The woman, 32, admitted doing an indecent act on Pukuatua St.

He was convicted of sexual offences against girls and women.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has ended five weeks of intense speculation, cutting interest rates and even hinting that more relief could be on the way.

Concluding its two-day meeting this afternoon, the RBA monetary policy board unanimously chose to reduce the official cash rate target by 25 basis points to 3.6 per cent, a level not seen since April 2023.

For the average Australian borrower with $600,000 remaining on their mortgage, today's cut will see their minimum monthly repayments fall by around $89 – or less than $3 a day.

LIVE UPDATES: Live reaction as RBA slashes interest rates

While there had been some speculation that a larger-than-normal cut could have been passed on, RBA Governor Michele Bullock said a 35- or 50-basis-point reduction wasn't even discussed by the board.

"There wasn't a discussion of a larger rate cut," she said.

"It was unanimous… and all board members were fully behind 25 basis points."

And while Bullock played a straight bat to questions about where the official cash rate will end up once her bank has finished its cutting cycle, she did suggest there's more relief still to come.

"We don't have a point estimate for where we might end up," she says.

"You'll note that in the forecasts, we have inflation coming back down to target and the unemployment rate remaining where it is, with the assumption for a couple of more cash rate cuts in there.

"That's the best sort of guess, but things can change.

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In its monetary statement, the RBA board said it was keenly aware of the impact of lower interest rates, but it remained steadfast in charting a course through an ever-changing world and domestic economy.

"This takes the decline in the cash rate since the beginning of the year to 75 basis points," the board said.

"The board nevertheless remains cautious about the outlook, particularly given the heightened level of uncertainty about both aggregate demand and potential supply.

"It noted that monetary policy is well placed to respond decisively to international developments if they were to have material implications for activity and inflation in Australia."

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The board noted that Australia seemed to have largely avoided the worst of Donald Trump's tariffs – but some businesses may be pausing investment until its clear how Australian exports will be affected.

"Uncertainty in the world economy remains elevated. There is a little more clarity on the scope and scale of US tariffs and policy responses in other countries, suggesting that more extreme outcomes are likely to be avoided," the statement reads.

"Trade policy developments are nevertheless still expected to have an adverse effect on global economic activity, and there remains a risk that households and firms delay expenditure pending still greater clarity on the outlook."

An overwhelming majority of economists – and more or less the entirety of market traders – had expected the RBA to cut interest rates today after a surprise pause in July.

Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, says the real pressure is now on the major banks to pass on rate cuts to struggling borrowers.

"Lenders are under immense pressure to pass the savings on to customers. So far, most have passed on the cuts in full," he said.

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"Experts are forecasting more rate cuts, which could change things. Lenders might start to pull back and offer smaller cuts to customers, as we observed during the last round of cuts.

"In a competitive market, lenders are fighting for business, which is a good opportunity for you to review your home loan."

Cooke said while today's news will be welcomed by those with mortgages, renters are unlikely to see any windfall at all.

"Many landlords used rising mortgage costs as justification to raise rents, but as those costs fall they are unlikely to cut rents in response," he said.

"The divide between renters and mortgage holders continues to widen. Those with a mortgage are now seeing relief, while lower-income renters continue to pay through the nose, making saving for a home even more difficult."

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Ivan Colhoun, chief economist at CreditorWatch, said while it appeared the RBA was being "overly cautious", today's cut will nevertheless be welcomed by those struggling with repayments.

"The cut is very welcome news for both businesses and households with mortgages, as costs of living and doing business remain very high, while more generally, a less restrictive policy setting will be supportive for economic growth and ensure that any rise in the unemployment rate is minimised," he said.

"One further interest rate reduction is likely in November this year, unless the unemployment rate begins to rise more quickly."

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All of Australia's big four banks have vowed to pass on today's RBA interest rate cut.

The Reserve Bank handed down a long-awaited rate cut, bringing the cash rate down to 3.60 per cent – its lowest in over two years.

"This is very welcome relief for millions of Australians," Treasurer Jim Chalmers said following the announcement.

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"This interest rate cut will make a meaningful difference to millions of mortgage holders around the country.

"It will put more money in the pockets of people under pressure."

Commonwealth Bank was the first of the big four to confirm it would pass on the rate cut on to customers.

CBA said it would apply to customers on eligible variable-rate loans, including Business Bank's Variable Base Rate, Residential Equity Rate, and Overdraft Reference Rate and eligible variable-rate business lending products such as BetterBusiness Loans and Business Overdrafts.

The bank said the rate changes announced today will be effective from August 22.

Customers on an $800,000 home loan will save an estimated $385 per month with the 0.25 per cent rate cut, CBA said.

"With now three rate cuts this year, Australian borrowers are getting some breathing room back in their budgets," said CBA retail group executive Angus Sullivan.

"It will be very welcome for those with a home loan."

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Westpac followed closely behind after confirming it would pass on the rate cut too.

This will be a 0.25 per cent reduction on variable home loan rates, but it won't come into effect until even later than CBA, with an August 26 start date.

Westpac will also reduce interest rates on savings accounts, but that will start earlier, on August 22.

ANZ then announced it would lower interest rates for variable rate home loan customers following the Reserve Bank's decision.

Variable interest rates across ANZ's Australian home loans will decrease by 0.25 per cent, effective August 22, the bank said.

ANZ said it would review other interest and deposit rates.

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NAB was the final big four bank to announce its decision to pass on the rate cut.

It said customers will have their standard variable home loan interest rates cut by 0.25 per cent by August 25.

"This comes at a crucial time to reinvigorate economic activity across Australia," NAB's group executive for personal banking Ana Marinkovic said.

"For those who want to reassess their home loan repayments, we're making it as easy as possible for customers to take advantage of the changes."

