Australia news LIVE:PM works to secure India trade deal;Greens want more detail on Voice

Thanks for joining us today. Here’s some of our major headlines today:

Commonwealth Bank is raising interest rates on home loans by 0.25 percentage points,and is also increasing rates on a key savings account by the same amount.

CBA was the final major bank to announce its rate changes in response to the Reserve Bank’s move to raise the cash rate to 3.6 per cent.

This afternoon CBA said its variable mortgage rates would rise 0.25 percentage points on March 17.

It is also raising the ongoing rate on its online savings account to 1.85 per cent,and the total rate available on its bonus saver account will increase 0.15 percentage points to 4.15 per cent.

Macquarie also said this afternoon it would raise variable mortgage rates by 0.25 percentage points. It is increasing ongoing rates on its savings account to 4 per cent,compared with 3.8 per cent currently.

The franking credits battle has returnedas the government tries to limit the way Australian listed companies can issue them and the Coalition accuses the government of breaking a promise.

Franking credits compensate shareholders for the tax companies pay on profits. Often,only part of a company’s profits is paid to shareholders as dividends,with the rest kept to grow the business.

Read our full analysishere.

Bank of Queensland has warned that allowing ANZ Bank to buy Suncorp’s banking arm would give the “green light” to further takeovers by the big four banks,further entrenching their market power.

In the biggest banking takeover since Westpac swallowed St George,ANZ last year announced a plan to buy Suncorp’s banking business for $4.9 billion. The deal is opposed by consumer groups and key smaller lenders,and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is deciding whether to approve the merger.

In a submission to the ACCC,Bank of Queensland argued the deal would remove a “fringe competitor,” and further consolidate the power of ANZ and “the oligopoly of ‘major’ banking providers.”

BoQ also said the deal would change the banking landscape by “signalling a ‘green light’ for further acquisitions by the majors,leading to further market consolidation and restriction of consumer choice.”

ANZ has argued it would only slightly increase its market share by swallowing Suncorp’s banking business. However,BoQ said the deal would support an environment where the major banks already have some major advantages,such as access to cheaper funding.

It said that removing a competitor,paving the way for further bank takeovers in the future,could also “erode the pressure on the majors to innovate.”

The ACCC has said it will announce its decision on the merger in June.

Uber has claimed they will refund anyone who was excessively charged during yesterday’s Sydney train chaos following criticism the ride-share app temporarily increased prices.

Sydney commuters faced major delays on yesterday afternoon after a communication issue forced Sydney Trains to halt all services across the network at about 2.45pm.

In a statement,Uber said the trip costs initially increased as the company was not immediately aware of the network-wide stoppage.

“In the past we have been alerted by Transport for NSW when there were Sydney-wide transport issues,however in this instance,we were not informed of the complete outage on the NSW train network until well after it began,” the statement released today said.

“As soon as our team became aware of the train disruption,we immediately lowered and capped surge to still incentivise driver-partners who were helping Sydneysiders get home,while making rides more affordable for those stranded.”

Travellers took to social media to complain about the initial surge on Wednesday afternoon with one user showing their price estimate from Mascot to Panania had increased to $291.

Uber claimed they would refund users affected by the initial surge. “Any rider that was charged an additional amount above that surge cap,for the full duration of the outage,will be auto-refunded within the next 48 hours,” it said.

Ahmedabad: A spectacular morning at the cricket has deepened ties between Australia and India after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on a golden chariot at the fourth Test in Ahmedabad.

The two leaders circled the cricket ground at the vast stadium named after the Indian prime minister as a crowd of up to 50,000 people roared before play began.

Albanese and Modi,who will hold formal talks in New Delhi tomorrow,spoke to the team captains before the match and stood on the field while the national anthems were played.

Billboards with huge photographs of the two leaders surrounded the ground and posters marked 75 years of “friendship through cricket” between Australia and India.

Albanese called his reception in India the honour of his life,while standing on the chariot alongside Modi as it toured the ground. The two prime ministers visited the hall of fame at the stadium,including a new exhibition featuring a photo gallery of mementos from 75 years of India-Australia cricket.

Albanese was also introduced to three Indian cricket heroes:Sunil Gavaskar,Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman.

