National rental prices rose 11.5% in the past year, with combined capital city rents up 13.2%, PropTrack data shows

When are governents going to stop persecuting landlords in the name of tenant protection? Both tenants and landlords end up being hit by government stupidity. Landlords cop losses from bad tenants and tenants pay higher rents to get a place

Housing advocates call for urgent reform to address growing crisis as capital rents hit average of $600 a week

Australia’s record shortage of rental properties will continue to drive prices up for tenants, analysts say, with a new report revealing combined capital city rents rose 13.2% year-on-year.

Data from PropTrack, the property analytics division of REA Group, has revealed national rental prices rose 11.5% over the past year, with combined capital city rents up 13.2% to an average of $600 a week, driven by large increases in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

“Maybe the small silver lining, the small comfort to renters, is it is a bit slower than what we saw the previous year, in 2022, when we saw growth just shy of 18%,” the PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said.

“So there are some signs that things, at least in some parts of the country, are starting to slow down.

“But we’re still seeing very strong growth in places like Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. So we’re far from out of the woods for renters.”

Median advertised rents nationally rose 1.8% over the December quarter to $580 a week, bringing rents up 11.5%, or $60 a week, compared with a year ago.

“No matter how you cut it, that’s extremely quick growth in rents,” Moore said.

Units in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane had seen particularly sharp increases in the past year, he said, with median prices rising 17.2%, 15.6% and 16.7% respectively.

Perth has seen the fastest rental growth over the past year, with median advertised rents for dwellings up 20%. Compared with pre-pandemic prices, median advertised rents in Western Australia’s capital are up 66%, as the city now has the second lowest vacancy rate in the country, behind Adelaide.

Moore said January was often the busiest time for the market and rents were expected to continue to climb, albeit at a slower pace, across the year.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/09/australian-capital-city-rents-up-13-per-cent-over-year-as-further-hikes-predicted-for-2024-amid-housing-shortage

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Coles supermarket makes a huge Australia Day announcement after Woolworths goes woke

Look for a backdown from Woolworths. This holiday was a big celebration until the Left started attacking it

Coles will sell Australia Day merchandise despite Woolworths making the controversial decision to axe the products from shelves this year.

A Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'We are stocking a small range of Australian-themed summer entertaining merchandise throughout January which is popular with our customers for sporting events such as the cricket and tennis, as well as for the Australia Day weekend.'

Woolworths, which also owns Big W, shocked the country on Wednesday when it announced it will not sell any Australia Day merchandise due to a decline in demand. Kmart made a similar announcement in 2023.

'There has been a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise from our stores over recent years,' the supermarket giant said in a statement.

'At the same time, there's been broader discussion about 26 January and what it means to different parts of the community.'

The decision from Woolworths has been met with widespread outrage, including from NSW Premier Chris Minns and millionaire businessman Dick Smith.

'We should always celebrate that day because it's the start of modern Australia,' Mr Smith told NewsCorp.

'I am a patriotic Australian and I'm disappointed they have made that decision.'

Mr Minns said the decision from Woolworths came as a surprise. 'In 2024, I would've thought there was enough demand from customers for Australia Day products,' the premier said.

Prominent Indigenous leader and businessman Warren Mundine said Woolworths executives are 'living in a fantasy world.'

'These corporates are totally out of touch with the real Australia and yet they keep on coming out and trying to push this nonsense on us to make us ashamed of who we are and what our country is.' 'We should be celebrating who we are,' Mr Mundine declared.

Conservative social commentator Carla Efstratiou questioned why Woolworths had celebrated Diwali, an Indian holiday, but not Australia Day.

'Australia Day is being phased out by big corporations and eventually by the government,' she claimed in a TikTok video.

'(Woolworths) say it's because there's been a steady decrease in demand, but make no mistake, this is entirely thought through, it's entirely planned. 'Australia Day will cease to exist in a few years.'

Ms Efstratiou's audience were divided over the boycott in the comments. 'I'm gonna celebrate it more and more every year! I refuse to give in to the woke bull****' one person commented. 'Australia Day is 26th January end of story. Don't like it stay home and have a sleep for the day,' a second wrote.

A fourth shared: 'Who is this affecting? Does anyone actually celebrate the day? Like sure it's a day off but is anyone really celebrating?' 'Doesn't Australia Day celebrate genocide? Who wants to celebrate that?' one said.

Australia Day, observed each year on January 26, marks the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 when the first governor of the British colony of New South Wales, Arthur Philip, hoisted the Union Jack at Sydney Cove.

But for many First Nations people, it is regarded as 'Invasion Day' or the 'Day of Mourning', with many campaigning for the holiday to be abolished completely or the date changed.

While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hasn't explicitly mentioned any plans to change the date, a rising number of councils and state governments are choosing to cancel traditional Australia Day activities, including citizenship ceremonies.

Director of conservative political lobbying group Advance Australia Matthew Sheahan said Woolworths had demonstrated why Australia Day should be protected by law.

'It's time for the PM to show some leadership here and prove he's on the side of mainstream Australians who are proud of this country,' he said.

'If Albo or Woolies wants to abolish Australia Day they shouldn't be allowed to without taking a proposal to the Australian people and letting us have our say.'

In recent years Invasion Day protests have overshadowed any festivities with thousands attending rallies in major cities demanding the date be changed.

Large protests are expected this year after the referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the constitution was voted down in October.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12949127/Coles-makes-call-Australia-Day-merch-Woolworths-shocked-country-dumping-products.html

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Climate Change Minister Defends 2030 Emissions Target After Wind Energy Hub Blocked

Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is standing firm on Australia’s 2030 renewable energy target after a wind energy hub was blocked.

