Good morning. The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, has won a confidence vote despite an unexpectedly large rebellion in his party, energy companies have been urged to find more gas for Australia, and the RBA weighs up the risk of “climb shock” ahead of interest rates decision.
Boris Johnson has won a no-confidence vote against him, with most Tory MPs supporting his leadership. However, more than 40% of his party voted against him. There were 211 in favor and 148 votes against in a contest that will leave him severely weakened. The prime minister retained the support of most of his colleagues after promising tax cuts in a speech on the economy next week.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has denounced an incident in which a Chinese fighter plane forced an Australian plane into a dangerous maneuver. Albanese told reporters in Jakarta on Monday evening that China’s actions were “an act of aggression and a dangerous act”. On Sunday, the Australian government published a statement that on 26 May, “a RAAF P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft was intercepted by a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft during a routine maritime surveillance activity in international airspace in the South China Sea region”. The statement added: “The intercept resulted in a dangerous maneuver which posed a safety threat to the P-8 aircraft and its crew.”
The new resources minister, Madeleine King, has asked companies to find more gas to direct into Australian markets as she considers pulling the so-called gas trigger. However, King has also claimed more coal supply was key to combating a brewing energy crisis. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, called on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate factors behind spiking energy prices, saying the new Labor government was mulling “several actions” to address electricity and gas concerns.
Economists say the Reserve Bank faces the delicate task of raising the interest rate fast enough to quell inflation without causing so much “climb shock” to household budgets that the economy stalls. According to Bloomberg, the central bank board meeting on Tuesday with economists almost evenly split between tipping the cash rate, which 25 basis points will lift to 0.6% or 40 bases to 0.75%. Any rate rise would be the RBA’s first back-to-back monthly increase in 12 years.
Australia
Shoppers have said they are avoiding meat, going to cheaper supermarkets, or growing vegetables to save money. Photograph: Rohan Thomson/AFP/Getty Images
Rising fuel, food, and energy prices have people meticulously tracking their spending and struggling to make rent, with welfare recipients hit hardest.
Anthony Albanese has confirmed Australia will attend the G20 meeting in Bali in November despite Russia’s controversial attendance at the summit. With some world leaders signaling they may not aparticipate inthe event if Russia comes, Indonesia, as the summit host, has arranged for the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to make a virtual appearance. The prime minister also pledged to assist Indonesia as the summit host.
Welfare advocates have warned job seekers may have their payments suspended under a new points-based mutual obligations system because of “unnecessarily onerous” requirements.
A fresh battle over the underfunding of public schools is brewing, with Victoria and New South Wales vowing to push the new Albanese government to lift its contributions to close an investment shortfall.
Victoria is set to establish an independent authority to help oversee Australia’s first treaty negotiations between a government and First Nations groups. Gabrielle Williams, the minister for Aboriginal affairs, will introduce the treaty authority bill to parliament on Tuesday.
The incoming federal environment minister has been urged to block the construction of a fertilizer plant on a world heritage-nominated site in Western Australia and to act swiftly to stop the multinational company behind the plans from removing Indigenous rock art.
The world
The Russian and Chinese ambassadors, Vassily Nebenzia and Zhang Jun confer at the UN security council. Photograph: Jason Szenes/EPA
More than 100 days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s strategic assessment of the conflict is becoming clearer: it does not wish to be cast in the same light as Russia, but the war has deepened Beijing’s mistrust of the west.
The current outbreak of monkeypox in the UK has topped 300 cases, official figures reveal, as contacts who have a rash with blisters are asked to get in touch with a sexual health clinic.
Fears are growing over the safety of a British journalist and a Brazilian Indigenous expert who have disappeared in one of the remotest corners of the Amazon days after receiving threats.
Protesters in Paris are celebrating having saved more than 40 trees – one more than 200 years old – from being chopped down or threatened with damage around the Eiffel Tower as part of a €72m scheme to create a huge garden.
Recommended reads
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Generation X is heavy, risky drinkers. “Will anything ever persuade us to stop?” asks Guardian columnist Zoe Williams. Alcohol’s allure was powerful when we were growing up, and those born after we consume far less. Now booze is falling out of fashion, is it time to assess old habits?
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Listen
Alongside reforms in Indigenous health, housing, welfare, and the justice system, Labor is committing to a referendum on the voice of parliament in its first term of government, all spearheaded by the first Aboriginal woman in the cabinet – the new minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney.
Guardian Australia’s Indigenous affairs editor, Lorena Allam, speaks to Burney about how Labor intends to keep these promises.
Full Story
Linda Burney on the Uluru statement and Labor’s Indigenous affairs agenda
Sorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download it here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2020/05/05-61553-gnl.fw.200505.jf.ch7DW.mp3
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Minjee Lee became only the third Australian woman to win the US Women’s Open via a runaway victory at Pine Needles. Photograph: Jared C Tilton/Getty Images
She had dreamed of winning the US Women’s Open since she was a little kid in Perth, and Minjee Lee hopes her triumph can make her a positive role model for other young Australian golfers, particularly girls.
Media roundup
The defense minister, Richard Marles, says he doubts Australia will be able to build its first nuclear submarine by the previous government’s deadline of 2038, accepting an interim fleet of conventional boats may be needed to avoid a serious capability gap in the nation’s defenses, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. As many as 5,000 members of the mafia have been identified in Australia, and the Australian federal police say Italian organized crime is responsible for smuggling in illicit drugs, reports the Australian.
Coming up
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese continues his visit to Indonesia, while back home, the Reserve Bank meets to decide on the cash rate. The federal police will hold a conference on money laundering and organized crime in Australia. Hearings continue in the disability royal commission.
And if you’ve read this far …
How to remove the toughest spots – from ink to sunscreen.
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