Key events
Sydney’s ferries beginning to resume after heavy fog
Transport NSW says Sydney’s ferries are beginning to run again after being sidelined due to heavy fog this morning. The agency is still advising travellers to leave plenty of extra time for their journey.
These photos explain a bit about why the ferries weren’t running this morning.
More on Australia’s housing prices
The median dwelling in Australia was worth $831,288 in May – a 0.5% jump on the month before – data released by property analytics firm Cotality on Monday showed, AAP reports. Every capital city, as well as the combined regions, exhibited growth of 0.4% or more
Sydney remains the most expensive market in Australia, with median dwelling values – meaning units and houses combined – hovering just over $1.2m. Brisbane comes in second with median prices just below $918,000, followed by Canberra ($855,663), Adelaide ($829,695) and Perth (813,210).
Cotality’s research director, Tim Lawless, told AAP:
Undoubtedly, interest rates have had a positive flow through to housing markets since February.
But I certainly wouldn’t call the rate of growth shooting the lights out. A 0.4% to 0.5% growth rate is much more sustainable than what we were seeing, say, in early 2023 up to mid-2024.
Bradfield margin now 12 votes in favour of Boele but thousands left to count
Independent Nicolette Boele’s margin in the race for the seat of Bradfield is now up to 12 votes ahead of Liberal Gisele Kapterian.
The count will still take time to finalise, with election-watcher Kevin Bonham advising patience this weekend as thousands of booth votes likely still need checking.
Take a look inside the Bradfield recount with the Guardian’s Ben Raue here:
More on Hegseth’s call on Australian defence spending
The Pentagon said this morning defence secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Australia to dramatically increase its military investment in the Indo-Pacific to better align itself with America. The US defence department said the plan would help “maintain peace through strength” in the region, adding:
On defense spending, Secretary Hegseth conveyed that Australia should increase its defense spending to 3.5% of its GDP as soon as possible.
Australia plans to grow its defence budget to more than 2.3% of gross domestic product by 2033-34, with the Albanese government promising billions in new investment last year.
Albanese responded to the calls this weekend, saying Australia would determine its own defence policy. The prime minister said:
What we’ll do is continue to invest in our capability but also our relationships in the region.
No Sydney ferries running due to heavy fog
Transport NSW says no ferries are currently running in Sydney due to heavy fog that blanketed the city this morning.
No Sydney ferries are running at all due to the heavy fog. Make alternative travel arrangements.
Tim Wilson says he looked to ‘reverse engineer’ win against teal Zoe Daniel
Liberal Tim Wilson said his rare flip of the Victorian seat of Goldstein during the election came after a concerted campaign to appeal to voters and promise a big vision for the future while trying to “reverse engineer” the strategy that propelled teals to victory in 2022. Wilson finished 175 votes ahead of teal independent Zoe Daniel. He told RN Breakfast this morning:
I think we were speaking to people’s sense of hope and ambition … we weren’t playing small, we were going big. We talked very optimistically about a hopeful future.
Wilson added he believed his campaign had “brought together a lot of people who wanted to have a shared vision for the community and the country”.
After the 2022 election, we looked very closely at, well, what do we need to do to change and adjust to fight a new political threat? And what is it that’s driving voters to support the teals? …
We worked on it for a very long period of time.
You can read more about his victory here:
Sprint sensation Lachie Kennedy broke the 100m 10-second barrier this weekend
21-year-old Lachie Kennedy became just the second Australia in history to run the 100m in less than 10 seconds this weekend. Kennedy won the event against a strong field in Nairobi on Saturday night, finishing with a time of 9.98 seconds, AAP reported. Kennedy said:
I was there to win today and bring it home, and I am super-stoked to get the win and the time. It’s so good. I can finally say I have run nine.
The only other Australian to achieve the celebrated feat was national record holder Patrick Johnson, who ran a sizzling 9.93 in Mito, Japan in 2003.
Read more here:
Andrew Messenger
Queensland premier hopes to find resolution with nurses union
Queensland’s premier, David Crisafulli, says strike action is the last thing he wants as the state’s union for nurses prepares to take industrial action this week.
The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union’s secretary, Sarah Beaman, said industrial action is “likely” this week. The union is locked in negotiations with the state government for a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
Crisafulli said he is confident there will be an agreement this week, noting on Sunday:
I hope it’s the last thing that the union wants as well.
The minister has engaged in good faith and in response, so too have the nurses’ union. And I do think we can get a deal. I do think there’s been a pretty good offer put forward, and it honours the commitment we’ve made. Now it’s important that we negotiate in good faith with them, and we will do that.
The government promised before last October’s election to guarantee “nation-leading” wages and conditions for nurses.
Beaman said they will conduct only relatively non-disruptive industrial action this week like wearing union pins and campaign shirts. About 96% of union members who took part in a recent strike ballot voted to walk off the job.
She described an updated government offer as “subpar”. The health minister, Tim Nicholls, said the union had yet to make a counteroffer, on Friday.
The QNMU’s 55,000 members have not been on strike since 2002.
Good morning
Happy Monday, Nick Visser here to take you through this morning’s breaking news. First up today:
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The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has asked Australia to increase its defense spending to 3.5% of its gross domestic product during a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles. Anthony Albanese pushed back against those calls at the Shangri-La Dialogue this weekend, but we didn’t know just how much Hegseth was asking for until this morning.
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House prices have surged after the RBA’s rate cut in May, with the median price across Australia sitting at $831,288 last month, AAP reports. Every capital city saw growth of 0.4% or more, largely due to buyers feeling better about their purchasing capacity.
Stick with us throughout the morning for more on these stories and whatever else the day brings.
