Good afternoon. Labor backbenchers are pushing party leaders to commit to a more ambitious housing policy, including capping negative gearing to one property.
The call comes amid anxiety among Labor ranks that the party could bleed young inner-city voters to the Greens unless it takes a bolder approach on housing. Separately, it was revealed today that higher rents played a role in the Reserve Bank’s surprise decision to hike interest rates this month, with warnings of more rises to come.
And in tragic news across the Tasman, a fire at a Wellington hostel has left at least six dead.
Top news
Labor’s negative gearing push | The independent MPs Helen Haines and David Pocock – regular advocates on housing reform – welcomed the Labor backbench push, while Anthony Albanese brushed it off, saying: “The government’s position [on negative gearing] is very clear and it’s a position for which we received a mandate at the 2022 election and I’m someone who keeps the commitments that we made.”
Police took ‘bizarre’ approach to Lehrmann case | Mark Tedeschi, a lawyer acting for the ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, told the inquiry this morning that the ACT police had “undercharged” cases of sexual abuse, and that its “bizarre approach … about whether Mr [Bruce] Lehrmann should be charged is just an example of a general attitude”. Lehrmann has consistently denied raping Brittany Higgins.
Queensland police to continue using chokeholds | Police union pressure has resulted in Queensland police “overturning” a ban of a controversial, and potentially deadly, chokehold after it was outlawed just over a month ago.
Police officer abused position to stalk vulnerable women | Over nine years, Brett Johnson, 42, used private Victorian police databases to find out personal details of vulnerable women he wanted to have sex with. These included victims of crime and two women who were seeking police help due to family violence. Johnson pleaded guilty to 10 charges of misconduct and will spend six months behind bars.
Wellington hostel fire | The Loafers Lodge hostel in Newtown, in Wellington’s south, caught alight just after midnight on Tuesday, prompting an evacuation. The prime minister, Chris Hipkins, who visited the scene this morning, confirmed six people had been killed, “and it looks like there are likely to be more”.
Woolworths racial profiling probe | The supermarket giant is investigating claims by a shopper that she was racially profiled at a central Queensland store amid growing concerns among the Indigenous community that members are being targeted as local anti-crime sentiment increases.
Extinction threat for ancient Tasmanian fish | The Maugean skate has survived since the time of the dinosaurs and is only found in the remote waters off Tasmania’s west coast. Scientists say the ancient fish species is one extreme weather event away from extinction, after its population crashed by nearly half in seven years.
Red Rooster accused of child labour | Red Rooster in Wodonga has been hit with 355 charges while the iconic ice-cream chain Cold Rock in Shepparton is facing 124 charges, amid a crackdown by Victoria’s child employment watchdog. The accusations include employing children for more hours than they were allowed to work.
Video of US guard killing trans man | Surveillance footage from a Walgreens in San Francisco captures a private security guard tackling, punching and then fatally shooting the 24-year-old transgender man Banko Brown on 27 April. The San Francisco district attorney says the shooting was “reasonable” and no charges will be filed, sparking outrage.
Martha Stewart a cover model at 81 | The TV personality has become Sports Illustrated’s oldest cover model ever after posing for the magazine’s annual swimsuit edition. Stewart described the experience as “kind of historic”.
Full Story
Flight delayed? Airlines may be forced to compensate you
Australian airlines could soon be forced to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled as part of a broader push to change local aviation laws that some believe are “lagging behind the rest of the world”. Listen to this 19-minute episode.
What they said …
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“The South Australian government is at your disposal, we are here to help and we are here to offer you a pathway to the future.” – Tom Koutsantonis, South Australia’s energy minister
Koutsantonis made the extraordinary comments during his address at the national conference of the nation’s oil and gas lobby, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association.
In numbers
Another drag storytime event in Melbourne has been cancelled, and one moved online amid increasing security concerns for LGBTQ+ events.
Before bed read
Hiroshima is playing host to this year’s G7 summit, and on the menu is a carb-heavy street food popular in the city – okonomiyaki. The dish helped rebuild Hiroshima after it was destroyed by a US atomic bomb.
“Okonomiyaki has gone from a food for survival to a speciality of Hiroshima,” the academy’s director, Shigeki Sasaki, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. “Given current global events, we want to incorporate a message into the dishes that they symbolise the peace and reconstruction of Hiroshima.”
Have you tried okonomiyaki?
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: BOAR. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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