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Australian stocks drop after two US banks collapse
By Derek Rose
The Australianshare market has closed at a nine-week low as traders wonder whether there’ll be more fallout following the failure of two major banks in the United States.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday finished down 35.9 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 7,108.8, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 37.2 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 7,311.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.66 US cents, from 65.94 US cents at Friday’s ASX close.
AAP
Albanese meets British PM Rishi Sunak before AUKUS announcement
By Kirsty Needham
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before an announcement about Australia’s plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the US and UK.
Australia was informing its regional neighbours about the AUKUS plan to acquire the submarine fleet next decade, Albanese said, after meeting with Sunak in the Californian city of San Diego.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the start of a bilateral meeting and supper in San Diego.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“I’ve been talking with other leaders in the region, as well, explaining our position. And it’s been well-received and understood why we’re doing this,” Albanese said after the meeting on Sunday local time.
Sunak said it was important for Britain to demonstrate to the region its commitment to values “even though it’s geographically a long way from where we are”.
Albanese and Sunak will meet with US President Joe Biden in San Diego about the pact on Monday local time.
China has objected to the transfer of nuclear propulsion technology to Australia. AUKUS is seeking to counter China’s military buildup and its pressure on Taiwan.
Reuters
Severe thunderstorm warning after flash flooding inundates NSW homes
By Angus Thomson
Now to regional NSW, where flash flooding in the Riverina town of Cootamundra inundated several homes this morning and hundreds of residents were asked to evacuate.
More than 100 millimetres of rain fell on the region in the last 24 hours, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The downpour caused Muttama Creek, which runs through the centre of town, to spill its banks and inundate homes for the second time in five months.
Floodwaters rise near a nursing home along Muttama Creek, Cootamundra, this morning.
Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council mayor Charlie Sheahan said those affected had only just moved back into their homes after they were inundated by flash flooding in November.
“It really is disheartening for those people, but we’re a tight community here, and we’ll do what we can to support them,” Sheahan said.
The SES has since downgraded their warning to an advice level. Spokesperson Brett Koschel said there was a slight possibility of scattered thunderstorms throughout the region, but water levels were going down, and the situation had eased for residents along the creek in Cootamundra.
Meanwhile, the bureau has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Central West NSW, and the Illawarra.
“Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding, damaging winds and large hailstones over the next several hours in parts of the North West Slopes and Plains and Central West Slopes and Plains districts,” the bureau’s warning said.
Locations which may be affected include Dubbo, Coonabarabran, Coonamble, Narromine, Gilgandra and Peak Hill.
“Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours in parts of the Illawarra and South Coast districts. Locations which may be affected include Ulladulla.”
Everything Everywhere All At Once sweeps Oscars
By Meg Watson
Everything Everywhere All At Once has won best picture at the 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, beating the likes of All Quiet on the Western Front, Top Gun: Maverick, The Fabelmans and Elvis.
The film was an all-out favourite to win best picture since the beginning, after going in to the Oscars with a huge 11 nominations.
One of the film’s producers, Jonathan Wang, dedicated the win to his dad – “who, like many immigrant parents died young”, and also taught him that profits are never more important than people – and his wife.
The cast and crew of Everything Everywhere All at Once accept the award for best picture.Credit:AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
“If all this shiny stuff goes away, I would love to do laundry and taxes with you for the rest of my life.”
Wang also noted that telling stories on the big screen is not an easy proposition these days.
“The world is changing rapidly and movies move at the rate of years and the internet moves at the rate of milliseconds,” he said.
Michelle Yeoh , the 60-year-old Malaysian-born, Hong Kong-trained star, took out the award for best actress for her role in the film, beating Australia’s Cate Blanchett, who was nominated for Tár.
“This is proof that dreams do come true,” Yeoh said in her acceptance speech.
“And ladies, don’t ever let anybody tell you that you’re past your prime.”
Michelle Yeoh accepts the award for best actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once.Credit:AP
“I have to dedicate this to my mum, all the mums in the world because they are really the superheroes and without them none of us would be here tonight.
“This is history in the making.”
And Brendan Fraser beat some tough competition – particularly from Austin Butler (Elvis) and Colin Farrell (Banshees) – to win best actor.
“I started in this business 30 years ago and things … they didn’t come easily for me, but there was a facility that I didn’t appreciate at the time until it stopped. I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgement,” Fraser said.
You can catch up on the winners and the losers from this year’s awards ceremony here.
New Zealand hikes welfare payments as fruit and veg prices soar
By Ben McKay
The New Zealand government has bumped up welfare payments and government support as food prices soar.
New data released by Stats NZ today showed the cost of fruit and vegetables grew by 23 per cent in the past year – the largest single-year jump in 34 years.
The havoc wreaked by Cyclone Gabrielle in February has contributed to surging food prices in New Zealand. Credit:Phil Walter/Getty Images
Grocery food prices were also up 12 per cent, led by increasing prices for eggs, potato chips and cheddar cheese, Stats NZ said.
The rising prices come as New Zealand endures an economy-wide inflation challenge after COVID-19, exacerbated by wet weather and, most recently, huge storms.
“Vegetable growers have endured exceptionally bad growing weather for several months now,” Vegetables NZ chair John Murphy said.
“Months of wet, humid and unpredictable weather have affected growers’ ability to plant and harvest.”
In response, the government has opted for a higher-than-usual annual rise in government payments.
In recent years, benefits have been indexed to the average wage rise, but Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Monday the government would lift payments by 7.22 per cent this year in line with headline inflation.
