ASX 200 ekes out gain in ‘subdued' performance on Tuesday
'Some positive leads coming from Europe, with the US markets closed for a holiday last night,' Ms Willinge said.
'Most sectors did end in the black, with banks and tech stocks outperforming.'
The ASX 200 finished the day up 0.56 per cent on Tuesday.
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The Australian
17 minutes ago
- The Australian
Super rule changes to help younger savers, wealthy Australians hit with the new super tax
The government's new super tax has triggered a much wider push to review superannuation rules, with the looming economic summit set to become a forum for change. With the controversial new 15 per cent tax on amounts above $3m yet to be set in stone, the economic summit, which kicks of on August 19, will hear calls to cut benefits for the very wealthy but also to improve super benefits for younger savers. The Commonwealth Bank and the Grattan Institute have already supported wealth taxes for older and richer investors. But those calls are now being balanced with a push to let younger, less wealthy investors gain more access to super through increased contribution caps. Top advisory firm BDO Australia has sent a shot across the bows with a provocative call to open up the amount investors are allowed to contribute into super each year. At present, the pre-tax contribution limit is $30,000 per annum – an amount unchanged from a decade ago. In contrast, the amount older and wealthier Australians can have tax-free in super is $2m – up from an initial level of $1.6m when it was first legislated in 2017. Similarly, the post-tax contribution limit is $110,00 amount compared to levels of $180,000 in the past. Lance Cunningham, BDO national tax technical leader, said the current settings are inappropriate. 'They offer limited opportunity for people to contribute at the time they most want to do so,' Mr Cunningham said. Super policy is becoming more central to the agenda as the government publicly eliminates other items from the debate, including negative gearing. At the same time, items related to super such as capital gains tax, pension access and family trust rules remain very much in focus. The summit is due to commence before the government nails down the final terms of the new super tax, tagged as Division 296. The prospects of the introduction of the tax being delayed are rising since the government is supposed to begin collecting tax revenue from the measure from July 1 next year with guidance on the treatment of unrealised gains still to be clarified. Two other key issues in super will also be difficult to avoid at the summit, despite a formal focus on productivity: • The regulation of super is back in the spotlight. The lack of a single regulator for super has emerged as a problem for the government in the wake of the First Guardian scandal, now shaping up as the biggest regulatory failure for many years. Supervision of super is split between three regulators: ASIC, APRA and the ATO. Following the First Guardian collapse, The Australian reported last week that ASIC has raised the prospect of limiting superannuation investment options and restricting retail access to high-risk funds, as it warned a root-and-branch response is needed to counter financial services industry misconduct. • Separately, lobbyists from big super funds are pushing the government to review the terms of the performance test in MySuper. Last year, all of the MySuper superannuation funds passed the APRA Your Future, Your Super performance test for the first time, but industry leaders believe conformity in the tests is leading to a lack of innovation in super products. There are now calls for the APRA to broaden the scope of the performance tests to ensure it captures more products and allows for diverse strategies across the sector. Read related topics: Need to know
News.com.au
17 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Melbourne suburbs smashing house price records after rate cuts
More than 10 Melbourne house price records have fallen since the Reserve Bank cut interest rates in February. And with mega results north of $30m the sales are proving it's not just the city's mortgage belt that have been holding out for a rate cut. Cashed up neighbours have swooped on at least two local landmarks, with title documents recently confirming the sale of a Brighton waterfront mansion understood to have topped the suburb's $31.6m record in the past month. Key underquoting fix Vic govt has dodged since 2009 Melbourne tipped to lead 2026 property boom | KPMG Meanwhile, in one of Melbourne's most affordable suburbs, Frankston North's most expensive home is now a $900,500 four-bedroom house after Sydney-based investors pushed a local buyer to the unprecedented sum at an auction in April. Renovations have also been a key factor driving home sales to new heights. In the west, the couple behind an Albion home's extension that smashed the local record by $150,000 are hunting for another project with half an eye to besting the benchmark for neighbouring Deer Park or Ardeer. Owners Emily and Dean sold their 33 Adelaide St, Albion, reno for $1.42m in late May, about 10 days after the year's second rate cut. Emily said with expectations of another cut this week boosting borrowing capacity, and likely to lower mortgage costs, she would expect more records to tumble as home renos picked up — especially in Melbourne's west. 