Good morning. First-home buyers are disappearing from the market despite prices coming down, new data shows. The NSW government has issued a dramatic ultimatum in the ongoing train worker industrial action. And a Russian oil executive has died months after his company criticised the invasion of Ukraine.
The NSW government says it will seek to terminate the enterprise agreement of thousands of rail workers and scrap a deal to modify a multibillion-dollar fleet of trains unless the union agrees to end all industrial action by 5pm Friday. In a dramatic step that could set the stage for a prolonged court battle, the government wrote to the head of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, Alex Claassens, and threatened to file an application with the Fair Work Commission to terminate the agreement.
First-home buyers are vanishing from the market with property price falls not enough to offset the rising cost of servicing loans. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows demand for home loans contracting quickly with the Reserve Bank, expected to lift its cash rate again on Tuesday, extending the most rapid spate of rate rises since 1994. Eliza Owen, head of research at CoreLogic, said “It seems price falls are not yet large enough to offset higher mortgage costs.”
Malcolm Turnbull has compared student demonstrators to “fascist bullies” after a university speaking event was effectively shut down amid jeers and protests over the policies of the former Coalition government.
Ravil Maganov, chair of Russia’s biggest private oil company Lukoil, has died after falling from a hospital window. Lukoil was rare among Russian energy companies in criticising the invasion of Ukraine, calling for a ceasefire a week into the attack. Half a dozen businesspeople with ties to the Russian energy industry have died in apparent suicides or in mysterious circumstances since the outbreak of the war.
Australia
A plan to build up to 73,000 houses in new suburbs in western Sydney relies on conservation promises that might not be delivered until decades into the future and could destroy the last koala habitat in the area, environment groups say.
An audit has found job agencies running the federal government’s controversial ParentsNext welfare scheme have been making invalid claims for taxpayer-funded bonuses.
Labor’s hopes of a consensus on an Indigenous voice to parliament could be in doubt, with Coalition and Greens senators criticising the government for “waste” and calling for practical action over symbolism.
From booking fewer flights to mending socks, arts companies are focusing on cutting emissions. Here’s how Australian tours are changing to save the planet.
The world
About 21 million people in the Chinese city of Chengdu have gone into lockdown as authorities raced to snuff out a new Covid-19 outbreak.
Rafael Grossi, the chief international nuclear inspector, has said he saw “the key things I needed to see” and his team was able to gather “a lot of information” during a long-awaited visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine.
Aid workers have appealed for urgent donations to fight the “absolutely devastating” impact of flooding in Pakistan, as new satellite images appeared to confirm that a third of the country is now underwater.
Recommended reads
‘Just tape your mouth shut!’ Can I unlearn the breathing habits of a lifetime? This is the rather unusual question posed in Brigid Delaney’s weekly diary as she reflects on a visit to breathing workshop.
The singer Marlon Williams talks about moving home, his upbeat new sound, the euphoria of performing, putting out a “sunny New Zealand record” and how “music makes you fall in love with people”.
Listen
On Tuesday Christopher Dawson was found guilty of murdering his wife Lynette 40 years ago in Sydney’s northern beaches. The hit podcast The Teacher’s Pet, from the Australian and Hedley Thomas, explored the disappearance of Lynette and the relationship between Dawson and the family’s babysitter. The podcast has been credited for Dawson being charged with murder. In today’s Full Story, Gabrielle Jackson talks to Jo Tovey and Mike Ticher about The Teacher’s Pet and the ethics of true-crime journalism.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has blasted the AFL’s goal review technology which controversially denied his side victory in the pulsating elimination final. Up by three over Brisbane with two minutes to play on Thursday, the goal umpire gave a “soft” call of a goal to Tom Lynch’s angled set shot before it was sent upstairs for review. The replay appeared to show the Tiger’s snap sailed directly over the post to be awarded a behind. Instead of being ahead by nine, the call kept the match alive before the Lions advanced to the other end of the Gabba for Joe Daniher to steal it with 64 seconds left.
In a surreal moment during his US Open second round victory, Nick Kyrgios complained to umpire Jaume Campistol about the smell of marijuana drifting down to the court as his rival raised the pressure late in the second set.
Media roundup
Victoria police face a class action over allegations officers indiscriminately and improperly used capsicum spray to disperse protesters, the Age reports. And the Australian says Australian warships have been caught up in the Solomon Islands’ ban on visits by foreign navy vessels.
Coming up
Richard Marles, the defence minister, will hold a press conference in France.
It’s day two of the job and skills summit.
And if you’ve read this far …
The James Webb telescope is delivering the goods yet again with “historic” images of a blazing gas giant exoplanet shrouded in dusty red clouds.
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