Each morning we post a selection of our favourite news stories from the day’s news. These posts also give you a chance to see how we can summarise news for you.
Politicians paying off Canberra mortgages thanks to taxpayers
Original article by Jessica Wang, Eliza Barr
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 7-Jan-26
Independent senator David Pocock has called for a review of federal politicians’ travel allowances, amid revelations that some are using their expense claims to help finance a mortgage. Interstate-based MPs and senators receive a nightly travel allowance of $322 to cover accommodation, food and incidental expenses during weeks when parliament is sitting. However, the rules allow them to receive the allowance even if they are staying at a home that either themselves or their partner own in Canberra; they can therefore redirect this money to paying off the mortgage on this home. Pocock, who lives in Canberra, says the allowance is necessary but must be in line with community expectations.
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Flood farmers face big stock losses
Original article by Brittney Levinson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 7-Jan-26
The federal and Queensland govenments will jointly provide $38m in disaster relief assistance for farmers who have been affected by severe floods in the state’s northwest. Grants of up to $75,000 will be available, including upfront payments of $10,000. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the package during a visit to Cloncurry, which is one of the regions that have been hit by the heavy rains since late December. Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries has advised that the number of livstock that is dead or missing now exceeds 20,000.
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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations were at 5.6% in mid-December – up 0.3% points from the month of November
Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Jan-26
The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations hit a two-year high of 5.6% for the week of 8-14 December 2025, up 0.3% points from the full month of November; this is the highest the index has been on a weekly basis since December 2023. A look at monthly Inflation Expectations for November 2025 shows the measure at 5.1% for the month, up 0.1% points from the prior month of November, but since then inflationary pressures have increased. Looking back over the last six months, since mid-June, weekly Inflation Expectations have moved in a band of 4.7% to 5.4%, and averaged 5.0%. A look at Monthly Inflation Expectations on a State-based level for November shows increases around Australia in four States, but significant declines in Western Australia and South Australia. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source, which has interviewed an average of around 5,300 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade.
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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ
Labor accused of breaking law on migration rules
Original article by Luke Kinsella
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 7-Jan-26
The federal government is under scrutiny over the growing backlog of visa applications for the partners of Australian citizens. This reached a record high of 96,839 in June 2025, and it has increased by 72 per cent since Labor took office in May 2022. Both Labor and Coalition governments have capped partner visas, but migration expert Peter McDonald contends that this is illegal and applications for such visas should be processed when they are received. Former immigration department bureaucrat Abul Rizvi says the government will eventually have to abide by the law on partner visas; however, he concedes that this would result in a higher permanent migration intake and an increase in net overseas migration.
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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY
Fix cruel taxes for younger workers: Kelty
Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 7-Jan-26
Former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty has urged the federal government to pursue tax reform, contending that the current tax system disadvantages younger workers in particular. Amongst other things, Kelty has advocated reducing the tax rates of wage earners who do not receive income from capital gains, trusts and negatively-geared properties. The Parliamentary Budget Office has forecast that the average tax rate for workers will rise to 27.8 per cent of their income over the next decade; this compares with about 24.5 per cent at present. Kelty notes that in contrast, investors who receive income from property and shares incur a maximum capital gains tax rate of just 23.5 per cent for assets that they have held for more than 12 months.
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ACTU, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE
Stokes seeks backing for big steel deal
Original article by Simon Evans, Kanika Sood
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 7-Jan-26
Wilson Asset Management portfolio manager John Ayoub has described a consortium’s offer of $30 per share for BlueScope Steel as an "opening gambit". He notes that previous bids for BlueScope have been pitched at around $33 per share. The takeover bid from the Ryan Stokes-led SGH Limited and US-based Steel Dynamics is valued at $13.2bn, but some market watchers believe that they will need to increase this to at least $15bn for the bid to succeed. Keith Chau from MST Marquee says Nippon Steel and POSCO are among the companies that could potentially make rival bids for BlueScope.
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BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, SGH LIMITED – ASX SGH, STEEL DYNAMICS INCORPORATED, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, MST MARQUEE, NIPPON STEEL AND SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION, POSCO
Take this expert advice, PM
Original article by Greg Brown, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 7-Jan-26
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese may yield to the growing pressure to hold a federal royal commission into the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. While Albanese has stated that Labor’s priorities are a review of the nation’s intelligence agencies and passing new hate speech and gun control laws, he has expressed willingness to "examine anything else required" in response to the terrorist attack. Sources have indicated that the government may formally announce a national public inquiry within days. Meanwhile, 32 intelligence and security experts have released a joint statement urging the government to hold a royal commission into both anti-Semitism and Islamist extremism.
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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET
Festive shoppers left with $90bn debt hangover
Original article by Cameron Micallef
The Australian – Page: 20 : 7-Jan-26
Australians’ credit card debt has increased every January since 2015. Canstar’s analysis of credit card data from the Reserve Bank suggests that consumers are likely to have spent about $86.8bn using credit cards since the start of November; based on trends over the last five years, an additional $28.9bn is likely to be spent using credit cards for the full month of January. Meanwhile, it is estimated that Australians now pay a combined $9.4m in credit card interest charges each day. Canstar notes that interest-free periods may be much shorter than the advertised length, depending on whether a purchase was made near the end of a card-holder’s billing cycle.
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CANSTAR PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA
Maduro defiant in the dock as Trump talks big on oil
Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Jan-26
President Donald Trump claims that US companies can rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure within 18 months, but concedes that it will require a "tremendous amount of money". He adds that oil companies will be reimbursed for this expenditure either by the US goverment or via revenue. Venezuela currently produces about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, and Rystadt Energy estimates that increasing this to three million barrels per day will require about $US183bn of investment over the next decade. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s former president Nicolas Maduro has told a New York court that he had been kidnapped by US forces at his home in Caracas, and that he is still Venezuela’s leader.
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UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Bankers hoping busy year will see M&A cash roll in
Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Joanne Tran
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 7-Jan-26
Data from Dealogic shows that $US92.8bn worth of mergers and acquisitions targeting Australian companies were announced during 2025; this eight per cent higher than in 2024, and the highest level of activity since calendar 2021. Australia-based companies in turn pursued $US11.82bn worth of deals offshore. Marissa Freund from Goldman Sachs and Tim Joyce from Macquarie Capital are amongst those who expect M&A activity to remain strong in 2026. Meanwhile, global M&A activity totalled $US5.1trn in 2025, which is 42 per cent higher year-on-year.
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DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD
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