Chalmers defends record ahead of RBA cash rate decision
Catie McLeod
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended his economic record on the eve of what is widely expected to be the fourth interest rate rise of 2026, as the Reserve Bank remains concerned about persistent inflation.
The RBA board is poised to hike the cash rate from 4.35% to 4.6% on Tuesday, which would be the fourth increase in 2026 and push typical home loan interest rates to 6.5%.
Speaking on the ABC’s 7.30 program last night, Chalmers emphasised the factors contributing to inflation, saying that Australia was performing well considering what was going on in the world, particularly in the Middle East.
We have a lot going for us and we’ve got a lot of work to do to make sure that in these difficult global circumstances Australia continues to out-perform the world.
We have a big inflation challenge in our economy. It’s made much worse by decisions taken on the other side of the world.
From an economic point of view this war in Iran has been an absolute disaster for Australian families, because they have been asked to pay a hefty price.
Key events
Chalmers says Australians understand there are ‘inflationary challenges’ in our economy
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said the inflationary challenge in the economy is being made “much worse” by the war in the Middle East.
Chalmers, speaking on Channel 7’s Sunrise this morning ahead of the RBA announcement, said the government has focused on savings and delivering surpluses to get government debt down.
But we know that there’s always more work today. I think people understand, people who might be bracing for an interest rate rise later today. … I think people understand that there are inflationary challenges in our economy.
But when you see what’s happening with global oil prices … obviously, factually, that is one the big drivers of inflation that people are having other deal with right now.
Chalmers said he knows that people are under pressure and that interest rate rises add to that pressure.
That’s why we accept our part, our responsibility for our part in this fight against inflation. … And it also means dealing with these longer term economic challenges.
Mia Lay, the Sydney police officer who was killed in a car crash last week, will be among those mourned at National Police Remembrance Day 2026 in Sydney.
New South Wales’ premier, Chris Minns, governor, Margaret Beazley, and police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, will be among the guests at Sydney’s Domain.
Minns said he felt incredibly gratitude for the service of police officers across the state:
[Police] start a shift not knowing what you are going to face, and we ask these young men and women to put themselves in harm’s way to keep the rest of us safe.
Police and counter-terrorism minister, Yasmin Catley, said:
My thoughts are with the families of Constable Lay, Sergeant [Mark] Bransgrove and everyone else who has lost a loved one in the line of duty. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Lay, 20, had worked as a police officer for just 16 months when she was killed “instantly” in the crash in Redfern on Friday. Sgt Mark Bransgrove, who died in July, served in the police service for 38 years, including 30 years in the Forensic Services Group.
Good morning, and happy Tuesday. It’s Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it.
There were 30 drowning deaths in 2025-2026, the highest number in almost a decade, according to a Royal Life Saving Australia report that Australian Associated Press reports on.
Of them, 14 involved more than one death, often related to boating, driving through floodwater, or people exploring unfamiliar environments, chief executive Justin Scarr said.
The message is to know the swimming skills of all the people in your group.
It is the largest spike in deaths since 2016-2017, when 34 lives were lost.
Over the past decade there have been with 229 deaths, or an average of 23 per year.
In the most recent year, 83% of drowning victims were men, 37% were born overseas and a quarter were aged between 65 and 74.
Nearly one-third of the fatal events were related to boating, while driving through floodwater and swimming were the other leading circumstances.
Besides the RBA decision at 2.30pm, the other big political story of the day is that Larissa Waters is standing down as Greens leader.
She said last night that a kidney disease she has been managing has recently worsened and that she needs to stand down.
Here’s our story from political editor Tom McIlroy:
Chalmers defends record ahead of RBA cash rate decision
Catie McLeod
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended his economic record on the eve of what is widely expected to be the fourth interest rate rise of 2026, as the Reserve Bank remains concerned about persistent inflation.
The RBA board is poised to hike the cash rate from 4.35% to 4.6% on Tuesday, which would be the fourth increase in 2026 and push typical home loan interest rates to 6.5%.
Speaking on the ABC’s 7.30 program last night, Chalmers emphasised the factors contributing to inflation, saying that Australia was performing well considering what was going on in the world, particularly in the Middle East.
We have a lot going for us and we’ve got a lot of work to do to make sure that in these difficult global circumstances Australia continues to out-perform the world.
We have a big inflation challenge in our economy. It’s made much worse by decisions taken on the other side of the world.
From an economic point of view this war in Iran has been an absolute disaster for Australian families, because they have been asked to pay a hefty price.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.
Jim Chalmers has defended his stewardship of the economy ahead of what is widely expected to be the fourth interest rate rise of 2026 as the Reserve Bank tries to bring down persistent inflation. More coming up.
Besides the RBA decision at 2.30pm, the other big political story of the day is that Larissa Waters is standing down as Greens leader. We’ll have reaction as it comes in this morning plus the latest on who might replace her.
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