Bragg to float letting homebuyers use super as collateral for mortgages
Andrew Bragg, the shadow minister for housing, will float a new proposal for homebuyers to use their superannuation as collateral for mortgages.
Bragg will detail the idea during a speech today. He told ABC NewsRadio this morning:
double quotation markThe general idea here is we want to have a country where more people are retired homeowners, and one of the most worrying trends we have is the growth in retired renters. Now, there’s nothing wrong with renting of course, but for a lot of people, they would rather live in their own house in retirement.
And so we want to make sure that we’re properly calibrating all the options people might like to have in their working life to use their own savings to promote home ownership.
When asked if it would be risky for people to take out loans larger than they could service, Bragg said the risk right now is the current trajectory for older renters.
double quotation markToday’s address is about setting out the rationale for having a more sophisticated debate. … We are becoming a country which is going to have a lot more retired renters, but also people potentially with quite high superannuation balances. That doesn’t seem to be the best outcome for all people, which is why we’re having this debate, because we want to be a nation of homeowners.
Andrew Bragg. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 20.18 EDT
Key events
Man linked to suspicious death charged with bribing public officials in Bangladesh
A man has been charged with bribing public officials in Bangladesh to stop police linking him to a suspicious death, in a first in Australia’s courts, AAP reports.
An Australian-Bangladeshi woman’s death was deemed suspicious by local authorities when her body was found in Bangladesh in September 2024.
The Australian federal police began investigating the death due to the woman’s dual citizenship status, seizing international transaction records from banks in Sydney and Brisbane.
Police allege a 51-year-old man known to the woman conspired with people in Bangladesh in the two years after her death, transferring about $90,000 to bribe public officials to remove his name from police records.
Raids were carried out on Monday at homes in Goodna and Redbank Plains, in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, where authorities seized an electronic device and arrested the 51-year-old.
He was charged with bribing a foreign public official, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.
Any attempt to corrupt investigative processes, whether in Australia or overseas, was a serious criminal matter, AFP Cmdr Stephen Jay said.
“We will continue to work closely with our domestic and international partners regarding this investigation,” he said.
The Redbank Plains man is scheduled to appear before Brisbane magistrates court later on Tuesday.
It is the first time the AFP has put an allegation of foreign bribery of a public official for personal advantage before the court.
Bangladeshi police are conducting their own investigation into the woman’s death.
Brisbane magistrates court. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAPShare
Updated at 23.01 EDT
Petra Stock
Solar and wind generation meet record 80% of power demand on Australia’s national grid
Sunshine and wind met 80.4% of demand on Australia’s main power grid on Saturday, setting a new high bar for renewable electricity.
Solar panels on rooftops provided more than half of the power used in the national electricity market, the grid that supplies the eastern states, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, for 30 minutes around lunchtime. This was complemented by solar and windfarms, and a small amount of hydro (1%). Fossil fuels, coal and gas, contributed 20%.
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the milestone meant there was “more clean, cheap, sovereign energy powering our homes and businesses than ever before”.
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Achol Arok
Coogee shark attack survivor Stewart says skin graft has failed
Leah Stewart, who was bitten by a shark at a Sydney beach, says a skin graft has failed as she continues her recovery.
The 34-year-old mother and school teacher was attacked while swimming at Coogee beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on 13 June.
As part of her treatment, doctors took skin from her right thigh and grafted it on to her injured left thigh.
In a social media post, Stewart said she was “devastated” after doctors confirmed the operation has failed.
double quotation markUnfortunately, this is not the post I was wanting to do, but I had my graft checked yesterday and it was confirmed that it failed.
Feeling pretty devastated, had quite a few tears. And now, I’m not really sure where to go from here.
Stewart said despite the failure, the operation had offered her some reprieve from using a vacuum-assisted closure machine.
double quotation markIt’s been three and a half months and my leg is still open. I guess the only good thing is we’re trying something different, having a little break from the vac machine, which means I can move a little bit more freely.
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Updated at 22.07 EDT
Police investigating after alleged Nazi salute in Sydney’s inner west
Police in Sydney are appealing for information after a man allegedly performed a Nazi salute in the inner city suburb of Newtown on Saturday.
NSW police released images of a group of men, who were seen walking along Australia Street at about 5.40pm.
The men were allegedly yelling offensive comments before one of them stopped and performed a Nazi salute. The group then continued on their way before they were approached by a woman. They allegedly made offensive comments towards her.
