Australian news and politics recap: China sets ambitious 5 per cent growth target in response to tariff blow

The Greens have launched a new plan to make groceries affordable by illegalising price gouging.

Leader Adam Bandt said the party was calling for a tough new corporate watchdog to monitor illegal rorting – starting with major supermarkets.

Their plan includes banning price gouging by mid-2025 alongside divestiture powers, establish a new Prices Commission with the power to monitor prices across the economy, and boosting resourcing in the ACCC.

The new Prices Commission would have the power to refer matters to the ACCC and would be able work to monitor prices and practises of corporations across the economy, not just supermarkets.

The plan has been labelled a “priority” the Greens would pressure for in a potential minority Parliament.

“The Greens will make price gouging illegal,” Mr Bandt said.

“Experts predict a minority government this election. The Greens will keep Peter Dutton out and get Labor to make price gouging illegal.”

A trio of Chinese warships have continued their circumnavigation of Australia, passing Perth as they travel towards the State’s north.

Australian Defence have maintained close monitoring efforts of the task group – including through a P-8 warplane, known as a “sub-hunter”.

The aerial asset designed for maritime surveillance comes amid speculation a submarine was part of the Chinese group as well.

In the 24-hours to Wednesday morning, the flotilla voyaged from 314 kilometres south-southwest of Perth to 556km northwest of the city.

Perth MP Patrick Gorman told ABC radio on Tuesday that Australia was tracking the ships “very carefully” and had been for a number of days.

“Every millisecond of every minute of every hour of every day, we know where these ships are,” he said.

“It is the right of vessels to navigate through international waters. Australia does that as well. What I want is a peaceful region,” he said.

“That means that we should all follow international law, and we should also all follow convention.

“That means that when it comes to things like live firing exercises, Australia rightly expects proper notice, particularly by those who might be sailing in Australia’s zone.”

Emergencies Minister Jenny McAllister has urged the insurance sector to “step up” to help communities impacted by Cyclone Alfred.

“We always expect the insurance sector to step up and work with their customers in the aftermath of any kind of natural disaster,” she told ABC Radio National Breakfast.

“In the aftermath of the recent significant flooding in North Queensland, we’ve seen the insurers move into those areas so that their customers have good information and can work with them to make those claims,” she said.

“We’d expect the same sort of focus on customer outcomes from the insurers in the aftermath of any impact.”

But the Senator stressed the focus of efforts right now was to keep people safe.

As the coastline braces for the cyclone’s impact, supermarkets are working closely with state governments to keep up with increased volumes of demands and keep shelves stocked.

Ahmad ‘Rashad’ Nadir, a nurse who allegedly made death threats in an anti-Semitic video that was posted online, has been charged.

Mr Nadir, 27, and fellow nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, were recorded while having a conversation with popular Jewish influencer Max Viefer.

During the conversation, the two nurses from Bankstown Hospital claimed they would not treat Israelis who presented at the hospital and would instead “kill them”.

Ms Lebdeh was charged by NSW Police on February 26, with police at that point still waiting to speak with Mr Nadir who was in hospital.

On Wednesday, police announced Mr Nadir had now too been charged.

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The US could be about to scale back tough new tariffs on its closest neighbours and allies, it’s been suggested, just hours after they came into effect.

US Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration would “probably” meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle” on trade talks.

Speaking on Fox Business, Mr Lutnick said: “I think (US President Donald Trump) is going to work something out with them. It’s not going to be a pause, none of that ‘pause’ stuff, but I think he’s going to figure out — you do more, and I’ll meet you in the middle some way.”

“Somewhere in the middle will likely be the outcome.”

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor has defended the board’s decision to cut interest rates despite its own staff warning inflation would stay higher in the long term.

In its February Statement on Monetary Policy, RBA economists forecast underlying inflation to remain above the bank’s 2.5 per cent inflation target if it cut the cash rate in line with market expectations.

Andrew Hauser denied claims that the board’s long-awaited decision in February to reduce the cash rate from 4.35 per cent to 4.10 per cent was a rejection of those forecasts.

“Why then did the board cut rates?” he said in an address to the Australian Financial Review Business Summit on Wednesday.

“Did we reject the staff forecasts, as some have claimed? Or did we suddenly and confusingly relax our previously stated intolerance for persistent inflation deviations from target?

“Nothing of the sort - for me at least, the rationale is relatively simple.”

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Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia has the capacity to look after its own defence needs and send peacekeeping troops to war-torn Ukraine.

He said that while no requests had yet been made, but if they do “we’ll give them due consideration”.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Marles said Australia was in a position to help Ukraine.

This was despite the ADF appearing to be on the back foot when Chinese warships began a live fire exercise off the east coast, forcing flight diversions.

“We do have a significant history of peacekeeping around the world. Indeed, there are Australian personnel engaged in peacekeeping right now in places like the Middle East and South Sudan. And so we will look at what requests come in.”

“We can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Almost a quarter of a million voters have cast their pre-poll ballots, as the Western Australian state election edges closer.

The nation’s wealthiest state goes to polls on Saturday but many voters have already made up their minds.

More than 253,000 of Western Australia’s 1.86 million electors had voted as of last Saturday, according to the state electoral commission.

Experts are tipping a comfortable win for Labor, which holds 53 seats of 59 seats in the lower house with the Liberals and Nationals holding three each after Labor’s unprecedented landslide victory in 2021.

Read the full story here.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has told residents to stay informed with Cyclone Alfred updates and to protect themselves and their families.

“My message is simple, and that is, get ready. Do the important things now that can really make a world of difference at the other end of the system,” Mr Crisafulli told Sunrise.

The Premier urged residents to check for loose debris, to secure items, stock up on three days worth of foods, ensure they had bottled water and to listen for updates.

“I want Queenslanders to know that your first, second and third priority is you and your family. Materialistic things can be replaced. You and your loved ones can’t,” he said.

Labor Minister Clare O’Neil says the election is the “futherist thing” from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s mind as he joins Queenslanders bracing for the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

“Politics is the furthest thing from the PM’s mind today,” Ms O’Neil told Sunrise.

“People are literally sandbagging their homes and I think the discussion about how this affects politics is irrelevant and really crass.”

Mr Albanese arrived in Queendsland on Tuesday night in preparation for the major cyclone event.