Australia news live: RBA holds cash rate at 4.35%; PM defends Japan relationship after Coalition question over ‘classless’ melon comment

Australia's Reserve Bank held its cash rate steady at four point three five percent, keeping borrowing costs unchanged. But the real headline out of Canberra today is an unlikely source of diplomatic tension: a pair of crown melons. Per The Guardian, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made comments about a gift of premium melons from Japan that have sparked outcry from the opposition Coalition. The Coalition's shadow foreign affairs minister Ted O'Brien is calling the remarks a national embarrassment, though Japan reportedly sent a memo last month suggesting they took no offense and don't believe the comments were made with ill intention. O'Brien insists the gaffe has damaged one of Australia's most important partnerships.

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