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Australia is experiencing its lowest birthrate since 1935, a troubling trend highlighted by recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The total fertility rate has plummeted to just 1.5 births per woman, with NSW and Queensland seeing declines of some 6 per cent.

ASIC reported 11,053 businesses failing in the first half of the 2024/2025 financial year alone – the highest six-month total on record. Construction accounts for more than a quarter of all business failures.

“We have to ensure that we haven’t not only shut the gate, but locked it and bolted it and then welded it shut,” Senator Kovacic said the challenge with the serviceability test was that APRA was always much quicker to raise it than it was to reduce it.

When it comes to the regulation of social media, the focus has rightly been on its impact on children and young people. We've seen heartbreaking stories of young lives lost due to online bullying, with cruelty that spreads quickly and unchecked.

From a human perspective, family relationships are under immense pressure and lots of people aren't doing OK. Ordinary Australians can't keep up with the cost of everything: food, petrol, electricity, gas and, of course, housing.