Category Archives: Australian economy

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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Australia news live: Barnaby Joyce defends Pauline Hanson’s meeting with Tommy Robinson; police make arrest after man dies in Sydney house fire

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One Nation MP says the media should be prepared to interview far-right activist. Follow today’s news live

Michelle Rowland says mandatory minimum standards for datacentres don’t apply to existing developments

The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, told ABC News that mandatory minimum standards for datacentres would apply to new developments, not existing ones.

The scope and the timing of those is something that I think will be properly determined by national cabinet.

This is an issue that not only state governments but local councils have been dealing with as well.

It goes from being this hunched-over ball of fluff at the top of a tree looking down at you, to suddenly spreading out its limbs and flying over your head like a magical flying carpet, or this weird stingray-UFO thing in the sky.

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Australia news live: NT police still seek answers over 25 year-old murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio

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Bradley John Murdoch was convicted of 28-year-old’s murder but remains were never found

Northern Territory Police have opened evidence boxes to uncover several previously unseen photographs from the investigation of the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio and attempted abduction of his girlfriend Joanne Lees.

Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous outback disappearance.

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Women and university graduates in Australia most at risk of losing jobs to AI, report finds

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Those with high levels of vocational training, including tradespeople, are least exposed to AI displacement, according to government review

Artificial intelligence has yet to cause widespread job losses but the federal government has warned that telemarketers, advertising staff and accountants are among the occupations “most exposed” to being replaced by the technology.

According to a first-of-its-kind national report, people in the more exposed occupations are more likely to be women and have university qualifications.

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Australian house prices are falling but are still almost double what they were a decade ago

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The average dwelling price has risen to more than 17 years of a typical household’s disposable income

House prices have dropped across several Australian capital cities, with major banks predicting falls of 2% to 3% by the end of the year.

But after a decade of accelerating house prices, this wouldn’t make a significant dent in housing affordability.

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Accused double murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon’s mother granted bail – as it happened

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Richard Marles said he doubted China tested the long-range weapon yesterday in response to Anthony Albanese being in the Pacific to sign a new defence alliance with Fiji but said Australia remained deeply concerned by the development. He told ABC News:

At the end of the day, what we’re seeing here is a long-range missile test from China, which China itself has said is nuclear-capable … This is China demonstrating a much greater range in terms of being able to deploy a nuclear weapon.

And ultimately what that is, is deeply destabilising.

Our fundamental issue in relation to China is that we have seen a very dramatic military buildup by China without that strategic reassurance [to our neighbours].

There really isn’t an explanation as to why they are building the capabilities that they are and that is fundamentally destabilising.

I think the system is handling the matter as it should … I think it’s appropriate that the legal process takes its course.

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Higher-earning Australians flocking to 5% first home deposit scheme with some borrowers earning over $200,000

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Exclusive: Economists warn Labor’s removal of caps could be pushing up prices as support flows to people in better financial positions

Most Australian first home buyers are using the government’s 5% deposit scheme, with one in three new participants earning more than the scheme’s previous cap for high income earners.

The influx of high income earners into the first home guarantee program, economists warn, has pushed up property prices by increasing buying capacity for people who would have bought anyway.

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Cold feet and cooling prices: Australia’s property market is transforming – and first home buyers aren’t biting

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Exclusive: Data shows buyers are not rushing to get into the market, despite lower prices and less competition

First home buyers are starting to step back and investor demand is slumping in all areas except new property, as Australia’s housing market enters a downturn.

Research shows the market is transforming, nearly two months on from a third consecutive interest rate rise and sweeping tax reforms.

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Parliament has been getting frosty as winter closes in – but Labor may make one more gamble before the break

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As Labor pushes on with reforms, the Coalition must decide whether to join in the parliamentary deal-making

It’s the last week of parliament before the winter break, and not a minute too soon; tensions have been running a little high lately.

The lower house speaker, Milton Dick, has been yeeting MPs mere moments into question time and accused Angus Taylor of “demeaning” the parliament by calling Anthony Albanese a liar; Andrew Hastie claimed One Nation “has declared war on me, so they shall have war”; Labor has been goading the Coalition and its media “cheer squad” for opposing the budget; the Greens hate Labor’s NDIS bill; and people in the Coalition seem to be mad at everyone, including themselves.

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