Interest rates have officially risen and what women are talking about this afternoon.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has officially raised the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 0.35 per cent. 

This is the first time since November 2010 that the RBA has had a rate increase, after holding the rate at a record low 0.1 per cent since November 2020.

Economists previously anticipated the rate would rise by no more than 0.15 percentage points, so it is a little higher than expected. It is also expected to increase throughout this year.

RBA governor Philip Lowe said the board judged that now is the right time to begin withdrawing some of the extraordinary monetary support that was put in place to help the Australian economy during the pandemic.

"The economy has proven to be resilient and inflation has picked up more quickly, and to a higher level, than was expected," Dr Lowe said. "There is also evidence that wages growth is picking up. Given this, and the very low level of interest rates, it is appropriate to start the process of normalising monetary conditions."

A further rise in inflation is expected in the near future. 

"This rise in inflation largely reflects global factors," Dr Lowe said. "But domestic capacity constraints are increasingly playing a role and inflation pressures have broadened, with firms more prepared to pass through cost increases to consumer prices."

Breaking: The RBA has lifted the official interest rate to 0.35 per cent less than three weeks before the federal election | @swrighteconomy @rachelclun https://t.co/RZu3tZzFfD

— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) May 3, 2022

So what does this all mean for you?

Consumer confidence has slumped in the past week following a spike in inflation to its highest level in two decades. The rate rise will particularly affect homeowners who have mortgages. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged that any movement in rates is going to put pressure on those repaying a mortgage.

"For an average mortgage, for a 25-point basis increase, what you're looking at there is just over 80 bucks a month," he told reporters in Melbourne. "What I'm encouraged by is Australians have been aware of the pressures and that's why they have switched from variable mortgages to fixed-rate mortgages."

- With AAP.

A Sydney man, Scott White, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail three decades after murdering an American mathematician, Scott Johnson, at a Sydney gay beat.

The jail sentence was handed down today by Justice Helen Wilson who found that in a hostile act, Scott White had punched Scott Johnson at North Head in Manly in December 1988, causing him to fall to his death.

"[White] did a violent act and that act is the direct cause of Dr Johnson leaving the clifftop in terror," the judge said.

With reckless indifference to human life, White threw the punch near the unguarded edge of the high cliff and then fled without notifying police that Dr Johnson disappeared over the edge. White has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months in jail, and will be eligible for parole after eight years and three months.

White had met Dr Johnson at the Brighton Hotel and the pair had willingly gone to the gay beat together. White, who himself is gay, lived with his homophobic family.

The outcome ends a long-running ordeal for Dr Johnson's family who refused to believe an initial inquest finding of suicide.

"We didn't get compensation for Scott this week, but what Scott got was dignity," Johnson's brother said.

For more on the case you can read the following articles: 

Scott Johnson's death was ruled a suicide. For 30 years, his brother searched for the truth.

An inquiry into 40 years of gay hate crimes in NSW is underway. These are the people behind the tragedies.

The gay-bashing murder of Scott Johnson went unsolved for 30 years .. he was thrown off a 90-metre cliff in Sydney ... his killer has just now been sentenced to 12 years in jail ...https://t.co/lGpQLo4wke pic.twitter.com/6kePQsI8qf

— Will Willitts 🇺🇦 (@WillWillAFR) May 3, 2022

The first trailer for the highly anticipated new movie Don’t Worry Darling was released today. The movie was directed by Olivia Wilde and stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Gemma Chan. Now let's talk about the steamiest reveals from the teaser, because that is what's important here.

Plus, The Palace Papers - Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown has been released today, promising to share the "gripping inside story" of the British royals following Princess Diana's death. The book is packed with revealing secrets about the royal family, but of course, it is Meghan Markle who has taken the biggest hit.

And the Met Gala took place today, gifting us the best celebrity red carpet of the year. From the mystery of a fake Jared Leto, a flute-playing Lizzo, and a wild historical journey behind Kim Kardashian’s dress, we talk through the biggest and most memorable moments.

Listen to The Spill now!

Morning all,

Let's get you across the top five news stories you need to know this morning, Tuesday May 3. 

1. University lecturer charged with murdering wife in Melbourne home.

A Deakin University lecturer has been charged with the murder of his wife in Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs.

Emergency services were called to a property in Croydon North about 10.15pm on Saturday night after reports of an assault.

A 35-year-old Croydon North woman was treated by paramedics, but she died at the scene.

40-year-old Adam Brown, who is a senior lecturer in digital media, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon charged with murder.

No details of the alleged murder were aired in court, but police spent much of Sunday blocking off the road and scouring the scene for evidence.

Lecturer charged with murdering wife in their Melbourne home https://t.co/OdXrCwh5li

— ABC News (@abcnews) May 2, 2022

The woman's name was not released by the court.

Detective Senior Constable David Martin-Alcaide said family in China had been notified of the death, but family in Sydney had not yet been told.

Brown was remanded in custody to reappear in court on September 13.

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.

You can also call safe steps 24/7 Family Violence Response Line on 1800 015 188 or visit www.safesteps.org.au for further information.

The Men’s Referral Service is also available on 1300 766 491 or via online chat at www.ntv.org.au.www.ntv.org.au.