ANZ Bank is the third major lender to announce today that it will raise mortgage rates by 0.25 percentage points. The bank will also increase rates on one of its savings accounts by the same amount.

Following similar moves from NAB and Westpac,ANZ said it would lift standard variable mortgage rates by 0.25 percentage points,passing on the Reserve Bank increase announced on Tuesday.

ANZ will also lift rates by 0.25 percentage points on its savings account that it offers through a digital platform called ANZ Plus,which it launched last year.

The bank said the latest change would increase monthly repayments by $66 on a variable home loan of $450,000.

Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy has been forced to withdraw unparliamentary language after he said the opposition had “f---ed up the Pacific relationship” on the floor of the parliament.

The fiery exchange came during a vote in the lower house on Labor’s proposed visa lottery scheme,which would allow 3000 people from the Pacific to move to Australia and apply for permanent residency.

The plan,unveiled in February,is similar to the United States’ “green card” system and is designed to strengthen ties between Australia and its Pacific island neighbours.

Conroy’s comments cannot be heard during the division but Nationals MP Michael McCormack,the shadow minister for the Pacific,can be heard and seen in footage from the chamber hopping to his feet to ask for the comment to be withdrawn.

Speaker Milton Dick explains he did not hear the comment,but Conroy quickly withdrew.

When approached by this masthead,Conroy confirmed he made the indelicate comments and that he was genuinely angry that the opposition opposed the proposed visa scheme.

“I said something along the lines of ‘You f----- up the Pacific relationship when you were in government,and now you’re making it harder for us to fix it’,” he said.

There are strict rules around the language used in parliament and the manner in which MPs are supposed to address each other and Conroy’s comment falls well outside them.

The government had hoped the scheme will start on July 1,but following the Coalition’s decision this week to oppose it,Labor will need to secure the support of the Greens and two votes from the crossbench.

Applicants would have to meet health,character and English proficiency tests and be aged between 18 and 45. They would also need to secure a job in Australia.

The scheme would be open to applicants from East Timor (Timor-Leste),as well as Fiji,Kiribati,Nauru,Palau,Papua New Guinea,Samoa,Solomon Islands,Tonga,Tuvalu,Vanuatu,the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Labor has challenged Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s claim that the Coalition is the party of the working class after the opposition voted against a $15 billion manufacturing fund.

The Albanese government secured the passage of its National Reconstruction Fund today,after the Greens said they would support the bill in the Senate.

The Coalition opposes the fund and claims it could be used to fund Labor-aligned investments and put upward pressure on inflation.

Industry Minister Ed Husic said the Coalition’s opposition made a mockery of Dutton’s claim,made early last month,that the centre-right party was the natural home for working-class voters,who are increasingly voting for centre-right parties in the Western world.

“You cannot claim to be the party of the working-class and then vote against Aussie manufacturing,” Husic said during question time.

“You cannot vote against making sure[those] people do well … You have a chance to redeem yourselves.”

In a meeting of Liberal MPs on February 8,Dutton said:“We’ll continue to put pressure on the government because we are the party of families,we are the party of small business,and we are the parties of the working class.”

Meanwhile,in Ahmedabad,India,Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that he will be meeting US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the Californian city of San Diego forthe much-flagged announcement of the AUKUS nuclear submarines.

Albanese stopped for a brief press conference in Ahmedabad after a business breakfast before heading off to watch Australia play India in the fourth Test with Narendra Modi at the Indian prime minister’s eponymous stadium.

Albanese refused to be drawn on reports that Australia would acquire five US Virginia Class submarines some time in the early 2030s while waiting for Australia’s own custom-designed nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

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AUKUS

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He did insist that Australia would retain “our absolute sovereignty 100 per cent” over these submarines,meaning that authority overt any operations would not be ceded to the United States or United Kingdom.

“It is very important that Australia as a sovereign nation state,and that’s something that’s respected by all of our partners as well,” he said.

“Later today,Albanese will board an Indian aircraft carrier in Mumbai. He noted that Australia would be hosting the joint naval exercises between India,Japan and the United States later this year,as part of the Quad alliance.

“Talking about our security in the Indo-Pacific is an important focus of our relationship.”