British Prime Minister Andy Burnham insists he is ready to take the difficult decisions required to ensure ‌the UK economy remains on track after data showed a rise in inflation and ‌as speculation mounts about what that means for an October 28 budget.

Britain is seen as ‌more vulnerable to surging oil prices from the war in the Middle East than other countries, and the inflation pick-up adds to the headache for finance minister John Healey, whose budget options are limited by the weak state of the public finances and rising borrowing ‌costs.

Burnham said the ‌acceleration in ⁠inflation to 3.1 per cent in August, a five-month high, was “a concern”, ​but his government would take action to help people while also applying prudence to the running of the economy.

“We will take difficult decisions to make sure the economy remains on track,” Burnham told reporters on Wednesday.

The underlying picture from the latest data was one of “resilience” in the economy, ⁠he said.

British government borrowing costs hit their ‌highest ​levels in decades this week as bond yields climbed globally on the back of worries ​about higher inflation ‌due to the escalating conflict in the Gulf.

On Tuesday, the 30-year gilt yield touched ​its highest level since 1998, while on Monday the 10-year yield rose to its highest since 2007.

Burnham’s insistence that he is ready to make tough choices to ​balance ​the books comes after criticism ​from former Bank of England official Andy Haldane, reported ‌to have been an adviser to Burnham in June before he became prime minister.

“The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax-and-spend socialist government with better TikTok videos,” Haldane told LBC on Thursday.

Burnham rejected that characterisation.

“We are not that already. I have taken ​difficult decisions in this job,” he said. “It’s not the case that we aren’t ​going to take difficult decisions.”

A long-awaited plan will be unveiled by the government to give it more levers to bring down migrant numbers to a “sensible” level. 

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will speak at the National Press Club on Thursday, more than a month after his initial appearance at the venue was cancelled at the last minute, with disagreement within cabinet about the changes.

The announcement is expected to detail how Labor will reduce net overseas migration from about 300,000 in 2025 to 245,000 in 2026/27 and 225,000 per year thereafter.

“We do need to get net overseas migration down,” Mr Burke said during Question Time on Wednesday.

“We need to make sure that we deal with the numbers overall, and do so in a sensible, targeted way that provides the easiest pathway through for the Australian economy.”

The government has not previously targeted a set figure for net migration.

But Labor has overshot its forecasts in successive budgets as a surge in visa hopping and vexatious asylum applications clogged the migration system.

The rise in popularity of One Nation, which announced its own migration plan on Monday, has ramped up pressure on Mr Burke to bring down the migrant intake.

While Labor has been working on a more comprehensive shake-up, Mr Burke has quietly tweaked visa processing settings and appeals processes through ministerial directives to massage the net migration figure without the need for legislation.

Negotiations between the government and the coalition on a comprehensive legislative package broke down in recent days, leaving him to settle for more regulatory tweaks.

“A whole lot of our immigration system simply functions by virtue of applications being made, and processing speeds is one of the only things with planning levels that we currently have available,” Mr Burke said.

“The more tools that are available, the better we can target the system. The best form of outcome there will be if we are able to sort our way through for a legislative option.

“In the absence of that, there are still more levers that the government will be able to use and I’ll be making those announcements tomorrow.”

Labor’s use of those ministerial levers has sparked a backlash from employers.

Farmers say a processing freeze for working holiday visas has left them short of staff during harvesting season.

A slowdown on offshore applications for skilled migrants has put pressure on construction firms trying to find labourers to build new homes, Housing Industry Association managing director Jocelyn Martin said.

“What we’re after is a transparent system that can be relied on, and that is consistent, and that is suitable for the construction industry,” she told reporters.

“A very small portion of skilled migration visas are issued to construction workers at the moment, and I think it’s important that we delve deeper into why that might be, and what are the barriers to that.”

One Nation’s migration plan would leave the existing intake of working holiday visas unchanged, but slashes net overseas migration temporarily into negative territory before settling at 130,000 per year.

The coalition is working on a plan to tie net overseas migration to the amount of new homes built, currently about 173,000 per year.

Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson said he was sceptical about Labor’s ability to deliver its migration plan.

“As for our own policy, we are close to releasing it, but we’re actually going to do the work to get it right because we are not the government,” he told reporters in Canberra.

“We’re not going to put out a half-baked policy like One Nation has that hasn’t even been costed, the budgetary impacts of which they have no idea.”

Mr Burke’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Opening the door to artificial intelligence should not jeopardise copyright laws, experts say, as an AI giant secures a deal to use a multibillion-dollar data centre in Australia.

Anthropic has signed its first long-term lease in the nation with the largest data centre project in Australia to run its popular Claude AI model.

Singapore-based developer Zerra DC has forked out about $30 billion to build the data centre based more than 200km west of Brisbane.

The deal comes against the backdrop of an emerging debate between developers and the federal government over copyright laws possibly blocking future AI investment.

Creatives such as musician Micah Heathwood face significant headwinds across the sector without the capacity to take on the big tech companies.

Heathwood is a member of Canberra-based band dogworld, which had a few of its songs scraped to train an AI model.

“It being taken with no consent, obviously is just like not news you want to receive,” he told AAP.

“At least with Australian copyright law, if it gets used for anything else, kind of ever, it has to be noted down.”

Comments from an OpenAI executive published on Tuesday warned the company could not invest in training centres in Australia under copyright settings.

Unlike data centres which facilitate AI programs such as ChatGPT, training centres are used to develop the AI models by scraping content often without the consent or knowledge of creators.

Australian Society of Authors chair Jennifer Mills said writers were among the lowest-paid creative workers in the nation and wanted copyright to be respected.

