Dutton to slash migrant intake, ban foreign property buyers
The opposition leader has vowed to slash permanent migration by a quarter and ban foreign investors buying established homes for two years.
- Opinion
- Canberra Observed
This budget sees the return of government as saviour
Two decades ago, Australia was poised to shed the hard done by battler mindset. Now it is more entrenched than ever.
- Updated
- Gas
Labor slammed for offshore gas approval backdown
A deal with the Greens means Labor is close to passing Petroleum Resources Rent Tax changes and vehicle emissions standards, but it has shelved fast-tracked gas approvals.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why bad news has the ASX bulls running
Bad news from the job market turned a good day on the ASX into a great one. Investors are ploughing into market darlings in the firm belief that rate cuts are coming.
Mortgage relief in sight after traders scrap rate rise bets
A surprise pickup in the unemployment rate has bolstered bets that the next move from the Reserve Bank may be lower. Cooling US inflation data overnight also helped, sending the Aussie dollar to a four-month high.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
How to build a cash war chest - and get permission to spend it
Thursday’s two big profit results show what investors want from Australia’s big companies. And it doesn’t have to be just buybacks and special dividends.
- Opinion
- Russia-Ukraine war
Vladimir Putin’s preparing for a long war
The Russian president’s idea of the motherland is much larger than the country’s globally recognised borders, an atavism that’s widely shared within his nation.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox on Saturday.
FEDERAL BUDGET
Budget gives $1.7b boost for green aviation fuel but still no mandate
While the EU, Singapore and Japan have all signed on to sustainable fuel mandates, the Albanese government will study the idea for another two years.
Migration hit would ‘destroy’ $48b education export sector
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s plan to slash Australia’s annual permanent migrant intake from 185,000 to 140,000 would deliver a near fatal blow to the country’s fourth-largest export.
- Analysis
- Federal budget
The ADF will grow by just 358 people next year. That’s a big problem
If Defence is to attract the 5000 new soldiers, sailors and aviators it desperately needs, it must do a much better job looking after its current ones.
Can Australia become a green energy superpower? Five charts that say yes
The Albanese government is taking a big punt on its signature Future Made in Australia policy, betting $24.3 billion over 10 years in Tuesday’s budget – these charts show why.
‘Business spends bugger all’: what landmark R&D review aims to fix
Technology industry experts warn a new government review into the R&D system must not cut tax incentives, and must kick-start anaemic business investment.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Anglo American wants a single buyer for its Australian coal division
The London-listed diversified miner this week unveiled a major divestment plan designed partly to keep a $64.4 billion buyout proposal from BHP from succeeding.
- Updated
- Aviation
Liquidators say a ‘clearly’ broke Air Vanuatu owes at least $99m
The airline had “a significant level of debt”, and employed “a high number of staff for an operation of [its] size and nature”.
Aristocrat pops as pokies giant takes share in lucrative US market
Shares soared nearly 12 per cent after it rewarded shareholders with a 6¢ increase to its fully franked interim dividend. It expects to continue to grow there.
Incitec Pivot blames gas prices for $498m fertiliser write-down
But the company said it could double returns if it sold those struggling operations to Indonesia’s PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur and focused only on explosives.
ACCC intervenes in bidding war over Namoi Cotton
The regulator’s intervention pushed shares down eight per cent at the start of trade on Thursday. It has fielded offers from France’s Louis Dreyfus and Olam.
- Updated
- Food bowl
Fonterra puts its Australian dairy assets up for sale
The New Zealand-based co-operative is behind household brands such as Western Star butter and Mainland cheese and has eight local manufacturing sites.
Biofuels battle: GrainCorp puts $500m-plus price tag on oilseed plant
Robert Spurway says market was underestimating the cost of building a major expansion, and the potential returns amid growing demand for biofuels.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Mortgage relief in sight after traders scrap rate rise bets
A surprise pickup in the unemployment rate has bolstered bets that the next move from the Reserve Bank may be lower. Cooling US inflation data overnight also helped, sending the Aussie dollar to a four-month high.
This small cap has rocketed since South32’s manganese mine disaster
Shares in Jupiter Mines have doubled in value since Cyclone Megan forced the closure of one of the world’s biggest producers of the steel making commodity.
Regal allegedly embroiled in South Korean securities investigation
The prominent hedge fund told investors in September it was shorting stocks in South Korea, saying it was focused on “one specific bank”.
The Aussie stock picks that made this fund a top 10
Platypus Asset Management’s Prasad Patkar names Reece among the $5 billion money manager’s key investment calls. But he’s wary of BHP’s big M&A bet.
Panic sets in as short squeeze rockets copper price
A violent spike in copper futures traded in New York has caught markets off guard and sent traders scrambling to cover short positions.
Opinion
This budget sees the return of government as saviour
Two decades ago, Australia was poised to shed the hard done by battler mindset. Now it is more entrenched than ever.
Political editor
The big fail in Australia’s housing
The Albanese government’s promises of 1.2 million homes over five years are now in the realm of political fantasy, despite the billions of dollars it has pledged for housing.
Columnist
Solar panels debunking makes case for critical minerals leg-up
Even in a world of geopolitical and supply chain risk, the old economic orthodoxies of international specialisation and comparative advantage still apply.
Editorial
Chalmers is telling a big budget fib
Treasurer Jim Chalmers stood in front of 600 guests at his post-budget speech in Parliament House on Wednesday and repeated a misleading number about spending.
Economics editor
Australia’s new course is to be managed decline
The budget is our politics writ small: too lacking in confidence and optimism to seek out new growth.
