You can listen to the Front on your smart speaker every morning to hear the latest episode. Just say play the news from the Australian. From the Australian, here's what's on the Front. I'm Claire Harvey. It's Thursday, July twenty five. Another Reserve Bank rate rise would raise the benefits of tax cuts for households. That's according to new economic analysis in The Australian Today, and it comes as families brace
for a quarter percent hike. On August six, United States Secret Service boss Kimberly Cheetle has resigned in the wake of a failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Joe Biden is expected to address the nation on Thursday morning Australian time for the first time since he announced his pulling out of the twenty twenty four race to give his vice president Kamala Harris a chance of victory. Come to the Australian dot com dot a U to see the
President's address live and follow all the action. Just two sleeps until the twenty twenty four Paris Olympics officially begin with a glittering opening ceremony, but Australia's Matilda's are getting in early, taking on Germany on Friday. The women's football side have a tough road ahead. Today we get real about the prospects for the Matildas and all Australia's Olympians
just wait. Jessica Halleran is the Australian's chief sports writer and she's in Marseille ready for the Matilda's first game. We caught Jess at the train station. Okay, jess Australia really has fallen in love with the Matildas. Are they as good as we think they are?
These Olympic Games are really going to show the world where the toolers are at right now. They finished forth at the Tokyo Olympics and they've been saying over and over and over again in press conferences that they really want to win a medal, but they're up against it. They're in a forum of death. Their first team that they're taking on is Germany and they're the world number fours and it's going to be a really, really tough
ask to get a win over them. But if we're going to win over them, it shows us that we're going to have a real shape for a medal here.
So Germany first, then what for the Matilda's.
So then the Matilda's will travel to Nice and play Zambia and after that they've got the USA, the powerhouse of soccer, who are really going to be a huge threat.
Sat.
Look what that's it. USA have won the gold medal. They've got a new coach.
Her name's Emma Hayes and she has absolutely cleaned out that team and injected a lot of young new talent into it. So that's going to be a must watch match. But the Matildas need to finish near the top of their group to get through to the next stage. But you've got a lot of pundits who are picking them to finish last in this group of deaths, so they're up against it. But if anyone can do it, it's the Materidas.
Is Australia mature enough to cope with the Matilda's maybe not winning gold?
I think we will love them no matter what.
This team is the most popular team I think we've ever had. I mean, you look at those television ratings last year, nearly twelve million people tuning in to watch that semi final against England. The love and adoration for them, I don't think so. The Wayne if they don't do well here. But if you speak to any of the girls, having spoken to mar Wither on the either of these games, you just really understand how important these opportunities for them,
and that they've got the experienced players. We've got players that have been two three Olympic games. Now they're really feeling is they're going to meddle. They're going to have to do it now.
It's not so long ago that the Matildas were playing to empty stadia or stadia that were closed because it wasn't worth the cost of opening them for such tiny crowds. Have the Matilda's improved in that time or is it just that we've started to notice them.
Oh, they've improved dramatically.
But I think what you've seen happen is pay parody has made a huge difference. There was a historic paydal sealed not so long ago where saw the female players play the Saness and in so they've paid the same as stoppers and that kind of listin professionalism has seen these players being able to quit their butts jobs and really put their all into being being in Matilda. That's why you've seen this great rise in professionalism in But look, there are a crossroads right now.
This could be Turn at the Starsul's last big gig as Matilda's coach, and behind the scenes is a real want of this team to go up another level.
How significant is the absence of Sam Kerr She's out with an injury.
Of course, Oh it's huge, It really is huge.
I mean if they win it without her, it'd be an extraordinary feat.
But she just has so much talented I'm here, shunka.
She's probably needs to put that goal that she's got It against England at the World Cup last year.
Was a shot.
It was just like chronic. She has the ability to turn a game on its end. And I think she'll be but Che's home in England and won't be here and is said to be watching it for abroad.
The opening ceremony is just a couple of days away early Saturday morning Australian time. Will the Matilda's be there, No.
They will be most likely traveling to Nice where their next game is, which is against Sampia, so they will be on the road. I was at the Athlete's village yesterday at the meeting, was given a private touring.
You can really see all the buzz now and.
There is just so much energy and excitement in the city for that opening ceremony, and absolutely with the Australians, it was great being in their quarters and they've got their own boister there and they're all sitting around and college it's.
Just like home.
Now you've covered a lot of Olympic Games. How are Australia's prospects generally?
I think this could be a fantastic games for US.
I mean we're going to see gold medals in swimming Ari Tipmos Morri o' callahan of some of the superstars that we should see brining gold.
Our women's real eighteens are amazing.
Then we've got the ruct with sevens where both the men and the women shiuld medal. They should have had a real crack at gold as well. Like anything could happen there. These are all the first weeks and the coming days and courts and Tilda's all going well and they couldn't make some Olympic magic happen too.
So it is expected to be.
A strong games for US here and they seem really really well prepared.
Coming up fears a rising of a terrorism incident in Paris, So does it feel safe? You can check out Jess's reporting, including her big interview with Mary Fowler right now at the Australian dot com dot au and we'll be back after this break. Jess, there are serious concerns about the security situation in Paris. We've seen two serious incidents, one alleged sexual assault of an Australian woman and an alleged
assault onto nine radio personnel. The travel alert for Australians heading to Frances exercise a high degree of caution due to the threat of terrorism, and Australian Olympians have been warned against wearing their teen uniforms outside the Olympic village. Does it feel safe.
Well, it's hard to walk out of our hotel here in Paris and not be confronted by the French military holding machine guns and their police absolutely everywhere, especially around all sites like that. Had to go to a Christcal Prince at the Art of Towers stating in the other day and the security.
Was just quite insane, to be honest. It feels quite heightened.
It feels a little bit wrong each but you can really feel that the French don't want anything to go wrong with you. And yes there have been incidentss but people feel that they really are scarring everything at it to stop something huge, in catastrophic happening here at these games while the eyes of the world wromble.
Jessica Hallerin is The Australian's chief sports writer. All the glory and drama of the Games will be live twenty four to seven at the Australian dot com dot au