Australia news live: Pocock says falling house prices a ‘good thing for our country’; Labor expands solar discount to commercial buildings | Australia news
Pocock says housing correction would be ‘good thing for our country’
Independent senator David Pocock said a housing correction “would be a good thing for our country”, adding house prices cannot grow at the rate they have over the past two decades.
Pocock spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, saying:
It’s kind of just become this normal thing that house prices go up at a rapid rate. I think we’ve got to ask the question – what is housing for?
Housing is so fundamental to functioning as a human, to flourishing families, communities – we have to actually ensure that we can keep house prices in check over the next couple of decades while wages rise to get back to a point where housing is affordable in this country.
Pocock said it was great news that Labor had released a change to negative gearing laws to better protect widows and divorcees and drop the so-called “widow tax”.
Key events
Almost every house sold in first six months of the year made a profit
The vast majority of homeowners are selling their properties for more than they bought them for, even as house prices enter a tailspin, AAP reports.
Despite warnings that Australians could end up in negative equity and financial distress as a result of the accelerating housing downturn, only a small portion of resales made a loss in the first half of 2026, according to real estate platform Domain.
Its latest Profit and Loss report, released on Wednesday, showed 97.4% of houses sold in the six months to June made a profit, with the median gain reaching a new high of $458,000.
But the share of houses sold for a profit was down 0.1% from the previous six months.
The share of houses that sold for a loss in Sydney rose from 2% to 2.4%, while in Melbourne the share of loss-making houses increased from 4.4% to 5.7%.
While falling house prices will put more Australians into negative equity, it only becomes a problem when homeowners are forced to realise the loss with a sale.
AFL and NRL awash in alcohol and gambling advertisements, study finds
Children watching Australia’s two biggest football codes are being exposed to harmful alcohol advertising at every match, AAP reports.
Research published on Wednesday found alcohol and gambling sponsorships have become embedded across every level of the AFL and NRL.
It exposed millions of people, including children, to near-constant alcohol and gambling content saturating both sports, the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education found.
“We shouldn’t have kids growing up in a world where they think that alcohol, gambling, and sport are one and the same thing,” former NRL player Luke Bateman told AAP.
Findings released on Wednesday reveal every AFL and NRL club is sponsored by at least one alcohol company, while all NRL clubs, along with five AFL clubs, are also sponsored by gambling companies.
The study found two AFL clubs had since removed branding on official uniforms in 2026, although it was a different story for NRL clubs.
Gambling reform should be centred on opt-in system, not opt-out, shadow minister says
Simon Kennedy, the shadow assistant minister to the leader of the opposition, says its “absolute madness” to impose an opt-out system to gambling ads and it should instead be an opt-in system for Australians who are interested in such content.
Kennedy spoke to RN Breakfast this morning amid ongoing calls for the government to do more to tackle the gambling industry and an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the matter. He pointed to a colleague, Labor MP Josh Burns, who said earlier on the program he would opt out of gambling ads.
Kennedy had this to say:
Josh said he’s going to opt out. So he’s going to have to opt out of 7 Plus, 9 Now, 10 Play, Kayo. He’s going to have to opt out on Google for when he’s [making a] Google search. He’s going to have to opt out on Spotify, on the Guardian, on the Australian, on The Daily Telegraph … on Chat GPT, on Claude, on Gemini, on Spotify, on TikTok on Snapchat.
They seriously want us to opt out on all of those to avoid gambling ads. And we have to digitally identify ourselves. It’s absolute madness.
We should be moving to an opt-in. If you move to an opt-in where gambling ads aren’t showing, and if people like a punt, and I gamble myself, a lot of my mates gamble. If you want a punt, you can opt in and see the ads and see the odds.
The Guardian does not run gambling ads.
Kat Wong
Hanson engages in the ‘easy business of politics’: former PM lashes One Nation
Former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd has offered a scathing analysis of Pauline Hanson’s politics.
He noted the grinding business of politics looks after practical problems including national security, the economy, environmental sustainability and housing affordability, while Hanson plies in the politics of protest.
He told ABC’s 7.30:
The hard business of government is to come up with practical responses to each of those challenges. The easy business of politics is simply to act as a protest vector and then lace it and spice it with the politics of race. That is what Ms Hanson has been doing ever since she emerged in my fair state of Queensland a quarter of a century ago.
What single answer does she have to any of the challenges I listed before? Zip is the answer to that.
