The Reserve Bank governor has said migration is holding up Australia’s economic growth, not adding to inflation, as the government defends its plan to tighten the immigration intake.
Michele Bullock said Australia’s weak economy and lack of efficiency gains mean immigration and bigger populations are responsible for higher activity, at a CEDA lunch in Sydney. She said:
It’s fair to say that, the extent [activity] has been growing over the last few quarters, it’s been growing due to population growth.
Bullock rejected the idea that immigration just meant more people entering the country and pushing up prices. She said:
The point is it also adds to supply because a lot of those people come in and they work. And therefore, when we think about it, we typically think that it probably is much of a muchness.
She said the housing market was the exception, as new immigrants did not immediately generate new housing supply.
Where it bites is the housing market, because the housing market can’t respond …. That’s where you tend to see pressures arise.
That’s all from me. Achol Arok will take things from here. Take care!
House price slide is in ‘lower range of downturns’, RBA governor says
The Reserve Bank governor said house prices are falling lower than other recent downturns in the market but from a “pretty unaffordable” level.
Michele Bullock has said the drop in prices “doesn’t look entirely out of line” with past experience, at a CEDA lunch in Sydney. She said:
It’s a slight dip down after a very long run up. And I think there was a feeling, certainly for this most recent correction, that housing was in effect becoming pretty unaffordable. …
You can see that the downturn is sort of in the lower range of downturns in the past, but it’s certainly not out of the ballpark, of the sorts of downturns we’ve seen in the past.
Bullock said the downturn was due to interest rate rises, with only 5% of mortgages on fixed rates. The government’s tax reforms had “very directly” impacted the market as well, she said.
Housing approvals for investors have just dropped. They’ve dropped for everyone but they’ve really dropped a long way for investors, so it has changed the dynamic for investors, whether it’s worth investing in housing or not.
She said economic activity would be hit as slower home sales meant fewer people buying new furniture and fittings, while lower house prices would leave some people feeling poorer and less likely to spend.
Political fight over gun buyback after boy, 11, shot in the face and neck in Sydney apartment
The shooting of an 11-year-old boy in Sydney’s north-west was a “tragic reminder” of the danger of guns, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has said while the opposition defends “backflipping” on a gun buyback.
The Liberal opposition voted with Labor in support of a buyback last year, but on Saturday pledged it would scrap Labor’s firearm ownership caps for primary producers.
The NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, instead proposed a commission of inquiry into gun laws and a freeze of any buyback. Caps for farmers and professional shooters would also be scrapped.
The police minister, Yasmin Catley, called the Coalition’s plan a “stunning backflip” and said it would leave more guns in circulation.
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NSW police are holding a press conference after an 11-year-old boy was shot in the face in Sydney yesterday.
Supt Naomi Moore said officers found the boy with the injury on arrival. He was treated at the scene and taken to hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Moore said there were a number of people in the unit at the time, and officers have spoken to some of them and are looking to speak to others.
Some of those present at the time of the shooting “are not currently cooperating with investigators”, she said.
Three men, all 18, were arrested last night. Two have been released pending further investigations, and one was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence and had bail refused.
Moore said several of those in the unit were known to police, adding:
I want to reassure the community this shooting at this stage does not appear to be linked directly to current conflicts. However, a number of individuals that were inside the unit at the time are well known to NSW police, and their association with organised crime is being considered by investigators.
Angus Taylor said shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg’s idea to use superannuation as collateral for housing purchases is “not our policy”.
Taylor was asked about Bragg’s idea earlier today. The opposition leader had this to say:
Superannuation is Australians’ money. It’s Australians’ money. They should have choice in it, that’s why we strongly support self-managed super funds. But the proposal you’re talking about there is not our policy.
As we reported earlier, Bragg said the “general idea” behind the proposal “is we want to have a country where more people are retired homeowners, and one of the most worrying trends we have is the growth in retired renters”. Bragg added:
That doesn’t seem to be the best outcome for all people, which is why we’re having this debate, because we want to be a nation of homeowners.
