Month: August 2022

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Business

The Australian suburbs where interest rate hikes mean house prices are plunging by six figures

Interest rate hikes have caused huge drops in house prices in Australia's hottest property markets, with two elite suburbs tanking by $250,000 (pictured: auctioneer Adrianna May in Sydney)

A series of interest rate hikes have caused dramatic house price plunges of $250,000 in wealthy suburbs and the downturn is expected to get worse.

The Reserve Bank in August raised interest rates for the fourth straight month, marking the most dramatic increases since 1994 and on Thursday, the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ became the first of the big four banks to match the latest increase.

Richer postcodes and gentrified, inner-city areas had emerged the most when the cash rate was at a record-low of 0.1 per cent but these suburbs are now leading the downturn, with more monetary policy tightening expected in 2022 to tackle surging inflation.

Upmarket parts of Sydney and Melbourne are suffering six-figure falls in just three months, with Brisbane and regional areas of coastal NSW now also going backwards, after being some of Australia’s strongest performing markets in 2021.

Sydney’s north shore, covering Chatswood and Wahroonga, is the worst affected with Domain sales data showing a $250,000 plunge in the median house price during the June quarter.

A drop of 8.4 per cent in just three months took the median house price back to $2,720,000.

On the neighboring northern beaches, stretching from Manly to Palm Beach, mid-point house prices in just three months have plunged by $187,500 or 6.8 per cent to $2,582,500.

Melbourne’s upmarket inner-east, covering Kew and Box Hill, has seen its median house price fall by $107,500 in three months, with the 6.1 per cent quarterly decline taking the median house price down to $1,660,000.

On Tuesday the Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to a six-year high of 1.85 per cent.

The Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Bank of Queensland on Thursday announced they would match the 0.5 percentage point increase on their variable mortgage rates.

The May, June, July and August rate increases of 1.75 percentage points have been the steepest since 1994.

Interest rate hikes have caused huge drops in house prices in Australia's hottest property markets, with two elite suburbs tanking by $250,000 (pictured: auctioneer Adrianna May in Sydney)

Interest rate hikes have caused huge drops in house prices in Australia’s hottest property markets, with two elite suburbs tanking by $250,000 (pictured: auctioneer Adrianna May in Sydney)

A series of interest rate hikes have caused dramatic house price plunges of $250,000 in wealthy suburbs and the downturn is expected to get worse. The Reserve Bank (governor Philip Lowe, inset) in August raised interest rates for the fourth straight month, marking the most dramatic increases since 1994

A series of interest rate hikes have caused dramatic house price plunges of $250,000 in wealthy suburbs and the downturn is expected to get worse. The Reserve Bank (governor Philip Lowe, inset) in August raised interest rates for the fourth straight month, marking the most dramatic increases since 1994

Plummeting median house prices

sydney – North shore – down $250,000 or 8.4 per cent to $2,720,000

sydney – Inner west – down $200,000 or 8.3 per cent to $2,200,000

sydney – Northern beaches – down $187,500 or 6.8 per cent to $2,582,200

melbourne – Inner East – down $107,500 or 6.1 per cent to $1,660,000

sydney – City and Inner South – down $90,000 or 4.7 per cent to $1,845,000

Brisbane – West – down $50,000 or 4.3 per cent to $1,100,000

sydney – Sutherland – down $42,500 or 2.6 per cent to $1,600,000

NSW Mid North Coast – down $33,500 or 4.5 per cent to $715,000

Brisbane – South – down $30,000 or 2.8 per cent to $1,050,000

melbourne – Inner – down $27,000 or 1.8 per cent to $1,500,000

Source: Domain data on median house price falls in the June quarter with areas grouped into Australian Bureau of Statistics SA4 areas

Sydney's north shore, covering Chatswood and Wahroonga, is the worst affected with Domain sales data showing a $250,000 plunge in the median house price during the June quarter (pictured is the North Sydney end of the Sydney Harbor Bridge)

Sydney’s north shore, covering Chatswood and Wahroonga, is the worst affected with Domain sales data showing a $250,000 plunge in the median house price during the June quarter (pictured is the North Sydney end of the Sydney Harbor Bridge)

In Sydney's inner south, taking in Newtown (pictured) and Waterloo, mid-point house prices fell by 4.7 per cent, or $90,000, to $1.845million

In Sydney’s inner south, taking in Newtown (pictured) and Waterloo, mid-point house prices fell by 4.7 per cent, or $90,000, to $1.845million

Inflation in the year to June surged by 6.1 per cent, the steepest increase since 1990 when the one-off effect of the GST in 2000 and 2001 was taken out.

