I am deeply grateful for the overwhelming support, encouragement, and kind messages I have received from people around the world. Your solidarity has reminded me that football unites us beyond borders. Thank you to everyone.
New dwelling supply is rocketing.
The number of dwellings in Australia rose by 54,200 in the March qtr 2026 to 11.495 million. This is the largest quarterly increase since 2016.
The govt may not get to 1.2 million dwellings over 5 years as it planned but it looks like it will get close.
I am on my nth re-read of Fermor's, "A Time of Gifts," the first volume in his recollections of his walking tour across Europe in the 1930s. The book is a fantastic argument that the more you know, the more interesting the world is and the less you know, the world is
She still receives endless abuse, but I bloody love Emily Wilson’s Homer — it’s fresh, it’s intelligent, it’s exciting, the rhythms wonderful to read. Hellenic music.
✍️ "Il (Maigret) se méfiait des idées, toujours trop précises pour coller à une réalité qui, il le savait par expérience, est tellement fluide."
—— Georges Simenon, Maigret et le voleur paresseux (1961)
📸 Bruno Cremer as Maigret in the French TV adaptation of the series.
Albanese on Tony Abbott being brought back as Liberal Party president: "At least when they brought back the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, they chose ones that were successful."
Gold.
#auspol#QT
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and RBA board member Ian Harper say the cooling housing market is due to a mix of interest rate rises and government policy changes. https://t.co/iHzNvy6kah
Labor’s budget changes are not to blame for the recent dip in property prices. But the changes will help move housing away from investors – and that should be celebrated https://t.co/N753w4gbtE
New ABS data shows building approvals up 10.2% in April compared to a year ago.
16,700 homes were approved in April 2026, up from 15,200 in April 2025 and 13,600 in April 2024.
This is particularly encouraging, as it provides our first look at housing activity since the start of the Middle East conflict.
We’ve made significant progress in homebuilding – with approvals, commencements, and completions all higher than when the Albanese Government was elected. The Middle East conflict will continue to put pressure on construction costs, but we’re maintaining momentum, despite the challenging conditions.
Sally McManus welcomes the Fair Work Commission’s decision to increase the minimum wage by 4.75%, lifting it to $26.44 per hour f. She said modest pay rises for essential workers help families keep up with the cost of living while having little impact on inflation.
#auspol
On the same theme I think this is the novel (or trilogy of novels) I've most thoroughly enjoyed reading this year. Completely gripping, full of atmosphere, funny, painfully sharp and realistic about people
Higher taxes on capital gains, trusts and curtailing negative gearing, combined with a $250 tax offset for working Australians, would leave 90 per cent of people aged under 30 financially better off, Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson said. https://t.co/dtWQGgn9eI