What’s making news today
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of national news this Tuesday, September 22. Here’s what you need to know today.
Russia and Ukraine continue to trade strikes; Zelensky set to meet Trump at UN
The Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday its forces had carried out a massive strike on targets in Ukraine, hitting industrial and military facilities, fuel and energy sector installations as well as port infrastructure facilities and sea vessels operating for Ukrainian military.
The ministry said its air defence units had intercepted and destroyed 297 drones over various Russian regions overnight.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones hit civilian targets, including private houses and cars, in Russia’s Samara region on the Volga River, which hosts critically important facilities such as oil refineries, the local governor said on Tuesday.
Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said on the Telegram messaging app that dozens of drones had been downed overnight by air defences.
Purple patch: Seaside suburb braces for 40,000 footy fans
The City of Fremantle is bracing for 40,000 people to descend on the port town come Saturday’s AFL grand final, with central streets to be closed off to vehicles.
Fremantle Deputy Mayor Fedele Camarda, said the town was organising first aid and toilet facilities for those watching the Dockers versus Lions game on big screens in public areas.
“There will be [a screen] at The Esplanade and also one at Walyalup Koort [Fremantle’s Kings Square], I think The Esplanade one will certainly be one that will be a family-friendly venue,” he said.
“There are also ticketed events, so free venues will be on a first-come-first-serve basis.”
Is higher unemployment an antidote to inflation?
Staying with the RBA governor for a moment, and Bullock also told the CEDA event in Sydney that an unemployment rate of between 4.5 and 5 per cent could help bring down inflation.
In the most recent labour force statistics, Australia’s unemployment rate was 4.5 per cent.
Here’s what the RBA boss said:
I think, you know, between 4.5 and 5 [per cent] will probably take enough heat out of the labor market that it’ll ease pressure on inflation.
But, you know, the whole point about inflation being too high at the moment is it’s reflecting the fact that the demand side of the economy is outstripping the ability of the economy to supply the goods and services.
And one [piece of] evidence of that is that the labour market looks tight.
The next interest rates decision is due on Tuesday, September 29.
Businesses need to ‘step up’ on productivity: RBA boss
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has been speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia “fireside chat” in Sydney today.
During the Q&A section of the event, Bullock pointed out that productivity growth has been slowing over decades in most countries with advanced economies, including Australia.
“We’re not alone, but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be trying to do something about it,” Bullock said.
She added that governments can remove red tape, make it easier for businesses to invest and reward them for innovating. But then the RBA governor had this to say:
But businesses also have to step up to the plate as well.
One of the things that some of our team have concluded is that over the last decade or so, Australian businesses just seem to have become less dynamic.
And even those businesses that are sort of at the frontier or were at the frontier are not quite as close to the frontier as they used to be.
So there is something about businesses where they’re not … investing enough, they’re not looking for ways to combine labour and capital in ways to increase productivity.”
Footy fans who threw bottles at umpires likely to be banned for life
MCC chief executive officer Stuart Fox has condemned poor fan behaviour at the preliminary clash between Brisbane and Hawthorn at the weekend, with Victoria Police confirming there would be a “strong visible police presence” over the grand final weekend, including the parade.
Dozens of fans hurled bottles and cans at the umpires as they walked off the ground after the match.
Hawks fans also booed the umpires and vented their frustration over high-stakes decisions in the match’s dying minutes that went the Lions’ way.
In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Victoria Police confirmed they were still reviewing hours of CTV footage and were working closely with the MCC and AFL to identify people who threw bottles or participated in other criminal behaviour.
Japan battered by Typhoon Dujuan
Some two million people are under evacuation orders in Japan as Typhoon Dujuan made a close approach to Tokyo and its surrounding south-coast prefectures.
Strong winds caused power cuts affecting more than 50,000 people, while hundreds of flights were cancelled and rail services suspended.
Record-breaking heavy rain of 110 millimetres an hour was recorded on Monday on Oshima Island, south of Tokyo, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said.
The JMA had earlier warned of an “imminent threat to life” in some places, but several alerts were later downgraded.
Dujuan had sustained winds of 130km/h and gusts of 194km/h, equivalent to a Category-1 hurricane. It is the latest in a series of storms in the Pacific, intensified by the “super El Nino”, which has warmed the ocean, making storms stronger.
Watch: Coalition senator Bragg suggests super collateral for home loans
A proposal to let home buyers put up their retirement savings as collateral to access a home loan has received “qualified support” from a top-flight economist, as debate rages over how much power people should have over their superannuation.
The idea was floated by Liberal senator Andrew Bragg in a speech to the Financial Services Council today as a way of letting Australians act as if they were drawing down their super to help buy property, while not necessarily draining their retirement savings.
The government is clinging to maturing super to take pressure off the age pension in the coming years, as outlined in its Intergenerational Report yesterday.
But Bragg said diverting 12 per cent of a person’s income to retirement savings coupled with the impact of demand-side housing policies meant budding property buyers were being hamstrung in their quest for a home.
‘Democracy 101’: Australian journalists call for media freedom laws after Trump ban
Donald Trump’s ban on several media organisations, which has sparked a lawsuit and prompted other outlets to boycott coverage in solidarity, shows the need for greater protections in Australia, a local media freedom activist says.
Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom executive director Peter Greste says Trump’s ban on CNN, MS Now and Politico strikes a familiar chord in Australia, where One Nation has booted journalists from press conferences.
The three US outlets have filed legal action.
“In Australia, that would be impossible,” Greste said. “All we have is the ‘implied right of political communication’ – a vague idea that the High Court has inferred from the Constitution and that at least one justice has said might not even exist.”
Nurse ‘terrified’ to treat children following toddler’s death
Another nurse has expressed her apologies and regret to Joe Massa’s family, as the second day of the inquest into his death continues.
Nurse Elayne Storc, who did not increase the frequency of her observations despite recording the toddler with a “red zone” heart rate of 197 beats per minute, said she wished she had moved the toddler to a bed and taken his vitals more frequently.
“I am very sorry for your loss, I’m sorry for what you guys have been through,” she told the two-year-old’s family, while visibly emotional in the witness box.
Joe Massa suffered a cardiac arrest just under four hours after presenting to the emergency department of Northern Beaches Hospital.
His life support was withdrawn two days later.
Storc said she was now “extra vigilant” in her practice: “I am very terrified of taking care of paediatrics now.”
Victoria’s data centre crackdown labelled irrelevant
Victoria’s opposition has dismissed the government’s new plan to regulate data centre development, as debate around the factory-sized buildings crucial to AI model training continues.
This masthead broke the story that the Carroll government has proposed new rules. These include that the centres not be built in residential areas, not use the drinking water supply to cool their machinery and that they supply their own electricity.
The rules, however, would not apply to existing data centres, or those already being assessed for approval, leading to opposition claims the proposed legislation was irrelevant.
“Right now data centres are being built in residential areas, so it actually doesn’t matter what Ben Carroll says … there are data centres being built in a way that residents are deeply concerned about,” opposition spokesperson James Newbury said.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