The banks said customers paying will be notified about what this will mean for their repayments and how they can make changes.

"This move from Australia's two biggest banks puts pressure on the entire mortgage market to do the right thing and pass this RBA cut on in full to variable customers," said Canstar's data insights director Sally Tindall.

"After three cuts this year, many borrowers will finally start to feel some breathing room, even if repayments are still far higher than they were two years ago."

Macquarie Bank also said it cutting both mortgage and savings rates on from Friday, August 15 by 0.25 percentage points.

Other smaller banks including Bank of Melbourne, BankSA and St George have also confirmed plans to pass on the rate cut.

Lenders unloan, which is backed by CBA, and Athena have cut mortgage rates by the same amount too, along with Australian Unity home loans.

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After a shock hold last month, the official cash rate has been eased to 3.60 per cent.

The pair appeared in the Hamilton District Court today.

Politicians from both major parties in the United States are urging the Trump administration to maintain the three-way AUKUS security partnership designed to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

It is a promising sign for Australia, which has made moves to shore up the alliance in recent weeks.

Late last month, Australia and the United Kingdom signed a 50-year treaty to help strengthen the alliance.

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Two weeks ago, the Department of Defence announced it would review AUKUS, the 4-year-old pact signed by Joe Biden with Australia and the U.K.

The announcement means the Republican administration is looking closely at a partnership that many believe is critical to the US strategy to push back China's influence in the Indo-Pacific. The review is expected to be completed in the fall.

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared at a congressional hearing in Washington DC last month, where he warned of the threat China poses in the Indo-Pacific region.

Australia has now received support from important figures on both sides of American politics.

“AUKUS is essential to strengthening deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and advancing the undersea capabilities that will be central to ensuring peace and stability," Republican Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan and Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois wrote in a July 22 letter to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

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Moolenaar chairs the House of Representatives panel on China and Krishnamoorthi is its top Democrat.

The review comes as the Trump administration works to rebalance its global security concerns while struggling with a hollowed-out industrial base that has hamstrung US capabilities to build enough warships.

The review is being led by Elbridge Colby, a Pentagon official, who has expressed scepticism about the partnership.

“If we can produce the attack submarines in sufficient number and sufficient speed, then great. But if we can’t, that becomes a very difficult problem," Colby said during his confirmation hearing in March.

“This is getting back to restoring our defence industrial capacity so that we don’t have to face these awful choices but rather can be in a position where we can produce not only for ourselves, but for our allies."

USA cannot build enough ships

As part of the $US269 billion ($412 billion) AUKUS partnership, the United States will sell three to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, with the first delivery scheduled as soon as 2032.

The USA and the UK would help Australia design and build another three to five attack submarines to form an eight-boat force for Australia.

A March report by the Congressional Research Service warned that the lack of American shipbuilding capacities, including workforce shortage and insufficient supply chains, is jeopardising the much-celebrated partnership.

If the USA should sell the vessels to Australia, the US Navy would have a shortage of attack submarines for two decades, the report said.

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The Navy has been ordering two boats per year in the last decade, but American shipyards have been only producing 1.2 Virginia-class subs a year since 2022, the report said.

“The delivery pace is not where it needs to be" to make good on the first pillar of AUKUS, Admiral Daryl Caudle, nominee for the Chief of Naval Operations, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month.

Australia has invested $US1 billion in the US submarine industrial base, with another $US1 billion to be paid before the end of this year.

It has agreed to contribute a total of $US3 billion to uplift the US submarine base, and it has sent both industry personnel to train at U.S. shipyards and naval personnel for submarine training in the United States.

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"Australia was clear that we would make a proportionate contribution to the United States industrial base,” an Australian defence spokesperson said in July.

“Australia’s contribution is about accelerating US production rates and maintenance to enable the delivery of Australia’s future Virginia-class submarines.”

The three nations have also jointly tested communication capabilities with underwater autonomous systems, Australia's defence ministry said on July 23.

Per the partnership, the countries will co-develop other advanced technologies, from undersea to hypersonic capabilities.

At the recent Aspen Security Forum, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, also the Australian ambassador to the United States, said his country is committed to increasing defense spending to support its first nuclear-powered sub program, which would also provide “massively expensive full maintenance repair facilities" for the US. Indo-Pacific fleet based in Western Australia.

Rudd expressed confidence that the two governments “will work our way through this stuff.”

AUKUS called ‘crucial to American deterrence’

Bruce Jones, senior fellow with the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy and Technology, told The Associated Press that the partnership, by positioning subs in Western Australia, is helping arm the undersea space that is “really crucial to American deterrence and defence options in the Western Pacific.”

“The right answer is not to be content with the current pace of submarine building. It’s to increase the pace," Jones said.

Jennifer Parker, who has served more than 20 years with the Royal Australian Navy and founded Barrier Strategic Advisory, said it should not be a zero-sum game.

“You might sell one submarine to Australia, so you have one less submarine on paper. But in terms of the access, you have the theater of choice from operating from Australia, from being able to maintain your submarines from Australia," Parker said.

“This is not a deal that just benefits Australia."

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Defence policy is one of the few areas where Republican lawmakers have pushed back against the Trump administration, but their resolve is being tested with the Pentagon’s review of AUKUS. So far, they have joined their Democratic colleagues in voicing support for the partnership.

They said the US submarine industry is rebounding with congressional appropriations totaling $US10 billion since 2018 to ensure the US will have enough ships to allow for sales to Australia.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia told the AP that support for AUKUS is strong and bipartisan, “certainly on the Armed Services Committee.”

"There is a little bit of mystification about the analysis done at the Pentagon,” Kaine said, adding that “maybe (what) the analysis will say is: We believe this is a good thing.”

– With Associated Press

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