Earlier this morning, Anthony Albanese attended and spoke at one of News Corps many bush summits, which, given *gestures* News Corp and also that it platforms climate deniers and all sorts of mishmashed minds.

The editor of the Daily Telegraph asked Albanese:

Mate, you’re one of the OGs. You’ve gone to every Bush Summit. You must love it. There’s not many votes here for you. Why do you do it?
 

Albanese answered:

My job is to represent every Australian, regardless of where they live. During the campaign, in the lead up to May, on day one, I was in Bundaberg and some of the media, believe it or not, were critical and said, why are you going to Hinkler? I was like, because Bundaberg, it’s an important — if you think about Australian produce and making things in Australia, Bundaberg ginger beer is up there.

But during the campaign, I went to Longreach, I went to Karratha, I went to Bega. I was right around the country. Because I’m determined to represent — I came up with Michael [McCormack] this morning from Canberra and as a Prime Minister, I’ve been to Cobar with Michael, I’ve been to Wagga Wagga here, I’ve been to Forbes. I’ve been to regional communities right throughout New South Wales, and it’s always fantastic to get out and about and talk to people. If you just talk to people who agree with you, you won’t learn.

Jim Chalmers has also responded to the monthly inflation data:

New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show headline and underlying inflation ticked up in July but were still well within the Reserve Bank’s target band.

This is the eighth month in a row that headline and underlying inflation have come in below three per cent.

Volatile and one-off factors including the end of state energy rebates, travel prices and fuel were behind the increase in today’s results.

We know monthly inflation figures can jump around and are less reliable than the quarterly figures because they don’t compare the same basket of goods and services from month to month.

The official quarterly numbers show that both underlying and headline inflation are at their lowest rates in almost four years.

We have made very substantial and sustained progress on inflation.

This progress on inflation has given the RBA confidence to cut rates three times in six months.

Inflation has more than halved since we came to office.

Headline inflation was 2.8 per cent through the year to July 2025, much lower than the 6.1 per cent we inherited.

Annual trimmed mean inflation was 2.7 per cent through the year to July 2025, much lower than what we inherited.

The monthly inflation figures for July came out today, with inflation jumping from 1.9% to 2.8%. So, does this mean that inflation is back? Interest rate cuts are off? Interest rates might have to go back up?

The answer is no, no, and no.

As many people have said the monthly CPI figures are incredibly volatile and should be used with caution. The people saying this includes the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) who publish the numbers. The RBA Governor has previously said that they largely ignore the monthly figures, and that the quarterly CPI is what they focus on.

It seems the main driver of the increase was electricity prices. This in turn was driven by a gap in the government electricity subsidies. Households in NSW and the ACT did not receive payments of the extended Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund (EBRF) in July and will instead receive them in August. This means that we will see a big drop in next months electricity prices as the subsidies kick in. All this highlights the volatile nature of the monthly figures.

Other things that drove the figures higher was an increase in holiday travel and accommodation. July included school holidays when prices for flights and accommodation go up. Again, after the peak period of the school holidays is over, they are likely to fall back in next month’s figures.

Inflation in food has continued to ease but it is still historically high. There have been large increases in included coffee, tea, and cocoa because of poor growing conditions overseas.

In good news, rent increases have decreased further this month. They are now at their lowest annual increase since November 2022.

Monthly inflation jumps around. The real focus for the RBA will be the next quarterly CPI release. This will come out in late October. We should hold judgment on what is happening to inflation till then.

Greens social security spokesperson Penny Allman-Payne says it is a win for the Greens and advocates who have been campaigning for the government to waive the unfair debts, but the battle to scrap mutual obligations continues:

This is a tremendous win for the Greens and for advocates who have been calling on Labor to waive these income apportionment debts and protect people living in poverty from serious harm.

Like Robodebt, the income apportionment scandal has shown the systemic issues with the way our welfare system brutalises people living in poverty over ridiculous errors.

When you’re living week to week on poverty payments, a debt notice from the government can cause your whole life to spiral. Tragically for some it has led them to take their own lives. 

The work unpicking Robodebt is far from done. The Greens will continue to push Labor to implement the outstanding Robodebt recommendations including the six year limit on debt recoveries, and to stop the rampant suspension of welfare payments which takes life-saving funds out of the hands of over a hundred thousand people each month.”