Bowen to announce expansion of solar discount to commercial buildings
Donna Lu
The minister for energy and climate change, Chris Bowen, will announce an expansion to the small-scale renewable energy scheme (SRES) in an address to the National Press Club today.
Bowen will announce an expansion of the solar discount to include installations up to 1MW – 10 times greater than the previous limit of 100kW – which will “slash the installation costs for commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings by around 20%”.
The scheme’s expansion is hoped to encourage more mid-scale solar installation, what Bowen will describe as the “missing middle in Australia’s energy transition”.
On per capita terms, Australia is a world leader in residential solar, with 22GW installed as of last December. Businesses have only installed about a quarter of that – 5.6GW – despite consuming more electricity than households, according to a June analysis.
Bowen is also expected to request the Australian Energy Market Commission consider a rule change, to require the network providers to “approve commercial and industrial solar much more expeditiously and efficiently than they have been doing”.
Today’s announcements come after a $100m federal investment through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, announced on Monday, to support the development of up to 16 hybrid solar, battery storage and battery retrofit projects.
Pocock shocked by gambling inquiry testimony
David Pocock went on to say he has been shocked by the testimony in the parliamentary inquiry into the gambling industry.
He told the ABC:
We’re the biggest losers, per capita, in the world. The last two days has shown us exactly why. You have a predatory industry that is doing everything to, one, normalise gambling against Australians, and, two, to absolutely milk people for their money.
The senator said gambling reform is not a “left versus right” issue, adding:
This is vested interests and their stranglehold on the major parties. And particularly on the prime minister. That is what’s stopping the government doing what the vast majority of Australians want. …
This is a real opportunity for the Senate, for the Coalition, for the crossbench, to say to the government – we’re going to actually protect young Australians.
Pocock says housing correction would be ‘good thing for our country’
Independent senator David Pocock said a housing correction “would be a good thing for our country”, adding house prices cannot grow at the rate they have over the past two decades.
Pocock spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, saying:
It’s kind of just become this normal thing that house prices go up at a rapid rate. I think we’ve got to ask the question – what is housing for?
Housing is so fundamental to functioning as a human, to flourishing families, communities – we have to actually ensure that we can keep house prices in check over the next couple of decades while wages rise to get back to a point where housing is affordable in this country.
Pocock said it was great news that Labor had released a change to negative gearing laws to better protect widows and divorcees and drop the so-called “widow tax”.
Jetstar will begin charging at least $25 for overhead baggage space
Jetstar is changing its carry-on baggage policies and will charge customers for use of the overhead compartments on its aircraft.
The airline said it would remove the 7kg carry-on weight limit for bags from February 2027 and instead allow customers to bring one underseat bag like a backpack or handbag.
Anyone wanting to use the overhead lockers would need to buy “priority carry-on”, which includes a second, larger bag and the chance to be among the first to board. The fees will start at $25 one-way on short flights and can vary upwards of $52 for long-haul routes.
Jetstar’s CEO said the decision came amid frustration from passengers and crew that have struggled to access the overhead bins:
By giving customers an underseat bag with the option to add Priority Carry-on, we can make better use of overhead locker space, streamline boarding and help more flights depart on time.
Our new carry-on baggage model provides more choice to customers while helping to keep our fares low. You only pay for what you need – travelling with less means paying less, and you can always add more if you need.
Government drops ‘widow tax’ on negative gearing and capital gains changes
Krishani Dhanji
Labor has announced it will drop the so-called “widow tax” in its next tranche of tax reforms after widespread pressure from the opposition and crossbench.
Under the reforms to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount announced in the May budget, a widow or divorcee would have lost their tax concession – which Labor promised to fix under subsequent legislation.
It was revealed in June that, for example, if a property was owned by a couple, they would lose grandfathered exemptions to negative gearing and capital gains tax in the event of a divorce or death, and the property was transferred to one of the partners.
The treasurer has also exempted beneficiaries of “genuine testamentary trusts, deceased estates and special disability trusts” from the new minimum tax on capital gains.
The government will now consult on the latest changes.
Good morning
Good morning, and happy Wednesday. Nick Visser here bright and early. Here is what’s on deck.
Jetstar will make it more difficult for travellers to bring carry-on baggage onboard an aircraft. The company will remove its 7kg carry-on weight limits, but impose a size-based model that will allow customers to bring just one underseat bag. An overhead bag will now cost.
The federal government said it will drop the so-called “widow tax” after widespread pressure from the opposition and crossbench. Under the reforms to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, a widow or divorcee would have lost their tax concession.
Stick with us, more on these stories soon.