Detectives are continuing an investigation into the incident and have asked for anyone with information to come forward.
In a post to social media, authorities released photos of people who police believe can assist in their investigation.
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Updated at 22.13 EDT
Crocodile footage pulled by BBC after featuring wrong Fitzroy River
The BBC has deleted a post and issued a correction after footage of the wrong Fitzroy River was used in relation to the Olympics 2032 venue in Queensland.
In a story about the central Queensland venue titled “River with 500 crocodiles chosen as Olympic rowing venue”, a giant reptile is shown lurking in the Fitzroy River.
However the footage showed Western Australia’s Fitzroy River – about 3,500km away.
The BBC had since issued a correction, stating: “an earlier version of this video included footage of the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia instead of the Fitzroy River in Queensland.
The BBC’s post appeared to no longer be available on Tuesday.
The Queensland government had been under pressure to reconsider the rowing venue since pitching it in March 2025, but it was endorsed last week by the IOC, World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide.
Updated at 22.04 EDT
Emergency bushfire warning for residents near Kingaroy in Queensland
Queensland officials have issued an emergency warning for people in the rural locality of Teelah to seek shelter now amid a very dangerous bushfire.
The warning applies to an area around Stretton Drive and Scott Close.
Teelah is about 115km north-west of Brisbane, near Kingaroy.
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Updated at 21.54 EDT
Boy accused of plan to threaten people and cause harm in Queensland city
A boy has been accused of planning to threaten people in a Queensland regional city, AAP reports.
The teenager has been charged with acts in preparation to cause death or grievous bodily harm along with possession of a knife in a public place and possession of violent extremist material.
He was also charged with possession of a knife in public and violent extremist material in Maryborough, north of Brisbane.
He is set to face court after detectives searched a Maryborough address on 27 August. Multiple electronic devices and other items were seized during the search, police said.
Police said investigations were continuing but there was no ongoing threat to the public. The boy will appear before the children’s court later today.
Updated at 20.55 EDT
Ingredient used in cold and flu supplements to be removed over allergy link
A medicinal herb found in cold and flu supplements will be phased off Australian shelves over links to severe allergic reactions, AAP reports.
Andrographis paniculata (andrographis), also known as green chiretta, has been barred from new medicines entering the Australian market, the Therapeutic Goods Administration announced on Monday.
Existing medicines containing andrographis will not be removed from the market immediately, but the TGA has encouraged suppliers to recall products containing the herb.
Native to India and Sri Lanka, andrographis is commonly used in Ayurvedic and Chinese traditional medicine to support immunity and combat cold and flu symptoms. Around 80 products containing andrographis are listed on the Australian market, some of which are available from supermarkets, health food stores and pharmacies.
The ingredient has attracted growing industry concern in recent years after reports of anaphylactic reactions and one fatality in June 2024.
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Updated at 20.52 EDT
Victoria police warn of heightened family violence risk on AFL grand final day
Victoria police have issued a warning ahead of the AFL grand final this weekend, saying officials know there is a heightened risk of family violence during major sporting events.
“This is because we see families come together and offenders may use periods of extended contact to increase their abusive behaviours,” a Victoria police spokesperson said this morning.
There were 315 family violence incidents on AFL grand final day in 2025 and 301 in 2024.
The spokesperson added:
double quotation markWhile we have not seen a significant increase in family violence incidents on Grand Final Day or the extended weekend in recent years, we urge the community to look out for each other and report any incidents to police.
There is never an excuse for family violence and Victoria Police will ensure each crime is investigated and all offenders are held to account.
Updated at 20.12 EDT
Bragg to float letting homebuyers use super as collateral for mortgages
Andrew Bragg, the shadow minister for housing, will float a new proposal for homebuyers to use their superannuation as collateral for mortgages.
Bragg will detail the idea during a speech today. He told ABC NewsRadio this morning:
double quotation markThe general idea here is we want to have a country where more people are retired homeowners, and one of the most worrying trends we have is the growth in retired renters. Now, there’s nothing wrong with renting of course, but for a lot of people, they would rather live in their own house in retirement.
And so we want to make sure that we’re properly calibrating all the options people might like to have in their working life to use their own savings to promote home ownership.
When asked if it would be risky for people to take out loans larger than they could service, Bragg said the risk right now is the current trajectory for older renters.
double quotation markToday’s address is about setting out the rationale for having a more sophisticated debate. … We are becoming a country which is going to have a lot more retired renters, but also people potentially with quite high superannuation balances. That doesn’t seem to be the best outcome for all people, which is why we’re having this debate, because we want to be a nation of homeowners.
