BREAKING: Anthony Albanese was confronted by a highly familiar face in the crowd at Sunday’s Afghanistan commemoration, one that undoubtedly sent a chill through the PM’s spine. Sitting in the front row was war hero and Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts Smith, whom the Albanese government has spent an estimated $300 million in taxpayer funds attempting to prosecute for alleged war crimes for killing Taliban fighters “the wrong way” The tension in Canberra reached a boiling point during a dramatic front row stare down between Roberts Smith and SAS informant turned politician, Andrew Hastie, who sat directly behind the former prime ministers. While Albanese gave a speech marking 25 years since the start of Australia's longest war, acknowledging that “threats came from without, and sometimes devastatingly from within” the real battle lines were drawn right in front of the podium. Hastie reportedly flinched first and broke the stare, handing Roberts Smith a psychological victory. The man who took the fight to the Taliban sat in the front row. The man whose government is trying to put him away stood at the podium. And Hastie watched from behind the former prime ministers. Some faces in the crowd don’t need a speech to make their point.

The spin just got shredded. RBA Governor Michele Bullock hiked rates to 4.6%, a 15 year high, and then refused to play Albanese and Chalmers’ blame game. She said it straight: “Inflation is too high and has been driven by domestic capacity pressures, the inflation impulse from the Middle East conflict is in addition to this, domestic spending and investment have been stronger than expected” Then the killer line: “The bottom line is that productivity is doing nothing” Labor’s entire script collapsed in one press conference. Albanese spent the morning blaming Morrison, Frydenberg, Putin and Trump. Chalmers said “Middle East” ten times in 20 minutes and claimed the RBA statement made it “abundantly clear” that international factors were the driver. Bullock said the opposite. Domestic demand is too hot, supply isn’t growing, productivity is dead and extra government spending is making it worse. Handouts, tax cuts, free TAFE and bulk billing announcements are not an economic strategy. They are demand stimulus in an economy that already has excess demand. That is why mortgage holders are copping another hike and why more could still come. The time for talking points is over. Cut the spending. Fix productivity. Stop pretending wars overseas explain a homegrown mess.