| | 17/02/2025 Ukraine warns Russia will ‘wage war on Nato’, Climate 200 eyes Labor seats, why home building is so slow |
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| | | Good morning. As the federal election looms, we reveal that Climate 200 is throwing its weight behind candidates in four Labor seats – including one held by a cabinet minister. Meanwhile, there are calls for faster planning approvals and fewer regulations, as a Productivity Commission report lays bare how home building across Australia has fallen behind and added to the affordability crisis. Overseas, European leaders are meeting for a hastily arranged summit amid rising diplomatic tensions, as Ukraine warns that Russia will “wage war on Nato” if US support for Kyiv evaporates. Former UK prime minister John Major has accused the Trump administration of “cuddling up” to Vladimir Putin. |
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| Australia | | Exclusive | Fundraising vehicle Climate 200 will help bankroll independent candidates (Peter George pictured) in four Labor seats – including one held by a cabinet minister – among 35 campaigns it will back at the federal election. | Housing crisis | The housing construction sector is only building half as many homes relative to the number of hours worked compared with 30 years ago, according to a new Productivity Commission report. | Seeking asylum | New polling commissioned by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre suggests that a majority of Australian voters expect politicians to take a fair and humane approach to refugees. | Interest rates | The RBA is expected to cut the official cash rate on Tuesday, raising hopes among mortgage holders that high interest repayments will soon ease. But how certain is this, and what happens if there is no cut? | Explainer | Peter Dutton wants to cut public service jobs in Canberra as part of a crusade to cut “waste”, in a move mirroring the US administration’s war on “inefficiency”. What could the impacts be? |
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| Full Story | | Greg Jericho on why it’s time for a rates cut Tomorrow the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Michele Bullock, will announce the first – and highly anticipated – decision on interest rates for the year. Greg Jericho tells Nour Haydar why he thinks a failure to cut rates would be one of the RBA’s most political and misguided decisions in recent history. | |
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| In-depth | | Giridharan Sivaraman (pictured) has a warning for political leaders. Speaking with us as a series of antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks have shaken Jewish and Muslim communities across Australia, the race discrimination commissioner is concerned that racism could shape campaigns for the upcoming federal election – and is urging political leaders to avoid “weaponising” issues for political gain. |
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| Not the news | | For the bulk of his early career, Mikey Robins sat safely behind a radio desk or on a TV set. But in the early 2000s comedy took him to Afghanistan for a two-week stint during the war as an entertainer for the troops. In the latest of our Away with series about travel, the comedian reveals details of a missile scare near Kandahar, a fishy childhood vacation – and the holiday mistake he’s destined to keep repeating. |
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| Media roundup | Plans to threaten US tech giants with hundreds of millions of dollars in Australian charges have been paused as officials work to stave off trade retaliation from the Trump administration, the Age reports. AI is being rolled out at training pools nationally as part of Australia’s bid to top the swimming medal table at the next Olympics, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Victoria’s mental health nurses feel unsafe and unsupported amid frequent assaults in hospital wards, reports ABC News. |
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| What’s happening today | Release of Productivity Commission report into the construction sector | Annual ABS schools data | Protect Democracy protest at Sydney Town Hall over new hate speech laws banning protest at places of worship |
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| Brain teaser | And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. | |
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A message from Lenore Taylor editor of Guardian AustraliaI hope you appreciated this newsletter. Before you move on, I wonder if you would consider supporting our work as we prepare for a pivotal, uncertain year ahead.
The course of world history has taken a sharp and disturbing turn in 2024. Liberalism is under threat from populist authoritarianism. Americans have voted to install a president with no respect for democratic norms, nor the facts that once formed the guardrails of public debate.
That decision means an alliance critical to Australia’s national and economic security is now a series of unpredictable transactions, with a partner no longer committed to multilateralism, nor efforts to curb global heating, the greatest threat we face. We just don’t know where this will lead.
In this uncertain time, fair, fact-based journalism is more important than ever – to record and understand events, to scrutinise the powerful, to give context, and to counter rampant misinformation and falsehoods.
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| Lenore Taylor
Editor, Guardian Australia |
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