Albanese was asked if he’s been surprised by any backlash to the changes to the capital gains tax discount. negative gearing.
“Tax reform’s hard … We’re working through these issues,” the prime minister said. pointing to efforts to support first home buyers. “The changes that we’ve made are modest.”
He went on to note the changes include grandfathering provisions that won’t hurt those already with negatively geared assets.
Albanese maintained that Treasury forecasts on house prices don’t show falls,. rather a much smaller increase over time rather than large gains.
double quotation mark It is certainly the case that since the changes were made in 1999. house prices have increased by 400%. That’s more than double the increase in incomes, and that’s what leads and explains the gap that’s there in affordability.
What we’ve done is thrown everything at supply … But we need to do more. Which is why these changes are aimed at boosting supply as well as giving first home buyers a fair crack.
ACT will move to abolish stamp duty for first home buyers
First home buyers in the ACT will no longer have to pay stamp duty. the territory government will reveal, as it hands down a budget mired in debt, AAP reports.
Housing is central to ACT treasurer Chris Steel’s second budget, to be unveiled on Wednesday.
The latest milestone in ACT Labor’s long-term project to abolish stamp duty in favour of higher property rates will extend the exemption to all first home buyers from 1 July.
Currently, only homes under $1m are exempt and purchasers must be below income eligibility thresholds.
The ACT will become the first jurisdiction in Australia to fully abolish stamp duty for people entering the property market.
Australia’s emergency warning system will get its first test today, in the Canberra suburb of Duffy, with the federal government advising it is only a trial run. recipients of alerts don’t need to do anything.
The AusAlert system will see text messages sent to all mobile phones in each area, accompanied by a siren warning. The system is to warn Australians about natural hazards like bushfires. floods, security threats like public safety events or terrorism, and biosecurity or health emergencies.
The system will be operational later this year, with a nationwide test on 27 July,. small local tests will be carried out in the coming weeks.
Duffy is the first test site, with more scheduled in Launceston on 15 June, Cooya Beach in Queensland on 16 June, Liverpool in New South Wales on 17 June,. Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory and Victoria’s Geelong on 18 June, with more tests in following days.
The government is saying that people who receive a test alert don’t need to do anything. because it is just a test.
“A test alert will be sent to all mobile devices in the selected testing area at the time of the test. If you are in the test area with a compatible mobile device you may receive the alert,” the government website states.
double quotation mark Devices may vibrate and play a siren-like warning sound for about 10 seconds. An AusAlert message may appear on device screens. It will clearly say it is a test. Exactly how it appears will depend on your device type and operating system.
Disability discrimination commissioner warns NDIS changes will leave participants in ‘unsafe situations’
The disability discrimination commissioner. Rosemary Kayess, has called for a halt to the Albanese government’s planned overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as she warns proposed participant budget cuts will leave “people in unsafe situations”.
Kayess is appearing on the second day of a Senate inquiry into Labor’s sweeping changes to the NDIS. which are designed to save $37.8bn over four years.
Among the changes are new powers that would allow the federal minister to make cuts to entire categories of support.
The health minister, Mark Butler, intends to use that power to order cuts of 50% to funding for social. community participation activities. Participants use the funding to hire support workers to accompany them into public, helping to build independence. reduce social isolation.
Under questioning from the independent senator, David Pocock, Kayess warned the cuts could cause significant harm to participants.
double quotation mark We know it will leave people in unsafe situations. We had four-and-a-half years of evidence given to the disability royal commission. People with disability in 2009, 2010 after the first round for a disability strategy identified the way that the vulnerability that is created when people are isolated. that’s how they become vulnerable, they end up in either closed environments or isolated environments and they are at risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation.
Asked if the bill should pass in its current form, Kayess said:
double quotation mark No, I think it needs to stop and slow down so there can be far more analysis. I feel the analysis we’ve been able to do over the last couple of weeks is still inadequate.
Western Sydney airport opening date set for 25 October
Western Sydney international airport’s inaugural flight will take off on 25 October. with its executives pledging to help ease demand on some of Australia’s busiest domestic routes, AAP reports.
