Aussie coffee has conquered LA – now here comes brunch
This is according to Bluestone Lane, the darling of exporting Australian coffee culture to America. More specifically its CEO, former AFL player Nick Stone, who is driving the ascent of brunch in the US.
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Mercury
36 minutes ago
- Mercury
Aus banks slash interest rates early as RBA showdown looms - realestate.com.au
Aussie homeowners are set for repayment relief with a third 2025 rate cut almost a certainty. Seven Aussie banks have slashed interest rates early in a race to beat rivals ahead of next week's Reserve Bank decision, as a drop in inflation fuels a rate-cutting competition. Canstar's database found seven lenders have moved on rates since last Monday, three of whom did so just days after shock CPI figures revealed trimmed mean inflation fell again for the second quarter in a row to well within the RBA's target band (2.7 per cent) – a level considered a key trigger for cheaper lending. MORE: Aus landlord's epic council battle ends in demolition Explosive reform of negative gearing, capital gains perks Current big four bank cash rate forecasts. Source: Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said that all but confirmed Australia's third official 2025 cash rate cut would happen on August 12. All four big banks – CBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ – have predicted that RBA's next move will be August 12 by 0.25 percentage points, but in the days since inflation figures were released a week ago, three lenders have already jumped the gun. A Canstar spokesperson said between July 30 (when inflation data was released) and yesterday two lenders cut at least one variable home loan rate – Auswide Bank and Up – while 'one lender cut its lowest fixed rate – Bank of China'. Among the lowest variable rates brought in just before the inflation data was that of Police Credit Union dropping to 4.99pc for owner-occupiers – a shock figure that heralded the start of the lowest variable rate in two years across the country. All up since last Monday seven lenders have moved rates lower – Auswide Bank and Up for variables, while for fixed it was G & C Mutual Bank, Macquarie Bank, The Mutual Bank, Unity Bank, and Bank of China. RELATED: Shock as lenders slash rates to lowest level in 2 years Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall believes inflation figures 'all but confirmed' an August 12 rate cut. Picture: Tim Hunter. 'There were a few other lenders that moved fixed rates in the days prior to CPI figures, including Macquarie Bank and The Mutual Bank, which has the equal-lowest fixed rate at 4.94 per cent for two and three years.' A 0.25pp drop in interest rates by either their lender or RBA would see a $90 fall in minimum monthly repayments for an owner-occupier with a $600,000 debt and 25 years remaining on their loan (to $3,703/mth). Someone with a $750,000 loan and 25 years left would drop $113 to $4,628, while a $1m home loan minimum repayment would go to $6,171 off a fall of $150. The figures assume the borrower is an average variable owner-occupier paying principal and interest. ABS Quarterly CPI – annual movement – is the final piece in the August puzzle for RBA. Source: Canstar. 'While an RBA cut looks to be a near-certainty, if you've got a mortgage, don't bank on any extra cash until it lands in your bank account,' Ms Tindall said. 'The RBA has shown it doesn't dance to the beat of market expectations — it's the one steering the ship.' 'Banks are also at the helm of your mortgage and while we expect the big banks to step up to the plate and pass the next cut on in full, there's no guarantee every lender will do this.' MORE REAL ESTATE NEWS Homeowners are set to see both strong capital gains and mortgage relief this year.
