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Fears of a delayed hit from rate hikes outweighed concerns about stubbornly high inflation when the Reserve Bank board made its surprising October cash rate decision.

The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to ease back to a 25 basis point interest rate lift despite markets broadly expecting another 50 basis point jump.

Minutes from the October board meeting reveal arguments for both 25 and 50 basis point lifts, with the smaller increment narrowly emerging as the better choice.

"A smaller increase than that agreed at preceding meetings was warranted given that the cash rate had been increased substantially in a short period of time and the full effect of that increase lay ahead," the minutes said.

The board said the cash rate was getting close to the interest rate buffers applied when many borrowers took out their home loans.

They also flagged the risk of households restricting spending more than anticipated.

Spending has remained resilient despite consumers expressing their concerns about the state of the economy in surveys designed to measure confidence.

The fact that most people have jobs is thought to be playing into elevated spending results.

On the other hand, the central bank considered a larger rate hike, based on fears about persistently high inflation and the possibility of wage growth surging as it has in other economies. This would make it harder to rein in inflation.

Flooding in southeast Australia has emerged as another likely driver of inflation, the treasurer has warned.

While Jim Chalmers said it was too early to tell how much damage the floods would do to the federal budget and the economy more broadly, he said the disaster would be factored into the budget's inflation projections.

Royal Bank of Canada economists said the minutes showed the RBA would start paying more attention to consumer spending, housing and labour market data.

"It is no longer almost solely focused on inflation," economists Su-Lin Ong and Robert Thompson said.

Ms Ong and Mr Thompson stuck with their forecast for 25 basis point lifts in October and November, although have not ruled out another hike early next year.

"The risk remains for another hike in February and we are mindful of the ongoing shifting into firmly restrictive territory and outsized rate hikes by much of the global central banking community," they said.

Rising interest rates have added 35 per cent to the average monthly mortgage repayment, with Canstar's Steve Mickenbecker urging mortgage holders to stress-test their own budgets and consider refinancing before the financial stresses get worse.

"It's important that borrowers do something now rather than wait until they are desperate, as the options they have now may dry up if they delay action until their situation is dire," Mr Mickenbecker said.

"When you're struggling to pay the loan and the bills, you'll struggle to get a loan approved."

© AAP 2022

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Brittany Higgins is an honest, credible witness who has not wavered in her sexual assault allegation, a jury has been told.

The trial of the man accused of raping Ms Higgins inside Parliament House is coming to an end with the prosecution completing its closing argument.

Bruce Lehrmann is being tried in the ACT Supreme Court after he pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent.

Ms Higgins alleges the assault took place inside the office of former cabinet minister Linda Reynolds, for whom she and Lehrmann worked as staffers, in 2019.

Prosecutor Shane Drumgold urged the jury not to be distracted by outside discussions of workplace culture in Parliament House and the Me Too movement.

He said the essence of the case was whether Ms Higgins made up her sexual assault allegation.

He put to the jury that if she did, it was an elaborate fabrication and she was "quite the actor".

Mr Drumgold said Ms Higgins has not faltered in her evidence and that she was honest when she did not recall specific things.

He said her version of events had remained the same from the days after the alleged assault, to her police complaint two years later, to her appearance in the witness box.

"I submit that Ms Higgins is an inherently credible witness," Mr Drumgold said.

Meanwhile, he said Lehrmann had given inconsistent accounts about his reasons for being at parliament on the night of the alleged assault to the security guards, to his boss and to the police.

Mr Drumgold said Lehrmann's intent was to go to Parliament House with the "drunk" and "vulnerable" Ms Higgins.

"We say this was the most convenient place to get her (Ms Higgins) alone, not a sudden need to do some work in the middle of the night," he said on Tuesday.

Mr Drumgold said the defence has argued that Ms Higgins made up a complaint to keep her staffer job in Senator Reynolds' office but pointed out she did not reapply for that job after the election.

He told the jury there were strong political forces at play in the period immediately after the alleged events, through the 2019 federal election and afterwards.

"It's abundantly clear from the actions of Senator Reynolds during this trial that those political forces were still a factor," he said.

Mr Drumgold also said Ms Higgins had a right to be scared when she was considering making a police complaint.

"It's clear that this is a young lady in the middle of strong political forces," he said.

"We say she was right to be scared, she was right to be cautious and she was right to move slowly and carefully."

On Monday, Mr Drumgold accused Senator Reynolds of trying to interfere in the trial by requesting a copy of Ms Higgins' transcript of evidence and texting suggestions to the defence.

Senator Reynolds said she was not seeking to coach the cross-examination of her former staffer and was "curious" about what had been said in court.

Advised by her lawyer that it was "inappropriate" to access a transcript, Senator Reynolds did not receive one.

Closing arguments are continuing.

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Brittany Higgins' credibility is being scrutinised in the closing days of the trial for the man she accuses of raping her.

Bruce Lehrmann is being tried in the ACT Supreme Court after he pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent.

Ms Higgins alleges she was assaulted by Lehrmann inside the Parliament House office of former cabinet minister Linda Reynolds, for whom they worked as staffers, in 2019.

Prosecutor Shane Drumgold completed his closing argument on Tuesday, telling the jury Ms Higgins was an honest, credible witness who has not wavered in her sexual assault allegation.

