As it happened: Inflation falls to lowest level in more than three years; voters back Dutton’s foreign investment property ban

Thanks for reading the national news blog. This is where we are ending today’s coverage.

Here’s a recap of today’s major stories:

• Inflation fell to its lowest level in more than three years, paving the way for an interest rate cut. This prompted celebration from the government, and scepticism from the opposition.
• It was revealed Australian Oscar Jenkins, who joined Ukraine as a soldier, is alive, after previous fears he was dead. The government has demanded Russians free Jenkins.
• A caravan of explosives was found in Sydney, with police investigating whether a synagogue was the target. It prompted further denunciation of antisemitism by NSW Premier Chris Minns.
• Fourteen members of a fringe religious group who were accused of killing an eight-year-old girl by withholding her diabetes medication have been found guilty of manslaughter in one of Queensland’s biggest trials.

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A caravan laden with explosives has been found in Sydney’s north-west, with notes suggesting a Jewish synagogue could be a target.

Security agencies are treating the threat as credible – but the cache was discovered nine days ago and not announced by authorities.

NSW Police were called to Derriwong Road, Dural, on January 20 after a local discovered an abandoned caravan filled with explosives.

The address of a synagogue was found in the caravan, police confirmed, and security agencies were called in.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said police were taking the matter very seriously.

“I understand community concerns about this story and similar escalating incidents of antisemitic violence in our community … anyone attempting terrorism, violence, hatred in our community will be met with the full force of the law,” Minns said.

NSW Police said there was no evidence of any ongoing threat from this particular incident.

The Albanese government is pressing Russia to release captured soldier Oscar Jenkins after the extraordinary revelation the Australian, who travelled to fight in defence of Ukraine, is alive in captivity, rather than dead as had been feared.

Friends of the former Melbourne school teacher were delighted on Wednesday afternoon when Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed a report in this masthead that Australian officials are confident the 32-year-old is alive.

Wong said earlier this month that the government held “grave concerns for Mr Jenkins’ welfare” and was “making urgent inquiries following the reports of his death”, initially broadcast on 7News.

Penny Wong in Kyiv, Ukraine last year, before news of Oscar Jenkin’s capture broke.

Russia’s ambassador to Australia, Aleksey Pavlovsky, advised Australian officials that Jenkins had been detained by members of the Russian military and was being held in custody in Russia, sources familiar with the matter said.

“The Australian government has received confirmation from Russia that Oscar Jenkins is alive and in custody. We still hold serious concerns for Mr Jenkins as a prisoner of war,” Wong said in a statement this afternoon.

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The Australian sharemarket closed higher after government figures showed inflation cooled to 2.4 per cent in the year to December. It’s prompted speculation that the Reserve Bank may deliver an interest rate cut next month.

The S&P/ASX200 climbed 47.9 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 8,447 points on Wednesday, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the consumer price index rose by 0.2 per cent in the December quarter. This took the annual rate to 2.4 per cent, down from 2.8 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September – the lowest inflation result since the March quarter of 2021.

The ASX rose on the back of the latest inflation figures.Credit: Louie Douvis

The closely-watched measure of underlying inflation rose by 0.5 per cent in the quarter, the lowest rate since mid-2021. The annual underlying inflation rate slowed to 3.2 per cent. The ASX 200 index had been 0.4 per cent higher earlier in the morning before the ABS figures were released, and extended its gains as the data bolstered predictions of an RBA rate cut next month.

CreditorWatch’s Chief Economist Ivan Colhoun said there was “a lot to like” in Wednesday’s CPI release, which meant “the RBA will be able to revise down inflation forecasts for the first time for quite some years and the board will be able to sign off on what I expect will be the beginning of a modest recalibration of interest rates at the mid-February board meeting”.

The latest inflation figures come despite poor financial decisions by Labor, according to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

Addressing the media in Alice Spring, Dutton said Australians were continuing to struggle to make ends meet, and that inflation dropping to 2.4 per cent from 2.8 per cent wasn’t cause for the government to celebrate.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton in Sydney last week. Credit: Janie Barrett

“People are selling their homes because they can’t keep up with more payoffs,” said Dutton.

“People are taking items out of their grocery basket … when they get to the supermarket checkout because they can’t afford to pay for everything in the basket. People are cancelling their insurance policies.”