'And the west is a great, growing space and it has a lot of potential and has reached the cusp of change, with a lot of families wanting to live in this area,' she said. The renovator added that resistance to paying record sums would also likely drop, especially for homes with exhaustive extensions and updates, as they were the most likely to tick enough boxes that buyers would see value in them — even at unprecedented prices. 'If it's a cheaper property for a cheaper price, that's great — but long-term, how much money will you tip into it to make it what you want? To buy something that's already finished will almost always be better value than doing it yourself — especially with building materials and trades and everything going up,' she said. Real Estate Institute of Victoria interim chief executive Jacob Caine said a flurry of record breaking sales was 'surprising', as Melbourne was still waiting for a 'wholesale' surge off the back of rate cuts. 'However, there's always an opportunity for standout properties to attract incredible interest and record prices,' Mr Caine said. 'And I absolutely expect that we will start to see more and more suburb records tumble as anticipated rate cuts take effect.' He added those hoping to get a record sale for their home might want to consider renovations, as there was still 'significant trepidation' around undertaking them in light of building industry difficulties that had made the few homes going the extra mile more appealing. Melbourne's Rate Cut Record Setters 'Teychel', Brighton Sold for $31.6m+ (July) Broke prior record by unknown sum Kay & Burton, Ross Savas Sold for $7.1m, March Broke old record by $2.95m Whitefox Northside, Dylan Francis 160-162 The Avenue, Parkville Sold for $7.9m+ (May) Broke old record by $800,000+ Nelson Alexander, Nicholas West 161 Beach Rd, Parkdale Sold for $5.35m (March) Broke old record by $124,000 Buxton, Matthew Cox 10-11 Timbertop Court, Frankston North Sold for $900,500 (April) Broke old record by more than $100,000 OBrien Real Estate, Mark Burke 20 Mora Ave, Oakleigh Sold for about $3.2m Broke old record by about $100,000 Ray White, Daniel Seyran 73 St Vincent Place South, Albert Park Sold for $15m+ (Off market) Broke old record by $1.2m+ Marshall White, Ben Manolitsas 26 Nicholson St, Footscray Sold for $2.665m (June) Broke old record by $465,000 Hocking Stuart, Leo Dardha 33 Adelaide St, Albion Sold $1.402m (May) Broke old record by almost $150,000 Ray White, Marcus Fregonese 11A Sage St, Oakleigh East Sold $1.603m (August) Broke old Unit record by $133,000 OBrien Real Estate, Gareth Apswoude
ABC News
17 minutes ago
- ABC News
Woman allegedly sexually harassed by boss in Sydney restaurant speaks after record payout
Warning: This story contains details of sexual harassment some readers may find distressing. When Biplavi Magar's bus pulled up outside her workplace — she couldn't physically move. "I couldn't get myself off the bus. I just saw the station go right past by me," she told the ABC. She was due to start her next shift at Mad Mex in Sydney's Hills District, a place where she alleged she had experienced months of sexual harassment by her manager. "I was begging myself to get off the bus. I was remembering rent, uni, just to survive the life over here, and … I couldn't." Ms Magar had moved to Australia from Nepal when she was just 18, wanting to discover herself in a "land of opportunities". She began working at Mad Mex in 2021, just before turning 21. Almost two years later, the alleged behaviour by her boss, the franchise store owner, Sher Khan, began. "I just wanted to keep my head down and keep working. If I do my job properly, nothing would happen to me," she said. "Being a migrant and being a student on top of it … I just wanted to survive this." Earlier this month, the Federal Court awarded Ms Magar a record $305,000 in damages for sexual harassment, victimisation and aggravated damages, surpassing the previous $268,000 awarded to a jewellery store worker in 2023. Now she has spoken publicly about the ordeal for the first time to the ABC. "I wanted to tell my story from my side … instead of someone else telling what I might have thought, or what I might have done." The case has ramifications beyond the payout for Ms Magar, said her lawyer, Seri Feldman-Gubbay from Redfern Legal Centre. "This case sends a very important warning to employers that sexual harassment is not only unlawful but will be taken seriously and will result in serious consequences if claims are brought in court," Ms Feldman-Gubbay said. "Every year we're seeing an upwards trend in the amount of damages that are being awarded in these types of cases." The payout included $175,000 in damages: $10,000 for victimisation over threats Mr Khan made to launch defamation proceedings against her when she first made a complaint, and aggravated damages of $5,000 arising out of the way in which Mr Khan's case was run at trial. The now 25-year-old alleged that during her entire employment at the restaurant, "the Group" — which included Mr Khan and three other men that worked at the store — made sexualised remarks about female employees and customers, commenting on their "boobs" and "camel toe", even calling them "skanks" and "whore". By 2023, Ms Magar alleged Mr Khan began asking her sexualised and intrusive questions, including commenting on her coming to work