As it happened: Annual inflation rate falls to lowest level in three years; Labor puts negative gearing back on the table

India will set up an office in Sydney covering trade, investment, tourism and technology to act as a bridge between investors and businesses on both sides of the Indian Ocean.

The two nations also continued negotiations over another trade pact that furthers a 2022 deal.

“We are very optimistic that the good work that was done today will result in an expanded agreement,” Senator Farrell told reporters in Adelaide following the meeting with his counterpart on Wednesday.

“We’ve made it clear that we have much to offer our friends in India, particularly in agriculture.”

Agriculture remains a sticking point in trade negotiations. New Delhi has typically taken a protectionist stance as millions of low paid farmers are wary of any threat to livelihoods from cheaper imports.

AAP

The big four banks were again trading lower as investors rotated into the miners, with the biggest stock on the local bourse, CBA, down 2.3 per cent, while NAB lost 2.7 per cent, ANZ shed 1.1 per cent and Westpac was down 0.8 per cent.

Beijing’s stimulus package also boosted Australia’s currency. The Australian dollar briefly climbed above 69 US cents for the first time in 19 months. It was still hovering just under that level by late afternoon.

With AAP

Read the full market wrap here.

Host Chris O’Keefe pointed out inflation was coming down all over the world. In response, the prime minister said inflation had peaked higher in some countries overseas, and many went into recession while Australia has not.

“[In] the United States, inflation peaked much higher, their interest rates are still higher than ours – even after the 0.5 [percentage] point decrease in interest rates – and interest rates peaked a lot higher than they were here,” Albanese said.

“We know that people are under pressure. That’s why [...] the decision that we took to change the income tax cuts so that everyone got a tax break was the right decision.”

Earlier in the interview, Albanese was again pressed about reports Labor was considering negative gearing and capital gains tax reform. The prime minister offered similar answers to other interviews he conducted this afternoon, saying: “I can assure you that we’ve had no discussions along the lines of which I read this morning. But there’s nothing wrong with people having a look at things in the public service. That’s what public servants should do.”

Albanese again flatly denied his office had directed Treasury officials to examine negative changes to the politically contentious tax concessions.

The Greens are holding out for cuts to tax breaks on investment properties as a key condition for their support for the Help to Buy scheme, which would allow the government to contribute up to 40 per cent of the purchase price of a new home, or 30 per cent for an existing home, for 10,000 applicants each financial year. The Greens have argued the policy won’t help 99 per cent of renters and could just inflate house prices.

But today, Chandler-Mather said he “absolutely” liked what he was hearing after reports Treasury officials were now examining reforms to tax concessions for property investors.

“Now let’s be clearer: if we are going to solve this housing crisis, we have to phase out these tax handouts,” he said.

“Because they are turbocharging house prices, putting money in the pocket of property speculators, [which] give them a huge advantage over first home buyers attempting to buy a home.”

Chandler-Mather said the Greens were still willing to negotiate with Labor to pass the housing plans currently stuck in the Senate. “We don’t expect to get everything we want, but we do expect movement in areas that help the millions of people who need a bit of light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

“We’ve got a new active outdoor range dropping in stores at the moment with Seeker [brand], we’ve got a new pack-and-go accessories program running, new award-winning carry-on flight luggage

“We’re not going to be able to compete on price with Kmarts and the fast fashion operators of the world. [Where] we can compete is on good, innovative products made in a sustainable way.”

Overall, KMD Brands’ revenue fell 11.2 per cent to $979.4 million for the 2024 financial year, swinging to a loss of $1.1 million, a decline of 232 per cent from the profits of $35.1 million the year before.

The business has had to discount more aggressively to tempt consumers to make purchases, which Daly signalled would continue in the year ahead.

“We’ll continue, as we have in the past, to be active in key event sales, whether it be winter sales, whether it be Black Friday, we’ll participate. But that said, we’ll have discipline around it … We’re a more aspirational brand. We’ll maintain our price integrity.”

“No, I certainly haven’t,” Albanese said, before the below exchange ensued.

Glover: “Has your treasurer, though?”

Albanese: “Well, the [Treasury] department, like all departments, look at various things at various times. So, is this government policy or [a] government request to examine [a] potential policy announcement? No, it’s not.”

Glover: “It’s a fair question to ask you whether you or your treasurer has requested this study.”

Albanese: “Sure, and I’ve answered that.”

Glover: “You’ve answered it for yourself, but not for the treasurer.”

Albanese: “Well, I’m not the treasurer.”

Glover: “But you must’ve asked [the treasurer], ‘hey, Jim, did you ask them to do this?’”

Albanese: “No, no, not at all.”

Glover: “Sorry, you don’t know whether your treasurer has asked them to do this work or not?”

Albanese: “Well, I don’t know because I’m not the treasurer, and the treasurer is on his way to China as we speak. But what we have done is to concentrate on our Homes for Australia plan.”

After that exchange, the prime minister added: “At no level of the government has there been a debate about anything other than getting our Homes for Australia plan, through.”

Albanese emphasised that plan focused on housing supply and didn’t include changes to tax settings.

The economic outlook was positive, although it noted the hit many households had taken because of high interest rates and inflation with the country going through a per capita recession.

“Economic performance is currently tepid because of restrictive interest rates and lingering inflation, which weigh on confidence,” it said.

“Real GDP growth will likely climb to 2.5 per cent in fiscal year 2026 after anemic performance in the current year, as disinflation paves the way for monetary policy easing.”

The agency noted the country had a good record of managing economic shocks.

“Underpinning Australia’s wealth are its very strong institutional settings, policymaking culture, and decades of economic reform, which have facilitated flexible labour and product markets. Successive governments have generally been willing to implement policies that sustain growth and public finances,” it said.

S&P noted it could cut the nation’s credit rating if governments ramped up debt levels rather than sought to wind back expenditure.

“We could lower our ratings if the general government deficit widens materially, causing net debt and interest costs to rise. This could occur if the economic outlook or commodity prices deteriorate, or if there is significant slippage in expenditure restraint at the federal or state level, causing fiscal outcomes to perform materially below our forecast,” it said.