Amid inflation and the rising cost of living, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has promised a government focused on “bread and butter” issues.Credit:AP
“The package of bread and butter support we are announcing today will help people who are really feeling the bite from the rise in the cost of living,” he said.
More than 1.4 million New Zealanders including jobseekers, pensioners, parents and students will benefit from the rise to take effect on April 1.
In the past month alone, several crops affected by Cyclone Gabrielle have soared in price - broccoli was up 34 per cent, lettuce up 24 per cent and oranges up 13 per cent.
Tomatoes cost more than double what they did a year ago, with avocado and pumpkin costing at least 50 per cent more.
The price of eggs has shot up by 11 per cent from January to February – they now cost 47 per cent more than they did in February last year.
Opposition finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis said food price growth was fuelled by more than “international factors”.
“New farming regulations, worker shortages and additional business costs are all showing up in the prices Kiwis now have to pay at the supermarket,” she said.
AAP
Don’t make nuclear-powered submarines a ‘political football’: Hastie
By Matthew Knott
Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie has vowed to assist the government to find the tough budget savings required to help pay for a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, saying the AUKUS pact will “require a level of bipartisanship which we probably haven’t seen in a generation”.
Before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s official announcement on the type of submarines Australia will acquire on Tuesday morning, Hastie said the Coalition would hold the government accountable for any flaws in the implementation of the AUKUS but added it is “really important that we don’t make these submarines a political football”.
Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie says bipartisanship will be crucial to the government’s AUKUS deal to buy nuclear submarines from the US and UK.Credit:James Brickwood
“It’s a multi-generational task for us, and it’s going to require maturity, it’s going to require prudence, it’s going to require a level of bipartisanship which we probably haven’t seen in a generation,” he said.
With the submarines likely to cost as much as $200 billion over 30 years, Hastie said it would “take some hard choices” to pay for the project.
“And it’s important that we make clear that we’re going to work with the government bipartisanly in making sure that we can deliver those submarines,” he said.
Hastie said the opposition was especially supportive of several details that have leaked out ahead of the official announcement, including the purchase of up to five Virginia-class submarines from the United States, the development of an industrial base in South Australia and a greater presence of the US Navy in Australia.
He said there were “certainly risks” in choosing a new joint nuclear-submarine model in the long-term rather than existing technology, which meant the project would require impressive leadership from the nation’s political and military leaders.
Today’s headlines at a glance
By Megan Gorrey
Good afternoon, it’s Megan Gorrey here to bring you news updates for the rest of the day. If you are just tuning in, here is a quick look at this morning’s headlines:
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in the Californian city of San Diego ahead of the announcement of the AUKUS deal to buy nuclear submarines from the US and UK, as Australia starts the recruitment drive to make sure there are enough workers to build and run the fleet.
- The United States Treasury Secretary has ruled out a bailout after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – a prominent lender to tech start-ups – in the second largest US bank failure on record. New York-based Signature Bank also failed and was being seized on Sunday. Australia’s banking regulator says the local industry has limited links to Silicon Valley Bank, as it steps up its supervision of the domestic banks following the collapse.
Australian Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a morning walk at the Tuna Harbor Park overlooking the San Diego Bay.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
- In NSW, where the state election is less than two weeks away, Premier Dominic Perrottet promised a $850 million fund for children in the state to be put towards their education or a home deposit. Labor leader Chris Minns criticised the fund as a “very expensive policy”, and said the money would be better spent elsewhere.
- There is more pain on the way for Australian households as electricity prices are expected to go up despite the federal government’s intervention in the coal and gas markets.
Australian actor Cate Blanchett arrives at the Oscars. Credit:AP Photo/John Locher
Carbon farming bracing for a bumper harvest
By Mike Foley
The carbon market is bracing for a surge in demand following the Albanese government’s new legally binding climate target and laws to force the nation’s biggest emitters to cut their pollution, many of which will buy credits to meet their obligations.
While the mum and dad farmers who will undertake projects to generate carbon credits, such as growing trees, are unlikely to sell credits directly to the likes of AGL, the nation’s biggest polluter, agents are bracing for a multi-decade surge in demand for their services.
“There used to be only two certainties in life, death and taxes. Now there’s an additional one – and that is carbon responsibilities,” said John Connor.
He is the former head of the Climate Institute think tank who now heads up the Carbon Market Institute, which represents companies that generate, buy, and sell carbon credits to companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.
Reverse mortgage demand surges
By Clancy Yeates
Cash-poor retirees are tapping into equity in their homes through reverse mortgages to cover rising living expenses as the industry tries to improve its tarnished reputation following the withdrawal of major banks.
As the population ages, policymakers are keen to encourage retirees to draw down on their wealth to fund their incomes, and Treasury’s Retirement Income Review of 2020 drew attention to reverse mortgages as an option.
Reverse mortgages are loans that allow people aged 60 or older to borrow against the equity in their home and not repay the lender until they move out, sell the home, or die.
PM says submarine deal is a ‘new dawn’ for Australia’s defence
By Caroline Schelle
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese briefly commented on the AUKUS deal, which he is set to formally announce tomorrow.
Albanese and Royal Australian Navy Vice-Admiral Mark Hammond were walking around in San Diego, wearing matching Rabbitohs caps, when he spoke to journalists.
“A new dawn in San Diego and a new dawn for Australia’s defence policy,” the prime minister said.
Australian Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in San Diego, with the USS Midway Museum in the background.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
He will announce details of the nuclear-powered submarine deal alongside US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tomorrow.
As part of the announcement Albanese will set the jobs target, with up to 20,000 workers needed to build the new submarine fleet.
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2023-03-13 04:15:49Z
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