New home approvals surge; Victoria urged to embrace electric homes over gas – as it happened​on March 6, 2025 at 4:02 am

Anthony Albanese says repeated questions on the election date, which must be held by 17 May, reinforced the need for certainty on when Australians go to the polls in the future.

As AAP reports, the prime minister told Sky News earlier:

These are questions that have been asked this week, this month, last month, the month before. They’ve been asked for a long period of time. This is why we need four-year fixed terms to provide certainty.

12 April was firming as the most likely date for this year’s election, ahead of a Monday deadline for Albanese to make the call.

If the election is not called for 12 April, Australians are likely to head to the ballot box in May. This is because the only other Saturdays in April – the 19th and 26th – have been ruled out because of the Easter holidays and the Anzac Day long weekend.

A surge in apartment approvals in NSW has lifted new dwelling consents to the highest level in more than two years, AAP reports.

Australia-wide, 16,579 dwellings were approved in January, up 6.3% on the month prior, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed.

That’s still well below the 20,000 dwellings needed on average each month to meet the government’s target of 1.2m new homes by mid-2029 – and doesn’t factor in a drop-out rate of about 1% to 2% of homes that gain approval but don’t end up being constructed.

But today’s update confirms the trend is certainly heading in the right direction, up 30% from the low of 12,836 dwellings approved in April 2023.

January’s bounce was driven by a 12.7% rise in private attached dwellings, like apartments and townhouses, said ABS’s head of construction statistics, Daniel Rossi.

NSW led the way, with an increase in state-significant developments and policies like height bonuses for affordable housing and train station rezonings potentially contributing to the rise in apartments coming through the pipeline, Oxford Economics’ Michael Dyer said – but it was still too early to tell, given apartment approvals tend to be pretty lumpy:

We expect further modest improvement over 2025. Cash rate cuts are now in play. This is set to aid the release of pent-up housing demand, supporting a more meaningful double-digit recovery from 2026.

The Victorian Trades Hall Council, Environment Victoria and Victorian Council of Social Services (Vcoss) have called on the government to end the state’s reliance on gas.

The Victorian government’s building electrification regulatory impact statement is open for submissions. Juanita Pope, the CEO of Vcoss, said in a statement:

Vcoss is a strong supporter of Victoria’s electrification agenda. Electric homes powered by renewables are better for people’s health, their wallets and the planet. Research shows that an all-electric home has less than half the running costs of a fossil fuel home.

In a global cost-of-living crisis and climate emergency, now is the time to support Victorian households to make the switch.

We know that some Victorians – particularly low-income households and renters – will need help to manage the upfront cost of transition to safer, more efficient electric appliances. Prioritising support for these households will mean that all Victorians can enjoy the health benefits and bill savings of electrification.

Heatwave conditions remain for parts of WA, NT and Queensland

While much of the weather focus right now is on Tropical Cyclone Alfred, heatwave warnings persist for parts of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, severe heatwave conditions in WA will gradually ease in the north over the next few days.

Exmouth is set to reach a top of 43C today before dropping to 36C on Monday.

In the NT, severe heatwave conditions are forecast to ease towards the end of the week and into the weekend – but low intensity heatwave conditions may persit for some time.

And in Queensland, further north from where Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to cross, heatwave conditions are set to ease into the weekend.

Gladstone is set to reach a top of 37C tomorrow, and Yeppoon 34C.

Government has approved enough renewables to power nearly every household, Plibersek says

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, says the government has now approved enough renewable energy projects to power “nearly every single household in Australia” as demand for the projects grows.

In a statement, she said three new renewables projects in NSW had been given the green light, including:

• The 1,332 megawatt Liverpool Range wind farm near Coolah, within the Central West Orana renewable energy cone;

• The 700 megawatt Spicers Creek wind farm project near Gulgong, within the Central West Orana renewable energy zone; and

• The 372 megawatt Hills of Gold wind farm near Nundle.

Plibersek said the three projects would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6.5m tonnes – “equivalent to taking more than 2m passenger cars off the road every year”.

She said the government had approved 77 renewables projects, equivalent to powering over 10m homes and the “most renewable energy any government has ticked off in Australian history”:

Unlike the climate deniers and environmental vandals of the Liberal and National party, Labor is getting on with the job of transforming Australia into a renewable energy superpower … This is what action on cost of living and climate change looks like.

Liberal fundraiser cancelled amid cyclone preparations and reports Dutton attended Justin Hemmes event

A fundraising event at the Melbourne headquarters of Macquarie Bank featuring Peter Dutton and several Liberal MPs was cancelled at the last minute last night without explanation, as a major storm bore down on the opposition leader’s home state.