What a 0.5 percentage point rate rise means

$500,000: Up $141 from $2,215 to $2,356

$600,000: Up $169 from $2,658 to $2,827

$700,000: Up $197 from $3,101 to $3,298

$800,000: Up $225 from $3,544 to $3,769

$900,000: Up $253 from $3,987 to $4,240

$1,000,000: Up $281 from $4,430 to $4,711

Increases based on Reserve Bank cash rate rising from 1.35 per cent to 1.85 per cent taking popular Commonwealth Bank variable rate from 3.39 per cent to 3.89 per cent

The consumer price index is now well above the Reserve Bank’s two to three per cent target and all the big banks are expecting another 0.5 percentage point interest rate rise in September, following on from this month’s 50 basis point increase.

Domain chief of research Dr Nicola Powell said higher interest rates meant the banks were unable to lend as much.

‘Borrowing capacity has been eroded by higher rates and a higher cost of living and there’s more to come in terms of a further acceleration in a deterioration in prices,’ she said.

‘Some Australian households, and prospective buyers, are much more sensitive to higher interest rates and strong inflation levels due to the high level of debt being carried, ultimately eroding savings.’

The banks have, since November, been required to assess a borrower’s ability to cope with a three percentage point rise in variable mortgage rates.

Gentrified inner-city areas are also in decline.

Sydney’s inner west, stretching from Leichhardt to Strathfield, saw its median house price plunge by $200,000, or 8.3 per cent in three months, to $2,220,000.

In the nearby inner south area, taking in Newtown and Waterloo, mid-point house prices fell by 4.7 per cent, or $90,000, to $1,845million.

On Sydney's northern beaches, stretching from Manly to Palm Beach, mid-point house prices in just three months have plunged by $187,500 or 6.8 per cent to $2,582,500

On Sydney’s northern beaches, stretching from Manly to Palm Beach, mid-point house prices in just three months have plunged by $187,500 or 6.8 per cent to $2,582,500

House prices in Melbourne's inner east, including iconic suburbs such as Fitzroy and Collingwood, plunged to $1.66million, at 6.1 per cent or $107,500 slide (Pictured, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy)

House prices in Melbourne’s inner east, including iconic suburbs such as Fitzroy and Collingwood, plunged to $1.66million, at 6.1 per cent or $107,500 slide (Pictured, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy)

While Newtown falls within the Inner West Council, the Australian Bureau of Statistics puts this bohemian suburb within Sydney’s inner south category, based on an SA4 mapping classification.

The property market contagion is spreading beyond Sydney and Melbourne with house prices in Brisbane’s west, stretching from Indooroopilly to Upper Brookfield, falling by $50,000, or 4.3 per cent, to $1,100,000.

The regions, which have become a popular market in their own right for young investors priced out of the big cities, also took a hit.

Demand has arisen for houses near the beach as professionals could work from home without having to commute to a big city office.

Median house prices on the New South Wales mid-north coast, covering Port Macquarie, fell by $33,500 or 4.5 per cent in the June quarter, to $715,000.

Further north, mid-point apartment prices in the Coffs Harbor region fell by $51,500 or 9.5 per cent to $491,000.

Sydney’s Sutherland area, taking in Miranda and Cronulla, saw its median house price fall by $42,500 or 2.6 per cent to $1,600,000.

It was the only area to suffer big drops in both house and unit prices.

In Sydney's inner south area, taking in Redfern (pictured), mid-point house prices fell by 4.7 per cent, or $90,000, to $1.845million

In Sydney’s inner south area, taking in Redfern (pictured), mid-point house prices fell by 4.7 per cent, or $90,000, to $1.845million

Median unit prices also plummet

sydney – Eastern suburbs – down $90,000 or 6.8 per cent to $1,230,000

sydney – Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury – down $55,000 or 6.9 per cent to $745,000

Hobart – down $55,000 or 9.2 per cent to $540,000

NSW Coffs Harbour, Grafton – down $51,500 or 9.5 per cent to $491,000

sydney – Sutherland – down $45,000 or 5.6 per cent to $760,000

NSW Central Coast – down $38,000 or 6.1 per cent to $587,000

Victoria LaTrobe, Gippsland – down $38,000 or 10.1 per cent to $340,000

NSW Hunter Valley without Newcastle – down $35,000 or 6.8 per cent to $480,000

The Sutherland Shire also copped to $45,000, or 5.6 per cent, drop in unit prices during the June quarter to $760,000.

