Ben Mckay

The federal government's signature housing policy appears to have triggered a divergence in the market, making lower-priced houses less affordable for first homebuyers.

Cheaper houses have lift-off as guarantee takes effect Ben McKay Thu 8 January 2026 at 3:27 am GMT+2 3 min read The federal government's signature housing policy appears to have triggered a divergence in the market, making lower-priced houses less afforda... See more

The under-insured plight of Australia's farmers has been borne out by a slow trickle of claims from northwest Queensland's floods to date.

New Zealand growth has roared back to life with a 1.1 per cent result last quarter, but remains a smaller economy than a year ago.

New Zealand is on track to record its worst deficit this decade, and go the whole 2020s without posting a budget in the black.