Yesterday, the Australian Financial Review published a story claiming Dutton left what he described as a “very serious” cyclone situation in Queensland for a fundraising soiree at the harbourside home of hospitality entrepreneur Justin Hemmes in Sydney on Tuesday night.

Dutton was scheduled to provide a keynote address to the Melbourne event shortly after 5pm yesterday. The reason for cancelling the event, and who made the decision, was not made clear, although sources speculated it may have been due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

You can read the full story below:

ASX slides lower as oil price weighs on energy stocks

The Australian share market has continued lower, AAP reports.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had dropped 38.7 points, or 0.47%, to 8102.7, while the broader All Ordinaries had fallen 31.5 points, or 0.38%, to 8330.4 during early trading.

Only one of the local index’s 11 sectors were trading higher and energy stocks were leading the losses and trading more than 2% lower in early trading. Consumer staples stocks were in the green, but only just, up 0.1%.

Oil and gas giant Woodside was the worst performer in the top 200, down 4.4% to $23.07 per share in early trading.

With iron ore futures holding around $US100, mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto were both in the red, with BHP 0.3% lower and Rio down 1.3%.

The big four banks were mostly flat this morning, except for CBA, which gave up 0.3% to trade at $155.91 after going ex-dividend.

The Australian dollar was buying 63.35 US cents, up from 62.54 US cents yesterday afternoon.

A health alert has been sent out for locals near a suspicious fire that ripped through a factory near Melbourne airport, which we reported on earlier in the blog.

AAP reports that Victoria police believe a car was driven into the premises at Tullamarine, in the city’s north-west, and set alight about 3.30am Thursday morning. The building was completely alight when 80 firefighters arrived.

Crews managed to stop flames from destroying nearby businesses at the industrial park on Barrie Road. No one was inside the building at the time and there are no reports of injuries related to the fire.

Fire Rescue Victoria commander and incident controller, John Zuccarelli, said a car detailing business operated from the factory. Crews have not been able to enter the building due to the risk of the structure collapsing, so he could not reveal what was stored inside.

The damage is quite extensive and it be won’t be salvageable.

Gas and electricity to the site were switched off during the fire fight, with nearby power lines posing a danger.

The blaze sparked a health alert for smoke for residents living up to 2km away and locals were told to avoid the area. An arson chemist is investigating what took place and a crime scene has been set up at the site.

The fire is being probed by local investigators and not taskforce Lunar, a specialist squad investigating more than 100 firebombings linked to conflict between crime gangs over the profits of illegal tobacco.

Green fuel cash injection prepares market for take-off

An Australian low-carbon fuels industry could be closer to launching after a $250m investment in developing environmentally friendly fuels for planes, trucks and ships.

As AAP reports, the federal government announced the investment package today as part of its $1.7bn Future Made in Australia fund, to be put towards early-stage fuel innovations, demonstrations and deployment.

The eco-friendly fuel investment comes amid growing demand for sustainable aviation fuel worldwide and a recent report by the nation’s science agency, CSIRO, found Australia had the potential to lead the industry.

The $250m fund would be divided into grants administered by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, the energy minister, Chris Bowen, said, in order to foster Australia’s production of low-carbon fuels.

Australia has the knowhow and the skills to meet the crucial task of decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation, heavy transport and mining that rely on liquid fuels.

Trump slight causes New Zealand to sack top diplomat

In some news from across the ditch via AAP: New Zealand’s high commissioner to the UK, Phil Goff, has been sacked for questioning the US president, Donald Trump’s, grasp of history.

Goff, the foreign and defence minister in Helen Clark’s government, will leave the role under orders from New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters.

The 71-year-old appeared at an event in London on Tuesday with Finland’s foreign minister, Elina Valtonen, when he made a thinly veiled attack on Trump:

President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?

Made aware of the comments by Wellington newspaper The Post, Peters’ office confirmed he would be removed from the job for the slight. A spokesperson said:

Phil Goff’s comments are deeply disappointing. They do not represent the views of the NZ government and make his position as high commissioner to London untenable.

We have asked the secretary of foreign affairs and trade, Bede Corry, to now work through with Mr Goff the upcoming leadership transition at the New Zealand high commission in London.

Goff is yet to comment on the matter. But on social media, Clark said it was a “a very thin excuse for sacking a highly respected former [New Zealand foreign minister] from his post”.

