☕️ Could 5% get you a home?

I’m a sucker for a weather stat - so it’s a shoutout to readers in Perth, who just experienced the coldest day in 50 years. 50! Years!

Yesterday’s maximum of 11.4°C matched the shivers of July 29, 1975, but the 2025 edition featured some rain and hail too. The rain is set to stick around for the next couple of days, continuing what I’ve been told is a very, very rainy winter for the West.

“I bear her no ill will. My prayer for her is that she will use her time in jail wisely to become a better person. Now I am no longer Erin Patterson’s victim, and she has become the victim of my kindness.”
The sole survivor of the fatal beef wellington lunch, Ian Wilkinson, during his victim impact statement to convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson. Patterson served Ian, his wife Heather, her sister Gail and her husband Don a meal laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023. Ian was hospitalised for months after the lunch, but ultimately survived.

90%
The percentage of teachers who are experiencing severe stress, according to new research from UNSW. The study found teachers experience depression, anxiety and stress at three times the national average.

The average colour of the universe is called 'Cosmic latte'. In a 2002 study, astronomers found that the light coming from galaxies averaged into a beige colour that’s close to white.

A Queensland court has ruled Brisbane City Council unlawfully discriminated against an environmental activist group by banning it from using public libraries and facilities.

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision comes six years after the council voted to introduce the ban on members of Extinction Rebellion.

The case was brought by one group member, who argued she was discriminated against because of her political beliefs.

The tribunal ordered the council to overturn the ban.

Extinction Rebellion is an international political movement, which says it uses “non-violent direct action and civil disobedience” to lobby governments to address climate change.

In Australia, the group has orchestrated large-scale protests, including blockades of bridges in major cities.

Following a series of protests, multiple Australian jurisdictions introduced harsher penalties for protesters found to have caused disruptions to public transport, traffic, or major infrastructure.

In 2019, Brisbane City Council passed a motion banning Extinction Rebellion from using the city’s publicly owned facilities for meetings.

At the time, the council argued its spaces were “not suitable meeting places for organisations that advocate or incite illegal activities,” finding the group fell into that category.

Members were notified of the ban the following day, with existing bookings immediately cancelled.

Following the ban, Extinction Rebellion member Miree Le Roy filed a legal complaint against the council, accusing it of breaching Queensland’s anti-discrimination laws.

In her defence, Le Roy said Extinction Rebellion is a global movement, with about 4,000 members in Queensland.

She argued the group is a “community collective of like-minded individuals,” and that the ban unfairly impacted thousands of people “who have the same political belief”.

The council defended its decision, arguing that a “substantial purpose” of Extinction Rebellion is to “engage in large-scale, coordinated and premeditated unlawful activities”.

It maintained that Le Roy and the group were not treated less favourably than others “on the basis of [their] beliefs or activities”.

This week, the tribunal sided with Le Roy, finding that because Extinction Rebellion has no formal membership structure, the ban was likely to impact a broad range of people, including those who “may have just subscribed to the website to get some information”.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

All first-home buyers will be eligible to put down a 5% deposit on a property from 1 October, down from the usual 20% deposit.

The maximum price of properties available to buy with the scheme will be limited, depending on the city or region. The Government will also cover lenders’ mortgage insurance.

Labor planned to expand the scheme from 2026, but has brought it forward, describing the move as a “game changer” for aspiring home owners.

However, independent housing experts and the Opposition have argued it should be more targeted.

The lower deposit scheme was first set up in 2020 to allow first-home owners to get a property with a 5% deposit.

Banks usually ask for a 20% up-front deposit for a home purchase.

The scheme is currently capped at a certain number of places annually. In 2024/25, it was limited to 50,000 new entrants to the property market.

The scheme also currently has income caps — $125,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples.

In April, Labor announced it would expand the current scheme to all first-home buyers from 2026 if it won the May election.

On Monday, it announced that the scheme will come into effect from 1 October.

This means there will no longer be income tests or limited places for first-home owners.

The change won’t require legislation, meaning the Government doesn’t need to rely on broader political support to pass the measure through Parliament.

