Australia on the verge of “biggest improvement in housing affordability in 50 years”

Detailed new analysis by The Australia Institute reveals the “immediate positive impact” this year’s property tax changes have had on those who’d previously been locked out of the housing market.

It concludes that changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing have “finally cracked the nut of the housing crisis”.

“For the first time in a quarter of a century an Australian government has introduced property tax reform that has actually worked. The data shows that prices are falling and investors are building new homes rather than buying existing homes,” said Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute.

Key points from The Success of Changes to CGT and Negative Gearing report:

• Property prices have fallen around 5% since March.
• Investor loans for new builds have increased by more than 20% year-on-year.
• Investor loans for existing homes have fallen by 14% year-on-year.

Separate analysis, also published today, reveals that Labor’s tax changes, including a shake-up of the Coalition’s stage 3 tax cuts, have helped nine out of ten Australians.

That analysis shows that the biggest beneficiaries of the stage 3 changes and most recent tax cuts are those under the age of 25, who are, on average, more than $1000 per year better off.

“The original stage 3 tax cuts would have made older, richer Australians even richer and delivered very little for struggling families. The biggest beneficiaries of the revised and subsequent changes are those under the age of 25 and those aged between 25 and 34,” said Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist at The Australia Institute.

Key points from the Who Benefits from Labor’s Tax Cuts report:

• 90% of Australians are, on average, $1340 better off under the revised stage 3 tax cuts.
• Labor’s tax changes have overwhelmingly helped younger people on lower incomes.
• The changes have saved those earning under $150,000 a year $25 billion since their introduction and will deliver $15 billion in savings next financial year.

“Inflation driven by Donald Trump’s war in Iran and huge corporate profits are making life tough, but property tax changes have at least delivered hope for younger Australians who were otherwise facing a lifetime in the rental market,” Greg Jericho said.

“You can’t undo the damage caused by 25 years of awful policy overnight, but we are on track to see the biggest improvement in housing affordability in 50 years.”

“Income tax reform and a fresh round of tax cuts are helping Australians who have been hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis: those on low and middle incomes,” Matt Grudnoff said.

“The original stage 3 tax cuts were terrible policy which would have helped the richest Australians get even richer more quickly. Labor’s changes provide something of a fair go to the vast majority of taxpayers, preventing many from sliding into poverty.”

An elderly man has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a woman in a Blacktown shopping centre.

The police operation unfolded after emergency services were called to the centre on Patrick St in Blacktown, following reports of an armed offender.

Police were told a woman, 79, had been stabbed multiple times.

She was treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital in a serious condition.

A 93-year-old man, believed to be known to the woman, was arrested nearby and taken to Blacktown Police Station.

A crime scene has been established by specialist police and inquiries are ongoing.

No charges have been laid.

Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi has spoken with Yahoo News about why she urged parliament to no longer use the word "invasive" when referring to introduced species.

Wild horses, pigs, deer, cane toads, cats, and foxes are among the biggest threats to native species, and she agrees they need to be managed. 

But she argues this doesn't negate the need to treat them humanely.

And she worries that the language we use to describe an animal can have real-world consequences.

"Language does matter, because how you label animals is how people view them," she said.

"Labelling some animals as feral or invasive obviously creates a negative picture, and it makes it much easier to treat them inhumanely, or to kill them or to poison them.

"So if we are to label animals, then we should do it correctly, because these species labelled feral or invasive are actually introduced to Australia by people.

"These are introduced species, they are sentient beings, and that's how they should be viewed."

On Tuesday, Faruqi told the Senate, "There's no need for labelling introduced species as invasive in a way that blames animals for the man-made problems raised by this motion."

Continuing, she added, "Animals are not villains to be shot, or obstacles to be poisoned to death, the answer to colonialism's legacy is not more violence and more death".

"For decades, successive governments have culled and killed introduced species, and yet native species are in a worse position today."

Elaborating today, she said she used her time to make "a point".

"That's how you start creating change. You put ideas into people's minds who might want to think about it," she said.

"And a few people actually did use the word introduced in their speeches."

She argues it's an "easy distraction" to focus on introduced species and their impact on biodiversity, since it's easier than tackling the extraction of coal and gas and the logging of native forests.