This comes after Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek blocked a proposal to build offshore wind turbines at the Port of Hastings.

Mr. Bowen backed the decision on the project, noting the government is not planning to operate many offshore wind farms in Australia by 2030.

He noted the government is carrying out “proper environmental approvals and assessments.”

Mr. Bowen said while the government was “moving fast,” they were also, “moving appropriately and prudently,” highlighting that there was “time to work through these issues.”

“There’s a long lead-up for offshore wind. This is not related in any meaningful way to the 2030 target because we don’t expect much offshore wind to be operating in Australia by 2030,” he said in quotes reported by the Australian Financial Review.

“Setting up a new industry from scratch takes time, and we envisage most of the projects to be generating power post-2030.”

The Australian government’s 2030 target involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent lower than 2005 levels by 2030.

Mr. Bowen noted government officials have met to discuss a potential new application for the Victorian government’s offshore wind plan.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, also from the Labor Party, has expressed dissatisfaction at the government’s decision on offshore wind but intends to submit a new application.

“I think it’s pretty fair to say we’re not particularly happy with this decision, particularly when it comes in an environment where we’re really proud to be leading the nation on establishing offshore wind,” she said earlier this week.
“We have very strong renewable energy targets, and we have them for a reason. We have them because we need to make this transition to provide energy security through renewable energy sources, and offshore wind is a big and important part of that.”

The project was rejected due to risk of unacceptable risk to surrounding wetlands, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water found.

Liberal National Party Senator for Queensland Gerard Rennick suggested that the government’s decision to block the project could be used to “push back” other wind farm projects.

“Tanya Plibersek the Federal Environment Minister has overturned a proposed offshore wind farm in Victoria,” he said.

“What’s so significant about this is that the government now formally recognises the damage that wind farms cause. This can be used as a precedent to push back against other wind d farm projects.

“Those politicians who think that renewable energy should take precedence over our environment should be ashamed of themselves.”

“Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the energy transition must take precedence over protecting internationally renowned local wetlands, after federal minister Tanya Plibersek blocked a project central to the state’s offshore wind industry on environment grounds.

It comes as a local community in Tasmania has launched legal action against a billion-dollar wind farm project.
Community group Circular Head Coastal Awareness Network has opposed the project for the last four years on the basis that it is situated along the migration flight path of the orange-bellied parrot. It is estimated that there are 81 adult parrots of this species left in the wild.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/climate-change-minister-defends-2030-emissions-target-after-wind-energy-hub-blocked-5561996

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University degree dropouts reach record

The rate of students completing their degree within six years hit a record low in 2022 as cost-of-living pressures and plentiful job opportunities pushed up dropout rates.

Federal Education Department data shows 25.4 per cent of students who commenced their studies in 2017 had dropped out by the end of 2022 – the highest rate since records began in 2005 – and 1.3 percentage points higher than the previous corresponding period.

Record attrition rates are running in parallel with decreased interest in university study, with overall numbers down 13 per cent since 2016.

More than 50,000 students drop out each year. High attrition rates come with huge personal costs, including student debts, which rise in line with inflation. Such indexation pushed debts up by 7.1 per cent in June 2023.

Experts also point to opportunity cost – the career paths and full-time work that were sacrificed in favour of a study route that didn’t work out – which is almost impossible to calculate.

“On average, students pay [more than] $12,000 for their incomplete course,” said Andrew Norton, a higher education expert from Australian National University.

“They miss out on the additional lifetime earnings that university graduates typically receive. The time they spent at university could have been used working or studying at TAFE. And the online survey [by the Grattan Institute] shows that most people who drop out feel they have let themselves or others down.”

The pandemic would have kept students at university since there was little hope of getting a job, Mr Norton said. But since the economy opened up and with skill shortages rife, many students would have been attracted into full-time roles to help counter the cost-of-living bite.

Government data points to poor and disadvantaged students as being far more likely to drop out and carry the burden of student loans.

“It is possible that the strong labour market in 2022, in conjunction with increasing costs of living, had a greater influence on decision-making about higher education for [those] students,” a report from the Education Department says.

Incongruously, it is those universities that tend to have the highest student satisfaction ratings that have the highest dropout rates. This is especially the case for regional universities.

“The bottom three performing higher education institutions remained unchanged from 2020,” the report says. “Southern Cross University, the University of New England and CQUniversity have attrition rates 1.5 times more than the average.”

University of NSW, University of Melbourne and Monash remain the top three performing universities, with attrition rates of about 5 per cent or lower. It is even lower for those dropping in second or subsequent years – about 1.5 to 2 per cent.

Ian Li, director of research and policy at the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, said four-year completion rates at some Group of Eight universities were artificially low because of large numbers undertaking double degrees and longer undergraduate programs, such as veterinary science, medicine and dentistry.

An explanation for the low student satisfaction, but low attrition at these universities is probably a combination of too-high expectations and a sense of entitlement countered by high academic ability, Professor Li said.

These universities enrol large numbers of full-time, city-based, often privately educated school leavers with high ATARs, compared to regional and outer metropolitan universities.

School results are important. Students with ATARs below 60 are twice as likely to drop out of university as students with ATARs above 90.

Just over two thirds of students – 69.8 per cent – complete within nine years of starting. Three universities – Charles Darwin, Swinburne and University of Tasmania – have just one in every two students graduate within nine years.

https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/university-degree-dropouts-reach-record-20240104-p5ev3u

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs

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