Australia news LIVE: PM pitches Labor as long-term governing force; Housing plan could save renters $32 billion over a decade
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Key posts
- Housing plan will save renters $32 billion over a decade: Grattan
- Heartache for family of missing Indonesian man after rescue saved surfers
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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PM puts cost-of-living relief, housing at centre of re-election pitch
Anthony Albanese has pitched his Labor administration as a long-term governing force that must lock in the trust of mainstream Australians as he unveiled a new motto – “Working for Australia” – hinting at a 2025 election date and highlighting the economic and social gains under his government.
The prime minister used his keynote speech at Labor’s national conference in Brisbane to present Labor as better economic stewards than the Coalition.
The policies developed at the three-day conference in Brisbane, Anthony Albanese says, will launch the party to election victory in 2025.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
He flayed his political opponents, claiming former prime minister Scott Morrison and his ministers mishandled the budget, undermined democratic conventions and were reactionaries rather than conservatives.
He placed cost-of-living relief and what he claimed was a historic housing agreement with the states and territories, announced on Wednesday, at the centre of his re-election pitch, which he said would be underpinned by securing voters’ trust and avoiding the demands of protest parties.
Albanese – facing internal party tests on the AUKUS defence pact, climate change, and the Israel-Palestine conflict – urged hundreds of party faithful to maintain focus and rally behind the Voice referendum as he listed Labor achievements such as the creation of 500,000 jobs since coming to office, which the prime minister claimed to be a record.
Here’s more of what the prime minister told the Labor Party faithful.
Housing plan will save renters $32 billion over a decade: Grattan
Rents could be up to 8 per cent lower, saving renters $32 billion in payments to landlords and real estate agents over the next decade, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sets up another fight with the Greens over national housing policy.
Independent analysis by the centrist Grattan Institute think tank shows upward pressure on rents will be reduced if states and territories deliver an extra 200,000 new homes on top of an initial target of 1 million.
Premiers and chief ministers on Wednesday backed a suite of proposals from Albanese at national cabinet to massively boost housing supply between 2024 and 2029, and improve renters’ rights.
The federal government’s $3.5 billion plan to boost housing supply would reduce rents by 8 per cent over the next decade, says the Grattan Institute.Credit: Peter Rae
Under the $3 billion New Home Bonus, states and territories will get about $15,000 in federal funding for every dwelling built above the earlier 1 million target, with the aim of adding 200,000.
A separate $500 million competitive fund, called the Housing Support Program, is available to councils and states to encourage more construction near transport hubs and employment centres, a concept vocally backed by most premiers.
Keep reading about the housing policy here.
Heartache for family of missing Indonesian man after rescue saved surfers
The family of an Indonesian man still missing after a rescue operation that saved four Australian surfers have spoken of their heartache as his father vows to keep searching in his own boat until he finds him.
Fivan Satria, 22, has not been seen since Monday when he was washed away from the Australian tourists and his two Indonesian crewmates, who were floating on surfboards and surfboard bags in the waters of the remote Banyak Islands after their wooden longboat hit a storm and began to capsize.
Missing Indonesian man Fivan Satria, in a photo supplied by his family.
Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Jordan Short and Will Teagle were eventually found on Tuesday, as were Indonesian boat captain Mohammad Iqbal and Junardi Akhmad, the manager of the resort to which the Australians were headed, but there has been no sign of Fivan.
His father Musa, who is also a longboat skipper in the Banyaks, said he was supposed to transport the Australians from Nias to their private surf retreat on Pinang Island on Sunday but when he fell ill he sent Fivan, who works with him collecting guests.
He has since been out in his own boat desperately looking in the area around where the other six people on board were located, as other villagers and local rescue teams also mount a widening search mission.
Continue reading about this here.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, and thanks for joining us this morning.
It’s Friday, August 18. I’m Caroline Schelle, and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started:
- Three of the nation’s biggest unions are preparing to vote against a crucial Labor motion supporting the AUKUS pact.
- Delegates called on the Albanese government to unleash spending on renewable energy that matches subsidies in the US and Europe worth up to 3 per cent of GDP.
- The Reserve Bank may have to abandon any plans for further interest rate increases after figures showed the largest monthly fall in jobs since the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Advocates for the so-called progressive No vote on the Voice referendum are putting lives at risk, says a senior figure at the Central Land Council.
The Albanese government has offered state and local councils $3.5 billion to fast-track the construction of 1.2 million homes over the next five years, in a bid to boost housing supply.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
- Rents could be up to 8 per cent lower over the next decade under a federal government plan to encourage states and local councils to deliver more housing, research shows.
- The Albanese government says it will “always look for more ways” to ensure funding for women’s sport is fit for purpose, but has stopped short of promising more money.
- Overseas, the family of an Indonesian man still missing after a rescue operation saved four Australian surfers have spoken of their heartache as his father vows to keep searching on his own.
British broadcaster Michael Parkinson, best known for interviewing some of the world’s biggest stars on his long-running chat show, has died aged 88.
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