News Headlines at ALWAYSHOTNEWS.com

10/09/2008		PM`s wife talks tough on domestic violence
POLICE should not give victims of domestic violence a choice about whether to press charges, the Prime Minister`s wife says

10/09/2008		There`s no end in sight, says gloomy IMF
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed its forecast for world growth next year and says the recovery from the global financial market crisis will be gradual when it eventually comes

10/09/2008		Troops patrol city`s violent streets
SECURITY forces are patrolling Bangkok`s streets, a day after deadly clashes, as Thai protest leaders vowed to seek revenge for those killed or hurt in the violence

10/09/2008		Hermaphrodite child can choose gender
COLOMBIA`S constitutional court says a five-year-old child born with both female and male sexual organs can choose its own gender or maintain both, overruling the parents who want to make the child a boy

10/09/2008		Woman held over fire that killed boys
POLICE have arrested a woman on suspicion of manslaughter and child neglect after two young brothers were killed in a house fire in Britain

10/09/2008		Mum forgives after drunk driver almost kills sons
HER two young sons were almost killed by a teenage drunk driver in a stolen car, but Marie Johnson is not angry at his three-month jail sentence

10/09/2008		Did laptop computer cause Qantas flight plunge?
PASSENGERS in dive terror to be quizzed on whether they were using computers or other electronics

10/09/2008		Council orders `offensive` Aussie flag down
AN ex-soldier has been ordered to take down the Aussie flag that flies outside his house because of complaints it is "offensive"

10/09/2008		Children grabbed, chased by men in park
TWO children escape a terrifying abduction bid, and a teenager is sexually assaulted in the street

10/09/2008		Everest crash claims Australian couple
A MELBOURNE couple were among 18 people killed when a plane clipped a fence and crashed

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05/16/2007		gfdsgfds
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Today`s Top Picks

The fight we had to have

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the battle against inflation "will bring pain", but he has no choice.
Swan: My kids feel your pain Interest rates: Latest news

Have Your Say

Latest Comments:

re: Chad Sexington who says the government cant do anything about inflation. This is not true the government has influence over inflation through its policies; primarily its taxation policy. If the government genuinely wanted to intervene and drive down inflation it could. It just reflects better on the government to have a 3rd party like the RBA inflict the damage so the government can wash its hands of it. The government could easily increase the tax rates of high income earners to reduce their spending hence inflation but they choose not to.
Posted by: andrew macca 9:31am today

I love the fact that Rudd thinks we need to reign in inflation as though its something he can control. This ass clown of a PM and his treasurer are going to crash the economy becuase they won't raise the target band of inflation that the RBA should be managing and becuase they are going to put further inflationary pressure on the economy by getting rid of workchoices. The primary cause of inflation is China and India competing for global energy and food supplies. Rudd and Swan just don't get it and shouldn't be asking the RBA to taget 2-3% because its now an unrealistic target. Even the US is having inflationary problems and they are in recession (stagflation), thanks to the rising cost of imported energy.
Posted by: Papa Doc 9:30am today

Jeff_nassif 9:13am today . . . Hawke?Keating did set up the prosperity but Howard/Costello failed to manage it properly or utilise the dividends to build our infrastructure. . . Anyway, this should now be an debate on how Australians can work together to fix the problem
Posted by: Halberstram of Sydney 9:27am today

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Homebuyers face 12th consecutive rate rise
Treasurer says his kids won`t afford home
Quick vote: Will you cope with another rate rise?

HOUSE prices are getting so out of control that home ownership is a distant dream for many young adults - and even the Treasurer`s own children are being locked out.

Home buyers and businesses today face their 12th consecutive interest rate rise, and their second in as many months, as the Reserve Bank moves to rein in a booming economy.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has acknowledged mortgagees are under immense pressure. He has said his daughters and son have little chance of being able to afford a home anytime soon, as prices continue to edge out of reach.

"I have young children and teenagers who I would hope at some stage of their life could enter the housing market," he said. "And that`s a distant prospect for many of those and many like them."

Mr Swan`s eldest daughter is 23 and his youngest son is only 13 - suggesting he sees housing affordability as being a headache for many years to come.

But, he says, there is little he can do. "The Reserve Bank is independent," he said on Channel 9 this morning. "Certainly Australian families, and something like seven interest rates rises over the last three years, are under tremendous financial pressure.

"We will work day and night to tackle this inflation legacy."

Mr Swan repeatedly avoided questions on whether the government`s five-point plan, announced in January, would put a lid on inflation. "Our aim is to tackle the inflation problem and put maximum downward pressure on inflation - that`s absolutely our aim," he said.

"Certainly inflation has taken a long time to develop - it hit a 16-year high in the months of October, November and December, so it`s going to take some time to tackle it. But we are determined to do that in the short-term, the medium-term and the long-term."

As investors yesterday wiped almost $40 billion off the value of Australian shares on concerns about a recession in the US, more evidence emerged that the Reserve Bank`s recent interest rate rises were having little effect on inflation and Australia`s strong economy.

Economists believe the bank has little choice but to increase rates by 25 basis points to a 13-year high of 7.25 per cent today to control inflation, increasing pressure on home owners already struggling to pay mortgages.

The Rudd Government, which has declared tackling inflation its No1 priority, yesterday doubled its promised national rental affordability scheme in a bid to ease growing housing shortages.

Malcolm Colless: A ticking time bomb for Rudd

The initiative will provide tax incentives for investors to build 100,000 low-rent properties over 10 years. Kevin Rudd also promised $30 million to streamline development applications and $500 million to help local government subsidise infrastructure costs such as water, sewage, roads and parklands for new developments in a bid to cut building costs.

But the value of the package could be immediately watered down with the Reserve Bank widely expected to raise official interest rates for the 12th time since April 2000 and the third time since the start of the election campaign last year.

Mr Rudd said the Opposition, led by Brendan Nelson and Treasury spokesman Malcolm Turnbull, was irresponsible for "talking the economy down" and beating the "recession drum".

Banks, squeezed by a higher cost of funds from the fallout to the US sub-prime mortgage market, are also weighing the possibility of lifting rates beyond the expected 25-points official increase.

Mr Rudd warned that any banks who did so would be roundly criticised by the Government. "If they move outside of official interest rate settings ... then I am sure the Government will not be restrained from making appropriate comment," he told ABC radio.

"Banks experiencing record profitability should be very, very mindful of their corporate and community standing before leaning on people who borrow from those banks any further."

With AAP and The Australian

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