As it happened: Medibank Private hit by ‘cyber incident’; PM confirms spending cuts in October budget

In the lead-up to the election, Labor said spending on private consultants had ballooned and promised to slash spending on contractors and labour hire.

It expects a 10 per cent reduction in external labour will save $3 billion over four years.

Labor also promised to reinvest more funds back into the public service and hire more frontline staff.

AAP

The lowdown: A rally from the banks helped limit losses on the ASX on Thursday as investors await CPI data from the US. The big four banks all gained ground again.

Craig Sidney, senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners, said there was renewed interest in the banks after BoQ’s results, while the broader market was awaiting US CPI data overnight and US quarterly results, which will begin to filter through this week.

“The market’s really waiting for the CPI read out of the US tonight,” he said. “That’ll set the scene for tomorrow, those figures and how the market reacts to them.”

Qantas shares soared by 8.7 per cent after the airline revealed in a trading update it expected to be back in profit by the end of the year.

Read more here.

“On the basis of the evidence, and taking into account WorkSafe’s general prosecution guidelines, WorkSafe will not take further action on this matter at this time,” a statement read.

“WorkSafe will not comment further on this matter as avenues of independent review remain open.”

After crossing the floor to vote against Labor on a contentious motion in February and resigning from the party, Vaghela accused Andrews and Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams of bullying her.

Under parliamentary privilege, she said she was “systematically targeted” for switching from Andrews’ Socialist Left to the right faction, then led by disgraced former powerbroker Adem Somyurek, before the 2018 state election.

Vaghela alleged Williams sent her an “angry” text after she changed factions, questioning her integrity and demanding an explanation.

Read more here.

AAP

The US Emissions Reduction Act is already boosting investment in sectors such as green hydrogen, according to Debelle, who said Australia could not afford to lag on the incentives needed to attract the capital now flowing to the US.

“The question is, how do you accelerate that investment in scale? And that’s where there is opportunity for policy.”

Debelle shocked the RBA in March this year when he resigned to become chief financial officer of Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).

Forrest’s Fortescue unveiled FFI in 2020 with a target to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030, the same year the miner plans to hit net-zero emissions.

Last month, FFI announced plans to invest $US130 million ($200 million) with Tree Energy Solutions, known as TES, to become a partner in a gas import terminal and planned green energy hub in Germany.

Read more here.

The employee who was working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida was co-operating with the Justice Department and has been interviewed multiple times by federal agents, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the situation. The witness initially denied handling sensitive documents and in subsequent conversations with agents admitted to moving boxes at Trump’s request, the newspaper reported.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

A Trump spokesperson said the administration of US President Joe Biden had “weaponised law enforcement”.

“Every other President has been given time and deference regarding the administration of documents, as the President has the ultimate authority to categorise records, and what materials should be classified,” Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich told the newspaper.

Read more here.

The switch from gas to electricity could also significantly improve a household’s greenhouse gas emissions in most states, it found. Its calculations showed that savings were possible even for those relying solely on electricity from the grid, rather than solar panels.

The Climate Council, an organisation that advocates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, wants governments to help Australians get off gas by providing low or zero-interest loans to help with the upfront costs of replacing appliances.

It has developed a calculator (below) to estimate the savings when switching from one, or all, gas appliances.

Read more here.