Here is a look at what is making news around the country today.
Today’s national news includes the PM taking emergency steps to address the spiralling cost of living crisis, Foreign Minister Wong telling China to release an Australian journalist, and the IMF wants the Reserve Bank to hike rates further. Also in the news are youth prison reforms being called as allegations of abuse mount, and Queensland buses to use CCTV from a government-blacklisted Chinese company.
Nation
PM takes emergency action as cost of living crisis worsens
Politicians have had their holidays cut short as the Prime Minister has reportedly called an unusual meeting to address the cost of living crisis smashing Aussie families, News.com.au has reported. Mr Albanese has called an urgent Labor caucus meeting for Wednesday to discuss energy subsidies and other proposals that will need to be carefully balanced to avoid sparking inflation but deliver financial relief to struggling households.
Politics
Minister Wong asks China to release Australian journalist
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong on Friday called on China to release detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun who was imprisoned during a visit to China and charged with espionage. His trial was held in May 2021, Voice of America reported. Hengjun has been in prison for five years. He was arrested in Guangzhou in 2019, at a time when diplomatic relations between Australia and China were rapidly deteriorating. The Chinese-born Australian citizen went on trial accused of spying in May 2021, but a verdict has not yet been made public.
Economy
IMF wants RBA to hike rates further
Economists might be predicting an interest rate cut or two in the latter half of the year, but the International Monetary Fund has called on the Reserve Bank to push rates in the other direction, 9News has reported. In its latest report on Australia. The global body pointed to persistently high inflation as a key concern that needs to be addressed with higher rates, although it said the overall economy was in a strong position. “Monetary policy should be tightened further to ensure inflation comes back to target earlier than 2026 projected in the baseline,” the report states
Law and order
Youth prison reforms called as allegations of abuse mount
A group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates and NGOs expressed deep concerns about the mistreatment of children in youth prisons, the Jurist reported. Advocates called out the Victorian Government’s failure to meet Australia’s obligations to implement safeguards expressed in the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) adopted by Australia in 2017. “Victoria has now missed multiple deadlines for implementation of the bare minimum safeguards to protect against mistreatment in prisons,” advocates say. According to Raise the Age, indigenous youth account for 65 per cent of younger children (aged 0 to 13 years old) in youth prisons, despite the indigenous population of Australia only accounting for 3.8 per cent of the population.
Regions
Queensland buses to use CCTV from government-blacklisted Chinese company
Buses in Queensland will soon use Chinese-made security cameras which were previously blacklisted from public buildings, Skynews reported. Chinese company Hik-vision will provide CCTV for 200 rail replacement buses. The company’s products have been removed from Australian government buildings over national security concerns. Security analysts say the move could give the Chinese government direct access to the cameras. Government infrastructure in Europe as well as the UK and the US have also taken down Hik-vision cameras over security concerns.
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