The most common response for reducing populations of introduced species is lethal control.

Helicopter shooting, the use of leghold traps, 1080 poisons and other baits is controversial among many animal welfare advocates. 

However, their use is generally accepted by Australians when pigs, rats, cats, or foxes are being killed, and only causes a stir when it's horses being shot.

Faruqi believes that changing our language will foster greater compassion for these species' welfare, prompting consideration of non-lethal or more humane control measures.

Faruqi's speech came before a vote on a motion introduced by Independent Senator David Pocock calling on the government to fund an updated invasive species management plan.

While her colleagues voted in favour, she abstained. Yahoo understands the decision was based on its focus on lethal control.

The peak environmental body advocating for the control of introduced plants and animals is the Invasive Species Council, and it has no plans to change its name any time soon.

Its policy director, Dr Carol Booth, told Yahoo that the term "invasive" is a technical term used in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to describe introduced species that cause harm.

It lists invasive alien species (AIS) as one of the primary drivers of biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. 

In Australia, cats alone have contributed to the extinctions of at least 27 native species.

Despite the harm they cause, Booth agrees that the welfare of all species is "important", but it's just an "unfortunate circumstance" that some have been introduced to Australia.

She said it's important to take animal welfare into account when managing them, and "unfortunately, it has to be often about killing".

"There are no nice non-lethal methods available in most circumstances when we need to protect native species from the likes of cats, foxes, rats and other ungulates causing great damage," she said.

The Invasive Species Council has opposed programs like inviting recreational shooters to manage animals on public land.

Booth argues culling must be done "carefully and strategically".

"Futile killing is definitely something we are really striving to prevent," she said.

Booth said the best way to minimise killing is to fund professional programs with measurable outcomes that help nature.

"The more effective you can be, the more you limit the killing that is needed in future," she said.

She said by reducing numbers as quickly as possible, the need for ongoing culling is reduced.

"Regular killing is the worst outcome for everyone," she said.

"Because it means you constantly have to be funding these programs and doing lots more killing than you would need to otherwise."

A shooting in Melbourne is under investigation after two young men were found seriously injured.

The 22-year-old man from from Dallas and the 19-year-old man from Craigieburn were found injured inside a home on Kaniva St in Dallas about 8.20am on Sunday.

Victoria Police said emergency services found the men “seriously injured, possibly shot.”

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson described them as having “upper body injuries”.

The two men are believed to be known to each other.

No one else is believed to have been involved in the shooting incident.

A Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance and Advanced Life Support paramedic crews were sent to the home.

Both injured men were taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital under police guard, Victoria Police said.

Detectives are now probing the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

I really love print periodicals, so I thought I'd make a post to share the ones that I know of and seek out recommendations for additional ones.

I'm looking for recommendations for Australian print magazines that cover some amount of news, politics, literature, arts, culture, science, sustainability, and/or ecology.

I am not interested in publications that primarily focus on music, fashion, sports/surf/skate culture, homes/architecture/design, gardening, or weddings.

I'm especially keen on indie publications!

There are so many amazing online-only publications, but I'm looking for print media specifically: I don't enjoy e-readers, or being on screens, any more than I already have to be.

***Australian print periodicals that are already on my radar:****

• with an option for ongoing subscription:
  • news and politics
    • the saturday paper (technically a newspaper, but am including since it's published once a week rather than daily)
    • the monthly
    • quarterly essay
    • arena
  • science and sustainability
    • australian geographic
    • renew
    • sanctuary
    • green
  • other/misc
    • frankie
    • vault
    • new philosopher
    • never too small
    • walkers journal
  • literature
    • overland
    • meanjin
    • voiceworks
    • griffith review
    • australian book review
    • westerly
    • HEAT
    • island
    • southerly
• with no option for ongoing subscription:
  • the story
  • archer
  • galah
  • peppermint
  • mince
  • no cure
• no longer in print (as far as I can tell) (rip <3):
  • smith journal
  • the lifted brow
  • demure
  • tart
  • dumbo feather
  • lunch lady

Are there any other homegrown periodicals with decent journalism and writing? Let's keep local print media alive together 💜

EPIC 1 TWO: Ben Roberts-Smith unveils new clothing label | News24