with a hickey. "It kind of felt like I was inside a glass box and everybody was dehumanising me and humiliating me for my personal choices," she said in her evidence. She told the court her employer began sexually harassing her in "various ways" when he would ask her to come with him on jobs in his car, including showing her his "porn iPad" and a bag of sex toys. "…at some point he asked what my vulva looked like," she said in her evidence. "Following that, like, he asked me what other colleagues of mine I would f**k, and started naming the colleagues, to which I answered, 'No', to all of them." She said some of those colleagues were just 13 or 14 years old. On January 29, another incident took place in his car where he allegedly took a bag of sex toys out of his boot, including dildos and vibrators. She told the court he touched her inner thighs with the toys asking her how it felt. "My body was protecting me by being silent and being frozen in one place," she told the ABC. "There was a lot of begging going inside my mind, like, OK, just want to end this … thing." Mr Khan, who is almost 62 years old, has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he was impotent and could not be sexually aroused. Justice Bromwich concluded his physical inability to carry out certain sexual acts did not provide any compelling basis that he did not talk about them. "Boasting or bravado about fictional sexual exploits is notoriously an aspect of sexual harassment," he said. The judge said several elements of the arguments put forward by the defendant were "scandalous" and "offensive". Ms Feldman-Gubbay said the aggravated damages were what made the case so significant. "In this case, some of the arguments that were made by the other side in defending the claim were ultimately found to be 'offensive' and 'scandalous' and the judge ordered aggravated damages in respect of those arguments," she said. "Lessons can be learned for lawyers who have to respond to these types of claims in future or the way you defend the claim, does not rely on outdated or antiquated views about how people respond to sexual harassment. Steps must be taken to ensure that the defence doesn't victim blame or further traumatise the victim-survivor." Ms Magar has not worked for two-and-a-half years, saying in her evidence that Mr Khan's conduct had "profoundly affected all aspects of her life, including her ability to work, socialise and look after herself". She told the court she felt "humiliated, powerless and helpless" like she was not "human enough". She told the ABC for up to a year after she stopped working at the restaurant, she was unable to go outside, at times bedridden. "It was really scary to go outside. It gave me severe social anxiety. It felt as if everybody was sexualising me," she said. "It took a while for me to reach out to my friends or like my family even, back in Nepal, it was a very hard conversation to have. "I started having trust issues within my close friends or even my family. Like I didn't really know … if I could trust them with such sensitive and vulnerable information." In his judgement Justice Bromwich said he did not have any occasion to doubt Ms Magar was telling the truth about Mr Khan's conduct. "She had experienced a positive relationship with Mr Khan, which was likely to be particularly important for a young woman, with no family support in Australia, who had experienced significant mental health problems in the near past," he said. "This man was now using his position of authority to engage in unwelcome sexual conduct, and employment by his company was her source of income." The case is the highest awarded under the Federal Sex Discrimination Act. However in 2015, a post-office employee in Victoria was awarded more than $330,000 damages under breaches of that state's sexual harassment provisions. The case is one of the first to involve new sex-based harassment provisions that came in following Respect at Work legislation. These provisions were created to bridge the gap between sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Employment lawyer Katie Sweatman said Judge Bromwich's approach, which takes into account the behaviours that contribute or lead to sexual harassment, has changed the way the law is viewed. "It's one of the most significant payouts seen out of the federal court, and that was really a factor of the vulnerability of the applicant in question, who was a young woman," she said. "This case is quite significant for legal practitioners because it's the first one that really considers those new provisions in particular detail. "While Judge Bromwich found that the conduct in question didn't meet the technical definition of sex-based harassment, he did accept that the behaviours that were being complained of did absolutely create an environment which really festered and enabled the sexual harassment to occur. "And that's a really significant development in how the law is being viewed in this space." In a statement, a Mad Mex spokesman said the company condemns harassment and was "deeply saddened" that Ms Magar was the subject of such unacceptable behaviour and the matter was immediately investigated by an external law firm. "Mr Khan is no longer a Mad Mex franchisee." The lawyer representing Mr Khan told the ABC that his client denied the allegations and considers the judgement to be incorrect. He is considering an appeal.