Assistant minister to PM reiterates Albanese focused on cyclone response, not election

The assistant minister to the PM, Patrick Gorman, was also on Sky News where he reiterated Anthony Albanese’s focus is on Tropical Cyclone Alfred amid election speculation.

Gorman said the only person who can call an election is the sitting prime minister, and this was “not really something he’s spending time considering right now.”

Asked if Albanese should publicly rule out calling it this weekend, amid the cyclone, Gorman said:

[The PM] is focused, appropriately, on making sure that we get the support that Queensland and NSW needs. That’s where our focus is.

You can continue to speculate, I respect that that’s an important part of our democratic process, but it’s not something that we’re focused on right now.

Queensland police have shot a man on the Gold Coast after he allegedly “presented a firearm at police” and fled in a stolen vehicle.

Queensland police said about 8.15am today, a man wanted by police was sighted at Calvary Court in Labrador.

Police allege the man presented a firearm at police before fleeing in a stolen vehicle, which came to a stop on Brisbane Road in Arundel.

At 9.30am, police said a second confrontation occurred between the man and officers, and the man was shot by police.

Medical assistance was immediately rendered by police and paramedics who attended the scene. The man died from his injuries at the scene.

Police said there is no further information available at this stage.

Cash says PM playing ‘cat and mouse game’ over whether or not he is calling election

The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, has accused the prime minister of playing a “cat and mouse game” over whether or not he will call an election.

Anthony Albanese fielded questions this morning over whether he would call an election this weekend, or early next week, but said his focus was firmly on the Tropical Cyclone Alfred response.

Speaking on Sky News, Cash accused the PM of “campaigning” and said:

I think the prime minister should give a very clear message to Australians, but in particular to Queenslanders, they don’t need to worry about our federal election over the next few weeks.

We are scheduled to go back to the parliament. March 25 is when the government has scheduled to bring down the budget. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done …

She said Albanese has the “opportunity to rule out calling an election.”

Stop playing a game of cat and mouse. Be clear. Don’t call an election.

Podcast: how do the major parties plan to win your vote?

Has the interest rate cut made any difference to how people intend to vote at the upcoming federal election?

In today’s podcast, Guardian Australia’s political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy and Essential Media’s executive director, Peter Lewis, discuss how voters are responding to major political parties’ campaign rhetoric on key issues affecting their lives.

You can have a listen to the episode below:

Out of control bushfire south of Ballarat grows to 47 hectares

A watch and act alert has been issued for Buninyong and Scotsburn, south of Ballarat in Victoria, amid an out of control bushfire.

The alert, issued by Forest Fire Management Victoria, says the bushfire at Mount Buninyong has now grown to 47 hectares in size.

An alert was first issued yesterday for the same bushfire, which has since grown due to “steep terrain and exceptional dry fuel loads”.

Firefighters remain on scene with support from aircraft.

The situation can change at anytime. You must monitor conditions, remain vigilant and be ready to act.

Steggall says ‘flexibility is important’ amid speculation over when election will be called

Independent MP Zali Steggall said “flexibility is important” when it comes to calling an election, amid Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Speaking on Sky News, she was asked about the timing of Anthony Albanese calling the election, and said she was assuming a 12 April poll date:

I think flexibility is important, and there is a very significant disaster unfolding … I welcome the fact that he and his government are currently focusing on the communities impacted, and they are preparing.

What I would say, though, is in the last budget, very little money was invested by his government on preparation, and so, this is a great opportunity to commit to investing in significant adaptation and preparation system.

Steggall has been making the rounds this morning, calling for both major parties to commit to legislating national climate risk and adaptation plans.

La Trobe enters enforceable undertaking over staff underpayments

La Trobe has become the sixth university to enter an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman after identifying more than $10.7m in staff underpayments.

About 6,700 staff were underpaid, performing across the university’s 10 schools as casual academics and professional staff between 2015 and 2022.

The ombudsman said the underpayments were caused by “systemic failures in compliance, central oversight and governance processes”, including incorrectly applying its enterprise agreements.

Individual underpayments range from $2 to $91,837, while 35 employees were underpaid more than $20,000.

A spokesperson for La Trobe said the casual staff underpayments were identified by the university through an independent review in 2020, and self reported to the ombudsman the following year.

Affected current staff had been fully compensated, while La Trobe continued to “proactively seek” some former staff who hadn’t responded.

The underpayments were unintentional, resulting from complex industrial agreements, inefficient and outdated systems and processes. La Trobe has since improved and simplified these systems and processes to prevent future errors.