Australia news LIVE: Outgoing RBA boss says interest rates could climb; Joe Biden to host PM in October at White House

Further to RBA governor Philip Lowe’s concerns about housing, he has now warned Australians have created an economic and social problem by pushing up the cost of homes.

Answering a question from independent MP Allegra Spender about the nation’s most pressing productivity issues, Lowe started by saying more investment was needed in human capital.

He said the ability of Australians to deal with increasingly complex problems and a digital economy meant more investment in schools and universities was necessary.

But he added that competition policy and changes to land zoning were needed.

He said while people think about the cost of a home in terms of bricks and mortar, it was actually the land beneath a house that was expensive.

“It’s the land. The land embedded in each dwelling is very expensive, perhaps the most expensive in the world,” he said.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has reported a drop in revenue, but sees opportunities ahead as it plans to take advantage of advances in generative AI.

The US-listed media group - which owns News Corp Australia, Foxtel Group, mastheads in the US and UK, book publishers and real estate advertising assets - said global revenue for the year ended June 30 was $US9.9 billion ($15.1 billion), a 5 per cent decrease on the previous year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the news media segment fell by 28 per cent to $US156 million ($230 million), with its book publishing division, which includes HarperCollins, dove 45 per cent to $US167 million ($256 million), thanks to a fall in book sales.

Revenues at News Corp Australia were down 15 per cent, compared to 7 per cent for News UK, which the company said was impacted by the absence of the additional week in the prior year and negative foreign currency fluctuations. News Corp Australia houses titles including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, and the Herald Sun.

More updates on this issue here.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has weighed into the political fight over soaring rents, likening the idea to freeze rents to giving people more money to buy increasingly expensive houses.

Lowe, giving evidence to the House of Representatives’ economics committee in Canberra on Friday, said ultimately the best way to deal with high rents is to boost housing supply.

Rents are growing at almost 10 per cent, prompting calls from the Greens for a freeze on rents and then a cap on rent increases.

National cabinet is due to meet next week, where issues around the rental market will dominate.

Lowe said a rent freeze, while delivering short-term relief to renters, would actually act as a disincentive for the construction of more housing.

He said when house prices were climbing sharply, there were demands to give potential home buyers more money to enable them to buy into the market.

A rent freeze would act in a similar manner.

“They’re short-term fixes that both, in my judgment, make the situation worse,” he said.

“In most cases, rent controls reduce incentives to add to supply.”

Lowe said the best way to deal with rent inflation is to bring on more supply, urging local and state governments to deregulate zoning and planning regulation.

“The solution lies in increasing supply,” he said

Cost of living pressures are dampening spending by new parents on merchandise for their infants, according to national retailer Baby Bunting.

The ASX-listed baby and children’s goods store has told investors that sales over the last six weeks are down by 9 per cent on a comparable store basis when compared with last year.

Baby Bunting reported a 49.5 per cent drop in net profit to $9.9 million for the 2023 financial year.

Acting chief executive Darin Hoekman said that the business had been able to grow market share during the year, but noted that rising living costs were having an impact on trading conditions.

“While our category is less discretionary, our customers are not immune to cost-of-living pressures and we experienced sales decline towards the end of the year as consumer spending slowed,” he said.

Two thousand more refugees will be settled in Australia each year after the Albanese government announced an increase in its annual humanitarian intake from 17,875 to 20,000.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the commitment ensured Australia played its part in responding to a global humanitarian crisis - with deadly conflicts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East - that has led to more than 2 million people requiring urgent resettlement.

Giles reaffirmed Labor’s commitment to turning back illegal boat arrivals as a signal to people smugglers that Labor’s boost to the humanitarian intake was not a precursor to a loosening of border protection policies.

“The Albanese government reaffirms its commitment to those in need with an increase in our Humanitarian Program annual intake. This responsibility extends beyond their arrival, by providing robust support to refugees to ensure they are well-equipped to settle into Australia and rebuild their lives with certainty,” Giles said in a statement.

“With more people displaced worldwide than ever before, the Albanese Labor government is stepping up to play its part in the global resettlement effort in a responsible way.

“Refugees have provided an invaluable contribution to our country - from Awer Mabil to Anh Do, Tan Le to Frank Lowy.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to visit the US for a state visit, as the two countries are being urged to turbocharge the AUKUS pact.

Earlier, Republican congressman Mike Gallagher spoke about the AUKUS pact which he has labelled the “beating heart of the free world”.

The submarine deal will see Washington sell Canberra up to five nuclear submarines before Australia begins building a new class of boat with the UK.

The congressman, who is Co-Chair of the Congressional AUKUS Working Group, said he wanted the pact to continue beyond the Biden administration.

“My view is the US-Australia alliance, and perhaps the AUKUS more broadly is the beating heart of the free world,” he said on RN Breakfast this morning.

The congressman, who is also Chair of the US House Select Committee, said the US had to make the pact a success.

“This is a no-fail endeavour, it will have a dramatic impact on our ability to deter a future war,” he said of the pact.

“It shouldn’t be an either-or choice between our submarine industrial base and fulfilling our commitment that we made under AUKUS.”

Circling back to the ACTU secretary Sally McManus, who wants price gouging to be “seriously examined” after the union commissioned an inquiry into the issue.

On ABC’s RN Breakfast this morning McManus said an inquiry was needed to examine unfair pricing practices and said chair Professor Allan Fels was the best person in the country to consider the issue.

“If we just relied on the press releases that those companies did, that say there’s nothing to see here, this is why it needs to be seriously examined,” she said of price gouging.

“It needs to be looked at as an opportunity for ordinary Australians to have their say about this. We’ve been inundated with submissions.”

She said she was shocked by the number of submissions they got in just a few hours.