Here is a look at what is making news around the country today.
Today’s national news includes Dutton accused of misleading about Australia’s stance on the Middle East conflict, PM Albanese called out for weak leadership, RBA urged to keep transparency on secret financial meetings, Australia begins the evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon, and Rising home prices have led to many suburbs being valued at over a million dollars.
Politics
Dutton accused of misleading about Australia’s stance on Middle East conflict
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles hit back at Peter Dutton’s claims that Australia is at odds with its allies over the conflict in the Middle East, characterising this as “an intentional lie” that aims to fuel division, The Guardian reported. Marles aimed Dutton, the opposition leader, for saying Australia was “at odds now with our major partners and our major friends”. He said, “It’s an intentional lie and it’s a lie intended to create division within Australian politics and from there within Australian society… that should be condemned.”
PM Albanese called out for weak leadership
Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson has called out Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his “weak leadership”, Sky News has reported. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called for the Iranian ambassador to Australia to be expelled after comments the ambassador made praising former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. “Frankly, I think this is another example of weak leadership from the Prime Minister, and he is going to allow the Iranian ambassador to continue to flout the law and Australian customs because he has no stomach,” Mr Paterson said.
Finance
RBA urged to keep transparency on secret financial meetings
Sky News reported that former RBA head of economic research John Simon has urged the Reserve Bank to be “transparent” about its private briefings with financial institutions. The Reserve Bank is being criticised over private briefings it holds with financial institutions. It has been reported that Westpac, RBC Capital Markets and Barrenjoey have all been reprimanded by the central bank for leaking the details of these confidential briefings. “At the moment, we’ve heard about three, but surely there are more going on than that, but we can’t really check. There’s nothing there to hide, so I think transparency would be good in this case.”
Middle East crisis
Australia begins the evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon
Australia started evacuating its nationals from Lebanon via Cyprus on Saturday, in the first large-scale operation to get citizens out of the country amid an Israeli onslaught on Iran-backed Hezbollah, Reuters has reported. Some 229 people arrived on the east Mediterranean island, which lies a 40 minute flight time from Beirut, on a commercial airline chartered by Australia. A second flight is scheduled later in the day. More evacuation flights could be expected based on demand, Australian and Cypriot officials said.
https://www.reuters.com/world/australia-starts-evacuating-nationals-lebanon-via-cyprus-2024-10-05/
Housing
Rising home prices have led to many suburbs being valued at over a million dollars
Australia has seen a significant surge in its housing market, propelling an additional 200 suburbs into the prestigious category of having median house values exceeding $1 million. This growth has elevated the total number of “million-dollar markets” within the nation to 1,257, marking an 18.5 per cent increase from the 1,057 suburbs recorded in 2023.
CoreLogic’s analysis of 4,772 suburbs revealed that 29.3 per cent now have median values above the $1 million threshold, surpassing the previous high of 26.9 per cent in April 2022. The rapid appreciation in property values and the deteriorating affordability in the housing market. More suburbs are predicted to join the million-dollar club soon.
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