Sydney’s eastern suburbs saw Australia’s biggest median price drop in the unit market, with a $90,000 or 6.8 per cent decline, taking the mid-point apartment price to $1,230,000.

But the biggest fall, by percentage, in units was in Hobart, where median prices fell by $55,000, or 9.2 per cent, to $540,000.

Sydney’s flood-stricken northwest also saw a $55,000 price drop in unit prices, down 6.9 per cent to $745,000.

Both the Reserve Bank and Treasury are expecting inflation to hit a 32-year high of 7.75 per cent later this year and remain outside the RBA target band until 2024 – meaning rate rises will continue for a long while yet.

On Monday, CoreLogic data showed in July the median national home price fell for the third straight month in July by 1.3 per cent.

Its figures showed wealthy postcodes in the big cities are leading the downturn with coastal and tree change regional areas also taking a hit after previously being some of the strongest performing markets.

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Categories
Sports

Diamonds lose top group spot, rocked by shock historic defeat to Jamaica

Australia’s netball team has slumped to a shock defeat in a mega blow to its Commonwealth Games campaign, falling to Jamaica in a heart-stopping pool match.

Jamaica trailed by six goals at one point in the match, before fighting back in the final quarter to snare a 57-55 win.

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Never before had Jamaica beaten Australia in netball at the Commonwealth Games.

Jamaica were led by superstar goal-shooter Jhaniele Fowler, who scored 14 of her 47 goals in the final quarter, including five straight to turn a 48-45 deficit into a 49-48 lead.

“It’s surreal, we’ve not beaten Australia at a Commonwealth Games and to come here and do it with an incredible team, just go out there and prove everyone wrong was really good,” Fowler said.

“Most definitely it does mean more (to beat Australia). Why do we go down from here? It’s only up from here.

“Australia is No.1 and if we beat the No.1 team that means we can do anything.

“We want to go home with either a gold or a silver medal, but we’re going for the gold, that’s always been our focus.”

Jamaica celebrated the win with a team dance on court after the game, Fowler saying “It’s what makes us feel vibrant and happy so we do it.”

The victory secured the top of pool A for Jamaica ahead of the Diamonds, who will meet either England or New Zealand in the semi-finals.

“We probably let ourselves down with some execution stuff in that last quarter,” Australia center Kate Moloney said.

“Up until three-quarter time, up by six goals – credit to Jamaica but we probably should have been able to run that one out.

“When they’ve got weapons like they do… you never really have it.”

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Commonwealth Games in pictures: Traumatized family reveals horrifying impact of games velodrome crash

Categories
Australia

Prime Minister, CMO confident COVID wave has peaked

Prime Minister, CMO confident COVID wave has peaked

Australia may have seen the worst of the third Omicron wave but the nation’s top doctor has warned we’re not out of the woods just yet.

A downturn in Australia’s seven-day rolling average and hospitalizations suggests the country could be nearing peak Covid-19 infections sooner than expected.

Speaking to reporters in Canberra, chief medical officer Paul Kelly said he was “increasingly confident” cases had peaked.

PM PRESSER
Camera IconChief medical officer Paul Kelly is cautiously optimistic about the current wave. NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage Credit: News Corp Australia

“The actual data that we’re seeing, particularly from hospital admissions, are decreasing in all states over the last… week support that,” he said.

But he said the current wave would not be the last, stressing the need for governments to plan accordingly.

It follows a virtual meeting of state and territory leaders to discuss the national response to the virus.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters he was “hopeful” the wave had reached its peak but warned against the threat of complacency.

“We know that last summer there was another spike and we shouldn’t be complacent about this issue,” he said.

In June, the Albanese government agreed to extend a 50-50 public hospital funding agreement for an additional three months amid concerns of the third Omicron wave.

But with cases peaking earlier than expected, Mr Albanese remained coy on if the states were pushing for another extension beyond September.

“The update that national cabinet received today, I’m pleased to say, is consistent with what was envisaged when we met… after I came back from PIF,” he said.

“Our funding arrangements and big decisions that were made by the national cabinet then in terms of those dates are consistent with the advice that we received.”

On Wednesday, the government fused to be tied down on a time frame on the release of modeling used to guide decision making.

