Housing downturn spreads; privacy law overhaul; ski season’s early end

Housing downturn spreads; privacy law overhaul; ski season’s early end

News in brief

Australians could gain the right to force digital platforms to delete their personal information under a major overhaul of privacy laws proposed by the federal government. The reforms would also restrict companies from collecting unnecessary data or buying and selling information such as shopping habits and location without clear permission.

 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Palau for a surprisingly small Pacific Islands Forum, with at least six of the 18 leaders absent. The withdrawals come amid tensions over Taiwan’s attendance and China’s growing influence in the region, with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters describing the absences as “highly suspicious”.

 

One of Australia’s biggest property developers could collapse within days, with administrators warning Bathla Group doesn’t have enough cash to make payroll. The company owes more than $3.2 billion and has 45 projects under construction that could deliver up to 2,500 homes.

 

Star Entertainment has posted another huge loss and again warned there’s “significant doubt” about its ability to remain a going concern. It lost $307 million last financial year, with a potentially enormous AUSTRAC penalty among the uncertainties hanging over the casino operator.

 

Australia’s hottest alpine winter on record has brought an unusually early end to the ski season at some resorts. That’s a growing threat to an alpine economy worth more than $3 billion a year, with snow cover already down substantially since the 1950s.

 

Qantas ground crew have overwhelmingly backed industrial action, potentially disrupting travel during the September school holidays. The workers service Qantas Freight and QantasLink rather than mainline flights, and no strike dates have yet been set.

 

Fear-o-meter

Paul Bloxham - Chief Economist, Australia, NZ & Global Commodities at HSBC

 

"Stagflation or recession?

 

"Ideally the answer is - neither, thanks! But the RBA is getting close to needing to decide between these two options. Inflation is too high, as last week's monthly inflation print showed. If this week's Q2 GDP growth print is weak, as we expect, the economy is getting close to stagflation already. That is, stagnant growth and inflation that's too high (although, for now, the unemployment rate is still fairly low).

 

"If, instead, this week's GDP print shows stronger than expected growth, the RBA may be forced to lift its cash rate further, increasing the risk of pushing the economy into a recession - a particular risk given the rapidly deflating housing market. In an economy with weak productivity growth and a very low 'speed limit' the RBA's choices are getting much tougher."

Fear & Greed Q+A today

In today's interview, Roger Montgomery details his ten lessons from the FY26 reporting season:

 

1. FY26 was better than feared. FY27 is the real question

 

2. The headline earnings recovery is narrower than it looks

 

3. Guidance mattered

 

4. Valuation determines whether “good” is good enough

 

5. The consumer isn't dead - but value is king

 

6. Banks are wonderful businesses, but expensive stocks

 

7. Cost cutting supports profits - but it can’t replace revenue growth

 

8. Balance sheets remain reassuring

 

9. Healthcare: hated but deserves attention

 

10. Stock selection is becoming more important

Australia’s housing downturn is spreading, with home values falling across 93% of capital city suburbs over winter.

 

Cotality’s national Home Value Index fell 0.9% in August, the fifth consecutive monthly fall, leaving values 3.6% below their March peak. Sydney is down 7.1% since February, falling faster than during the equivalent stage of the 2022-23 correction. Melbourne and Canberra also fell sharply in August, while regional markets are now weakening too.

 

It looks increasingly like a buyer’s market - except buyers aren’t buying. Cotality's Tim Lawless says longer selling times, bigger discounts and weak auction clearance rates suggest buyers have the upper hand, but confidence remains low.

 

And falling prices don’t necessarily mean housing is becoming much more affordable. Rents are still rising, while another interest rate hike is increasingly possible.

 

One factor limiting the downturn is the relatively strong jobs market. If unemployment rises while rates go higher, downward pressure on prices could intensify.

Greed-o-meter

Rank	Website	Audience (000s)	Ave mins per person
1	ABC News	11,586	36
2	news.com.au	11,028	32
3	nine.com.au	8,888	12
4	7news.com.au	7,846	8
5	The Guardian Australia	6,954	19
6	The Sydney Morning Herald	6,075	21
7	SBS News	5,720	3
8	Daily Mail AUS	5,420	15
9	bbc.com	4,706	16
10	Yahoo (Australia) News	4,507	5

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ABC News remains Australia’s biggest online news destination, reaching almost 11.6 million people in July, just ahead of news.com.au at 11 million. But audience size doesn’t tell the whole story: the amount of time Australians spend with each news brand varies enormously.

Listen to today's episode 🎧 

Source: Ipsos Iris

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