Australia news LIVE: MP Colin Boyce to move spill motion for National Party leadership; Liberal senator says the West has ‘probably been too nice’ about Islam

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is addressing reporters at a press conference in Brisbane following the release of new inflation data from the ABS today.

The annual inflation rate climbed from 3.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent.

Asked whether he would take responsibility for the rise in inflation, Chalmers said, “I take responsibility for doing my job to address this inflation challenge in our economy, to address the productivity challenge in our economy, and also to do what we can to make our economy more resilient in the face of all this global economic uncertainty.”

Chalmers was also pressed on the government’s spending. He said the Reserve Bank had “made it clear in recent times that public spending is not the issue”.

Following inflation numbers released today, markets have put the chance of an interest rate rise when the RBA sits next week at 60 per cent.

Influential Nationals MP Matt Canavan has poured cold water on the leadership push from Nationals MP Colin Boyce.

Canavan, one of the only Nationals who could credibly challenge Littleproud, suggested Boyce’s spill motion would fail.

“It was news to me,” Canavan told this masthead of Boyce’s announcement.

“I’m proud of the role all the Nationals played, including David [Littleproud].

“I see no reason to change our team now.”

Boyce said he would put forward a motion in the Nationals party room meeting on Monday to create a vote on Littleproud’s leadership.

But before Boyce or any other candidate could put their hand up, the initial spill motion would need to receive majority support, a prospect which is viewed as highly unlikely.

A big jump in prices for tourist travel and the end of electricity subsidies has pushed annual inflation to 3.8 per cent, but it may not be enough to force the hand of the Reserve Bank.

The December consumer price index released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning showed prices increased by a full percentage point last month. It pushed the annual inflation rate up from 3.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent.

It was driven by electricity prices which, at an annual rate, grew by 21.5 per cent over the year compared to 19.7 per cent in the 12 months to November. The end of power subsidies in both Queensland and Western Australia contributed to the lift.

There was also a large jump in travel and accommodation prices in December as Australians went on holidays. Domestic holiday prices jumped by 8.2 per cent last month which the bureau attributed to strong demand through the school holidays and the Ashes Test series.

International travel costs soared by 24.4 per cent last month due to a sharp jump in airfares.

While prices did lift, the bureau noted that, taking into account seasonal factors, prices increased by a much more modest 0.2 per cent.

Underlying inflation, which is closely watched by the Reserve Bank, eased slightly in December from November.

That took underlying inflation to 3.3 per cent over the past 12 months, just 0.1 percentage point above the Reserve Bank’s own forecasts for the period.

The bank sits next week, with markets putting the chance of an interest rate rise at 60 per cent.

In breaking news, Liberal National Party MP Colin Boyce has said he will move a spill motion for the leadership of the National Party, following the Coalition’s split last week.

“The National Party is committing political suicide by removing itself from the Coalition,” Boyce told Sky just now.

Boyce said he planned to move the spill motion next week in the Nationals’ party room.

“You heard it first. I will be moving a spill motion on Monday afternoon in the National party-room to give my colleagues an option. Because the reality is, if they follow the course they’re on now, they are going over a political cliff,” Boyce said.

Asked if this meant he was putting his hand up for the leadership, he said, “That’s obviously what will happen.”

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said at its peak there were about 100,000 properties in Victoria without power, but as of 7am this morning, this had been reduced to about 21,000. Crews are working to restore power to those homes.

The premier said she had not received any advice to suggest outages were linked to load shedding from high-demand and limited supply, with the outages linked to the extreme temperatures.

Allan said there were now eight active fires across the state, with two of these fires – at Larralea and Rocklands – starting yesterday.

About eight structures have been destroyed in the Larralea and Lismore areas, both west of Melbourne. There is now a reduced fire threat in these areas, with people located in Berrybank, Foxhow, Gnarkeet, Gnarpurt and Lismore now able to resume normal activities.

“Today continues to be a difficult day for our emergency services and firefighters, with, as I said, eight active fires in the landscape and a couple that are particularly causing some challenges,” she said.

“There are currently three emergency warnings and 13 watch and act alerts out for different fires across the state.”

Allan said a blaze around the Carlisle River was “very difficult” and subject to emergency warnings, with cooler conditions but winds creating extra challenges for emergency services.