“We don’t want to see an uncoordinated release of modeling that potentially contradicts modeling released by other jurisdictions,” Health Minister Mr Butler said.

The Health Department estimates there are more than 325,000 active cases nationally.

More than 4800 people are in hospital receiving treatment, with 162 in intensive care and 39 on ventilators.

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Categories
US

Brittney Griner trial: WNBA star convicted, sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison

Brittney Griner trial: WNBA star convicted, sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison

US basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted Thursday in Russia of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison following a politically charged trial that came amid soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine and could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between the two worlds powers.

The 31-year-old Griner, a two-time US Olympic champion and an eight-time all-star with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury listened with a blank expression as an interpreter translated the verdict by Judge Anna Sotnikova. The judge also fined 1 million rubles (about $16,000) fine.

“I never meant to hurt anybody to put in jeopardy the Russian population or violate any Russian laws. I made an honest mistake and I hope that your ruling, that it doesn’t end my life here,” Griner told the court earlier Thursday, apologizing to her family, her teammates, her fans, and the Russian people.

Court hearing of US basketball player Brittney Griner
US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, stands inside a defendants’ cage before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022.

EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/REUTERS


“I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that that is far from this courtroom… I hope you take into account all the documents, all the character lists that everybody has sent in on my behalf… This is my second home, and all I wanted to do was just win championships and make them proud,” she said.

US President Joe Biden denounced the verdict and sentence as “unacceptable.”

“I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates,” Biden said, adding that he would continue to work to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction.

As Griner was taken from the court after the verdict, she told reporters: “I love my family.” Her lawyers said she was very upset, stressed, and could hardly talk.

Earlier in the session, with a conviction all but certain, an emotional Griner made a final appeal to the court for leniency. She said she had no intention to break the law by bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball in the city of Yekaterinburg.

“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” Griner said, her voice cracking. “I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.”

Under Russian law, the 31-year-old Griner faces up to 10 years in prison, but judges have considerable latitude on sentencing.

If she does not go free, attention will turn to the possibility of a high-stakes prisoner swap that was proposed last week by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to his Russian counterpart.

Griner said Yekaterinburg, a city east of the Ural Mountains, had become her “second home.”

“I had no idea that the team, the cities, the fans, my teammates would make such a great impression on me over the 6 1/2 years that I spent here,” she said. “I remember vividly coming out of the gym and all the little girls that were in the stands there waiting on me, and that’s what kept making me come back here.”

Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko insisted that Griner packed the cannabis oil deliberately, and he asked the court to hand Briner a fine of 1 million rubles (about $16,700) in addition to the prison sentence.

Lawyers for the Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist have sought to bolster Griner’s contention that she had no criminal intent and that the canisters ended up in her luggage by mistake. They presented character witnesses from the Yekaterinburg team that she plays for in the WNBA offseason and written testimony from a doctor who said he prescribed her cannabis for pain treatment from injuries sustained in her basketball career.

Her lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, argued that Griner used the cannabis only in Arizona, where medical marijuana is legal.

She emphasized that Griner was packing in haste after a grueling flight and suffering from the consequences of COVID-19. Blagovolina also pointed out that the analysis of cannabis found in Griner’s possession was flawed and violated legal procedures.

Blagovolina asked the court to acquit Griner, noting that she had no past criminal record and hailing her role in “the development of Russian basketball.”

Another defense attorney, Alexander Boykov, emphasized Griner’s role in taking her Yekaterinburg team to win multiple championships, noting that she was loved and admired by her teammates. He told the judge that a conviction would undermine Russia’s efforts to develop national sports and make Moscow’s call to depoliticize sports sound shallow.

Boykov added that even after her arrest, Griner won the sympathy of both her guards and prison inmates, who supported her by shouting, “Brittney, everything will be OK!” when she went on walks at the jail.

Before her trial began in July, the State Department designated her as “wrongfully detained,” moving her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator.

Then last week, in an extraordinary move, Blinken spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, urging him to accept a deal under which Griner and Whelan would go free.

The Lavrov-Blinken call marked the highest-level known contact between Washington and Moscow since Russia sent troops into Ukraine more than five months ago. The direct outreach over Griner is at odds with US efforts to isolate the Kremlin.

People familiar with the proposal say it envisions trading Griner and Whelan for the notorious arms trader Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison sentence in the United States. It underlines the public pressure that the White House has faced to get Griner released.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Russia has made a “bad faith” response to the US government’s offer, a counteroffer that American officials don’t regard as serious. She declined to elaborate.