Sky News AU
36 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Labor's international student backflip a 'farce', as economist claims Albanese government 'selling migration and work rights'
MacroBusiness Chief Economist Leith Van Onselen has claimed the Albanese government's backflip on international students will add to the already 'massive' number of migrants seeking permanent residency, favourable labour laws and work rights. The Albanese government announced on Tuesday a 'sustainable' increase of 25,000 additional international student places for 2026, bringing the National Planning Level to 295,000. Mr van Onselen branded the government's announcement 'ridiculous' and argued the 'farce' would contribute to a decline in university standards. 'Australia has the highest concentration of international students in the world… the government needs to get the numbers down,' he told 'We've diluted teaching standards massively, there's cheating scandals and soft marking. 'The integrity's been shot, the government should be focusing on a far smaller number of high skilled, high quality students. We're scraping the bottom of the barrel. (The government) should be going for the best of the best.' The MacroBusiness economist claimed 'enrolments are at a all time high' not because of the standard of Australian degrees, but because of Australia's work rights and potential access to permanent residency. 'We're not selling education, we're selling migration and work rights,' he said. 'If you took away Australia's work rights and permanent residency, none of them would come. Perhaps a small number would come to learn, but most are coming to work and gain permanent residency.' A joint statement put out by Education Minister Jason Clare and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said all international education providers will receive at least their current allocation next year, with the Australian Tertiary Education Commission to oversee future growth in international student numbers from 2027. 'International education is an incredibly important export industry for Australia, but we need to manage its growth so it's sustainable,' Mr Clare said. 'International education doesn't just make us money, it makes us friends.' Mr Clare said the Albanese government was increasing international student intake in a way which supported 'students, universities and the national interest'. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Labor was maintaining the 'integrity of the migration system' while supporting a 'strong international education sector'. 'We are making sure student visa processing supports genuine education outcomes and our strategic priorities - including increasing provision of student accommodation,' he said. In March, Mr van Onselen wrote some domestic students had been 'forced' to help non-English-speaking students complete their courses through group assessments. 'Some tutorials have even been conducted in foreign languages, degrading the experience for local students,' he said, telling some students have claimed to have been subjected to tutorials delivered entirely in Mandarin. The economist also pointed to a 2024 Guardian article which revealed Australian academics were being pressured to pass hundreds of students suspected of plagiarism and other forms of cheating to maintain revenue streams. He claimed the government's media release on Tuesday was loaded with 'political spin' and was 'loose with the truth' about the 2026 planning level increase being eight per cent below the post-COVID peak. The eight per cent figure related to the flow of international students, which Mr van Onselen said was below the 'tidal wave' of commencements after Australia's borders reopened at the end of the pandemic. As a share of population, international students have doubled since 2012 when they made up 1.5 per cent. 'What it means is the numbers are going to keep growing, the total stock of international students is going to rise,'Mr van Onselen said. According to the Department of Education, in the year-to-date to April there were more than 794,000 international student enrolments, which Mr van Onselen said was up 105,000 since the pre-COVID peak. 'It's a disaster and hasn't boosted productivity,' he said. 'We've had 20 years of massive migration, no one can say this has made the economy or standard or living better, it's made it worse. 'They talk tough before the election and now with their stomping mandate they've gone back to their big Australia approach.'
Sky News AU
36 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Miners erupts over major renewables projects as AMEC calls for national coordination to solve battles over land access
Renewable energy projects seeking exclusive access to large swathes of land are 'sterilising resources in the ground' by denying mining groups access, an industry leader has warned. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies commissioned a report highlighting mounting tensions between the mining industry and the tidal wave of renewable energy projects as they compete for access to the same land. AMEC's report calls for a 'coordinated' approach to accessing land and for the same pieces of land to be accessed by multiple industries where appropriate. The association estimates Australia's land mass would need to be double its current size to deliver exclusive rights to all land users, which includes agriculture, mining and pastoral industries such as poultry farming and livestock grazing. AMEC's chief executive Warren Pearce said players behind renewables projects were vying for exclusive use of the land to avoid what they perceived as 'inconvenience or potential interference'. He noted the mining, agriculture and pastoral industries had historically faced challenges over land access and established practices that enabled each sector to co-exist on the same land. 'That can happen with renewables too,' Mr Pearce told Business Now. 'Renewable projects are absolutely huge. They are massive land users. Think about the size of wind farms. To build a mine is going to take up less than one per cent of that wind farm. 'It's quite easy to imagine that windfarm going ahead with having that little bit excised out.' Mr Pearce said renewable project developers were seeking exclusive tenure and certainty of land access and would 'often cut out' other land users. 'We're seeing expiration projects extinguished before they begin without any real certainty that the renewable project will ever be built or invested in,' he said. 'That's a real problem. We're sterilising resource in the ground before we find out if they're there or not.' Contributions from Australia's major land-based industries – which added $493b to the economy in 2024 – are under threat from these practices, according to the AMEC-commissioned report. The report stressed that a 'coordinated national policy response' can turn the 'emerging crisis' into an 'opportunity for cooperation'. Mr Pearce said each state and territory has a different approach to managing land access, creating difficulties for land management. 'One of the things that's concerning is you've got major global renewable proponents talking to multiple state and territorial governments, but with only the investment capital to invest in one project,' he said. 'We're actually locking up land without any idea whether these projects will move forward because the states and territories aren't talking to each other. 'We need coordination. We need a national response.' Mr Pearce's comments come as about a dozen green hydrogen projects have either failed or been delayed over the past year. One Australian project from Andrew Forrest's Fortescue recently went under, while energy giant BP last month scrapped a $54b project in Western Australia.