The premier also warned that extreme heat would continue in the northern parts of the state and would put pressure on efforts to put out a fire at Walwa.

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy delivered a scathing criticism of the Liberal Party’s internal division this morning, amid rumours a leadership spill could be on the horizon.

“It doesn’t matter who the Liberal leader is … If they continue to be divided, if they continue not to work for social cohesion, I think the Australian people will continue to judge them poorly,” he told Sky News.

“There’s huge division there. The Australian people want an opposition that will work in the national interest.”

Conroy also doubled down on his earlier criticisms of Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, who this morning endorsed former prime minister Scott Morrison’s call for Australian Islamic institutions to introduce harsher regulations – including mandating all services to be translated to English – during an address he made at an antisemitism conference in Jerusalem.

“For Liberals to hold almost 1 million Australians who are of Muslim faith responsible for the acts of two individuals who followed a vile perversion of extreme Islam, is another example of them trying to divide Australians,” he said.

“The Liberals are dividing this nation.”

President Donald Trump has promised an “honourable and honest investigation” into the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, even as he again cast blame on him for carrying the legal weapon taken from him before he was shot.

As Trump left the White House on Tuesday to head to Iowa – part of a White House effort to pivot the national debate toward affordability – he was repeatedly questioned by reporters about Pretti’s killing.

Asked if he believed it was justified, Trump called it “a very sad situation” and said a “big investigation” was under way.

“I’m going to be watching over it, and I want a very honourable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” he said.

He also said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was quick to cast Pretti as a violent instigator, would not be resigning. Democratic leaders in the US Congress have threatened to try to impeach her if she is not fired.

Later, as he greeted diners at an Iowa restaurant, Trump weighed in further with comments likely to exacerbate frustration among some of his backers who are also strong Second Amendment proponents.

“He certainly shouldn’t have been carrying a gun,” Trump said of Pretti.

He called it a “very, very unfortunate incident” but said, “I don’t like that he had a gun. I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That’s a lot of bad stuff.”

AP

Ahead of key inflation figures out today, the economics world is still coming to terms with what’s going on across global foreign exchange markets.

In good news for Australians wanting a trip to see Donald Trump’s America, the Australian dollar this morning hit a three-year high against its US counterpart.

One Australian dollar will buy US70¢, having climbed in value against the greenback by US3¢ since the start of the year. The last time the Aussie dollar was worth so much was at the start of 2023 and is a far cry from the US60¢ it hit when President Trump announced his “liberation day” tariffs back in April last year.

The Aussie dollar has lifted against other key currencies including the British pound and euro, but nothing like the change that’s occurring against the US dollar.

It’s being driven by a number of factors, including US economic policy and concerns there the economy is starting to weaken plus expectations that official Australian interest rates – currently 3.6 per cent – will lift while in the US, where its key lending rate is 3.5-3.75 per cent, will ease later in the year.

Appearing on Nine’s Today show this morning, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said he was not surprised to see polling numbers showing One Nation surging in popularity this morning.

“Well, that’s the desire of the Australian people … That’s an indicator, not a vote, but it shows to us, the Australian people are willing to give us a go, and that they’re looking for clarity, unity and strength, and we’re offering them that,” he said.

Joyce went on to blame immigration for the December 14 terrorist attack at Bondi Beach.

“What you see with One Nation is a strong message. There’s a constant message [on] the issue of immigration. People can’t get a house. We’re bringing in people who, quite frankly in some instances, are causing serious problems. And we saw that unfortunately at Bondi in the most tragic form.”

Joyce resigned from the National Party at the end of November last year, and joined One Nation in December.

Staying with Conroy, the Minister for Defence Industry denied that the government’s security agreement with Vanuatu – which was set to be signed last year, but never eventuated – has fallen through.

Speaking to ABC Radio National this morning, Conroy said the government had not abandoned the agreement, but were still “working through” its terms.

“We’re still working through some of the details around that agreement, around some of the implementation arrangements, but we’ve got a great relationship with Vanuatu, and we’re working hard to deepen that even further.”

Conroy said the government has been focused on a strategy of deepening relationships with its Pacific and southeast Asian neighbours.

He also pointed to the treaty signed with Indonesia, the mutual security alliance with Papua New Guinea and the treaty with Nauru as evidence the government was “taking its national security responsibilities seriously”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Timor Leste this week is “another important step” in this Pacific strategy, Conroy said.