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ABC News
27 minutes ago
- ABC News
Anthony Albanese set to announce economic development plan at Garma Festival
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to unveil a plan to lift Indigenous communities out of poverty, saying it's time First Nations people were supported to "unlock the true potential of their land". Mr Albanese is expected to address the Garma Festival in north-east Arnhem Land on Saturday, announcing a new "economic alliance" between the Commonwealth and First Nations people. The address marks the first significant announcement from the federal government on Indigenous affairs since it swept back into power with an increased majority at the May election. The prime minister will tell Aboriginal leaders gathered at Garma that past policies have cut off First Nations people from "the wealth of their land and waters". The Indigenous land estate in Australia is estimated to be around 70 per cent, however, these communities have often been locked out of economic development on their own country, as noted in the recent Yoorrook Justice Commission report. The government will invest in the First Nations Economic Empowerment Alliance — a partnership between the government and the Coalition of the Peaks, the representative body for more than 80 Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. "This builds on our commitment to the Closing the Gap Agreement, to its call for a new way of doing business and to the principle of shared decision-making," Mr Albanese will tell the Key Forum. "Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people right around our nation to boost skills and education, create jobs and back businesses." The first announcements under the new partnership are $70 million for First Nations clean energy projects, and $75 million for Native Title reforms. "This is the tone and the standard we want this partnership to set, from the very start — pragmatic action that brings economic development, ownership and equity to communities," the prime minister will say. This will be the second economic announcement Mr Albanese has made at the Garma Festival. In 2024, in the wake of the failed Voice referendum that had dominated his first term of government, he announced he would be directing his focus to an "economic empowerment" agenda. But the government is also expected to face questions at Garma over whether it needs to intervene in the Northern Territory, where soaring numbers of Aboriginal people are going to jail and the relationship between the government and Indigenous organisation has deteriorated. With the government now holding a super-majority in the House of Representatives, it is expected that Labor could hold power for successive terms. Senior leader of the Gumatj clan Djawa Yunupingu says that will be front of mind in his address on Saturday. "I want to ask the prime minister to work with us, regardless of us losing the referendum. It's behind us now," Mr Yunupingu said. "We want you to work for the Yolŋu people, the Aboriginal people from around Australia, look for a better way." The federal government abandoned any plan for a Makarrata Commission for national truth-telling and treaty in its last term but Mr Yunupingu says he wants to reopen the conversation. "Treaty and Makarrata and the truth telling is yet to be decided, it is yet to be talked upon or talked amongst like we did for the Uluru Statement," Mr Yunupingu said. "It will start here and maybe go on for the next couple of years. [The] prime minister will still be in power and we need to have the discussion with him and his cabinet." Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is not attending the Garma Festival this year, instead opting to visit the Kimberley region in Western Australia with Shadow Indigenous Australians Minister Kerrynne Liddle. In a statement, Ms Ley accused Mr Albanese of "stepping back" from Indigenous affairs since the referendum was lost. "The prime minister traded in the politics of hope and made a number of promises to Indigenous Australians. On many measures these are promises he has not delivered. His referendum failed and we have seen worsening outcomes in critical areas. So what is his plan?" Ms Ley said. "It is not good enough to just give speeches at festivals, we need to see his plan. "Since the Voice Anthony Albanese has stepped back from Indigenous issues, that is not good enough. He led the referendum process, a process which was unsuccessful. So what is his path forward?" The Coalition has not announced any policies for Indigenous affairs since the election, but ran with a 10 point plan to deliver practical outcomes for First Nations peoples, including an audit into Indigenous spending, a royal commission into sexual abuse in Indigenous communities, and reforming land councils for economic development. The shadow Attorney-General Julian Leeser is the sole representative for the federal Coalition in attendance at the festival.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
ASX drops, Trump's tariffs on Australian imports remain at 10pc
The local share market fell almost 1 per cent despite Australia managing to avoid the latest round of US President Donald Trump's tariff increases, as finance presenter David Chau explains.
Daily Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
APRA's refusal to revise the 3 per cent stress test keeps Aussies locked in mortgage prison
Are you stuck in mortgage prison? Picture: Jake Nowakowski ANALYSIS If you're in mortgage prison, you just had a parole hearing. And the result? Parole denied. That was the outcome when the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced recently that it would be keeping the 3 per cent mortgage repayment 'stress test' buffer in place. That's right, we're not being prudent enough! And we must be regulated. The buffer dictates that anyone applying for a home loan is 'stress tested' at a loan repayment rate 3 per cent higher than what they will actually be paying if successful in their loan application. MORE: Shock RBA twist as home prices surge So, if you want to borrow money at 6 per cent, the bank will check your income and financial habits to make sure you could make repayments at 9 per cent interest. You know, just in case there is a series of rate rises. They don't want you to default and lose that dream home. Only problem is, for a lot of people, the rule is stopping them getting a home at all. Let's be real here. Interest rates are coming down. They are not going to go up 3 per cent in the near term. The stress buffer started out at 2 per cent in 2014. It went to 2.5 per cent in 2019 on the back of a growth cycle that left many borrowers overexposed to the risk of a market correction. It was rightly increased to 3 per cent in October 2021 when the official cash rate was at 0.1 per cent and there were variable rate home loans with interest rates below 2 per cent. The only way was up at that time. Mortgage prison is not where you want to be. Now is a completely different story. We have seen a cost of living crisis, stagnant wages, and rising house prices, yet someone who has somehow managed to scrape a deposit together needs to be able to show they can make repayments at a level not seen from variable interest rates since before the 2008 GFC. MORE: 34-year-old goes from broke to $100m This is especially difficult for young people, as noted by my colleague Jonathan Chancellor in his Sydney Weekend column, who quoted Michael Sukkar, the Coalition's shadow housing minster during the 2025 election campaign, criticising APRA's 'one size fits all' rule as preventing nearly 40 per cent of first home buyers from getting a loan. That type of outcome is disastrous for future generations. But possibly the most absurd thing is that some people already with a mortgage who are struggling to make repayments might see a loan out there with a lower interest rate, but they won't be able to refinance to it because they don't pass the stress test. They might be paying 6 per cent currently, but if they wanted to pay 5.5 per cent, they'd have to prove they can pay 8.5 per cent. The mortgage stress test can cause plenty of stress for would-be borrowers. MORE:Aus bank slashes rates to lowest level in two years Just that 0.5 per cent difference would save you more than $300 a month on a $1 million mortgage and $114,000 over 30 years. Granted, there is a workaround for some lenders, who are able to use discretion to assess some borrowers at 1 or 2 per cent buffers, but for those who don't qualify? They are stuck in mortgage prison. And it's looking like APRA hasn't just left the keys in its 'other pants', but has thrown them away altogether. The 3 per cent buffer stayed in place even when the cash rate was at 4.35 per cent and there were borrowers being assessed at 10 per cent in order to get a 7 per cent home loan. Now that the cash rate and variable rates are both on the way down, adjusting the buffer is becoming less urgent, so expect more borrowers to miss out as APRA stays firm.
