Nearly 1,500 properties bought using Australia’s first home buyers' 5% deposit scheme converted into investments

New data shows the federal government scheme has been used by high-income borrowers, including one couple earning an annual $674,000 * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The government’s 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers has enabled the purchase of nearly 1,500 properties that were turned into investments, new data shows. The scheme is also helping hundreds of Australians earning more than $300,000 a year, after Labor stopped excluding high-income borrowers. Continue reading...

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‘Just an easy cash grab’: why Jetstar is charging customers for carry-on luggage

Add-on fees such as the new overhead locker baggage charge can make it harder to compare air fares, experts say * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Cut-price fares may now be merely a facade for seemingly endless add-on fees after Jetstar’s new carry-on luggage charge meant the airline joined a growing number monetising basic services in the sky. The new structure, announced by Qantas’s low-cost carrier on Wednesday, will mean from next year tickets will only include one “under seat bag”, such as a backpack, handbag or laptop bag. Continue reading...

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Holy Days review – even Miriam Margoyles, Jacki Weaver and Judy Davis as nuns can’t save this film

Despite the movie’s stacked cast, an oddly threadbare storyline and comedy that targets low-hanging fruit leaves the laughs few and far between Three stubborn old nuns and a wide-eyed young whippersnapper head off on a mission to save the farm – sorry, convent – in this earnestly made but emotionally lukewarm road movie. The ace up Holy Days’ sleeve is the casting, with each nun played by a legend of stage and screen: Judy Davis as Sister Agnes, Miriam Margolyes as Sister Luke and Jacki Weaver as Sister Mary Clare. It quickly becomes clear, however, that nobody is on their A-game. And the film itself is a frustrating mix of comedy and drama: not funny enough to solicit any real laughs, nor sufficiently dramatic to forge strong connections with the characters. These folk are a rather unexciting lot, despite a clear desire to present young Brian (Elijah Tamati) as the emotional glue holding things together and the habit-wearing trio as hot-blooded eccentrics. Their run-down convent, which we’re supposed to feel invested in, is a drab location both aesthetically and emotionally; it’s decaying – but not in a handsome, cinematic way. Nor is it brought to life by the people who inhabit it; in fact, the building feels borderline soulless. Maybe the developers have a point, I caught myself thinking, and this crusty old place could become a snazzy new apartment block or shopping centre. Continue reading...

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Every Jetstar flight is a rabid fight for survival. What’s one more humiliating ritual for the masses?

Will charging for carry-on luggage in overhead lockers turn us off flying with Jetstar? Of course not. They know this. They know their base Indignity is part of the Jetstar experience. This is why we fly with budget airlines. We understand that for a marginally lower air fare, we will participate in what is less a typical flight and closer to a form of live cattle export. You will be hustled towards your gate, spat upon like the scum you are, and hosed down as you exit. This is fine. This is what we deserve. We are the underclass. We are dirt. We are pigs. Pigs do not deserve to fly. As part of this pact with the airline, we also expect to be gouged if we are foolish enough to make unreasonable requests, such as asking for a piece of cheese and three stale crackers to keep body and soul together on the five-hour flight. James Colley is a comedy writer from Sydney. His debut novel, The Next Big Thing, is out now Continue reading...

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The RBA says rate rises don’t really increase living costs. But the data is clear – they very much do | Greg Jericho

The latest cost of living figures show interest rate rises are having an impact on household costs, despite what the central bank says * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast In this year’s June quarter,the cost of living for working households rose a sharp 1.5%, driven overwhelmingly by higher mortgage payments. This is despite the Reserve Bank suggesting that interest rate rises are “not really” an increase in the cost of living. Economics and finance is purposefully confusing. Those in the know are pretty happy for you to be ignorant so they can carry on their operation without much fuss. The RBA and a few economists have been rather bemused by the results of an RBA survey showing that 25% of respondents “assessed correctly that higher interest rates would ultimately lead to lower inflation, while more than half indicated that higher interest rates would lead to higher inflation”. Continue reading...

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‘If you yell at everything, no one’s gonna listen’: Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich on the Australian musicians rewriting the rules

In a new book ‘for every artist who felt pushed away, or talked over’, the Camp Cope bassist has interviewed the likes of Amy Taylor, Marcia Hines and Courtney Barnett about motherhood, abuse and respect When she was 17, Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich flew to Alice Springs to stay with her mother. Hellmrich had been living independently for a year, but a boy she was seeing had screamed at her and shoved her into a door. So her mother bought her a flight. In Alice, she meandered the town by day and sat with her mother outside the duplex at night, sipping Cruisers. Already the veteran of a few bands, Hellmrich was confronted by the idea that her mother’s ambitions had been thwarted. “I was so scared at the time of ever being a mum and having to lose myself that way,” she writes in her first book, It’s Not For You – part memoir, part missive to the music industry. “Scared of what motherhood would take from me”. Continue reading...