Jetstar. Qantas tickets go on sale from Wednesday morning, with the budget carrier to run a combined 21 services a week to Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Qantas will begin flying to and from the airport in March 2027.
The first flight out of Sydney’s second airport will be a Jetstar service to the Gold Coast at 11am on 25 October.
Two international routes – Auckland and Changi – had previously been announced.
KPMG loses contracts and leaders amid scandal over alleged confidential leaks
The Australian chief executive of global accounting firm KPMG has resigned. its lucrative government contracts are under threat amid a growing scandal over alleged leaks of clients’ confidential information.
The London-headquartered company allegedly leaked secret documents. breached independence rules, around the same time its competitor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was banned from working for the Australian government for leaking confidential tax information for commercial gain.
KPMG has already lost at least one $10m-a-year contract and will face two inquiries.
Here’s what you need to know:
Albanese urges ‘civil’ discourse on immigration debate amid One Nation rise
Anthony Albanese says he wants to dial down the temperature on the immigration debate, refusing to launch attacks against the opposition. One Nation’s policies.
The prime minister joined ABC Melbourne this morning. was hesitant to label the opposition’s policy to remove welfare access for permanent residents as “racist”.
double quotation mark Quite clearly. [Angus Taylor] has decided to compete with One Nation in that sphere … I’m not about using slogans. I’m saying that it’s not factually correct to say that someone who is an Australian permanent resident from a place, like India or China, where you can’t have dual citizenship, who, for practical reasons, or indeed there are so many people from the United Kingdom. from a range of countries who’ve been here almost their whole life who aren’t citizens …
We need to be able to have discourse, which is civil, where people are able to discuss things in a factual way, put different views, sure,. do it in a way that has some respect rather than the way that discourse is occurring.
Albanese was also asked by a listener whether the immigration debate occurring is due to higher levels of non-white migrants entering the country.
double quotation mark There are a range of factors which will drive people’s views,. I don’t think Australians aren’t homogenous. They don’t have one view, people will have a range of different views,. what I say is that we are stronger because of the diversity that is here in this country.
Disability workers will push for 35% pay rise
Community. disability workers are pursuing the largest pay rise in decades in an historic claim, as the government continues to defend significant cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, AAP reports.
The Australian Services Union will push for a 35% wage increase for 300,000 workers in the claim, citing the growing demands. complexity of their roles.
Emeline Gaske, the ASU’s national secretary, said the workforce, which is overwhelmingly made up of women, has been undervalued. underpaid for decades.
“We surveyed our members and what they told us was stark. More than half say they cannot get ahead financially. One in three won’t have enough to retire on,” she said ahead of the claim being filed on Wednesday.
double quotation mark As the sector continues to grow. demand for workers is surging, we cannot afford to lose workers because pay is failing to keep up with the cost of living. Something has to give, and that something is pay.
How the war in Iran could leave one Australian farmer $600,000 out of pocket
John Bennett’s farm is more than 11,000km from the strait of Hormuz. yet the war in the Middle East is having a daily impact on the grain grower’s life. He estimates increased fertiliser costs could strip about $600,000 from his farm’s bottom line this season.
“Numbers are big in farming,” Bennett says. “And in the end not a lot comes out at the end of the pipe.”
Albanese was asked if he’s been surprised by any backlash to the changes to the capital gains tax discount. negative gearing.
“Tax reform’s hard … We’re working through these issues,” the prime minister said. pointing to efforts to support first home buyers. “The changes that we’ve made are modest.”
He went on to note the changes include grandfathering provisions that won’t hurt those already with negatively geared assets.
Albanese maintained that Treasury forecasts on house prices don’t show falls,. rather a much smaller increase over time rather than large gains.
double quotation mark It is certainly the case that since the changes were made in 1999. house prices have increased by 400%. That’s more than double the increase in incomes, and that’s what leads and explains the gap that’s there in affordability.
What we’ve done is thrown everything at supply … But we need to do more. Which is why these changes are aimed at boosting supply as well as giving first home buyers a fair crack.
