Jim Chalmers speaks after GDP figures released; Labor ministry sworn in; severe weather warnings for country’s east; new consent laws in effect in NSW; NSW plastic bag ban now in effect; 37 Covid deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s developments

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Richard Marles on power prices

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has imposed a price cap in Sydney, Brisbane and Victoria for the first time ever in response to record levels and a cold snap driving up gas use.

We have got a cost of living crisis in this country. That’s what has been left to us by the former government. And we have got a real issue with power prices. Again, that’s the legacy of having had a decade under the Liberals where they haven’t had a consistent energy policy. Where there has been no investment in getting renewable energy going and that’s now the challenge that we face.

It is not something we can solve overnight but … there are some things that we can do sooner rather than later in terms of … making childcare more affordable … arguing for a wage increase for those on the minimum wage. There are issues here which are going to take longer but which we need to start addressing now … around having a settled policy in relation to energy policy and getting our grid up to a modern standard where it can take on renewables which are cheaper.

I think all of us can see the impact plastic pollution is having on our environment. By stopping the supply of problematic plastic in the first place, we’re helping prevent it from entering our environment as litter, or going into landfill.

No one told these small businesses that plastic bags are banned … now they’re sitting on thousands of dollars’ worth of bags they can’t use.