Good afternoon. The Reserve Bank of Australia has delivered a much-anticipated rate cut, lowering the official cash rate from 3.85% to 3.6% even as it warned Australians to brace for lower growth and wages in the future thanks to weaker productivity growth.
Once lenders pass on the relief to their borrowers, the third rate cut of the year will deliver somebody with a $500,000 mortgage a $74 saving on their monthly interest payments, according to Canstar, bringing the total drop to $272.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said the rate cut was “very welcome relief for millions of Australians” that gave the government “confidence that we are on the right track”.
Top news
-
Taylor Swift announces new album The Life of a Showgirl
-
Anthony Albanese says Benjamin Netanyahu is ‘in denial’ about crisis in Gaza
-
Mark Latham has an ‘abusive obsession with me’, NSW MP Alex Greenwich tells tribunal
-
Academic labels Julie Bishop ‘hostile and arrogant’ in tearful evidence to ANU inquiry
-
Brisbane woman sentenced to prison for importing illegal cacti and plants in fake lingerie packages
-
‘D-O-double G at the M-C-G’: Snoop Dogg to perform at 2025 AFL grand final
In pictures
Zooming right in: the vivid landscapes revealed in nanophotography
Each year, researchers at the University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology mark National Science Week with a photography contest to see who can snap the best image. Here are some of this year’s entries.
What they said …
***
“This is not about public safety – this is about power.” – Samantha Davis
Davis, an organiser at Free DC, was among the scores of protesters who took to the streets after Donald Trump said he was deploying national guard troops to Washington DC and temporarily taking over the city’s police department. The US president claimed it was necessary because the city “has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals”, despite violent crime being at its lowest rate in more than 30 years.
Full Story
Australia’s plan to recognise Palestine
Anthony Albanese has confirmed his Labor government will join other allies to formally recognise Palestinian statehood. Our chief political correspondent Tom McIlroy speaks with Full Story host Nour Haydar about why the Australian government is making this move now – and whether it will change anything for the Palestinians living under attack in Gaza.
Listen to the episode here
Before bed read
It’s the latest couples’ hack for the online age and involves splitting the evening into chunks – including one full hour without phones. Could the “three-hour night” routine really save a struggling relationship?
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: MEAT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know with our Morning Mail newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