Albanese says Australia still impacted by Middle East conflict ‘each and every day’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now on the ABC News Breakfast couch. He said Australia remains concerned about the economic impact of the turmoil in the Middle East.
“We’re a long way away, but we’re impacted here each and every day,” he said.
Albanese went on to say the government would make an assessment on the fuel excise cut as the conflict continues. The cut is set to expire at the end of June.
The prime minister said fuel shipments are continuing due to the work of the government.
Coalition needs to convince Australians it is a ‘genuine and credible’ alternative, Hume says
Jane Hume, the deputy opposition leader, said while she believes the Labor government had broken trust with voters, the Coalition had done so too, after fracturing. reuniting multiple times in recent months.
Hume spoke to ABC News Breakfast saying the opposition had to rebuild trust with Australians, adding:
double quotation mark Our job now is to demonstrate that we are a genuine. credible alternative to this terrible Labor government.
Hume added she thinks Tony Abbott’s presidency of the Liberal party is “terrific” and an opportunity for the Coalition.
double quotation mark He’s a great supporter of the party. he’s a great supporter of Angus Taylor, I think this is a great opportunity. The Liberal party has always been what John Howard called the broad church: we like having different opinions.
We listen to everybody’s views, and we represent them.
Clean energy advocates say it’s great to see ‘green energy statecraft’ at play after Bowen’s remarks in Germany
Clean energy advocates have cheered Chris Bowen’s remarks about electrification at a climate change conference in Bonn, Germany.
Melissa Conley Tyler. an honorary fellow at the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, said it was “great to see green energy statecraft in practice”, adding:
double quotation mark As new president of negotiations for COP31, Australia will play a crucial role in setting the agenda. bringing countries together to agree on action.
Patrick Veyret, the spokesperson for Energy Consumers Australia, said:
double quotation mark The benefits of going all-electric are clear: cheaper bills, predictable energy costs, energy sovereignty. healthier environments to live and work in. …
As Australia steps up to lead negotiations for COP31. the federal government must back its international climate ambition with concrete domestic action. We need a clear, national roadmap and ambitious electrification targets to help households and small businesses to become all-electric.”
Catherine King. the federal transport minister, said the Australian government maintains a diplomatic solution is needed amid renewed tensions in the Middle East surrounding the strait of Hormuz.
King spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, saying:
double quotation mark Obviously we know that we need diplomatic solutions to the conflict in the strait of Hormuz,. we want to urge all parties to continue to negotiate that.
I understand this is a pretty fragile ceasefire, and you’re seeing that borne out, unfortunately, this morning.
King was asked about any extension of the fuel excise cut, which ends at the end of this month. She said the government is still talking to industry, including trucking companies, about the impacts of continued spikes in fuel prices,. said Australians should expect that cut to expire at the end of June:
double quotation mark Obviously we are doing everything we can to shield Australians from this conflict in the Middle East. … But people should, at this stage, expect that it’s coming off at the end of June.
Climate change minister says world is having an ‘electrification moment’ at major conference
The climate change minister. Chris Bowen, said he thinks the world is having an “electrification moment” during a climate change conference in Bonn, Germany this week.
Turkey. the incoming presidency of the next UN climate summit, known as the COP, announced new targets calling for the global electrification target to rise to 35% by 2035.
Bowen said during the climate meeting Australia had done a lot of things “right” to meet that moment. confront the climate crisis, saying:
double quotation mark One thing that we have been getting right in Australia is that the journey to net zero runs through households,. it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in many ways.
I think what’s happening is this: a lot of households are saying, well, now that we have solar panels on the roof. a battery in the garage, why don’t we get an EV? Because we can charge that EV at night off our battery and pay nothing. And I think these things become self-fulfilling and self-reinforcing.
This is something that we’ve learned along the way in Australia,. we’re sharing those thoughts, and we’re learning from others, of course, here in Bonn.
It’s Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it.
Australian retail chain Barbecues Galore will wind up its operations in the coming weeks after failing to negotiate a rescue deal. affecting 500 jobs.