There will continue to be limits on the value of properties first home-buyers can purchase with a 5% deposit. However, the new limits will be higher than the existing caps.

For example, a Sydney or Newcastle home will be capped at $1.5 million for those on the scheme. Currently, it’s $900,000.

Regional Western Australia homes will be capped at $600,000, up from the existing limit of $400,000.

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the average property price in Australia has recently climbed above $1 million.

Banks and lenders usually require buyers who don’t have a 20% deposit to pay for Lender’s Mortgage Insurance.

This is a safety net for a bank providing a mortgage (loan), in case the buyer struggles to pay off their home loan in the future or sells their property at a lower value than when it was purchased.

While the bank takes out the insurance policy, it requires the buyer to pay the insurance bill, which can run to tens of thousands of dollars.

The Government will become a ‘guarantor’ for the lenders’ insurance, meaning a new homeowner won’t have to pay for it.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said the Government wants to ensure more renters own a home.

“It’s just not right that an entire generation of young Australians have been locked out of the housing market — saving for decades while paying off someone else’s mortgage,” O’Neil said.

She said it could help people who are saving for a home deposit buy a house “seven or eight years” earlier.

Shadow Housing Minister Senator Andrew Bragg said the scheme will “help on the margins”.

However, he cautioned against the “uncapped” income limits, saying it’s opened the scheme up to “the children of billionaires”.

“The taxpayer is underwriting mortgage insurance schemes for extremely wealthy people,” Bragg told the ABC.

He called the housing crisis “a supply side challenge”.

Housing expert and author Peter Mares told TDA he’s concerned about opening up the scheme to those “who don’t need it”.

He also urged anyone applying for lower deposits to “stress test” their personal circumstances, such as relationship breakdowns, having children, interest rate rises, and job losses.

“ Instead of buying with a 20% deposit and an 80% mortgage, they’re now buying with a 5% deposit and a 95% mortgage. So there is a higher risk here of people getting into financial trouble,” Mares said.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

If you dread seeing your weekly screen time, this might be the phone for you.

The Nothing Phone (3) isn’t here to take over your life – it’s built to blend into it. With a sleek, see-through design and glowing Glyph lights, it’s refreshing, not overwhelming.

Plus, it's got Gemini Live - your built-in AI assistant that helps with recipes, planning, tech fixes and more, all through a natural back-and-forth chat.

Buy now, pay later at Optus.

🍊 An NRL star has been charged with betting and drug offences.
🍊 At the Rugby World Cup, the Wallaroos smashed Samoa.
🍊 The U.S. Open main draw is officially underway.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: cricket, AFL, and more…

Bees are a key part of the global ecosystem, pollinating crops to allow them to reproduce, helping biodiversity and directly impacting the food we eat. They need a specific nutrient in the pollen they consume from flowers, which is increasingly difficult to find in nature. Beekeepers have resorted to giving their bees artificial replacements, but these options have lacked the proper nutrients. Now, British and Danish researchers have developed a more “nutritionally complete” option. During recent trials, bees that ate this new pollen replacement reproduced at higher rates compared to other bees. The scientists used gene-editing technology to engineer a “sustainable and affordable” pollen replacement. It’s hoped the breakthrough could support bee colonies and global food supplies for years to come.

Want more good news? Sign up for our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

The UK Government has announced plans to ban people from pubs in place of jail time.

Under a new bill, judges would be able to bar offenders from pubs, football matches, concerts, and other social venues, alongside conditions like drug testing or travel limits.

UK Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood said: “When criminals break society’s rules, they must be punished. Those serving their sentences in the community must have their freedom restricted there too.”

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

Over the weekend, both Erik and Lyle Menendez were denied parole by a California review board. The brothers have spent more than three decades in prison for murdering their parents.

Renewed interest in the case saw them resentenced in May, marking what many saw as their best chance at freedom in over 30 years. But the parole hearings revealed previously unknown details about their conduct behind bars.

Today, we're unpacking what came out in these hearings, the violations that swayed the board's decision, and what avenues remain for the brothers' potential release.