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A ‘staged’ meeting and a secret deal: how a union boss exerted ‘extraordinary influence’ on the Andrews government

Integrity experts say Ibac’s report exposes a deeper problem with Victoria’s anti-corruption laws In April 2016, the firefighters’ union leader, Peter Marshall, walked into the Victorian premier’s office at 1 Treasury Place carrying what appeared to be a breakthrough: a union “proposal” that promised to end one of the state’s most bitter industrial disputes. When questioned years later by Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog, then premier Daniel Andrews said the duo didn’t discuss its substance. Continue reading...

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Cathy Freeman leads trio of women at top of list of Australia’s most admired sportspeople

* Ash Barty and Sam Kerr rank joint second nationally in online poll * Nathan Cleary in NSW and Neale Daniher in Victoria rank highly There is a sporting schism in Australia, and it is crossed by only three individuals. All have shone on the global stage, their achievements radiating from recent memories. The three women have not played Australia’s biggest professional codes, and have never been the country’s highest money-earner. Yet through their athletic prowess and personal magnetism they have won over the wider public. Continue reading...

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Celery and blood oranges top Australia’s best fruit and veg for August: ‘Everybody should be eating crunchy water’

Celeriac is at its peak for soup season, while strawberry supply is strong. Spring onions, however, are on the small side It’s a family affair this month – vegetable siblings celery and celeriac are “very good” quality and in “plenty of supply”, according to Graham Gee, a senior buyer at the Happy Apple in Melbourne. Gee says to enjoy celeriac now, as they’re at their peak. As the weather starts to warm up, they begin to shrink in size, with less availability, he says. The Happy Apple and Panetta Mercato are selling them for $5 a piece. Continue reading...

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Butterflies around the world are changing habitats - and experts say it’s ‘signalling a warning’

New research shows early-warning species is on the move, expanding or contracting geographic range and changing altitude * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Butterflies, often considered a “sentinel of change”, are on the move across every continent they inhabit, shifting to survive as global heating reshapes their environment. About one in 10 species have already expanded or contracted their geographic range, or shifted in altitude, according to a global study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Continue reading...

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Omar Musa wins Miles Franklin literary award for ‘tour de force’ novel Fierceland

The novelist, poet and rapper won $60,000 for his novel about two siblings who reckon with the legacy of their late father, a palm oil baron in Malaysian Borneo * Fierceland by Omar Musa review – poet and rapper’s second novel pulses with life When Omar Musa found out he had won Australia’s most prestigious prize for fiction, the $60,000 Miles Franklin literary award, he was already on a high. The 42-year-old was on his honeymoon, carefully dodging motorcycles in the Philippines when he got the call. “I just couldn’t believe it,” he told the Guardian, jetlagged and elated after arriving back in Australia three hours earlier. “I’m floating along. Life does lifey things.” Continue reading...

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Chris Bowen vows to override Queensland and NT to force renewables-powered AI datacentres

Energy minister says Australian households and energy reliability will be protected by new federal legislation Energy minister Chris Bowen says the federal government will override state governments that oppose new national rules on datacentres, with commonwealth legislation forcing new AI datacentres to be powered by renewable energy and banning those fuelled by gas. Bowen said he expected his counterparts in Queensland and the Northern Territory – who had protested the new federal rules at a meeting last week – to be unhappy with the move, but said the Albanese government was committed to powering the AI revolution with renewable energy. Continue reading...

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Labor’s gambling reform friendless as Coalition withholds support amid drug and sex worker allegations

Sarah Henderson says bill ignores gambling inducements, uniting parties and independents against controversial legislation * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Labor will be forced to make major changes to its planned crackdown on online gambling advertising, as the Coalition, Greens and independents demand tougher rules to stop betting companies offering generous inducements as well as further limits on broadcast ads. After a two-day inquiry including sensational evidence that gambling companies allegedly provided illegal drugs and access to sex workers to keep problem gamblers betting, the Coalition confirmed on Wednesday afternoon it would seek “crucial amendments” before agreeing to support the government’s legislation. Continue reading...

