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Today’s headlines
By Nigel Gladstone
Thanks for reading our live news coverage today. Here’s a recap of the headlines:
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Home ownership falls, mortgage stress rises in Sydney, census reveals
By Matt Wade
The rate of home ownership in Sydney has fallen and the share of home borrowers under financial pressure has more than doubled during the past five years despite a sustained period of record low-interest rates.
The 2021 census released on Tuesday showed 61.1 per cent of homes in the city were owned outright or with a mortgage, down 1.1 percentage points since 2016. That compared with a small improvement in the nationwide rate of home ownership which edged half a percentage point higher to 66 per cent.
The rate of homeownership in Sydney has fallen the 2021 census shows.Credit:Peter Rae
The census revealed one in every five Sydney home borrowers had repayments that exceed 30 per cent of household income, compared to about one in 12 borrowers in 2016. Those spending more than 30 per cent of household income to service a home loan are commonly defined as being in mortgage stress.
The growing incidence of mortgage stress came despite a period of very favourable borrowing conditions – official interest rates fell from 1.5 per cent in 2016 to an emergency low 0.1 per cent during the pandemic.
The share of Sydney tenants under financial pressure because of their housing is even higher, with over a third of renters devoting 30 per cent or more of their income to rents.
Read more here.
WA has its ‘limitations’ but health minister won’t commit to abortion law changes
By Michael Ramsey
Western Australia’s health minister has acknowledged the state’s abortion laws are outdated but stopped short of guaranteeing any immediate changes.
WA’s laws are among the most restrictive in the nation and still fall under the state’s criminal code.
WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson.Credit:Hamish Hastie
Women who seek an abortion after 20 weeks must face an “ethics panel” consisting of six medical practitioners, two of whom must agree that either the mother or fetus has a severe medical condition that justifies the procedure.
This has led to women being forced to travel interstate to have the procedure carried out safely.
The state Labor government last year legislated safe access zones for women seeking abortions, bringing WA into line with every other state and territory.
Read more here.
Driver fined, more protesters charged in second day of CBD climate protests
By Jenny Noyes
The man behind the wheel of a car seen ploughing into climate change protesters as they demonstrated in the centre of Sydney on Monday has been fined, while more protesters now face potential jail time after a second day of unauthorised action in the city on Tuesday.
Members of the Blockade Australia group met in Hyde Park about 8am before marching onto nearby streets, disrupting traffic in a bid to spread their message about the cost of climate inaction.
Police on duty at Hyde Park on Tuesday.Credit:Brook Mitchell
The disruption this time was short-lived. The group was met by a heavy police presence, forcing marchers off the road and onto the footpath, where 11 people were arrested. A shout of “spaghetti” was the cue for those who escaped the law to scarper back into the park.
Those arrested were taken to Surry Hills police station, where they were charged under tough new anti-protest laws aimed at deterring action that disrupts roads, ports and other infrastructure which include penalties of up to $22,000 or two years’ jail.
Read more here.
Malaysia doubles down on AUKUS submarine concerns during Wong visit
By Chris Barrett
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has reinforced its concerns about Australia’s plans for a nuclear-powered submarine fleet after a “very candid” discussion between Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Malaysian counterpart on Tuesday.
The south-east Asian nation joined Indonesia in expressing anxiety about the submarine ambitions soon after the AUKUS three-way defence alliance was announced by US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and then prime minister Scott Morrison in September, fearing it could instigate a regional arms race.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong meets with Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah on Tuesday.Credit:Farhan Iqbal
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob also raised alarm last month about the potential knock-on effects of the deal, warning that if China, for example, wanted to help North Korea buy nuclear-propelled submarines “we can’t say no because AUKUS has set a precedent”.
On Tuesday, as Wong made her first visit to the country of her birth as Australia’s top diplomat, the issue was back on the agenda.
Read more here.
Albanese stands with NATO to condemn Putin as UK warns of 1937 ‘moment’
By Rob Harris
Madrid: Anthony Albanese says Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine are uniting the democratic world against Vladimir Putin’s regime as he joined a chorus of international condemnation over the Kremlin’s missile strikes on a busy shopping centre.
The Australian prime minister echoed the dismay of world leaders, who branded the attack “abominable” on Tuesday and vowed to hold Putin accountable for the war crime as NATO forces ramped up the number of troops on high alert to more than 300,000.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is still weighing up whether to risk a trip to Kyiv.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The head of British’s armed forces, General Sir Patrick Sanders, has warned that the West must be prepared to “act rapidly” to contain Russian expansionism, comparing it to the rise of Nazi Germany.
In a major speech on Tuesday he will say the world is facing its “1937 moment” and must be ready to “fight and win” to ward off Putin.
Read more here.
WATCH: Anthony Albanese Madrid press conference
Premier discussed John Barilaro’s job application in social setting
By Lucy Cormack
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says John Barilaro told him he was intending to apply for the US trade commissioner role in a “social setting” after the former deputy premier left parliament.
Perrottet on Tuesday confirmed he learnt of Barilaro’s ambition for the $500,000-a-year role before the application process, however he could not recall when it was.
Dominic Perrottet and John Barilaro.Credit:Brook Mitchell, Jessica Hromas
He said he was later advised by Trade Minister Stuart Ayres that Barilaro had applied for the role, which was one of six trade commissioner roles Barilaro created as trade minister, but insisted it was an independent process in which government could play no role.
“I think in a social setting he may have said he was applying for a position, which was an independent process,” Perrottet said. “I speak to people socially all the time and there is always interested people saying I’m interested in this, I’m interested in that.”
“I was advised by Minister Ayres at some date ... that he had applied for the role. But that was an independent process in which we were not to be intervening,” he said.
Read more here.
Marles targets March for a decision on nuclear submarines
By James Massola
Defence Minister Richard Marles says he’s aiming to decide which nuclear submarine Australia will acquire by early next year while blasting the former government for letting major defence purchases “drift” for years.
As well as choosing between British Astute-class and American Virginia-class nuclear submarines, the government expects to know by March 2023 when they can be acquired and whether Australia will need an interim, conventionally powered submarine to replace its ageing Collins-class boats.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, left, with Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell, at a press conference announcing senior ADF appointments.Credit:James Brickwood
Over the next two years, Marles also plans to have a “force posture review”, which will examine whether Australia’s military bases are adequate and its forces are positioned to deal with the strategic circumstances facing Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
Marles on Tuesday took the unusual step of extending by two years the terms of three of the country’s top military leaders, while appointing new heads of the army, navy and air force as planned, to ensure “continuity of advice” to the government on its submarine and frigate purchases.
Read more here.
Premier signals shift on new train fleet to break union deadlock
By Tom Rabe and Matt O'Sullivan
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has raised the likelihood of the government bowing to union calls to modify the state’s new intercity trains at the centre of a long-running industrial dispute as the cost of storing the fleet rises by $1 million a day.
As commuters endured disruptions to train services across NSW on Tuesday, Perrottet said he was now weighing up whether the government should pay to make modifications to the new Korean-built trains, which rail workers argue are not safe to operate without changes.
Signs at Central Station warn commuters about the disruptions to train services on Tuesday.Credit:Brook Mitchell
The $2.88 billion fleet – first slated to begin entering service in 2019 – is sitting in storage on the NSW Central Coast, which the government has estimated is costing taxpayers $30 million a month.
Perrottet said the government was factoring the ongoing cost to the taxpayer into its decision-making on the fleet’s future as it attempts to break a deadlock in negotiations with rail unions over a new enterprise agreement.
Read more here.
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2022-06-28 10:12:20Z
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