Russian officials have scoffed at US statements about the case, saying they show a disrespect for Russian law. They remained poker-faced, urging Washington to discuss the issue through “quiet diplomacy without releases of speculative information.”

in to handwritten letter from Griner that was delivered to the White House last month, the WNBA player wrote how terrified she is that she may be imprisoned in Russia “forever.”

Griner’s wife Cherelle told “CBS Mornings” that when she read the letter, she could feel the fear that Griner was experiencing.

“She is probably the strongest person that I know, so she doesn’t say words like that lightly. That means she truly is terrified that she may never see us again. You know, I share those same sentiments,” Cherelle said.

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Categories
Business

Bank of England raises interest rates sharply, long recession expected

Bank of England raises interest rates sharply, long recession expected

Birmingham: Britain is facing a lengthy recession and the worst decline in living standards for a generation after the Bank of England raised interest rates sharply and forecast that inflation would hit 13 per cent by Christmas.

The bank’s lifted interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 1.75 per cent on Thursday evening, the biggest increase in 27 years, with forecasts suggesting Britain is now facing a much bleaker economic outlook than either the United States or Europe.

A woman rides a bicycle past a job center in Shepherd's Bush in London.

A woman rides a bicycle past a job center in Shepherd’s Bush in London.Credit:AP

The bank forecast the country would slide into a 15-month recession later this year, with GDP shrinking by 1.5 per cent next year. Officials expect the slowdown to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, and continue until the end of 2023 – which would indicate a steady economic decline throughout next year.

Households are also more exposed to the energy price shock than in the US, and less protected by government measures than in the eurozone. At the same time, the British economy has also been damaged by the effects of leaving the European Union.

The cost of household gas and electricity is expected to rise in October by another 75 per cent, up from the Bank’s previous forecast of 40 per cent, to about £3,500 ($6,100) a year. By autumn energy bills, which have already risen by 54 per cent this year, will be at triple their level a year earlier.

Annual inflation is expected to rise from 9.4 per cent in June to a peak of 13.3 per cent in October, the highest level since September 1980. It will remain “very elevated” through much of next year before falling back to the 2 per cent target in two years’ time.

People walk past a closed down shop unit on Oxford Street, in London, where energy prices are spiraling.

People walk past a closed down shop unit on Oxford Street, in London, where energy prices are spiraling.Credit:AP

The pound fell 0.5 per cent against the US dollar to $US1,208, having been 0.7 per cent higher before the announcement. It was down 0.5 per cent against the euro to €1,182.

Against the Australian dollar, the pound dipped as low as $1,735 in response to the rate hike before recovering to around $1,746.

Categories
Technology

Samsung and iFixit’s Galaxy self-repair program is now open to US consumers

Samsung and iFixit's Galaxy self-repair program is now open to US consumers

Back in April, Samsung US and iFixit announced their Galaxy self-repair program though it did not immediately start selling the parts required for it. The floodgates are finally open and you can now order genuine spare parts and tools to repair your Samsung devices.


Devices covered by Samsung and iFixit's self-repair program

Devices covered by Samsung and iFixit’s self-repair program

The repair program only covers the Galaxy S20 series and S21 series phones, as well as the Galaxy Tab S7+ tablet for now. You get access to three component types – display assemblies, back covers and charging ports. Interestingly enough Samsung has still not shared any details about battery replacements.

Component prices for the older Galaxy S20 series models range from $59.99 for the charging port assembly on all three models to $224.99 for the S20 Ultra’s display assembly. The Galaxy S21’s display assembly comes in at $160.99 while the S21 Ultra’s is $232.99. A Galaxy Tab S7+ display will go for $219.99 while the charging port assembly is $59.99.

Samsung and iFixit's Galaxy self-repair program is now open to US consumers

Those who want to repair their own Galaxy device can order the genuine Samsung parts and tools from Samsung Store including retail and service locations as well as from iFixit’s site. Samsung is committed to expanding the devices and repair components covered by the program in the future.

Source

Categories
Sports

Ex-Docker bemused by “ridiculous” Ross Lyon rule

Ex-Docker bemused by “ridiculous” Ross Lyon rule

Ed Langdon has taken aim at former Fremantle coach Ross Lyon over a long-sleeve jumper rule he enforced during his time at the Dockers.