2. PM defends his government's handling of the economy. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected suggestions an interest rate hike could hurt him on polling day, saying Australians understand the impact of global inflationary pressures.

The Reserve Bank is expected to hike the cash rate for the first time in 12 years today after inflation surged to a 20 year high of 5.1 percent

Mortgage holders will know within hours if interest rates will rise for the first time in nearly 12 years. #9Today pic.twitter.com/uvLBMx2xZs

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) May 2, 2022

Morrison, who will start the day campaigning in Melbourne, said voters understood inflationary pressures and would back who they believed were better economic managers. 

"They know there are pressures that are coming from outside of Australia on interest rates," he said on Monday. 

Opposition Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers said there was a "full-blown cost of living crisis and Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg haven't got a plan beyond the election". 

"When things are going well in the economy Scott Morrison takes all the credit, but when Australians are doing it tough he takes none of the responsibility."

Workers are the heroes of the pandemic and the unwilling victims of Scott Morrison’s cost of living crisis - inflation skyrocketing and real wages falling. Whether interest rates go up this week or next month, his economic credibility is in tatters. #auspol #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/KzTEvActKM

— Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) May 2, 2022

Labor leader Anthony Albanese will start the day in Sydney.

3. Victim impact statements heard 35 years after Manly gay hate murder.

Family members of Scott Johnson, whose body was found at the bottom of a Manly cliff in 1988, have spoken of the horror, terror, tragedy and heartbreak that the past 34 years have brought.

Johnson's sister Terry Johnson said Scott White, who pleaded guilty to the murder in January this year, had taken away decades from her brother's life.

"The hateful person who killed Scott has been walking free on this earth for the past 33 years. Thirty-three years that he took away from my baby brother. I believe [White] deserves life in prison."

Brother Steve Johnson described the death as too awful to be true, saying his mother had reacted with a wailing cry at the news.

Scott Johnson was pushed to his death from cliffs at #Manly in 1988 and today a court heard the man responsible used to brag about bashing gay men.

The victim's family travelled from the United States to #Sydney to stare down his killer. @tiffgenders #9News pic.twitter.com/e1gJG6eVCm

— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) May 2, 2022

The victim statements were heard after White's former partner Helen White took the stand and described a conversation with him in December 1998 about his "poofter bashing" of the 1980s.

"He said the only good poofter is a dead poofter, to which I said, 'So you threw him off the cliff'. And he said, 'It's not my fault the dumb c*** ran off the cliff'," she said.

White's defence team unsuccessfully tried to reverse the guilty plea the day it was made. An appeal of White's conviction was filed last month. Justice Helen Wilson will hand down her sentence later today.

4. No jury for Chris Dawson’s wife murder trial. 

Chris Dawson will stand trial without a jury for the murder of his wife four decades ago. 

The 73-year-old former teacher and professional rugby league player is accused of killing his wife, Lynette Dawson, following her 1982 disappearance from Sydney.

Yesterday, Justice Robert Beech-Jones in the NSW Supreme Court ordered that the trial proceed by judge-alone following an application by Dawson centred on pre-trial publicity in his case.

Chris Dawson to face judge-alone trial over alleged murder of wife https://t.co/Tw1M6cfmqM

— ABC News (@abcnews) May 2, 2022

His counsel, Pauline David, argued against the "fade factor" of publicity, saying he'd been labelled a probable murderer for so long it was "not something that is just going to go away" in people's minds.

The Crown, in opposing the application, cited higher court findings that there were measures in place to deal with the "potential impact of the prejudicial publicity".

The trial will be conducted by Justice Ian Harrison and is scheduled to start next Monday.

5. One in 25 properties 'uninsurable' by 2030'.

More than half a million properties across Australia will effectively become uninsurable this decade due to climate change, a new report has warned.

New modelling by the Climate Council suggests that by 2030 one in every 25 properties nationally could be without cover either because it might be refused or will be financially out of reach. That's 3.6 per cent of all Australian properties, or 521,000 sites in total.

Queensland is expected to be the most uninsurable state, with 6.5 per cent of its properties exposed to that fate, followed by NSW with 3.3 per cent.

The report coincides with the release of a new digital map that allows users to enter their suburb, council area or electorate to understand local climate risks.

How vulnerable is your neighbourhood to climate disasters?

Find out with our new climate risk map. 🗺

Just type in your suburb, LGA or address and see the risk by type of. disaster, by 2030, 2050 or 2100 under low, medium, or high emissions👇https://t.co/RXOyxpKO2o

— Climate Council (@climatecouncil) May 2, 2022

Economist and report author Nicki Hutley says the tool drives home the effects of climate change on a personal level while also illustrating how property risks drop in line with stronger action to reduce emissions.

"If people can see their homes are at risk of being uninsurable - even for people who now have insurance - it's a really sharp message."

You're all up to speed. We'll keep you updated with more of the biggest stories throughout the day.

- With AAP. 

With Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's defamation trial playing out so publicly, it seems that many people on the internet have already decided what 'side' they're on. 

The Quicky speaks to an expert in media law and a relationship psychologist to discuss why we feel compelled to take sides at all, and the dangers of thinking we know one way or another who is to blame. 

READ: 

• What women were talking about on Monday.

Feature Image: Getty.