Australian shares edge higher after shaky start
Australian shares have already handed back most of an early lead after optimism about the AI boom didn’t translate into significant upside for the local exchange, AAP reports.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 0.24% as the broader All Ordinaries gained 0.3%.
The top-200 spiked almost 49 points at the open after a tech-led rally on Wall Street overnight, but an unconvincing bounce from under-pressure mining stocks and a lack of follow-through for bank stocks left it on track for yet another flat session.
Local energy stocks weighed heavily on Tuesday, as hopes of US-Iran talks sent Brent crude down to $US101.10 a barrel, while diesel prices in the US and Europe have hit record highs.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.05 US cents, down from 71.28 US cents on Monday at 5pm.
Man linked to suspicious death charged with bribing public officials in Bangladesh
A man has been charged with bribing public officials in Bangladesh to stop police linking him to a suspicious death, in a first in Australia’s courts, AAP reports.
An Australian-Bangladeshi woman’s death was deemed suspicious by local authorities when her body was found in Bangladesh in September 2024.
The Australian federal police began investigating the death due to the woman’s dual citizenship status, seizing international transaction records from banks in Sydney and Brisbane.
Police allege a 51-year-old man known to the woman conspired with people in Bangladesh in the two years after her death, transferring about $90,000 to bribe public officials to remove his name from police records.
Raids were carried out on Monday at homes in Goodna and Redbank Plains, in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, where authorities seized an electronic device and arrested the 51-year-old.
He was charged with bribing a foreign public official, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.
Any attempt to corrupt investigative processes, whether in Australia or overseas, was a serious criminal matter, AFP Cmdr Stephen Jay said.
“We will continue to work closely with our domestic and international partners regarding this investigation,” he said.
The Redbank Plains man is scheduled to appear before Brisbane magistrates court later on Tuesday.
It is the first time the AFP has put an allegation of foreign bribery of a public official for personal advantage before the court.
Bangladeshi police are conducting their own investigation into the woman’s death.
Solar and wind generation meet record 80% of power demand on Australia’s national grid
Sunshine and wind met 80.4% of demand on Australia’s main power grid on Saturday, setting a new high bar for renewable electricity.
Solar panels on rooftops provided more than half of the power used in the national electricity market, the grid that supplies the eastern states, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, for 30 minutes around lunchtime. This was complemented by solar and windfarms, and a small amount of hydro (1%). Fossil fuels, coal and gas, contributed 20%.
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the milestone meant there was “more clean, cheap, sovereign energy powering our homes and businesses than ever before”.
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Coogee shark attack survivor Stewart says skin graft has failed
Leah Stewart, who was bitten by a shark at a Sydney beach, says a skin graft has failed as she continues her recovery.
The 34-year-old mother and school teacher was attacked while swimming at Coogee beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on 13 June.
As part of her treatment, doctors took skin from her right thigh and grafted it on to her injured left thigh.
In a social media post, Stewart said she was “devastated” after doctors confirmed the operation has failed.
Unfortunately, this is not the post I was wanting to do, but I had my graft checked yesterday and it was confirmed that it failed.
Feeling pretty devastated, had quite a few tears. And now, I’m not really sure where to go from here.
Stewart said despite the failure, the operation had offered her some reprieve from using a vacuum-assisted closure machine.
It’s been three and a half months and my leg is still open. I guess the only good thing is we’re trying something different, having a little break from the vac machine, which means I can move a little bit more freely.
Police in Sydney are appealing for information after a man allegedly performed a Nazi salute in the inner city suburb of Newtown on Saturday.
NSW police released images of a group of men, who were seen walking along Australia Street at about 5.40pm.
The men were allegedly yelling offensive comments before one of them stopped and performed a Nazi salute. The group then continued on their way before they were approached by a woman. They allegedly made offensive comments towards her.
Detectives are continuing an investigation into the incident and have asked for anyone with information to come forward.
In a post to social media, authorities released photos of people who police believe can assist in their investigation.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