A notorious long-sleeve jumper wearer, Langdon thought the ban was “ridiculous”, but felt he couldn’t speak up given he’d only played a handful of games.

“I had five years at Freo and I was never allowed to wear it because Ross Lyon was never a big fan of it,” Langdon told SEN’s The Run Home.

“I thought it was a bit ridiculous, but at that point in my career, I wasn’t really in a position to be arguing, put it that way.”

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As for Langdon’s current coach Simon Goodwin, the premiership Demon revealed he never had to ask Goodwin whether or not he could wear a long-sleeve jumper.

“No – and nor should you have to,” Langdon said.

“That’d be like saying, ‘can I wear a headband this week or do I have to tie it up?’

“As soon as I came to the Demons, I wanted to make it my own, I used to wear it at junior footy and Melbourne is a lot colder than Perth.”

Langdon has been critical of Lyon’s coaching methods in the past.

“I’ve come from five years of the Ross Lyon method, so it’s absolutely a nice change to have someone as cool, calm and collected as Goody,” Langdon said on AFL Nation last year.

“I don’t think I’ve heard him raise his voice since I’ve been at the club.

“Coming over from Freo, where if you don’t look Ross in the eye at a meeting, he starts yelling at you.

“So it’s been a nice change.”

Langdon played 68 games for the Dockers before departing at the end of 2019.





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Categories
Australia

The day the climate changed and the glee club went missing

The day the climate changed and the glee club went missing

The gloom settling over the vanquished Liberals and Nationals deepened as history tripped away from their grasp.

They could do nothing but demand a series of doomed divisions – the ringing of bells, the locking of doors, the counting of woes and noes, the inevitable defeat – intended to slow the inevitable.

These remnants of a once-dominant Coalition, having spent the better part of a decade turning themselves inside out to ensure climate action never led, like dancing, to anything too vigorous, were left without an embrace among them.

The Nationals were so bent on opposing everything that they even voted against an amendment by independent Helen Haines of Indi, and moved by fellow Independent Rebekha Sharkie of Mayo – both country electorates – designed to assist rural and regional districts.

The amendments require the Climate Change Authority to ensure any measures to respond to climate change should boost economic, employment and social benefits in rural and regional Australia.

Labor supported the Haines amendments, just as it supported other amendments by crossbenchers, even if the government didn’t need the numbers.

The climate wars.

The climate wars.Credit:David Rowe

Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen, rubbing it in, described Haines’s ideas as “very sensitive”. Haines rubbed it in further by noting on Twitter (she is in COVID-19 isolation) the Coalition parties, having opposed everything, hadn’t bothered to come up with a single amendment among them.

Independent Zali Steggall grew so expansive she declared: “The climate wars are almost over.”

Given the history, this seemed optimistic.

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But it served, surely, an outbreak of celebrating on the floor of the House of Representatives that left the old Abbott government’s “death of the carbon tax” shindig looking lame.

In the end, however, everyone simply trooped away, trailing their wins and their losses.

Exhaustion, after all the years of those climate wars, had swept the day.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

Categories
US

Ted Cruz Slams Boot on Table During Senate Hearing on FBI Oversight

Cruz Slams Boot on Table

Texas Senator Ted Cruz slammed his boot on a table during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday while expressing concerns that the FBI and Justice Department have become “thoroughly politicized.”

Senators were questioning FBI Director Christopher Wray during an FBI oversight hearing when Cruz asked about what he said was an FBI training document obtained by conservative organization Project Veritas. This document, Cruz said, “listed various symbols and themes which in the FBI’s estimation, were indicative of ‘militia violent extremism.'”

Those symbols included the Betsy Ross flag, an earlier design of the current US flag that featured 13 stars instead of 50, and the Gonzales battle flag, according to Cruz. The lawmaker then slammed his boot on the table in front of him to show that it depicted the Gonzales battle flag.

“Well, I will self-report right now that every day in the Senate, I wear my boots that have the Gonzalez battle flag on the back of them,” I have said.

While Newsweek was not able to independently verify the existence of such a document, the FBI does provide information and resources to help define and pinpoint violent extremism. When responding to Cruz, Wray said that he wasn’t familiar with the document and is “not in the practice of trying to comment on documents that I haven’t recognized.”

“But I will tell you that when we put out intelligence products, including ones that reference symbols, which we do across a wide variety of contexts, we usually make great pains, take great pains to put caveats and warnings in the document that make clear that a symbol alone is not considered evidence of violent extremism,” Wray said.