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Test for Australia’s best laundry detergent sees Aldi and Omo tied for first place

In a Choice test of 48 products, the Aldi powder also came out on top for top loaders * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Consumer advocacy group Choice has put more than 40 supermarket laundry detergent products through the wringer, naming two Omo and one Aldi product as its best performers – while some other brands perform barely better than water. In a lab test of 48 laundry powders, liquids and capsules, Aldi Trimat Advanced Laundry Powder Concentrate, Omo Active Clean Powder and Omo Ultimate Powder shared equal-first billing for front loader washing machines, with all three products scoring 82% overall. Continue reading...

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Doubts grow over Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open defence after latest withdrawal

* World No 2 pulls out of ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati * Spaniard has been sidelined since April with ongoing wrist injury Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to an ⁠ongoing wrist injury, casting fresh doubts over the Spaniard’s fitness ahead of his ⁠US Open title ⁠defence this ​month. The seven-times Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open second round in April ⁠but had been set to return at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, which he won last ⁠year. Continue reading...

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War! What is it good for? Absolutely humongous oil company profits | First Dog on the Moon

Mission accomplished * Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published * Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

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Perez Hilton hospitalised after live streaming self-harm on Tiktok

Emergency services were seen outside Hilton’s home in Miami on Tuesday night after members of the public reported seeing Hilton harm himself The celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has been hospitalised after live streaming footage of himself self-harming on TikTok. Emergency services were seen outside Hilton’s home in Miami on Tuesday night after concerned members of the public reported seeing Hilton harm himself in a graphic video streamed live on Tiktok. Hilton’s TikTok account was suspended minutes later. Continue reading...

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From the Pocket: Max Gawn has legitimate claims as the best ruck in Australian football history

Want to get this in your inbox every Wednesday afternoon? Sign up for the AFL newsletter here There are more than 300 men and women in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, and dozens of what could be loosely termed “rucks”. Of the 34 elevated to Legend status, six were ruckmen – Roy Cazaly, Jack Dyer, Merv McIntosh, John Kennedy Sr, Polly Farmer and John Nicholls. There was a footballer running around on the weekend who is worthy of being spoken about in that company. On all the measures that matter, Max Gawn has legitimate claims as the greatest ruck in the history of the sport. He’s been the premier ruck in the competition for a decade now. In that time, his team has rebuilt, broken a curse, self-sabotaged, fallen away and spiked again. In that time, the league has implemented rule changes that have redefined the role of the ruck, and rendered several of them redundant. Every opposition coach targets him. Ken Hinkley’s Port Adelaide always sought to rough him up. Chris Scott’s Geelong seeks to circumnavigate him. Every year, there’s a new challenger to his status as the premier ruck in the country. Every year, it’s Gawn wearing the All Australian blazer. This is an extract from Guardian Australia’s free weekly AFL email, From the Pocket. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions Continue reading...

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Former Swans coach regrets not doing more for Adam Goodes amid ‘diabolical’ treatment of AFL star

* John Longmire opens up on booing during player’s final years * ‘I should have threatened to pull our players off the ground’ Former Sydney Swans coach John Longmire has opened up on his regret for not doing more to support Adam Goodes in the final years of his career, as the two-time Brownlow medallist faced “diabolical, almost unforgivable” treatment. Writing in his autobiography released this week, Longmire said the final years of Goodes’s career were a source of regret. Continue reading...

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Keep calm and carry on: two travellers weigh in on Jetstar’s new overhead locker baggage fees

Is the budget airline’s plans to charge for carry-on bag storage a tax on bad behaviour, or just plain old price gouging? Two Guardian staffers check in In significant news for budget travellers, Jetstar will charge its passengers up to $52 to put carry-on baggage in the overhead locker. Will the new rules finally bring an end to the entitled carry-on culture, where people hold up the airline just to jam their oversized suitcase into the overhead locker? Or is it just another way for cut-price airlines to gouge passengers? Two well-travelled Guardian staffers battle it out. Continue reading...

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Labor plans migration cuts as Tony Burke pulls out of major speech

As home affairs minister’s National Press Club address is postponed, refugee advocates lament missed ‘opportunity to bring Australians together’ Labor will introduce new rules to cut net overseas migration and push temporary residents to leave Australia, despite a major speech on the subject by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, being delayed. But government sources told Guardian Australia the policy changes would not push net overseas migration lower than the existing target of 295,000 people this financial year. Continue reading...

