Australian news and politics: Donald Trump pauses all military aid to Ukraine after Zelensky clash
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Key Events
China slaps retaliatory tariffs on US
China has announced it will impose tariffs of up to 15 per cent on US goods in retaliation for the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese goods.
An additional US tariff of 10 per cent is set to take effect from 12.01am Tuesday local time.
Returning fire, the Chinese will impose additional tariffs US goods including chicken, wheat, corn and cotton to the tune of 15 per cent, with a 10 per cent tariff imposed on US sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, fruits, vegetables and dairy and aquatic products.
“The unilateral tariff increase by the US harms the multilateral trade system, increases the burden on American businesses and consumers, and undermines the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation,” China’s Customs Tariff Commission said in a statement.
Gallagher: Coalition work-from-home ban will impact working women
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has accused the Coalition of having “no idea about how working families manage modern life” after the Opposition proposed a ban on public servants working from home.
The Coalition on Tusday flagged its policy to force public servants to work from the office five days a week, ending generous work-from-home arrangements.
Opposition finance spokesperson Jane Hume told the AFR the practice had become unsustainable and unproductive and accused Labor of giving public servants “a blank cheque to work from home.”
But Senator Gallagher countered that the Coalition was simply stealing ideas from the United States.
“The only new ideas they seem to have are cuts to services and a $600 billion nuclear reactor,” she said.
Their work-from-home restrictions were a “step in the wrong direction for working women,” she added.
“Across the economy working from home arrangements are in place. They are a feature of modern workplaces,” she said.
“They allow women in particular to manage some of the other responsibilities they have outside of the workplace.”
Global markets set for slide as Trump confirms tariffs will be imposed
The ASX is bracing for a downturn on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump confirmed tariff’s on Mexico and Canada are locked in.
Tariff’s on the US’ border nations are set to come into play with the local market sinking 1.8 per cent at the close of trading.
Australia’s share market is tipped to plunge on opening as the world braces for the flow-on effect of the Trump hard line tariff implenentation.
Australia’s biggest school system gets funding boost
Students in Australia’s biggest education system will benefit from billions more dollars in funding after the federal government bowed to state demands.
After months of back and forth, the Commonwealth reached a deal with the NSW government and will lift its contribution from 22.5 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard - which estimates how much total public funding a school requires to meet students’ needs - to 25 per cent by 2034.
This means additional $4.8 billion in federal money will be used to fully fund public schools, which will help more than 780,000 kids.
“We know that education opens the doors of opportunity, and we want to widen them for every child in Australia,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“This is about investing in real reform with real funding - so all Australian children get the best possible education.”
Kat Wong - AAP.
Disaster alerts as cyclone a one in 50-year event
A “significant disaster event” looms as a tropical cyclone zeros in on a densely populated part of Australia’s coast for the first time in 50 years.
However, an expert believes time is on southeast Queensland’s side as it prepares for Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s impact.
Alfred is expected to make a U-turn towards Queensland’s coast on Tuesday before crossing the coast later in the week, bringing destructive winds, heavy rain, flash flooding and significant coastal erosion.
The cyclone is set to hit between Queensland’s K’gari (formerly Fraser Island) and the Gold Coast on Thursday or Friday as a category one or two system.
RBA interest rate cut minutes set for release
While the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board voted unanimously to cut interest rates for the first time in four years, minutes from the meeting are expected to show deliberation leading to the decision was not so clear cut.
Hawkish commentary from RBA governor Michele Bullock and deputy Andrew Hauser since the February meeting has tempered investor expectations for more monetary easing.
Release of the board minutes on Tuesday will provide further insight into the central bank’s concerns for inflation, which stands in the way of more mortgage relief.
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