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Exclusive: Any attempt to use the budget measures as an excuse to raise rent is opportunistic profiteering, housing advocates sayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s peak community and housing groups have urged federal parliament to quickly pass Labor’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, saying the reforms would improve fairness for renters and young homebuyers.The government may introduce its negative gearing and CGT changes into parliament as soon as the coming sitting fortnight, with hopes of passing the legislation soon after with the support of the Greens. Continue reading...

‘We cannot continue to blame migrants for the problems of our economy,’ backbencher Andrew McLachlan says A Liberal senator has broken ranks to criticise Angus Taylor’s plan to bar non-citizens from accessing welfare, warning it will create “two types of members of the community” and is “not the Australian way”.The outspoken backbencher Andrew McLachlan said migrants should not be blamed for economic problems including the housing crisis, and warned his party’s immigration rhetoric was alienating diaspora communities. Continue reading...

Opposition leader Angus Taylor and shadow treasurer Tim Wilson say future Coalition government would reinstate generous rules for property investorsThe Coalition has vowed to repeal Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax in they win power, setting up a major fight ahead of the next election over key tax reform measures from the budget.The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, and the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, said a future Coalition government would reinstate more generous rules for property investors, as well as for Australians minimising their tax through trusts, pledging to fight the proposals in parliament in coming weeks. Continue reading...

More than half of the benefit of the CGT concession went to the top 1% of income earners, the most recent data showsWant to get more charts in your inbox every fortnight? Sign up for The Crunch hereThis year’s federal budget includes changes to negative gearing and capital gains (CGT) and discretionary trust tax concessions – policies that some blame for fuelling housing speculation and that disproportionately benefit the richest.The top 1% of lifetime earners alone have received more than $700,000 in tax concessions over their working life from capital gains tax, negative gearing and discretionary trusts, according to figures in the budget. Continue reading...

Labor’s ambitious and politically risky tax reform aims to help first home buyers and foster intergenerational fairnessFederal budget 2026 LIVE updates: Australia government budget announcement and speech – latest newsExplore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJim Chalmers has announced the most ambitious and politically risky tax changes since the Howard era as part of a federal budget that defies the looming economic threat of the Iran war to push Australia along the “hard road to reform”.Arguing that the Australian public is ready for difficult choices aimed at reviving intergenerational fairness and the collapsing dream of home ownership, the government will scale back tax breaks for landlords by abolishing negative gearing for new investors and replacing the 50% capital gains tax discount with the inflation-linked approach that existed before 1999. Continue reading...

Pakistani intermediaries deliver 15-point plan but some proposals proved intractable in previous negotiationsIranian officials expressed initial disapproval of a US ceasefire plan on Wednesday, even as intermediaries suggested direct talks between the two could start as early as this weekend.Representatives from Pakistan who reportedly delivered the US plan to Iran told the Associated Press that it was a 15-point proposal that would include sanctions relief for Iran, dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme, restricting its use of missiles and reopening the strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20% of the world’s oil. Continue reading...