Tanya Plibersek and Katy Gallagher have released a statement announcing the government “will wipe almost half of Australia’s social security debt backlog and roll out resolution payments of up to $600 for those impacted by the historical debt calculation method known as income apportionment”

From the statement:

A new $300 million package will invest in a range of measures to ensure our social security system is producing fairer outcomes for Australians.

The threshold for waiving small, accidental debts will be increased for the first time in over 30 years to $250, with around 1.2 million debts expected to be waived or no longer needing to be raised in 2025-26 as a result.

Often, the administrative cost of recouping small, accidental debts is higher than the value of the debt itself, making the process of debt recovery uneconomical. This decision will mean Services Australia can spend more time on significant matters and upholding the integrity of our social security system.

Existing safeguards will be strengthened to ensure the waiver cannot be manipulated.

It will not be available in circumstances of significant non-compliance or fraud and we’ll continue to recover every cent of debt in these circumstances.

People with historical debts affected by income apportionment from 2003 to 2020 will also be eligible to apply for a resolution payment, in recognition of the fact that we now know this method of calculating entitlements was invalid.

To assist those affected to navigate the Resolution Scheme, Economic Justice Australia and the Australian Council of Social Service will each be given $400,000 in funding.

New legislation will be introduced into the Parliament in the coming weeks to implement these measures.

The legislation will also include a measure to provide legal clarity to the historical practice of income apportionment, which ran from the early 1990s to 2020, to avoid the need to recalculate potentially millions of debts at a significant cost to Australia’s social security system.

It’s important to remember that in many cases income apportionment only changed the amount of debt owed by an individual by a small amount, and up to a third of those affected actually ended up with a lower debt. Income apportionment was never used by the Albanese Labor Government, but we are dealing with its legacy in the most responsible and cost-effective way that we can.

Today’s announcement is an important first step toward systemic social security debt reform.

More information about the operation of the Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme and how to apply will be available following the passage of legislation. People who then have questions about their debt can contact Services Australia’s income apportionment line on 1800 560 870 or check Services Australia’s website.

Trump’s war on core American institutions has just escalated. On Monday, President Trump fired US Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, accusing her of mortgage record fraud. This is the first time an American president has attempted to fire a Federal Reserve governor in its century-long existence.

It’s an escalation in his attacks on the Federal Reserve, over his grievance that the central bank has been too slow in cutting interest rates. Trump may well be overstepping his authority. And even if he had the authority to sack her, Cook has not been charged with any wrongdoing through an investigation, which would be required to justify such an unprecedented move.

Perhaps Trump can claim expertise in mortgage fraud: in September 2023, a court found Trump to have fraudulently overvalued his real estate properties to obtain favourable loan and insurance rates. Only last week he had the hefty financial penalty overturned, but the judgement disqualifying him from serving in corporate leadership remains.

Of course, nothing has disqualified him from the US presidency, so he is free to wreak havoc on the institutions that have made America great. If Trump gets his way dismissing an official on a spurious accusation, he will have even less hesitation to strongarm heads of other public institutions to comply with his whims. It also opens up a dangerous precedent for any successor with dictatorial aspirations.

The danger isn’t confined to America. Trump’s attack on the Federal Reserve also risks weakening its position as lynchpin institution for global financial stability.

Donald Trump’s America is now a source of instability and risk for Australia, and it’s time we planned and acted accordingly.

Brittany Higgins can still appeal this decision but the court has found two of the three social media posts Linda Reynolds was seeking damages over were defamatory, finding that they implied Reynolds had pressured Higgins into not proceeding with her genuine complaint of sexual assault and also that Reynolds was a hypocrite in advocating for women’s rights and had mishandled Higgins’ initial allegations in 2019.

Justice Paul Tottle has awarded Reynolds $315,000 in damages, plus $26,000 in damages.  

The ruling is still being handed down, but Linda Reynolds has won the case she brought against her former staffer, Brittany Higgins.

We will have more on that for you soon.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released the latest inflation data, revealing prices have risen 0.9% in a month.

The Prime Minister’s decision to expel the Iranian Ambassador is making headlines around the world:

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/26/australia/australia-iran-antisemitic-attacks-intl-hnk

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d085n75q3o