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Good morning!
Well, it’s a big day to be a cash rate. The Reserve Bank of Australia is meeting today to discuss whether to increase, decrease, or maintain the cash rate (currently at 4.35%). The cash rate affects interest rates across the economy, including home loans.
Three things to know:
The decision is mostly based on underlying inflation (which removes extreme price changes on either side). RBA’s target range for underlying inflation is 2-3%. It currently sits at 3.2%.
It’s widely expected the cash rate will be cut to 4.1%. If this happens, it will be the first decrease to the cash rate in more than four years.
The announcement will be at 2:30pm.
See you there. We’ll be watching with interest!
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
“We are now confident these patients are cured, a term not used lightly in cancer.”
2024 co-Australian of the Year Professor Georgina Long in a statement about the results of a clinical trial conducted on people with advanced melanoma which had spread to their brain.
Stat of the day
$50,000
The value of collectable trading cards including Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, AFL and NBA cards seized by Victoria Police during a raid in Melbourne.
Fun fact of the day
The Moon is moving away from Earth by about 4 centimetres per year.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
The 2026 Census will include a new topic on sexual orientation and gender, and changes to 10 existing topics, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has confirmed. It comes after the Government announced gender and sexuality questions would be included in the next survey, following backlash over its handling of the issue last year. According to the findings of a Census topic review handed down yesterday, the 2026 Census will ask for “sex recorded at birth”. Non-gendered terms will also be added to the household & family relationships section, “to be more inclusive”. A new topic on sexual orientation and gender will apply to over 16-year-olds, and include two questions. The exact wording of the questions will be published by the end of the year.
European leaders will meet for crisis talks over fears Ukraine has been shut out of U.S-Russia peace talks in Saudi Arabia. Nearly three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, American and Russian officials are expected to attend negotiations to end the conflict this week. However, the White House has not confirmed any Ukrainian officials have been invited, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to call an urgent meeting of EU leaders on Monday in Paris. In an op-ed for British newspaper The Telegraph, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed he would attend, despite his country leaving the EU in 2020. Starmer urged the U.S. and Europe to work together to deter Russian aggression, and said he’s prepared to send troops to Ukraine. “I do not say this lightly,” he wrote, “but any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent”.
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I’ve got 1 minute
Victoria’s police commissioner has resigned four months before the end of his term
Victorian Police Commissioner Shane Patton resigned on Sunday, ending his five-year term four months early.
It came after 87% of police union members supported a vote of ‘no confidence’ in his leadership.
Patton said his departure would “allow fresh leadership in the role.”
Shane Patton
Patton joined the police force in 1978.
He was appointed Police Commissioner in June 2020 for a five-year contract.
Patton’s term included Victoria’s lengthy COVID-19 lockdowns, increased crime, and unresolved pay negotiations with the State Government beginning in November 2023.
No confidence
On Friday, more than 12,600 members of the Police Association Victoria (the police union) voted for a ‘no confidence’ motion against Patton’s leadership.
Police Association President Karl David said: “Our members need urgent fixes to critical failings in policing and for this to occur there needs to be change at the top with a fresh direction.”
Patton initially planned to “continue to lead,” but later resigned.
Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam will lead police in the short-term, before Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent takes over “until a permanent replacement is chosen.”
Reporting by Achol Arok.
I’ve got 2 minutes
Foreign residents will be banned from buying existing homes in Australia
A two-year ban on foreign investors buying existing homes will start in April, as the Labor Government adopts a policy initially proposed by the Coalition in May 2024.
The measure prohibits anyone from overseas, who isn’t an Australian resident, from buying an established house or apartment.
The Government and Coalition have both said the ban will free up the housing market for Australian buyers. The Greens have described the move as “blaming migrants for a housing crisis they didn’t cause.”
Foreign buyers
Foreign investors generally can’t buy existing (i.e. not new) homes in Australia, unless they intend to live in their properties.
Data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) shows 5,360 properties were bought by non-residents based outside Australia in the 2022/23 financial year. About one third of those purchases were of an existing home.
This represents less than 1% of the total properties bought in the same year — around 665,000, according to property analyst group PEXA.
The ban
Foreign buyers won’t be able to put in a bid for an existing home from April until at least 31 March 2027.
In a joint statement, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said: “Australians will be able to buy homes that would have otherwise been bought by foreign investors.”
The Government will review the ban in early 2027.
The ATO will be given $5.7 million over four years to enforce the ban and “enhance screening of foreign investment proposals”.
Response
The Government’s plan mirrors a proposal from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in May last year.
Shadow Housing Minister Michael Sukkar called Labor’s move a “desperate attempt to adopt Coalition policy 5 minutes before an election.”
Greens Housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather said both parties had teamed up in a “race to the bottom.” He noted recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data showing domestic property investors bought around 192,000 homes in 2024.
Reporting by Harry Sekulich.
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🍊 Here’s how the tennis world has reacted to Jannik Sinner’s doping ban.
🍊 This Matildas star is dominating the Women’s Super League in the UK.
🍊 The NBA Slam Dunk contest was won by a guy who jumped over a car.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: Gout Gout, AFL, NRLW, and more.
Give me some good news
The first AFL Indigenous All Stars game in a decade drew record crowds.
Nearly 38,000 fans showed up to watch the All Stars 43-point victory over Fremantle at Perth Stadium on Saturday. Around 10,000 spectators attended the last AFL Indigenous All Stars round in 2015. This year’s pre-game schedule included a guard of honour “made up of past players, partners, Indigenous AFLW players, and non-playing All Stars squad members,” and an All Stars war cry, led by St Kilda star Bradley Hill. North Melbourne co-captain Jy Simpkin was awarded player of the match.
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA tidbit
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has changed the name of the next cyclone in Australia from Anthony to Alfred.
The BOM said it had to change the name because it’s shared by the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
Cyclones are labelled according to an approved list which alternates between male and female names.
According to the BOM: “When a cyclone needs a name, we take the next name in alphabetical order from the section that is in use. For example, a cyclone named Imogen is followed by Joshua, then Kimi.”
Cyclone Zelia crossed the WA coast on Friday last week, marking the end of the current list.
Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
We are well and truly getting close to election season, with the next federal election to be held before 17 May this year. Over the past few days, there’s been a suite of new polling released, with all three pointing to a possible Labor loss.
In today’s podcast, we’ll explain the latest on the election and what the new polling could tell us about Australia’s next government.
TDA asks
