Good afternoon.
The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has seen the positives in a drop in auction clearance rates, saying “if we are making it easier for first home buyers to get a fair crack at auctions, then that’s a good thing”.
The decline follows changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing announced in last month’s federal budget.
The treasurer said there were a “number of factors at play” and downplayed the budget’s role.
“Some of those clearance rates were coming down already, and the budget is not the only factor when people are thinking about those participating in those auctions,” Chalmers said.
“There are other factors like interest rates and that’s why we were already seeing some movement in auction clearance rates before the budget.”
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In video
Sterling Nasa, a 21-year-old university student, had tickets to see Justin Hurwitz’s La La Land in Concert in Sydney on Saturday night. But when the keyboardist suddenly fell ill, he found himself on stage performing.
What they said …
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“She was my first friend and lifelong confidant. She was jaw droppingly beautiful, and a talented actress. She played a mean game of hearts, collected turtles, loved her family, nature, music, thrifting, travel, Facebook, and Pokémon Go.’ – Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis has announced the death of her sister, the actor Kelly Curtis, at the age of 69. Jamie Lee said her sister had died “in her home, in nature, at peace” on Saturday. No cause of death was given.
Podcast
‘A husband expects a yes’: wife schools and the Christian nationalist movement
Why has there been a rise of Christian conservative influences teaching women how to submit to their husbands? Alaina Demopoulos, a features writer for Guardian US, tells Annie Kelly about her recent experience attending the Christian influencer Tilly Dillehay’s “wife school”, while Mariah Wellman, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, explains what a shifting culture on women’s rights means for US policy.
Before bed read
Do dance classes terrify you? Try taking four in a weekend. Dee Jefferson took the challenge at the Rising winter arts festival in Melbourne, and found herself rediscovering that simple, pure joy.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: NEAR. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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