.
Prospects of a rate cut before the end of 2024 dimmed after inflation slowed less than expected in the March quarter. The RBA even predicts consumer price increases will accelerate in the current quarter before resuming their retreat.
The economy is also throwing up mixed signals about its strength. GDP growth all but stalled at the start of this year but employment has remained surprisingly strong with the jobless rate hovering at about 4%.
The RBA will also be trying to anticipate the impact of May’s federal budget. The stage three cuts and the first of four quarterly energy rebates of $75 per residence kick in from 1 July.
Bullock, we might expect, will repeat her mantra of not “ruling anything in or out”. Still, her comments will be listened to closely as to what direction the RBA’s next move will be, and when.
Watch out for the board’s decision at 2.30pm AEST and the start of her media conference an hour later.
Labor regains poll lead
Voters are split on Peter Dutton’s controversial proposal to abandon Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target, despite his plans for nuclear power being unpopular.
In the Guardian Essential poll just more than half (52%) of those surveyed said Australia should “stick to its 2030 target and achieving this target is necessary to meet the 2050 target”.
But after trailing the opposition in late April and May, Labor now leads the Coalition 48% to 46% in two-party-preferred terms, with 6% of voters undecided.
You can pore over the details in Paul Karp’s story here:
And our Full Story podcast today features blogger supreme and political reporter Amy Remeikis giving her two-year report card on the Labor government:
Karen Middleton
Mining magnate issues warning on emissions
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest has warned that the federal Coalition’s proposed abandonment of a 2030 emissions reduction target to rely instead on nuclear power to reach net zero emissions by 2050 would see Australian exporters hit with penalty carbon taxes and destroy Australia’s export base.
The Fortescue boss told Radio National Breakfast that relying on the introduction of nuclear power in 15 years’ time without any firm commitment to transition away from fossil fuels through interim targets would be dire for Australia.
He said major trading partners were likely to punish exporters in those countries not proving they are moving to cleaner forms of energy in the interim.
“That’s dreaming,” Forrest said of the Coalition’s insistence that it could avoid a “linear” emissions reduction path and just switch to nuclear in 2049:
And we would have been left behind by the rest of world by then. We’d have been hit with carbon taxes from Europe, from America – everywhere where they’re saying, “Well, we’re investing to go green. You didn’t. So we’re going to tax your products on the way into Europe, on the way into North America.”
That decimates the economic model which Australia has lived on since federation, which is an export country.
Chinese premier heads to Perth
Daniel Hurst
Li Qiang will attend several events in Western Australia today on the final day of his four-day visit to Australia.
Today’s schedule includes a banquet with members of the Chinese-Australian community, with both Li and Anthony Albanese expected to deliver brief speeches.
Li is also expected to meet the WA premier, Roger Cook, and visit two businesses related to critical minerals processing and the transition to net zero.
In Perth today, business leaders will meet for the first Australia-China CEO Roundtable to be held since 2017. The event is co-chaired by the Business Council of Australia and the China Development Bank and will include a range of business leaders including Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest, Rio Tinto’s Kellie Parker and BHP’s Vandita Pant.
China’s premier has travelled to Perth from Canberra, where he and Albanese held the annual leaders’ meeting yesterday.
While both leaders pointed to progress in managing differences and stabilising the bilateral relationship, a signing ceremony at Parliament House was overshadowed somewhat by Chinese embassy officials’ apparent attempt to block the view of the formerly detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei. You can read more about that here:
Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you to take you through the day’s news.
Welcome
Martin Farrer
Good morning and welcome to the live blog. I’m Martin Farrer with some of the best overnight news lines and then my colleague Mostafa Rachwani will be along to get into the real business of the day.
The Chinese premier, Li Qiang, will head to Western Australia today on the final day of a four-day visit that has been overshadowed by the apparent attempt by Chinese officials to obstruct the view of Australian journalist Cheng Lei at a ceremony at Parliament House yesterday. Li and Anthony Albanese will be hoping there is no more controversy as they prepare to give speeches in a schedule today that includes a banquet with members of the Chinese-Australian community. More coming up.
Peter Dutton’s back-to-the-future attack line on Labor’s climate ambitions may yet gain some traction with voters, our latest Essential poll suggests today, but Labor has nevertheless regained the lead over the Coalition in two-party-preferred terms after lagging for the previous two months. Voters are split on Dutton’s controversial proposal to abandon Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target, the poll shows, despite his plans for nuclear power being unpopular. More coming up.
The Reserve Bank wraps up its latest two-day board meeting this afternoon with Australia’s borrowers expected to be spared another interest rate rise. All economists surveyed by Reuters are expecting the cash rate to remain steady at 4.35% for a fifth consecutive meeting. More coming up.