Andrew Bragg. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 20.18 EDT
Penry Buckley
Police interviews able to be used as evidence-in-chief in NSW sexual assault trials under new rules
More on today’s changes to the Criminal Procedure Act in NSW …
Under the changes, recorded police interviews will also be able to used as evidence-in-chief in sexual assault trials, requiring complainants to only provide their evidence once, including in the case of a retrial.
The NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner, Hannah Tonkin, says:
double quotation markAllowing complainants’ pre-recorded evidence in chief to be used during sexual assault trials will enable them to give their account much earlier, in a safe setting, and to start rebuilding their lives sooner.
The government is also amending the law around the handling sexual assault complainants’ counselling communications so that courts can only consider them when it is necessary, rather than automatically or out of an abundance of caution.
University of Sydney-led research, due to report back in mid-2027, is considering alternative models for reform. Recent reporting has revealed how complainants’ counselling records, including audio recordings, have been used by alleged perpetrators’ legal teams.
Updated at 19.37 EDT
Penry Buckley
Minns says shooting of 11-year-old ‘very tragic reminder’ of danger of guns
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says the shooting of an 11-year-old boy in north-west Sydney is a “very tragic reminder of how dangerous guns are”.
An 18-year-old man was charged yesterday with concealing a serious indictable offence after the incident, while two other 18-year-old men were released pending further inquiries. Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning, the premier said:
double quotation markIt’s obviously an incredibly distressing situation. It’s the subject of a major police investigation. I understand the adults in the house are not cooperating with police. We just urge anyone that has any information about this horrible event – we’ve got [an 11-year-old] in a serious condition in a NSW hospital – to come forward.
It’s also a very tragic reminder of how dangerous guns are, and often the people who are the victims of guns, are innocent people, many times they are children. They’re very dangerous, and we need less of them in our community.
Minns was asked about comments made by police deputy commissioner Peter McKenna after a spate of violence over the weekend, including the alleged murders of three women. McKenna said the government needed to be “throwing every resource” at domestic violence prevention. Minns said:
double quotation markWell, Peter’s an incredibly straight talker on these issues, and he’s 100% right. I mean, the number of violent crimes against often innocent people, innocent family members is hugely distressing. It’s an urgent emergency for our state and we need to throw everything we possibly can at it.
Chris Minns. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPShare
Updated at 19.19 EDT
NSW to pilot ‘ground rules’ hearings in sexual assault trialsPenry Buckley
A pilot of “ground rules” hearings will reduce distress and trauma for complainants in sexual assault trials alongside other reforms being introduced to NSW parliament today, the state government says.
Ground rules hearings, which are already used in child sexual assault proceedings in NSW, will be piloted in sexual assault trials at Parramatta, Wollongong and Dubbo district courts from March next year until 2030.
They will provide directions about how complainants will be questioned, including the duration and manner, topics put to them and aides to support their evidence. The government says hearings will require pre-trial discussion about jury directions regarding consent and differences in accounts “without compromising the accused’s right to test the prosecution case”.
The NSW attorney general, Michael Daley, says:
double quotation markSexual assault complainants and witnesses are especially vulnerable in our justice system. We want to help them give their best evidence by ensuring they do not need to tell their story multiple times and deterring inappropriate and irrelevant questioning in court.
NSW attorney general Michael Daley. Photograph: Bianca De Marchi/AAPShare
Updated at 18.49 EDT
Greens call for triple zero network to be brought back under independent control
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young spoke this morning about the idea for a national authority to oversee the triple zero network, which is responsible for emergency call operations.
A Senate committee said yesterday in a report that triple zero should be taken out of private hands.
The plan would move control of Australia’s emergency call system away from commercial entities like Telstra to a dedicated public authority.
Hanson-Young told RN Breakfast this morning:
double quotation markAt the moment, Telstra is contracted to do this work. The taxpayers pay it. That’s your money, my money, every Australian taxpayer’s money to fund the operation of triple zero … We think it’s time to really consider bringing that back under independent control so that the customer, the public, the safety is put first – it’s not seen as some kind of chore or add-on for a privately run company …
There needs to be an overhaul of the telecommunications laws. Standards and reliability guarantees must be in the law. Compensation must be available for people. And triple zero must be run for the safety of people, not the profits of corporations.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 19.10 EDT