Category Archives: Australian economy

Australians are yet to see the benefits of AI and datacentres – and US midterms show they could be political kryptonite

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Albanese should tread carefully as he struggles to make case for how the new technology will benefit ordinary voters

When will Australia see the benefits of the AI and datacentre boom? So far, all we’ve seen is the possibility of changes to copyright that would hurt Australian creatives, special rules about power and water use, and the threat of mass displacement or replacement of workers, with the trade-off being a mere 10% chance of human extinction.

Now add the Reserve Bank’s assessment this week that datacentres were part of growing “inflationary pressures” when lifting interest rates to an 18-year high.

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Australian consumer confidence plunges to worst level since 1990s after RBA rate rise

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Key indicator dropped about 20% after the Reserve Bank last month announced the highest interest rates since 2011

Australian households are the most persistently pessimistic they have been since the early-1990s recession, after a fourth rate rise this year.

Confidence among Australian consumers has plunged about 20% since the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates to the highest levels since 2011, according to the Westpac–Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index.

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Chalmers says global economic turmoil will drive budget cuts, but Australia should avoid recession

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Treasurer says ‘very substantial and intensifying pressure’ on federal budget as he points finger at private sector for driving up inflation amid Middle East conflict

Jim Chalmers has warned of “very substantial and intensifying” economic pressures on the horizon but insists he’s not planning for a recession, as he prepares to find new ways to cut the budget ahead of its mid-year update.

The treasurer on Sunday called on critics of government spending to name the services that should be cut, as he points the finger at the private sector for driving up inflation in Australia amid the protracted conflict in the Middle East.

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Million-dollar public servants: 11 staff at Australia’s Future Fund paid significantly more than the PM

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One executive received a $1.5m package last year, while 10 other staff received remuneration exceeding $1m each

Nearly a dozen federal public servants were paid more than $1m last year, with one receiving a $1.5m package worth more than double Anthony Albanese’s base salary.

The generous remuneration – which includes bonuses and allowances – has been criticised as insulting during a cost-of-living crisis and amid job cuts across the public service.

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Property prices are plunging in almost every capital city across Australia – see how your suburb rates

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Cotality data shows median house prices fell in September as interest rates hit borrowing capacity

Housing prices are falling in almost every suburb in Australia’s biggest cities, with values dropping faster in Brisbane than Sydney as the slowdown intensifies.

Prices nationally have fallen 5.2% from their peak in March to where they were a year ago, Cotality data released on Thursday shows.

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Australia news live: Anthony Albanese says OpenAI agent hacked Medicare

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Anthony Albanese has revealed an artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI hacked Medicare in June.

The prime minister made the comments at the UN summit in New York.

This incident occurred in June this year and involved an Open AI agent gaining unauthorised access into the public-facing Medicare statistics reporting service portal, which is administered by Services Australia.

The AI agent accessed both public and non-public files.

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Property investors may pay less capital gains tax under Labor’s reforms, analysis suggests

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Researcher says public debate since May budget has overstated how much reforms will cost landlords and investors

Most property investors may end up paying less capital gains tax after Labor’s budget reforms, research based on an analysis of historical data suggests.

The e61 Institute’s analysis also found half of all landlords would have faced higher costs from the loss of negative gearing over the period from 2008 to 2025 if the new system had been in place, suggesting the tax reforms alone cannot explain a slump in investment demand.

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Australia news live: Chalmers says ‘monetised misogyny’ online fuelling DV; Greens say triple-zero run for ‘profits of corporations’

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Jim Chalmers was also asked earlier if the government would support a national royal commission into violence against women and children. He said the government had chosen to increase resourcing for child and family violence and domestic violence, adding to the ABC:

We’re trying to deal with the sources of all of this violence, whether it be more security in the housing system, whether it be the monetised misogyny that we see online – there are a whole range of factors feeding in here.

We do acknowledge that all of this violence is obviously entirely unacceptable. It’s horrific in every way. That’s why we’ve increased the resources and that’s why we all need to do better to do everything we can to make a difference here.

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Up to 6,000 tradies to get free qualifications under Labor scheme – as it happened

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Duniam targets ‘frivolous’ asylum seeker claims

The opposition is “very close” to “having a full migration package”, Duniam says. He says they’re willing to work with the government and that illegal overstayers must be deported.

We spend more per student per year than we ever have before and we’ve got declining standards across the board, and the problem with the curriculum is we have left foundations behind.

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News live: dozens of Australians believed to be among hundreds of foreign tourists missing in Nepal flash floods

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Powerful floods in Himalayan border area sweep away houses, roads and bridges. Follow today’s news live

Dfat aware of a ‘number’ of Australians in flood zone

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said it is aware of a “number” of Australians in the area affected by the flooding, saying officials stand ready to provide consular assistance.

We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by the significant flooding in Nepal and Tibet, China.

Australians in the affected area should follow the advice of local authorities.

We are deeply saddened by the devastating flooding in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts and surrounding areas.

Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster. We express our solidarity with the people of Nepal during this difficult time.

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Australia’s first home buyers are still taking out loans as property investors step back, data shows

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Exclusive: New entrants the only cohort making more loan applications amid interest rate rises and tax changes, mortgage broker says

First home buyers are still taking out a large number of loans, with government backing, even as investors step back from Australia’s property market.

New entrants are now the only cohort applying for more loans than they were in June, according to new data from the mortgage broker network Loan Market.

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Swans fans turn up to support women’s team – as it happened

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Victorian Labor expands on free dental care election promise

The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, and health minister, Ingrid Stitt, have held a press conference this morning off the back of their announcement yesterday that the Labor government would open 10 free public dental clinics if re-elected in November.

