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ABC News
3 minutes ago
- ABC News
Community members divided over Australia's decision to recognise Palestinian state
Australia's move to recognise an independent Palestinian state has been welcomed by some but has disappointed both pro-Palestinian groups and supporters of Israel. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said at the United Nations General Assembly next month Australia would recognise a state of Palestine with a condition that terror group Hamas has no role in its governance. "A two-state solution is humanity's best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza," he said. It followed similar announcements from the United Kingdom, France and Canada. At the moment, 147 of the 193 UN member states recognise Palestine as a sovereign state, with the notable exception of the United States — Israel's most influential ally. Mr Albanese's announcement was dismissed by the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) as a move to help shield Israel from legal accountability for its war on Gaza. Nasser Mashni, the the president of APAN, said the federal government's recognition of a Palestinian state was "meaningless" without Australia cutting ties with Israel. "Australia continues to trade, to supply arms, to have diplomatic relations and to diplomatically protect and encourage other states to normalise with this very state that is committing these atrocities," he said hours after Mr Albanese's announcement. The government has repeatedly denied it has sold arms to Israel. Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the Jewish community was not surprised by the announcement, but it was disappointed. "Australia is now committed to recognising a state with no agreed borders, no single government in effective control of its territory, and no capacity to live in peace with its neighbours," he said. Mr Ryvchin said he wanted to see the end of the war in Gaza, aid deliveries resumed, Hamas disarmed and defeated and the hostages returned home. "No one who supports the recognition of a Palestinian state has so far made the argument compellingly as to how recognition will achieve these aims," he said. Mohamed El Helou, a Palestinian from Gaza who came to Australia last year, said he has lost 300 family members in Gaza. He told the ABC that while the decision had come "very late" it was an important one. "The decision will support the two-state solution, which is the solution the entire international community is asking for," he told the ABC in Sydney. "Applying the two-state solution will contribute to ending the wars and having stability in the Middle East. Mr El Helou said Palestinians wanted to live in peace and stability. Another woman who spoke to the ABC said the recent massive protests in Sydney had likely played a roll in pressuring the government to recognise a Palestinian state. Zaenab Yusuf in Melbourne said the recognition was "a great start, but a bit too late". "This is something that should have happened a long time ago, but we're grateful that it's at least happening," Ms Yusuf said during a rally outside the ABC's building in Melbourne. Ms Yusuf said the Australian government needed to sanction and cut ties with the Israeli government. The ABC has spoken with different Abrahamic religious groups in Australia, including Christian Palestinians in Western Australia. One of the members, who didn't want to be identified, told the ABC that he "finally feels Australian" after Mr Albanese's announcement. Although he said some critics said the recognition wouldn't "do anything" to improve the situation in Gaza, he said it was "a step-by-step process to achieving justice". Susan Wahhab, the president and co-founder of Palestinian Christians in Australia said recognising the state of Palestine would acknowledge the existence of Palestinians and might end "the genocide and the starvation". "By recognising the state of Palestine, the world acknowledges that there are Palestinian people, and that the Israelis need to stop killing us," said Ms Wahhab, who was born in Jerusalem. She also said that the recognition would make Australia have "a proper relation" with the state of Palestine. Ms Wahhab said Christian Palestinian groups in Australia have joined with other religious groups, including Muslim and Jewish organisations to ask the Australian government to sanction Israel. "Sanctioning Israel, sanctioning the leaders who commit all these crimes, together with recognising Palestine would also put pressure on the Israelis to change the course," she told the ABC.
The Australian
3 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
3 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