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Penguins and dolphins among nearly 400 Australian species under threat from bird flu as ‘true extent of disaster’ revealed

Assessment of more than 2,000 native species reveals nearly one in five at high risk of deadly H5N1, including parrots, fur seals and quolls * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Almost 400 native Australian bird and mammal species have been assessed as being at a high risk – or worse – from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, a federal government assessment has revealed. Some of Australia’s most beloved animals – including species of penguins, fur seals, quolls, dolphins, more than 300 birds and the Tasmanian devil – are considered at least high risk from the virus, meaning they could suffer “severe reduction in population size or viability” or worse if it reaches them. Continue reading...

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Cam Smith wants LIV Golf to live on but ‘100%’ would return to PGA Tour

* Former world No 2 would like golf to ‘go back to old times’ if LIV folds * ‘I’d hate to see it go away,’ Australian says of rebel tour Cameron Smith wants LIV Golf to survive but if it doesn’t, he would “100%” return to the PGA Tour. “I mean, if it was the only option, I think that’s where everyone would want to ⁠be for sure, 100%,” the Australian former world No 2 said ahead of this week’s LIV Golf New York event. “It would go back to old times.” Continue reading...

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Homes in Australia are now cheaper – why can’t the government sell this good news story? | Saul Eslake

Ministers love to claim credit for things like cheaper petrol and cheaper pharmaceuticals – why not cheaper housing? * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Residential property prices in Australia’s eight capital cities have fallen by an average of 2.5% from their most recent peak in March, according to data published earlier this week by both Cotality and Proptrack. The declines have been somewhat greater in Sydney and Melbourne – 5.6% and 5.7% respectively – where they started earlier, than in other cities. Indeed, prices have not yet begun to fall in Perth, Hobart or Darwin, nor have they (on average) declined outside the capital cities. Those falls are likely to continue, and to become more widespread, for some time yet. The major banks are predicting that capital city prices will be flat to down 5% over the course of 2026, with larger declines of between 3 and 10% in Sydney and Melbourne. Others have forecast that prices could fall by between 5 and 10% this year. Continue reading...

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Jetstar to charge passengers up to $52 to put baggage in overhead lockers

Airline says struggling to find room in overhead lockers on planes a ‘stressful part of the airport experience’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Jetstar will charge its passengers up to $52 to put carry-on baggage in the overhead locker, in a major change to the budget airline’s carry-on rules. In a press release on Wednesday morning, the airline announced it would remove the 7kg weight limit for carry-on bags, beginning in February 2027. There will still be size restrictions. Continue reading...

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Your guide to the books in the 2026 Miles Franklin award shortlist: provocation, ruin and empire

Six authors are in the running for Australia’s most prestigious book award, which will be announced on Wednesday night. Here’s your primer * Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Australian fiction has long been interested in the relationship between the local and the global – and the six books shortlisted for this year’s Miles Franklin award are no exception. They range across time and place, from Tasmania to Malaysian Borneo and the Middle East. And they engage with histories of empire, environmental ruin, migration, ageing, political activism and war. There is a striking willingness to experiment with form. Some authors borrow from poetry or genre fiction, while others draw on avant garde traditions and techniques. Some novels overplay their hand; not every formal innovation succeeds, but the judges have clearly rewarded books that attempt something distinctive, rather than settling for familiar literary realism. Continue reading...

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Labor MPs urge Albanese to go harder on gambling reform amid illicit drug and sex worker allegations

Louise Miller-Frost and Alicia Payne have vowed to push for further action after evidence from Sportsbet and Tabcorp this week * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Labor MPs are pushing for Anthony Albanese to significantly strengthen the plan to curb online gambling advertising, after sensational evidence about betting companies providing problem gamblers with illicit drugs and access to sex workers sparked a bipartisan backlash. The government’s plan to limit advertising and boost the existing self-exclusion register already faces a tough road through the Senate, with Coalition MPs urging opposition leader Angus Taylor to propose a much tougher crackdown. The Greens have dismissed Labor’s legislation as ineffective. Continue reading...

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Reading and writing worsens in Australian schools as one in three students fail to meet Naplan benchmarks

Education minister Jason Clare says the results showed ‘real challenges’ but numeracy scores were heartening * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Reading and writing scores are going backwards for almost every age group in Australia’s national standardised school tests, with one in three students still failing to meet Naplan benchmarks. This year’s tests were taken in March by 1.2 million students across years 3, 5, 7 and 9 to measure literacy and numeracy proficiency, with results released on Wednesday by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara). Continue reading...

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