Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Advanced Pet Food.
From the Daily Oz, I'm Emma Gillespie. I'm Lucy Tassel. It's Tuesday the 16th of June. Here's what's making headlines this evening.
The Reserve Bank of Australia, or the RBA, has kept interest rates on hold for the first time this year. Following three consecutive rate rises, the central bank's Monetary Policy Board voted unanimously to leave the cash rate steady at 4.35%. A statement from the RBA board said inflation is still too high...
However, it noted, quote, financial conditions are now tighter than they were and there are signs that the economy is slowing as expected. That's following three consecutive rate rises earlier this year. Prior to those increases, the cash rate remained steady at 3.6% for four meetings in a row. Today's decision was anticipated by the majority of economists and financial markets.
An Australian World Cup referee has been cleared of wrongdoing after he was accused of making a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign. Victorian video assistant referee Sean Evans is one of 170 match officials at this year's FIFA World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. Evans was one of the VARs for Germany's 7-1 win over Curacao on Monday.
Before the game, he was broadcast making an upside-down OK symbol with his right hand. The gesture has been linked to white power in recent years, with three fingers resembling a W and the index finger and thumb making a P shape.
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Chapter 2: What decision did the Reserve Bank of Australia make regarding interest rates?
Evans, though, said he didn't intentionally make any gesture or symbol to communicate any kind of message. In a statement, he noted, quote, the only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary subconscious twitch. FIFA's Independent Disciplinary Committee investigated the footage, finding no breach.
Evans said officiating at the World Cup is, quote, the biggest honour of my career.
The Bureau of Meteorology has announced an El Nino is underway in the tropical Pacific. El Nino weather patterns are characterised by unusually warm waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, bringing hot and dry conditions to Australia, including the increased risk of drought. Unlike increased rain, typical of a La Nina weather pattern, the most direct consequence of El Nino is less rain.
In an update on Tuesday, the bomb said sea surface temperatures and atmospheric indicators such as trade winds, pressure and cloud patterns are now showing signs consistent with El Nino. Based on the extent of warming in the central tropical Pacific, the bomb forecasts are pointing towards a strong to very strong El Nino event.
Waters off New South Wales and eastern Tasmania were especially warm, with temperatures peaking at around 3 to 4 degrees Celsius above average. These sea surface temperature patterns are forecast to continue in the coming months.
And today's good news, a once locally extinct kangaroo like marsupial has been released back into the desert of far northwestern New South Wales. The burrowing bettong vanished from mainland Australia within a century of colonisation, but the UNSW-led Wild Deserts Project is working to bring them back from the brink.
Together with Taronga and Parks and Wildlife, the team has now released a small population of bettongs into two designated safe havens inside Sturt National Park. These 100 square kilometre fenced wild training zones give native species a chance to adapt in environments with low levels of invasive species like feral cats.
The aim of the project is not to remove the threat of predators entirely, but rather to help bettongs learn to recognise and evade them. Wild Deserts project manager Dr Rhys Pedler said we can't remove cats and foxes from the entire Australian landscape, so we need to find ways for native fauna to live with them.
Based on the success of similar efforts with bilbies and quolls, he said we think bettongs will also do well in the same area.
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