What we learned, 14 September 2025
With that we’re wrapping up the blog. Before we go, here are the major stories from Sunday:
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced a $12bn investment in a WA defence precinct to prepare for the delivery of nuclear submarines;
The defence minister, Richard Marles, says Labor is spending $70bn more on defence compared with previous government;
Police have appealed for help finding a hiker missing in the Snowy Mountains.
NSW Labor’s Kiama byelection win was a “gift from voters”, the NSW premier Chris Minns said.
The veterans’ affairs minister says an Australian War Memorial investigation into its withholding of an award to a book about Ben Roberts-Smith has concluded;
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, announced an expanded shadow cabinet following a reshuffle of her frontbench.
We’ll pick things up again tomorrow.
Updated
Sharp increase in weekend auction activity
Auction activity has climbed this weekend with 2,455 auctions to be held.
This is a sharp increase on the 2,122 held last week but on par for the 2,457 auctions that occurred at the same time last year.
Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 74.8% across the country, which is lower than the 75% preliminary rate recorded last week but above the 70% actual rate on final numbers and the 62.5% at the same time last year.
Across the capital cities:
Sydney: 629 of 837 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 74.7%
Melbourne: 968 of 1,273 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 75.2%
Brisbane: 104 0f 148 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 74%
Adelaide: 57 of 108 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 75.4%
Canberra: 60 of 79 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 73.3%
Tasmania: No auctions held.
Perth: Six of ten auctions held.
Updated
