National News LIVE: Shock rate decision reaction; Medicinal cannabis crackdown; Bungle that caused mushroom murder havoc

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7.03am

Shock reserve bank decision hits ASX

By Emily Kowal and Shane Wright

The Australian sharemarket is set to slide on opening following the Reserve Bank’s surprise decision to hold interest rates steady, a move that caught many traders and economists off guard.

Yesterday, the Reserve Bank shocked experts (and many homeowners) when it announced it would not cut rates.

It was the first time in the bank’s history that a vote on a rate decision was made public, revealing a split between those who wanted to stick at 3.85 per cent and those who believe more relief is needed due to easing inflation pressures and the threat posed by the Trump tariff agenda.

Governor Michele Bullock said while the bank did not cut rates on Tuesday, further rate relief was likely, with the outcome of the June quarter inflation report – released at the end of the month – the key factor.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock after the RBA board decided to keep rates on hold.

“The decision today … was about timing rather than direction,” she said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said people would be disappointed that the bank had not cut rates.

“There will be millions of Australians around the country who were desperately hoping for more rate relief today, in addition to the two rate cuts that we’ve already seen over the last five months,” he said.

Why a major Sydney university has stripped students of their degrees

By Christopher Harris

To some news in Sydney.

Students at the state’s biggest university have been caught submitting fraudulent admissions documents, using fake medical certificates to get assignment extensions and increasingly misusing artificial intelligence, with more than 3000 breaches of its academic integrity policy recorded last year.

There were more than 1000 cases where University of Sydney students were issued a fail grade for an entire subject after being caught cheating, while 13 graduates were stripped of their degree after the university discovered they had committed fraud, its annual report on misconduct said.

The report said 13 students were stripped of their degree.

“The university has seen an increase of fraud, in particular, students submitting fraudulent medical certificates in support of their special considerations application, but also the increase of contract cheating in combination with the misuse of artificial intelligence,” it said.

Read the full story by Christopher Harris here.

6.50am

Over a million Australians have been prescribed medical cannabis. Now, regulators are cracking down

By Angus Thomson

Patients in emergency departments with cannabis-induced psychosis, consults lasting less than a minute and doctors who have issued more than 10,000 scripts in six months are among the cases that have prompted Australia’s alarmed healthcare watchdog to announce clearer guidelines for the booming medicinal cannabis industry.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) on Wednesday released guidance for doctors prescribing medicinal cannabis products amid what it described as poor prescribing practice and surging patient demand.

The cases that have alarmed the watchdog include:

Individual prescribers (GPs or nurse practitioners) who have each issued more than 10,000 prescriptions for medicinal cannabis products in six months
Appointments lasting as little as a few seconds, “making a proper assessment impossible”
Failing to assess a patient’s mental health or history of substance use disorders before prescribing, “leading to serious adverse outcomes such as psychotic episodes requiring inpatient admission as a result”
Failure to check the identity of a patient, including for people under 18 years old
Only prescribing products supplied by the company linked to the person prescribing, in what AHPRA said was a “conflict of interest”
Prescribing “because the patient requested it”

Read the full story by Angus Thomson here.

6.44am