Housing experience ‘market correction’, says O’Neil
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has labelled falling house prices and auction clearance rates a “market correction”, as the government finds support in the Senate to pass its changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.
“I think the housing market’s cyclical in Australia, a very uncontroversial comment. We see periods of very significant house price growth, and then we see the market make a correction, and that’s what we’re seeing at the moment,” O’Neil told ABC Radio National this morning.
“I don’t think that’s controversial at all. We’ve just been through what has been extremely high house price growth in the period from COVID, basically before COVID to today house prices have gone up just in that time by more than 50 per cent and we are seeing a correction on that,” she said.
O’Neil said the “main” aim of the budget was not to lower prices, but rather to assist first-home buyers entering the market. The minister returned to Treasury modelling that said housing price growth would slow by 2 per cent per year.
Auction clearance rates fell to a six-year low last week, at 47 per cent, and house prices are likely to fall by up to $100,000 over the next year.
“We are already seeing more first home buyers in the market, and that is a very, very good thing, and a very important thing for our country,” O’Neil said.
Alibaba sues US for being linked to Chinese military
Alibaba, the Chinese technology and e-commerce giant, sued the US government over being placed on a list of businesses from China that the Department of Defense linked to that country’s military.
The complaint was filed in the San Jose, California, federal court after the Pentagon expanded its blacklist of alleged “Chinese military companies” on June 8 to 188 entities, reflecting concern that China’s military could tap that country’s private sector for advancements.
Alibaba was accused of being a “military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base” through an affiliation with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The Pentagon also said Alibaba is indirectly affiliated with China’s state asset regulator, known as SASAC.
“The determinations have no basis in fact or law,” Alibaba said. “Alibaba is governed by an independent board, none of whom has any military affiliation,” it continued.
‘Take a deep breath’: Plibersek says drop in house prices not cause for alarm
Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek has said a drop in auction clearance rates is not cause for alarm, calling for Australians to “take a deep breath”.
Questioned on ABC Breakfast about some forecasts showing house prices could decrease by 10 per cent, Plibersek said any decreases would be temporary.
“Our treasury estimates are that house prices will continue to grow, they’ll grow more slowly. That gives people the chance of home ownership,” she said.
Plibersek said the five per cent deposit policy had helped 260,000 first home buyers purchase a home.
‘Toxic’: Opposition criticises Albanese for working with Greens
Opposition Senate Leader Michaelia Cash has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of making a “dirty deal with the ‘socialist Greens’” .
Speaking on Seven’s Sunrise, Cash criticised Labor for striking a deal with the Greens to expand an inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme reforms in exchange for tax reforms banning self-managed super funds from borrowing to invest in property.
“Labour have done, despite telling you that they would not, a dirty deal with the socialist Greens, and those toxic taxes will go through the parliament tomorrow,” she said.
“Say goodbye to aspiration and hard work in Australia because Albanese is about to kill it.”
US Senate votes to halt Iran war in rebuke to Trump
Washington: The Republican-majority US Senate backed legislation to halt US military action against Iran, but it was not immediately clear how it would affect the war as President Donald Trump’s administration negotiates a peace agreement with the Islamic republic.
The Senate voted 50-48 in favour of the concurrent resolution, which passed the House of Representatives this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump’s Republicans about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28.
It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war. The vote was nearly along party lines, with four Republicans joining all but one Democrat in favour. Two Republicans did not vote.
The resolution directs Trump to remove US armed forces from hostilities with or against Iran, but is likely to remain merely a symbolic vote. Under the 1973 War Powers Act, the measure does not get sent to the White House for Trump’s signature.
However, the White House has insisted the legislation is not constitutional and thus not binding. Legal experts say it remains a contested legal question likely to be settled in the courts.
“The executive branch will likely ignore it on constitutional grounds, and it’s not clear who might have standing to sue to enforce it,” said Scott Anderson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Reuters
Iran agreed to infinite nuclear inspections, says Trump as UN begins evacuating seafarers
US President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into “infinity”, despite Tehran’s denials, as the UN began efforts to evacuate hundreds of ships from the Gulf in a tentative return to calm after a fragile peace deal.
The UN shipping agency said an evacuation plan to enable some 11,000 seafarers stuck aboard vessels in the Gulf to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively blocked during the war, was underway after the ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran. “We have now started contacting the ships to start the evacuation,” a spokesperson for the UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said, without providing a timeframe, adding that the agency had secured “the necessary safety guarantees” and verified conditions for safe navigation.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the “large-scale operation” would unfold in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, other coastal states, the US and the maritime industry.
Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Tuesday Iranian officials had not held a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi in Switzerland, and had no plans for the UN nuclear watchdog to inspect Iran’s damaged nuclear facilities.
Trump hit back on Tuesday at what he said were Iran’s “protestations and false statements”.
“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
He also said any Iranian assets unfrozen under the deal would be placed in an escrow account and used to buy food and medical supplies from the US “including Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans from our great American Farmers”.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, and welcome to our national news live coverage for Wednesday, June 24. I’m Amber Schultz, and I’ll be keeping you up to date with today’s news.
Here are today’s main headlines.
NDIS report delayed: A report into the overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is likely to be delayed for the third time, with a longer eight-week inquiry to take place after Labor struck a deal with the Greens. The proposed reforms to the $56 million scheme include reducing the number of participants by 160,000 by 2030.
Paid parental leave extended: The government will extend paid parental leave from July 1, allowing families to access up to 26 weeks (six months) at a higher rate of pay. Parents will now receive $1004 per week. More families are also eligible, with the family income limit increasing to $386,525.
Inflation expected to rise: Inflation is expected to increase despite falling fuel prices. Inflation data, expected today, may increase by 0.1 per cent thanks to higher input costs from the March closure of the Strait of Hormuz passed on to businesses.
UN Peacekeepers withdrawn from Lebanon: Under pressure from the US, UN peacekeepers are being withdrawn from southern Lebanon, where they have served for over 50 years. The UN shipping agency is also activating an evacuation plan to enable around 11,000 seafarers stuck aboard vessels in the Gulf to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections, which Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian denies.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
