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A judge has found West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and billionaire Clive Palmer defamed each other, describing their trial as a waste of the Federal Court's resources.

Justice Michael Lee on Tuesday found neither man had valid defences for a series of defamatory public statements in 2020, when they feuded over WA's COVID-19 response and a damages claim involving one of Mr Palmer's mining projects.

He ordered Mr Palmer to pay $20,000 to WA's Labor premier, with both parties' costs to be determined at a hearing next week.

Mr McGowan was ordered to pay $5000 to Mr Palmer.

Justice Lee noted there was a "glaring disproportion" between the damages awarded and the considerable cost of the legal proceedings to both Mr Palmer and WA taxpayers who are set to foot the bill for the premier's involvement.

"The game has not been worth the candle," Justice Lee said.

Given court resources were stretched, political figures should ideally only sue for defamation if there was "real reputational damage and significant hurt to feelings", he added.

Mr Palmer in 2020 sued Mr McGowan, claiming the premier's public comments - including labelling him an "enemy of the state" - had damaged his reputation.

The Queensland businessman sought aggravated damages, accusing Mr McGowan of seeking to "blacken his name at every opportunity".

But Justice Lee found while the insults against Mr Palmer could not be considered trivial, they ultimately caused very little damage to his reputation.

Mr McGowan, who counter-sued for defamation, had also sought aggravated damages.

Justice Lee accepted the premier had suffered hurt feelings but said Mr Palmer's attacks on him, including claims he had acted corruptly, had probably only enhanced his reputation and popularity within his home state.

He described Mr McGowan as generally an impressive witness but one who had at times evaded directly answering questions.

The judge was more critical of Mr Palmer's testimony, saying it appeared the billionaire had been willing to "fashion his evidence" to best suit his case.

It emerged in 2020 that Mr Palmer was seeking up to $30 billion in damages over a 2012 decision by the former Liberal state government not to assess his proposed Balmoral South iron ore project.

The McGowan government subsequently rushed through extraordinary legislation to prevent Mr Palmer suing the state.

In his evidence, Mr Palmer - whose bid to bring down WA's hard borders was rejected by the High Court in 2020 - said he was scared because provisions in the legislation protected the government from criminal prosecution.

Referring to the fictional character James Bond and his "licence to kill", Mr Palmer told the court: "I didn't know what the limits might be."

Justice Lee described this claim as being so outlandish that it undermined Mr Palmer's entire testimony.

The judge was also critical of WA attorney-general John Quigley, who was recalled to give evidence a second time after making errors in his initial testimony.

Justice Lee described Mr Quigley's evidence as "confused and confusing" but stopped short of calling him a dishonest witness.

Mr McGowan on Tuesday said he stood by Mr Quigley and "would go to my grave proud" of the anti-Palmer legislation.

"I didn't want to be put in this position but everything I have done has been an attempt to protect the interests of Western Australia," he told reporters.

Mr Palmer said Justice Lee's findings showed the premier and attorney-general had "plotted between themselves with late night texts".

"It is highly disturbing that this is how the WA government acts," Mr Palmer said in a statement.

In private text messages revealed during the trial, Mr McGowan described Mr Palmer as "the worst Australian who's not in jail".

Mr Quigley privately labelled Mr Palmer a "big fat liar".

The parties will return to court on August 11 to deal with costs arising from the proceedings.

© AAP 2022

Geelong defender Jake Kolodjashnij has thrown his support behind Tasmania's bid for an AFL club, saying the thirst is there for a team to thrive.

Debate is still raging as to whether the AFL should expand to 19 clubs in order to get a team in Tasmania.

The Tasmanian government's plans for a $750 million stadium on Hobart's waterfront also remain up in the air, with questions about who will fund the project.

The AFL wants the Tasmanian government to fund the majority of the stadium, but Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff says his government isn't willing to pay more than half of the bill.

Kolodjashnij, who was born in Tasmania, said the huge support thrown behind NBL newcomers Tasmania JackJumpers last season was further proof of the hunger for sport in the state.

If all goes smoothly, a Tasmanian AFL team could be in place by 2026.

"I'm all for it," Kolodjashnij said.

"Being a Tassie boy and knowing it's the main sport down there, everyone gets around it.

"What they've seen with the JackJumpers and how their season has played out, I think if it is to go ahead, I think the community down there will really jump on board.

"It would be a great thing for the state long term if it was to go ahead."

Kolodjashnij will notch his 150-game milestone in Saturday night's clash with St Kilda at GMHBA Stadium.

The ladder-leading Cats (15-4) are on a 10-match winning streak, but Kolodjashnij doesn't subscribe to the theory that Geelong would be well served by having a complacency-busting loss before the finals.

"You want to play your best footy at this time of the year, so I'm happy to keep banking wins," he said.

"It's a good feeling singing the song every week.

"The main focus of the group is to try to sharpen different areas as best as we can to put our best foot forward come September."

© AAP 2022

The Reserve Bank has lifted the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 1.85 per cent - its highest level in more than six years.

For someone with a $500,000 mortgage at the start of May, with 25 years remaining, the total increase across the four hikes would be $472 a month, according to RateCity.

RBA governor Philip Lowe said the rate rises in recent months were required "to bring inflation back to target and to create a more sustainable balance of demand and supply in the Australian economy".

"The board expects to take further steps in the process of normalising monetary conditions over the months ahead, but it is not on a pre-set path," he said in a statement after the board meeting on Tuesday.

"The size and timing of future interest rate increases will be guided by the incoming data and the board's assessment of the outlook for inflation and the labour market."

The RBA is seeking to return inflation to its target band of two to three per cent from its current level of 6.1 per cent - the highest it has been since the early 1990s.

Dr Lowe said inflation was expected to peak later this year and decline back to the target range.

The bank's central forecast is for CPI inflation to be around 7.75 per cent over 2022, a little above four per cent over 2023, and around three per cent over 2024, he said.

He said higher inflation and higher interest rates were putting pressure on household budgets, with consumer confidence falling and house prices declining in some markets after large increases in recent years.

"Working in the other direction, people are finding jobs and obtaining more hours of work," he said.

"Many households have also built up large financial buffers and the saving rate remains higher than it was before the pandemic.

"The board will be paying close attention to how these various factors balance out as it assesses the appropriate setting of monetary policy."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told parliament it was "another difficult day" for Australian homeowners.

"It's not a shock to anybody, but it will still sting," he said.

Finsure CEO Simon Bednar said it was likely official rates will again be lifted by at least half a percentage point in September.

"Perhaps in October we may see the central bank take a pause to reflect on the impact its rate hikes have had on reining in inflation, and there is also a budget scheduled to be handed down by the federal government on October 25 which the RBA will need to consider," he said.

PropTrack senior economist, Eleanor Creagh, said it had been the fastest increase in rates since 1994.

"How household spending holds up against a backdrop of higher inflation and falling house prices versus savings and wealth buffers, and hopefully stronger wages growth, will be crucial in determining the loss of conditions in the economy and how high and fast the cash rate rises."

Anneke Thompson, chief economist at CreditorWatch, said the rate of default by small businesses was expected to rise by a percentage point over the next year.

The likes of Surfers Paradise in Queensland and Auburn in NSW are likely hotspots for mortgage defaults.

The rate rise came as the value of new loan commitments for housing fell 4.4 per cent in June, but remained at a historically elevated level of $31 billion, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The value of new owner-occupier loan commitments fell 3.3 per cent in June, while new investor loan commitments fell 6.3 per cent.

The total number of dwellings approved fell 0.7 per cent in June, following a 11.2 per cent rise in May.

© AAP 2022