Federal politics live: Energy companies restricted to one cost increase a year
Energy retailers won't be able to raise prices more than once a year under major new reforms announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission.
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The Australian
37 minutes ago
- The Australian
Apartment prices rebound fails to materialise as investors sell at a loss
A widely anticipated rebound in apartment prices has failed to materialise inside the property market. In fact, if you want to lose money then buying a unit remains the best way to do it. After a striking surge in stand-alone home prices during the pandemic when house prices doubled the gains recorded by apartments, the gap in favour of houses has widened again. Many forecasters had expected unit prices to catch up. But new figures suggest the humble unit remains very humble indeed. A new report from the Cotality group (formerly CoreLogic) says there is 'a persistent underperformance in the unit sector over the decade to March'. Eliza Owen of Cotality suggests: 'What we are seeing is a re-acceleration in the outperformance of house, which must be frustrating for unit investors.' Put simply, the majority of all properties in the March quarter that sold for a loss – 63 per cent – were units. Worse still, the black spots are in major cities where most everyday investors place their interests – often using negative gearing to finance their investments. Around 90 per cent of all loss-making sales in Sydney are apartments. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, more than one in five apartments have been sold at a loss. What's happening? In a word, oversupply. Property developers have swamped key suburbs with off-the-plan projects that offer a low cost entry point into the market. That's why the ongoing rock bottom rental vacancy rate of 1 per cent has not helped unit prices turn the corner. At it's worst – where there is a combination of oversupply and high property taxes – such as in Victoria, the numbers become abysmal. The figures this year for Melbourne are the worst recorded since the deep recession in the state that hit more than three decades ago in the 1990s. The other key factor is that investors are selling at the slightest prospect of opportunity. The first rate cut this year back in February prompted a wave of selling into the market. Many of those sellers had held loss-making apartments for a long time – the median hold period on units sold at a loss was 8½ years. Allowing for inflation – not to mention mortgage servicing costs – this means property investment for many unit investors has been a complete failure. Over the last decade stand alone homes have literally done twice as well as units – rising 80 per cent against 38 per cent. A closer look at the numbers reveals that a significant drag on the wider unit numbers comes from just four areas, which account for around 20 per cent of unit losses, and three of these areas are in Melbourne: Melbourne city, Port Philip and Stonnington. The fourth is Parramatta in Sydney. Outside of the black spots of central Melbourne and Sydney, there has been a very recent uptick in unit prices in some suburbs with analysts expecting profitability to improve in all corners of the market if the RBA continues to cut interest rates. In the overall market, 95 per cent of all property resales delivered a profit, representing about 86,000 resales in the March quarter, where the median nominal gain was $305,000, down from $310,000 James Kirby Associate Editor - Wealth James Kirby, Associate Editor-Wealth, is one of Australia's most experienced financial journalists. James hosts The Australian's twice-weekly Money Puzzle podcast. He is a regular commentator on radio and television, the author of several business biographies and has served on the Walkley Awards Advisory Board He was a co-founder and managing editor at Business Spectator and Eureka Report and has previously worked at the Australian Financial Review and the South China Morning Post. Since January 2025 James is a director of Ecstra, the financial literacy foundation. @kirby_journo
The Australian
37 minutes ago
- The Australian
Chalmers draws voters into a vital debate
After urging journalists at the press club not to play the 'rule in, rule out' game, however, the Treasurer was reserved in responding to questions about potentially increasing the GST or dropping the government's push to tax unrealised capital gains on high-value superannuation funds. Both measures deserve attention in any serious discussion about holistic tax reform needed to lift productivity. Economists have suggested that Australia expand the GST to be less reliant on personal and company taxes. In January last year the International Monetary Fund highlighted our 'growing dependence on bracket creep' and called for an overhaul of the tax base towards greater reliance on the GST, with compensation for the least well-off. Questioned at the press club, however, Dr Chalmers restated his previous view: 'It's hard to adequately compensate people and I think often an increase in the GST is spent three or four times over … by the time people are finished with all the things they want to try and do with it.' In relation to the current debate over increasing defence spending, Dr Chalmers described himself as an 'enthusiastic supporter' . But he also talked up Labor's existing commitment to boost defence spending to about 2.3 per cent of GDP by the early 2030s as a 'very substantial commitment'. In a deteriorating geo-strategic environment that view will not pass muster with the nation's major ally, the US, which has called on Australia to lift spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Other middle powers, such as Britain and Poland, are lifting their allocations faster and higher than Australia At this stage the productivity roundtable, to be held in the cabinet room, which seats about 25 people, will be a small table. And Dr Chalmers has set out three worthwhile preconditions for participants: Ideas should be put forward in the national interest, not through the prism of sectoral, state or vested interests; ideas or packages of ideas should be budget-neutral but preferably budget-positive overall; and ideas