You can’t use a Medicare card for dental unless you’ve got a healthcare card or you are a category of a particular citizen, it is very difficult … I’ve been visiting a lot of dentists over the past few weeks. There [are] waiting lists. People are in enormous, unbearable pain.

This will be a cost of living measure but it will also make sure that we deal with the healthcare of some of the most vulnerable Victorians. This is really going to fill the gap that’s been there for decades.

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Australia news live: Pauline Hanson opposes major gun buyback agreed in wake of Bondi terror attack

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Legislation for plan passed parliament earlier this year and is set to commence in NSW from November. Follow live updates

Pauline Hanson says she is opposed to a major gun buyback being announced by Anthony Albanese and the NSW premier, Chris Minns, in Sydney shortly.

Legislation for the plan passed parliament earlier this year, part of the response to the Bondi beach terror attack. It will be run in two phases, with the cost split 50:50 between the federal and NSW governments.

A different gun is for a different purpose, and you have to understand guns. I’ve got my own gun license, so I understand these people.

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Lending to property investors falls sharply in ‘tiny’ step towards fairer housing market in Australia, expert says

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ABS data shows an almost 9% slump in new lending to investors after three interest rate hikes this year

In what one economist is describing as a “tiny step” toward a fairer housing market after decades of bad policy, property investors are shying away from established homes, and putting money into new builds instead, new data shows.

New lending to property investors fell sharply in the three months to June, slumping almost 9%, ABS data showed, while the number of total new home loans dropped by 5.4% in the June quarter.

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Car owners should challenge insurers on steep price hikes and ‘call their bluff’, Asic says

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Regulator finds many insurers raising premiums faster than inflation and advises customers to ask for better deals

Car owners should challenge motor insurers over steep premium hikes, the corporate regulator advises, after finding many companies were raising prices faster than inflation.

In a report released on Tuesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) found that none of the eight insurers it reviewed adequately explained the reasons behind premium calculations to customers or why prices had changed in quote or renewal documents.

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Labor open to ‘sensible amendments’ on gambling reforms, minister says – as it happened

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Coalition demands NDIS changes focus on fraud, corruption

Liberal frontbencher Tim Wilson also called on the government to focus more on fraud and corruption issues in the NDIS, as the Coalition and Labor negotiate on changes to the disability scheme.

We have people who are awarding either packages to people when they shouldn’t be used, we’re having people taking advantage of the system and we know this is being exposed.

And so as a consequence we’ve seen this massive growth continue to go on and we need to make sure that that’s the focus, not the targeting of the clients. You know, if you go out to voters in Australia, there are a lot of people who are on disability support packages who are very nervous about their future and it’s because of how this government has looked at reforms and they feel like they’re being targeted, not the fraudsters.

We’re not wowsers, we do believe in protecting children, particularly from harm.

Under the government’s proposed bill, it doesn’t limit the capacity to advertise to children and that’s something that I’m concerned about, making sure that we’ve got the measures that are consistent, appropriate, and also reflecting the changing nature of technology

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Donald Trump hits Australian exports to US with new higher trade tariff over claims of ‘forced labour’

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Australia’s trade minister, Don Farrell, says tariff regime is unjustified and inconsistent with free trade agreement with US

Donald Trump has hit Australian exports with new trade tariffs, claiming the country is not doing enough to combat forced labour, but the Albanese government has demanded he remove them immediately.

The United States announced on Friday morning (AEST) that many Australian exports now attract a new 12.5% tariff as part of a broader regime affecting dozens of countries. However the Albanese government says Australia’s three largest export categories – including beef and gold – will avoid the tariff hit.

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Australia news live: Jim Chalmers says he has ‘other priorities’ than a gas tax; Anthony Albanese calls to congratulate Andy Burnham

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Treasurer points to other reforms after Labor members call for ‘fairer return’ from natural resources. Follow today’s news live

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before your regular blogger takes the reins.

Jim Chalmers has claimed rightwing political parties will “prey on” voter insecurities about a worsening economy while championing “anti-worker” policies. It comes as markets are now expecting another rate hike by the end of the year. He also continues to push back at rank and file Labor members’ calls for a new tax on gas exports, saying the government had “other priorities” for reform. More coming up.

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Australia news live: Brisbane fog causes flight delays; Labor faces seven major challenges, Chalmers says

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Treasurer says ‘parties of the sensible centre and the centre-left parties’ face ‘serious economic challenges’. Follow live

Self-reported domestic violence incidents declining in NSW but deaths and hospitalisations fail to fall

New data shows self-reported domestic violence incidents in New South Wales have declined, but the number of women and children murdered or hospitalised in domestic and family violence incidents over the past eight years has not significantly budged.

The decline in self-reported violence is significant because it reflects underlying levels of violence in the community, not just what is reported to police. It suggests that, despite rising reports of domestic violence to police, domestic violence in the community is not increasing and may be trending down.

There’s a strong perception that violence against women is rising, which is understandable given increases in police-recorded incidents, heightened media attention and greater public awareness.

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Australia news live: Barnaby Joyce dogged by Tommy Robinson questions – and by a dog – in spiky ABC interview

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One Nation MP grilled in 7.30 interview about Pauline Hanson’s podcast interview by far-right activist. Follow today’s news live

Anthony Albanese has congratulated the new UK Prime Minister Anthony Burnham after the latter took over the job yesterday. The Australian PM posted a note to X, emphasising the strategic allyship:

Congratulations Prime Minister Burnham on your appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Australia and the United Kingdom are longstanding friends, allies and partners, united by shared values and deep ties between our peoples.

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