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Key posts
- Voters spurn idea of early poll over housing deadlock
- The stats that reveal the Matildas’ edge
- Three arrested in Russian espionage investigation face charges in UK
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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Greens housing spokesman says there are ‘solutions’ to help renters
Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather says his party isn’t ready to concede on a rent freeze.
“No, not necessarily. We still have to find out the final result today,” he told ABC TV this morning.
It comes ahead of the national cabinet meeting in Brisbane today, where state and territory leaders meet with the prime minister. Housing is one of the key items on the agenda.
Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Chandler-Mather said rents are going up at the fastest rate in 35 years, and pointed to the Reserve Bank suggestions they will increase again over the next 12 months.
“It would be extraordinary if a bunch of Labor state premiers and the prime minister decided they were going to lock in unlimited rent increases at a time when renters are suffering the worse they’ve suffered in generations,” he told ABC News Breakfast.
He said a jurisdiction that introduces a rent freeze or a cap could back date the implementation to stop landlords from jacking up the rent in anticipation of a freeze on rent increases.
“There are solutions here. Solutions that have been used in Australia before,” Chandler-Mather said and pointed towards the decision some states made to freeze rents during the pandemic.
The Greens housing spokesman said the party was willing to negotiate with the government for a solution.
Voters spurn idea of early poll over housing deadlock
Back to federal politicals, voters are split on whether the federal stoush over housing policy is important enough to trigger a double-dissolution election.
But a clear majority has rejected the idea of going to the polls before 2025 even if the deadlock continues.
An exclusive survey shows that 54 per cent of voters want Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to serve a full term and only 20 per cent support an early election next year, despite the fight over the government’s $10 billion housing fund that is stalled in the Senate.
Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather (right) has mobilised volunteers in door-knocking campaigns to win over the community, while Anthony Albanese has accused him of seeking political gain when he should vote for the $10 billion fund.Credit: David Crosling/Pool, Alex Ellinghausen
While urging the Greens to vote for the housing bill when it is put to parliament again, Albanese is also seeking a deal on housing with premiers and chief ministers at a national cabinet meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday.
The government is aiming for a set of national principles on renters’ rights without banning rent hikes, while states and territories are also expected to commit to planning and zoning changes they say could speed up approvals as the nation faces a shortfall of new homes over the next four years.
Here’s the full story on this issue.
The stats that reveal the Matildas’ edge
If you thought the white-knuckle ride of the quarter-final win against France was nerve-racking, then watching the Matildas play for a spot in the World Cup final is likely to be another story entirely.
European champions England, so far, have been pass masters at this World Cup, dominating possession against each opponent they have faced – and the trend is set to give Australia another night of dogged defending to protect Mackenzie Arnold’s goal.
But it’s not as if the Matildas haven’t been here before.
Tony Gustavsson’s side fashioned a 2-0 friendly win over the Lionesses in London earlier this year, ending England’s 30-match unbeaten run.
Read more about the statistics here, ahead of the match tonight.
Three arrested in Russian espionage investigation face charges in UK
Three Bulgarian citizens living in England who were arrested in February on suspicion of espionage offences have been charged with possessing false identity documents.
Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 42, and Katrin Ivanova, 32, were taken into custody after they appeared last month in the Central Criminal Court in London.
New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police.Credit: Getty
The trio is suspected of working for Russian security services, the BBC and other British media reported.
The charges allege the three had false documents among 34 pieces of identification in their possession. The BBC said documents, including passports and identity cards, were from the UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and the Czech Republic.
Read the full story on the arrests here, from wire services AP and Reuters.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, and thanks for your company.
It’s Wednesday, August 16 and the nation is gearing up to watch the Matildas play against England. I’m Caroline Schelle, and I’ll be anchoring the blog for the first half of the day.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started:
- Voters are split on whether the federal stoush over housing policy is important enough to trigger a double-dissolution election, as national cabinet meets today in Brisbane.
- Worker representatives would help set interest rates on the Reserve Bank board under a union bid to bolster employee power at Australia’s top economic institutions.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has flatly rejected paying Indigenous Australians reparations for their treatment by British colonists.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected calls for reparations for Indigenous Australians.Credit: Louie Douvis
- The backlash against new transmission lines needed to shift the electricity grid to renewable energy looms as a crucial fight for federal and state governments.
- Food delivery service DoorDash has been fined $2 million for inundating customers and delivery drivers with texts and emails.
- The Matildas face a foe they know well when they take on the Lionesses for a place in the World Cup final, but learn how the team started their journey to the cup.
- A crew member is still lost at sea, after four Australians were found in waters off Indonesia 36 hours when their wooden boat sank in rough weather.
- In other international news, former US President Donald Trump has been charged in Georgia over racketeering scheme to overturn the 2020 election.
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