Columnist
It’s right for Australia to join the critical minerals subsidy rush
The scepticism about government interventions is understandable. But this time, they are creating new industries of immense value.
Industry leader
Reports
BOSS Best Places to Work
The awards celebrate the achievements of the best small, medium and large organisations and nine sector winners.
Politics
‘End it now or we’ll call police’: Uni toughens up on protesters
Melbourne University says protesters ‘crossed a line’ when they occupied a building and warned they could be charged by police if they don’t leave immediately.
PM tells Vic Labor to sort out Gaza split
Labor factional powerbrokers were ordered to an emergency meeting to make sure a split on the Palestinian-Israel issue +does not erupt at the Victorian Labor conference.
Police contacted over threats to eSafety chief: court documents
Australia’s e-safety watchdog went to police after commissioner Julie Inman Grant received threats and online abuse after telling X Corp to take down a video of a brutal church stabbing.
RBA says ‘no quick fix’ to house prices
RBA chief economist Sarah Hunter warns that undersupply of homes means house prices and rents will continue to rise as the market fails to keep pace with strong demand.
RBA will ignore budget’s ‘miracle’ inflation forecast
Former Reserve Bank official Jonathan Kearns has cast doubt on whether the budget can produce a “magical” drop in inflation beyond the short term.
SPONSORED
World
They still hate him, but Wall Street’s big donors turn to Trump
Exasperated with Joe Biden’s policies, top financiers are increasingly on board for a second Trump term despite being alienated during his first presidency.
- Opinion
- Globalisation
America’s race to tear up trade rules hurts everyone
The US is growing tired of upholding the economic rules it laid out for the world after 1945. But tariffs only punish consumers and undermine competitiveness.
Hamas regroups and Israel’s Gaza endgame is missing
US and Israeli officials are offering blunt assessments about Hamas’ resilience and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to plan for post-war Gaza.
Morrison says Trump legal ‘pile-on’ political
Speaking in Washington, Scott Morrison backed Donald Trump’s assertion that America’s legal system is being used against him.
Dalio warns of US debt pile, and he wants Taylor Swift for president
The billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates is worried about investors being able to absorb new supply, and why he would vote for Taylor Swift as president.
Property
Suburbs 100km from CBDs join upper echelon as prices surge
Strong demand for stand-alone homes during COVID-19 has catapulted a string of outer and previously affordable middle-ring suburbs to the top of the housing ladder.
NRMA snaps up Yamba holiday park for more than $40m
The association will add the Blue Dolphin Holiday Resort in Yamba to a tourism portfolio that includes Cradle Mountain Hotel and Freycinet Lodge in Tasmania
Not a home office: cafe finds coffee and laptops don’t blend well
The same reasons that drove19th-century writers from their garrets have led office workers to colonise café tables.
Perth property ‘went nuts’, but these sisters managed to get in first
Jennifer and Maxine Gamble are sisters who have bought a house together to future-proof aged care issues that might arise in the future for them.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Restaurant duo splashes on mansion with dark history
Nomad Group’s Al and Rebecca Yazbek have paid about $11 million for Hambleton House on Albert Park’s best street in Melbourne’s bayside.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Labor’s ‘double taxation’ in super may not be as steep as you think
A 30 per cent tax rate is unlikely to ever apply to the entirety of annual earnings for people with balances above $3 million.
‘Don’t waste it’: Smart ways to spend your income tax cut
Some workers will have an extra $350 a month from July 1. Don’t waste this “powerful” opportunity, experts say.
My partner earns far more than me. Should we still split bills 50/50?
One partner in the relationship earns $200,000, while the other earns much less. What’s the fairest way to divide their living expenses?
Technology
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
How gridiron and cartoon elves sent this ASX giant surging
The 12 per cent surge in Aristocrat Leisure’s share price reflects a solid profit beat. But there’s a secret sauce behind its long track record of growth.
Hackers steal the keys to Iress’ OneVue platform
Financial software provider Iress is investigating if any client data has been breached after discovering hackers stole a credential to gain access to its systems.
Google steals OpenAI’s thunder with something 15 times bigger
The new version of Gemini can write poems about objects it’s seen, or even tell the user where it last saw her glasses.
Work & Careers
Law graduates are about to crack a salary record
Top-tier graduates will earn more than $100,000 this year – in Sydney only – but law firms remain tight-lipped on pay rates despite moves towards transparency elsewhere.
Directors welcome ‘no change’ report on disclosure laws
A review of continuous disclosure laws says the end of the no-fault regime for class actions has had no impact on “meritorious” claims
Life & Luxury
Mount Everest from your tent? That’s a view worth the trek
Waking up to behold Nepal’s most renowned mountains is a dream come true. But you’ve got to put in the hard yards to get there.
- Opinion
- Mental disorders
The five types of stalker – a clinical psychologist explains
“Baby Reindeer” accurately portrays the relentless intrusion into another person’s life and the damage it causes to the victims and the people around them.
The unlikely relationship between Russell Brand, Bear Grylls and God
Why would chief scout Grylls, a man with a flourishing global career, team up with the “cancelled” Brand – and risk harming his own squeaky-clean brand?
Society florist to sign off with a signature flower
Grandiflora founder Saskia Havekes plans to be dressed in white, with a floral scent and a magnolia bloom.
This airport is one of the world’s most scenic – and treacherous
Trekking in Nepal’s Everest region is on many a bucket list. But the adventure starts well beforehand, with a landing at Tenzing-Hillary Airport.
