Australia news LIVE: Biden says Putin should face war crimes trial after civilians killed in Ukraine; UN says it’s ‘no longer plausible’ to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees

Thanks for joining us today. If you missed them, here are the major headlines from this evening:

• The Reserve Bank held the official cash rate at the record low of 0.1 per cent but the bank’s governor said it would watch inflation and labour costs.

• Liberal MP Catherine Cusack doubled down on her criticism of Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday night, saying his leadership had stripped party members of their voice. “Scott Morrison forced all of the moderates to vote for Craig Kelly in a previous pre-selection in Hughes and just about broke people. It’s brutal, it’s ruthless and it’s brutal,” Ms Cusack said.

• Ukraine’s military says Russian forces were gathering in Ukraine’s east with the aim of gaining control of the Donbas region. This follows Russia’s retreat from towns surrounding the capital, Kyiv, where Russian troops have been accused of committing war crimes.

We’ll be back tomorrow with the latest.

The Australian dollar has just jumped 0.6 per cent to a new nine-month high of US75.88 cents after the Reserve Bank’s statement indicated it could start raising rates earlier than previously stated.

Governor Philip Lowe removed the phrase “the board is prepared to be patient”, opening up the possibility of rate rises this year.

The ASX has taken a dive, falling about 25 points after the RBA statement was released. It remains higher, up 0.2 per cent, but was up as much as 0.6 per cent earlier today.

The RBA announced that it would hold the official cash rate steady at 0.1 per cent on Tuesday but the bank’s governor Philip Lowe said it would keep an eye on inflation rates and labour costs.

“Inflation has picked up and a further increase is expected, but growth in labour costs has been below rates that are likely to be consistent with inflation being sustainably at target,” Mr Lowe said.

The Reserve Bank has held interest rates steady despite a strong jobs market and growing inflation pressures, as the major parties prepare to fight a federal election campaign with the cost of living top of mind for voters.

Following its board meeting on Tuesday, the last before Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls a May election, RBA governor Philip Lowe left the official cash rate at a record-low 0.1 per cent, where it has been since November 2020.

The decision was expected, but financial markets are pricing in a cash rate of 1.75 per cent by year’s end and 3 per cent by August next year. A cash rate of 1.75 per cent would increase the repayments on an $800,000 mortgage by almost $1400 a month, or $16,800 a year.

Dr Lowe said while inflation had lifted, wages growth had largely failed to rise appreciably. But he noted the bank would be looking at upcoming inflation and wages costs as it considered future interest rate movements.

Read the full story here. 

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has urged people to continue to report the results of positive rapid antigen tests, after the state’s public health experts assessed that current case numbers are likely a significant underestimate.

With between 15,000 and 20,000 new coronavirus cases being reported in NSW each day, Mr Hazzard said the state’s public health physicians were of the opinion infections are actually “at least 50 per cent” higher than those being reported.

NSW reported 19,183 new coronavirus cases today.

“We think that’s a big underestimate because many people are, it would appear, not actually reporting the positive cases,” Mr Hazzard said.

The Health Minister said people who had very mild symptoms may not be reporting their infection on the Service NSW app because they “don’t think it’s necessary”.

“We’d like them to report it because it helps us to track the COVID cases through our community.”