Receivers confirmed on Tuesday that 62 company-owned stores will close, with staff facing redundancies. The brand’s other 27 franchise-owned stores are expected to work through “transitional arrangements” during the wind-up period.
The retailer, operational since the 1970s, entered voluntary administration in February. Management had been working on a conditional recapitalisation deal with major creditor Gordon Brothers, but negotiations with landlords. suppliers collapsed.
In a statement Tuesday. the receivers said staff will continue to be employed during the immediate receivership process before being made redundant:
double quotation mark All employees will be paid their full accrued redundancies. termination payments in the ordinary course of separation.”
Customers with a Barbequres Galore gift card will be able to use it until 30 June. However. in an arrangement first announced in February, for every $1 redeemed on a gift card, the shopper must spend $2. The receivers said in a statement:
double quotation mark Unredeemed gift cards will be treated as unsecured creditors after the 30 June deadline. so customers are encouraged to use their gift cards while they can do so.
Australia has joined the UK. other western allies in introducing sanctions against “extremist settlers” accountable for the “horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians”.
The announcement was made overnight by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Trade and will see sanctions imposed on six firms and one individual involved in enabling and financing the recent upsurge in settler violence in the West Bank.
A statement released by Dfat said:
double quotation mark In response to the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, we the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Norway. the United Kingdom, have taken coordinated action to introduce sanctions and other measures to hold extremist settlers accountable for the horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians.
Extremist violent settlers, with the backing of their supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights. They use violence to displace Palestinians, destroy property. perpetuate the illegal settlement enterprise, undermining the viability of the State of Palestine and the prospects for peaceful coexistence.
For too long, violent settlers have been able to act with near impunity,. settlement expansion and creation of outposts continue with the support and facilitation of the Government of Israel. In some cases, settler violence takes place under the protection of Israel’s security forces. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to take action to ensure meaningful accountability for violence in the West Bank. The Government of Israel should ensure every attack is swiftly. thoroughly investigated, take action against the outposts and organisations that allow violence to flourish, and stop the incitement of violence.
We believe that peace. security for both Israelis and Palestinians can only be achieved through the implementation of the two-state solution. Together, we will continue to work towards this goal.
We Australia, Canada, France, Norway,. the United Kingdom have all taken the historic decision to recognise the State of Palestine, reflecting the rights of the Palestinian people and as part of our common efforts to protect the viability of the two-state solution. Today, we are acting together again in support of the same objectives.
We stand ready to take more action if the Government of Israel does not take urgent steps to address the situation on the ground.
The high court will today rule on whether the Australian government should pay damages to a man it held in indefinite immigration detention for 18 months despite there being “no real prospect of [his] removal”.
Safwat Abdel-Hady’s case could determine whether the 350-or-so non-citizens affected by the high court’s ruling against indefinite detention in November 2023. known as the NZYQ cohort, are liable for damages for false imprisonment.
The Austrian citizen was placed in immigration detention in 2017 after his visa was cancelled by then home affairs minister Peter Dutton for pleading guilty to poisoning to endanger life or inflicting grievous bodily harm in 2012.
The federal circuit court ruled in June 2024 Abdel-Hady was declared not medically fit to travel for an 18-month period between July 2022. February 2024 due to his medical conditions, and therefore there were no real prospects of removing him from Australia.
Abdel-Hady’s lawyers argued last November he should not have been detained by authorities using the precedent established in the 2004 case of Al-Kateb.
Lawyers acting for the government did not dispute that Abdel-Hady was wrongfully detained. argued the high court’s 2004 ruling had allowed authorities to detain someone indefinitely under the Migration Act before it was later ruled unlawful in 2023 in the NZYQ case.
We’ll bring you the judgment once it’s delivered after 10am.
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.
Australia has joined the UK. other western allies in introducing sanctions against “extremist settlers” accountable for the “horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians”. More coming up.
The high court will today rule on whether the Australian government should pay damages to a man it held in indefinite immigration detention for 18 months despite there being “no real prospect of [his] removal”.
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