“So I don’t think the government’s got too much to crow about.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has defended his pledge to not stand in front of the Aboriginal flag if he becomes prime minister as a step towards reconciliation.

In December, Dutton did not say he would remove the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags from government buildings, but he told Sky News host Peta Credlin that he would not stand in front of them.

Asked about this decision at a press conference in Alice Springs this afternoon, Dutton defended it as a form of reconciliation.

“I think it’s actually a major step forward in the reconciliation debate because I want all Australians to have great respect for, and admiration for, our indigenous heritage, and I also want us to pay true homage to people who fought for our country, people who have come from every part of the world as part of our amazing migrant story,” he said.

“We have one national flag, and there is not another country comparable to ours, not another Western democracy that asks people to separate under separate flags. People can have cultural connection to different flags. Now I honestly respect that, but we have one national flag.”

Australian officials believe Australian soldier Oscar Jenkins, who travelled overseas to fight in defence of Ukraine, is alive and in Russian captivity, rather than dead as had been feared.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said earlier this month that the government held “grave concerns for Mr Jenkins’ welfare” and was “making urgent inquiries following the reports of his death” broadcast on 7News.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said he had been told by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials on Wednesday that Jenkins was alive.

“I’m very happy he’s alive, it’s fantastic news,” Myroshnychenko said.

Earlier this month, Australian soldier Oscar Jenkins was reported to have been killed by Russian troops.

Myroshnychenko had expressed doubts in recent days about claims that Jenkins had been killed while in captivity, saying they may have been part of a Russian disinformation effort.

Wong is expected to comment on the matter later on Wednesday.

When reports emerged of Jenkins’ death earlier this month, the Australian government said it did not have confirmation that Jenkins had died.

However, a foreign soldier who trained the Australian to fight for the Ukrainian army, spoke to this masthead at the time and said he was mourning the death of his close friend who he believed had been executed by Russian forces.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed officials believe Australian citizen Oscar Jenkins is still alive, as he says the government will continue to seek further confirmation and details.Jenkins, who travelled to fight in defence of Ukraine, is believed to be alive and in Russian captivity, rather than dead as had been feared.

Asked about this report, Albanese said he can confirm them.

“I can say that we have received that information through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, but we are seeking confirmation,” he told ABC.

Oscar Jenkins is believed to be alive and in Russian captivity, after he was previously reported as being executed.Credit: Telegram

“I am reluctant to go into details for obvious reasons. One of the things we have been keen on doing is making sure that Mr Jenkins’ family get information before it is spoken about publicly as well.

But at this stage we are seeking further confirmation and details. We will continue to do so. We always make representations on behalf of Australians and is, can I say this, the Foreign Affairs and Trade officials to a remarkable job providing that representation.”

Federal Labor has not done a deal on electoral reform with the Coalition, after the legislation was shelved last minute during the November sitting period.

Labor and the Coalition have been negotiating over the summer to gain a deal on political donations amid fierce objections from Senate crossbenchers who fear it would boost the major parties and hurt independent candidates at the next election.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during question time in 2024. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The law to strip big money from Australian democracy came close to passing the Senate after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton held informal talks with Labor powerbroker Don Farrell to negotiate the deal, while mining billionaire Clive Palmer raced to Canberra to try to stop the changes.

However, Albanese confirmed this afternoon a deal has still not yet been agreed to with the Coalition.

“No ... but we will wait and see if there is support for it or not. There needs to be majority support for it in the parliament,” he said.

“We think there is a need for greater transparency. We believe in electoral reform. We will continue to advocate for it, but we will wait and see what happens in the next fortnight over that and a range of other legislation.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is remaining coy on whether there will be a March budget or when he will call an election after the positive drop in inflation figures.

Asked multiple times if Albanese was feeling more confident about the election and whether the drop in inflation would influence the election timing, the prime minister repeated that an election will happen some time before May.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won’t be drawn on a date for the election.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“I am always pleased to see Australians getting relief from inflation. Inflation punishes people who have less income, more than people who are wealthy,” he said.

Asked if there will be a March 25 budget, Albanese said the government was working towards a budget, but declined to say if it would be happening.

“We are working on a March budget. We have had ERC [Expenditure Review Committee] meetings every week, produced MYEFO [Mid-Year Fiscal Outlook] in December and working towards a budget on the 25 March,” he said.