should be 'specific and practical, not abstract or unrealistic'. That criteria should help maximise the possibility of good ideas being adopted. And Dr Chalmers has given an important commitment in return: 'We won't come at this from an ideological point of view but from the practical, pragmatic and problem-solving middle ground we're most comfortable on.' On that basis, workers and business, including in the 24/7 hospitality and retail sectors, are entitled to hope that ideas for more flexible work practices that would advantage staff and employers would not be stymied as a way to improve labour productivity and produce sustainable improvements in wages and conditions. Dr Chalmers' preconditions for ideas to be submitted to the roundtable and the limited size of the group have been designed to keep the discussion to a targeted productivity agenda. The risk, however, is that valuable voices with practical expertise from Australia's diverse economic sectors – mining, energy, construction, housing, agriculture, transport, universities, small business, hospitality, manufacturing, medical science, digital technology, media and entertainment, the care economy and many others – could be excluded. They will have opportunities to make submissions and attend other forums. It is important that the limited experience of participants does not limit the event's potential effectiveness. Dr Chalmers is stepping up to the government's most important challenge apart from national security: creating the conditions to improve productivity and reverse the alarming slide in living standards. He has taken on an ambitious challenge and it is vital for this and coming generations that he is able to translate it into delivery. As he said: 'Let's see what we can achieve together if we dial up the ambition a bit and dial down the rancour a bit as well.'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Fortune Agribusiness faces High Court appeal over Singleton Station water licence
The native title holders of a vast Central Australian cattle station say they will continue to challenge the Northern Territory's largest-ever water licence and won't back down until "a good decision" is made. The Mpwerempwer Aboriginal Corporation last week escalated its legal battle over a water licence at Singleton Station to the High Court, after the NT Court of Appeal rejected an earlier challenge in May. Mpwerempwer will argue the court made a series of errors in rejecting its case, including that native title holders did not receive the same procedural fairness as the licence holder, Fortune Agribusiness. Les Turner, chief executive of the Central Land Council, which is acting on behalf of Mpwerempwer, says native title holders believe the water licence is too large. "[It] threatens their water security and puts the risk to many groundwater dependent sacred sites," he said. 'Mpwerempwer considered there was serious and complex questions of law that need to be settled by the High Court." The High Court appeal is the latest development in a four-year legal stoush that has stalled Fortune Agribusiness's bid to transform a massive arid cattle station north of Alice Springs into one of Australia's biggest fruit and vegetable farms. Fortune was granted a licence to extract 40,000 megalitres of water a year, for free, by the NT government's Water Controller in 2021. That decision has drawn continued opposition from environment groups and some traditional owners, while others argue the project is a lifeline for a struggling region. Dawn Swan, a director of Mpwerempwer, said she lived "smack bang in the middle of Singleton Station" and had a strong attachment to the area. "We have to look after it," she said. "We're just going to keep battling on." Elder Ned Kelly said he was worried about the station and believed there was no other option but to "keep on fighting". In a statement, NT Water Minister Joshua Burgoyne dismissed the ABC's questions about whether continued backlash from native title holders signalled the need for stronger water protections, instead pointing to Singleton's continued court wins. Fortune Agribusiness has said its planned horticultural project could create 110 permanent and 1,350 seasonal jobs — although this number has been disputed — and could provide big opportunities for local shops and contractors. Lachy Manns, a Tennant Creek resident of 10 years and owner of a cattle transport company and hardware store, said the region was "doing it tough". "Tennant Creek needs all these big projects like SunCable and Singleton to boom," he said. "If all of it goes ahead, it's great for the town, it's a no-brainer." John Dickson, the owner of Outback Outfitters in Tennant Creek, said he was also "all for it", but hoped the produce grown at Singleton would stock local shelves instead of being sent overseas. "We have a mine that just opened up that's given the town a boost, and anything extra is good," he said. In a statement, Fortune Agribusiness chair Peter Wood acknowledged the importance of due process, and said the company remained "committed to full compliance" as it worked through further approvals. He said the government's "rigorous water planning" would ensure Singleton was developed sustainably and that the project would be a catalyst for further investment, new infrastructure and ongoing local employment in the region. Last year, the NT Supreme Court rejected an initial case brought by the Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) and Mpwerempwer alleging the NT government had not followed its own Water Act when it approved the Singleton licence. Native title holders appealed the decision, but that was also rejected. Despite the court losses and frustrations, Mr Turner said native title holders would not back down until a decision "which protects Aboriginal people's rights in that area" was made. Alex Vaughan, policy officer at ALEC, said the Singleton water licence posed a "catastrophic" risk to the region. "Singleton is simply too big to be sustainable," he said. He said it was "outrageous" one of Australia's largest groundwater licences for agriculture had been granted in a region where temperatures regularly reach over 40 degrees. "This is a terrible project that resoundingly fails the pub test," he said.