Cruz Slams Boot on Table
Texas Senator Ted Cruz slammed his boot on a table during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday while expressing concerns that the FBI and Justice Department have become “thoroughly politicized.” Above, Cruz (left) speaks as Senator Mike Lee (second from left) listens during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on August 4 in Washington, DC
Alex Wong/Getty Images

“Director Wray, you don’t include things like Antifa,” Cruz responded, referencing the alleged FBI document. “You don’t include things like Black Lives Matter. Instead, you identify patriotic Americans as suspect.”

when Newsweek reached out for comment and confirmation of the existence of such a document, the FBI shared the following statement: “It is our usual practice to decline comment on articles about allegedly leaked FBI documents, internal FBI products, or information shared with law enforcement partners. In this case, we would point out an online article referencing an allegedly leaked document on symbols that may be used by Militia Violent Extremists (MVE) contains the following words highlighted in bold near the top of the document: The use or sharing of these symbols alone should not independently be considered evidence of MVE presence or affiliation or serve as an indicator of illegal activity, as many individuals use these symbols for their original, historic meaning, or other non-violent purposes.”

It was not immediately clear what article the FBI was referencing, but The Epoch Times, a far-right newspaper, reported Wednesday on the alleged FBI document. That article shared a picture of the purported memo, which included the same sentence in bold near the top that was referenced by the FBI in its statement.

The Gonzales battle flag is linked to the Battle of Gonzales, during which the first shots of the Texas Revolution were fired, according to the History Channel’s website. The battle in October 1835 saw Mexican soldiers fail in an attempt to take a small cannon from a village in Texas due to resistance from a militia of Texans.

The flag depicts a cannon, with a lone star above it and the message “Come and Take It” underneath.

As the story goes, NPR reported, the Texans sewed this flag from a woman’s wedding dress and raised it during the conflict.

Cruz’s office declined to comment further to Newsweek.

Update 04/08/22, 4:50 pm ET: This article was updated with a statement from the FBI.

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What do super-sized interest rate rises mean for house prices?

What do super-sized interest rate rises mean for house prices?

More gradual rate increases would have led to slower declines, Oliver said, but it was ultimately the end point that had the biggest impact on property prices.

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Oliver said his price forecast is based on the cash rate reaching a high of 2.6 per cent later this year or early next. Were the rate to lift to 3.5 or 3.6 per cent, as forecast by others, prices might fall 25 to 30 per cent, but he cautioned the Reserve Bank was unlikely to lift rates to a point that could push the property market down that far.

Gareth Aird, head of Australian economics at Commonwealth Bank, said the pace and size of rate rises had sped up price declines in Sydney and Melbourne, where the market had already been cooling. The sizable hikes had also seen price falls spread.

“The Brisbane market recently turned too… and has turned in a short space of time given the speed at which the RBA has put through rate hikes,” he said.

Aird had expected prices nationally to fall 15 per cent by the end of 2023, but said the trough could now be earlier than anticipated. He has forecast the cash rate to peak at 2.6 per cent by November.

Aird said more buyers were holding back, awaiting the floor in the market, which in turn put further downward pressure on prices.

Property prices are expected to keep falling as interest rates rise.

Property prices are expected to keep falling as interest rates rise.Credit:Rhett Wyman

Center for Independent Studies chief economist Peter Tulip, who co-wrote a paper modeling the relationship between cash rate changes and property prices, said faster changes led to a faster response, but he did not expect it would make a noticeable difference to overall declines.

“As a rough rule of thumb a 1 per cent increase in the cash rate means an 8 per cent decline in house prices,” he said.

He noted it could take about two years for the impact of rates to flow through the market, and part of the picture now is a response to fixed mortgage rates starting to increase a year or more ago.

Westpac Business Bank chief economist Besa Deda said prices were falling at a sharper rate than in previous cycles, which could reflect the speed of rate hikes. While rates were rising from very low levels, and households in aggregate had built up financial buffers to handle higher repayments, the speed had affected the outlook for the property market.

Westpac has deepened its peak-to-trough forecast to a 16 per cent drop, expecting the cash rate would have to move higher, faster, to tackle inflation.

“The amount of tightening we’ve seen over the past four months…that’s probably accelerated the decline in dwelling prices, but that has been a necessity because of elevated inflation,” she said.

“If the RBA took a more casual approach… the risk is you’d end up with a higher [peak] rate, as it would take longer to bring down inflation and require more rate rises.”