He said Ms Higgins was facing a situation where political forces were at play and she was right to tread carefully.

But Lehrmann's defence lawyer Steven Whybrow said a closer look at Ms Higgins' evidence made the prosecution's case against his client "totally untenable".

He said the "kindest way" to sum up the case was to say Ms Higgins simply didn't know what happened that night, but suggested she had motive to fabricate the allegations to save her job.

Mr Whybrow said "it would be pretty embarrassing" to be found asleep in a ministerial office and spark a security breach.

"Is there a reasonable possibility this complaint is being made because her 'dream job' is, from her perspective, in jeopardy?" Mr Whybrow said.

He suggested Ms Higgins woke up in parliament on Saturday morning after a night out drinking with colleagues and waited until "a more sensible hour" to leave, hoping no one would notice.

Mr Whybrow also suggested Ms Higgins fabricated doctor appointments at the time to "make it more believable" that she had been sexually assaulted.

He said there was no record of Ms Higgins attending these appointments and the reason she didn't go was because she didn't need to.

"The person (Ms Higgins) bringing the allegation is prepared to say anything," he said.

"She says things that superficially support her position and then they turn out to be not reliable."

But the prosecutor said if Ms Higgins did make up her allegation, it was an elaborate fabrication and she was "quite the actor".

Mr Drumgold said Ms Higgins had not faltered in her evidence and was honest when she could not remember something.

He said her version of events had remained the same from the days after the alleged assault, to her police complaint two years later, to her appearance in the witness box.

Meanwhile, he said Lehrmann had given inconsistent accounts about his reasons for being at parliament on the night of the alleged assault to the security guards, to his boss and to the police.

Mr Drumgold said Lehrmann's intent was to go to Parliament House with the "drunk" and "vulnerable" Ms Higgins.

"We say this was the most convenient place to get her (Ms Higgins) alone, not a sudden need to do some work in the middle of the night," he said on Tuesday.

Mr Drumgold said the defence has argued Ms Higgins made up a complaint to keep her staffer job in Senator Reynolds' office but pointed out she did not reapply for that job after the election.

He told the jury there were strong political forces at play in the period immediately after the alleged events, through the 2019 federal election and afterwards.

"It's clear that this is a young lady in the middle of strong political forces," he said.

"We say she was right to be scared, she was right to be cautious and she was right to move slowly and carefully."

The closing argument for the defence continues on Wednesday.

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The United States will hold Russia accountable for "war crimes", the White House says, after Russia attacked Ukrainian cities with drones during morning rush hour, killing at least four people in an apartment building in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his Monday evening video address, said there had been more attacks: "Right now, there is a new Russian drone attack. There are (drones) that have been shot down."

Interfax Ukraine news agency said Telegram users had reported blasts in the town of Fastiv just outside Kyiv, as well as in the southern port of Odesa.

Russian forces also targeted infrastructure across Ukraine in the second wave of air strikes in a week, like the first coming in the morning with people going to work and school.

Ukrainian soldiers fired into the air trying to shoot down the drones after blasts rocked the capital Kyiv on Monday morning. An anti-aircraft rocket could be seen streaking into the morning sky, followed by an explosion and orange flames, as residents raced for shelter.

US President Joe Biden's press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters the White House "strongly condemns Russia's missile strikes today" and said the attack "continues to demonstrate (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's brutality".

Mentioning a new, $US725 million ($A1.2 billion) military aid package announced for Ukraine last Friday, she said: "We will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.

"... We will continue to impose costs on Russia, hold them accountable for its war crimes."

A pregnant woman was among four people killed in the attack on the residential building, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi said there had been deaths in other cities but did not provide a full toll.

Black smoke poured out of the windows of the Kyiv apartment building and emergency service workers toiled to douse flames.

Ukraine said the attacks were carried out by Iran-made "suicide drones", which fly to their target and detonate. The United States, Britain and France agreed that Iran supplying drones to Russia would violate a UN Security Council resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers.

Iran on Monday stuck to its denial that it is supplying the drones to Russia, while the Kremlin has not commented.

The White House accused Iran of lying when it says Iranian drones were not being used by Russia in Ukraine.

Asked for comment, the Iranian mission to the United Nations repeated a statement issued by the government on Friday that said it supports upholding the U.N. Charter and the U.N.'s attempts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

Several EU foreign ministers on Monday called for sanctions against Iran over the transfer of drones to Russia.

Russia's defence ministry said it had carried out a "massive" attack on military targets and energy infrastructure across Ukraine using high-precision weapons.

Reuters saw pieces of a drone used in the attack that bore the words: "For Belgorod", an apparent reference to Ukrainian shelling of a Russian border region.

Ukraine's military said it had destroyed 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, or about 85 per cent of those used in attacks. Reuters was not able to independently verify that tally.

Russia denies targeting civilians in what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, launched on February 24 and including the biggest annexation of territory in Europe since World War II.

In Russia itself, a Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in the southern city of Yeysk, engulfing apartments in flames, the regional governor said. At least four people were reported killed, according to Interfax.

RIA news agency said the crash happened during a training flight. It quoted the defence ministry as saying the pilots, who ejected, had reported an engine caught fire on takeoff, and the plane's fuel had ignited when it struck the building.

Russia's state Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case. Yeysk is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the Sea of Azov.

© RAW 2022