Key events
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you for another busy sitting week.
There’s a few moving parts in Parliament this week – One Nation has this morning announced a migration plan that will drastically cut temporary visas, and lead to more headache for the Coalition who are asked why Pauline Hanson is driving the agenda and not them.
Speaking of Hanson, her fight with Andrew Hastie shows no sign of ending – we’ll likely hear more back and forth from the pair today.
And, the government could look to water down its digital duty of care laws after hints from the communications minister Anika Wells yesterday that she was willing to negotiate on the ministerial powers in the bill.
Let’s get stuck in!
Save $۵,۰۰۰ by electrifying, organisations say
Australian households could save $۵,۰۰۰ a year by electrifying their homes and cars, AAP reports, and more than ۳۰ organisations will call for incentives and stronger policies in Canberra as part of a national campaign.
The campaign is linked to the international Electrify Now campaign, and follows a COP۳۱ push to raise the global electrification rate from about ۲۰% to ۳۵% by ۲۰۳۵.
Groups including Energy Consumers Australia, the Electric Vehicle Council, Farmers for Climate Action, and Rewiring Australia will launch the campaign at Parliament House, calling for changes to help more Australians replace equipment powered by gas, petrol or diesel.
Energy Efficiency Council policy head Jeremy Sung said:
There’s a role for the Australian government to send a clear signal that electrification is happening and that it’s what the future of our energy system will depend on.
At the moment, federal policy is sending mixed messages.
Labor announces $۳۰۰m grants for crisis accommodation
Krishani Dhanji
The government is giving $۳۰۰m in grants to build crisis and transitional accomodation, that will deliver ۵۰۰ new homes and support around ۱۹,۰۰۰ vulnerable Australians.
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil and social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, say the total crisis housing package will support more than ۵۰,۰۰۰ women and children escaping family violence, and help young people at risk of or already experiencing homelessness.
But the money itself isn’t new: it was previously announced as concessional loans for the sector to help build the accommodation, and will now instead provide direct grants following consultations.
The grants will go to providers including state governments, community housing providers and First Nations organisations.
Plibersek said in a statement:
Too often we ask, “why didn’t she leave?,” when we should have asked, where would she go? We know that safe housing is absolutely critical to help women and children leave violence. That’s why we are building more than ever before.
Bumper weekend for auctions
Cait Kelly
Data from Cotality has shown auction rates were up over the weekend, with almost ۶۰% of homes selling – the highest peak in ۱۹ weeks.
The national preliminary clearance rate hit ۵۸.۵%, a small jump from the ۵۲.۷% recorded last week.
Experts have warned that Australia’s penchant for auctions – we are among the few countries that regularly use them – has helped push prices up.
While the weekend rate was up, there is still an overall decline in the number of houses being sold through auctions.
Speaking to the Australian Financial Review on Sunday, Cotality’s Tim Lawless said the rise in clearance rates should be viewed against a longer-term plunge in volumes.
The number of auctions held was up ۱۱.۴% on a week ago – but held more than ۳۰ per cent lower than a year ago.
Good morning
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s live coverage for Monday.
Krishani Dhanji will be joining us shortly.
Let’s begin.
