Australia politics live: Garth Hamilton storms out of question time after outburst; EY employee sacked after allegedly accessing PM’s bank account

According to The Guardian, Australia's housing market is cooling significantly. Forecasts suggest prices in Sydney and Melbourne could fall by more than one hundred thousand dollars. Auction clearance rates have softened in those cities, though they've improved elsewhere. The government is defending its recent capital gains tax reforms. Treasurer Jim Chalmers argued that modifying the capital gains tax discount to reflect actual gains fairly won't introduce new market distortions. He noted that softness in Sydney and Melbourne actually predated the budget announcements, suggesting broader economic forces may be driving the cooldown.

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