“We earn on average $18,000 a year from our work,” she told AAP.

“Albanese promised ‘the strongest possible protection’ for Australian creators, so that’s what we are looking for, and we’re not there yet.”

The prime minister pushed back on calls to water down copyright laws to benefit AI firms during a major speech in July, when he announced a national framework for the rapidly expanding technology.

But a leaked attorney-general document tabled in the Senate on Tuesday showed Labor was considering giving rights holders the choice to opt-out control to stop their content being used to train AI but lose out on income.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has slammed the government for considering changes to copyright laws, labelling the proposed opt-out a “cop out”.

“It is the big tech companies who should be asking Australians whether they consent and want payment for their works,” she told reporters.

Australia’s recent world-leading tech reform in social media spaces has made it a prime target for companies to lobby for relaxed copyright laws, says AI expert Tony Walsh from the University of NSW.

“We’re quite a cheap place to lobby for change,” he told AAP.

“Not because they’re particularly going to put much time or effort or money into training models here, but because it will set a very important precedent, as our laws have in the digital space elsewhere.”

Professor Walsh said data centre investments had given the companies leverage to get favourable outcomes on copyright law.

Liberal frontbencher James Paterson has warned Australia must move fast on regulation or risk the national security benefits of hosting training centres.

But Prof Walsh said there was “absolutely no benefit” to national security by allowing an overseas company to train their models in Australia.

Copyright Agency chief Josephine Johnston said the increasing pressure from the likes of OpenAI reinforced the need for the government to stand strong against “unreasonable demands”.

“Tech needs creative output every bit as much as it needs a favourable environment for training,” she told AAP.

“It can’t seek to turn Australia into the ‘data laundering’ centre of the world by demanding that the government waters down our protections for creators.”

Australian shares have overcome a shaky start to finish the session higher, led by a recovery in miners after an afternoon upswing in metals prices.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 24 points on Wednesday, up 0.28 per cent, to 8,696.5, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 25.2 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 8,874.5.

After cautious morning trade and several sessions of de-risking ahead of a key US interest rate decision, the greenback eased as US bond yields backed off multi-year highs, supporting recently under-pressure copper and gold prices.

BHP notched its first positive session in a week to reclaim the $60 per share level, while the local gold sub-index rebounded 1.4 per cent as the precious metal firmed to $US4,327 ($A6,067) an ounce.

The Australian dollar is buying 71.32 US cents, up from 71.19 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.

Changes to property tax breaks in the federal budget are working, the housing minister says, as data shows most home vendors are still making massive profits despite a downturn.

Clare O’Neil brushed off figures from the Housing Industry Association showing a 10 per cent fall in new homes sales in August, arguing Australia’s housing market was broken before the budget.

Property industry groups continue to attack the tax changes, which they say have caused developers to retreat from the market and impacted new supply.

But the new home sales figures did not paint the full picture, Ms O’Neil said.

“There’s lots of data that tells us that the tax changes are doing exactly what we want,” she told Channel Seven’s Sunrise program on Wednesday.

Housing approvals were still rising, more investor home loans were going into new supply and the dollar value of investment in new builds was at record levels, the minister said.

Over time, the changes in the budget would also help boost supply, Ms O’Neil said.

But a ban on self-managed super funds from borrowing to buy property was undermining new supply, Housing Industry Association managing director Jocelyn Martin said.

Extending carve-outs for new builds – which are already available for negative gearing and capital gains tax changes – to limited recourse borrowing for SMSFs would help investors stay in the market and limit rental growth, Ms Martin said.

But the broader downturn was having an impact on feasibility, regardless of any concessions for new supply.

National dwelling values declined 1.5 per cent over the June quarter, according to data provider Cotality.

However, years of strong growth – prices were still more than 67 per cent higher than six years earlier – mean most homes are still being sold for a hefty profit.

In the June quarter, 95.4 per cent of sales made a gain, down from the 21-year high of 96.1 per cent share recorded in the three months to March.

Vendors rake in a combined $35.9 billion in profit in the quarter.

“Profitability is still exceptionally high by historical standards, but we are starting to see the impact of weaker housing market conditions flow through to resale outcomes,” Cotality head of research Gerard Burg said.

“Most sellers are still benefiting from the significant value growth accumulated over the past five years, which is providing considerable protection against the early stages of the downturn. 

“With home values falling across more markets, that buffer will become increasingly important in determining resale outcomes.”

Home owners who held onto their property for a longer period of time were better able to ride out the cyclical ebbs and flows.

“Owners who have held their property for nine or 10 years have generally experienced several periods of value growth, giving them a much larger equity buffer when market conditions weaken,” Mr Burg said.

Houses that sold for a profit were held for a median 9.3 years, compared with the typical holding time of 4.4 years for loss-making house resales.

Overall, 97.8 per cent of houses were sold for a profit, underscoring the growth advantage of freestanding homes over units. Only 90.5 per cent of unit sales made a profit.

Sydney was still the top money spinner in dollar terms, with a total profit of $6.6 billion. 

But the proportion of sales that made a profit eased to 92.7 per cent, well below Brisbane which recorded a profit in 99.8 per cent of sales.

Nationally, the median gain eased from a record $378,000 to $371,000, while the median loss increased from $44,000 to $45,000.

A major plumbing supplies group has agreed to be acquired by one of the world’s biggest private equity groups – unless it gets a higher offer.

Melbourne-based Reliance Worldwide could be bought out by Brookfield Asset Management in a $US2.8 billion ($3.9 billion) deal that would see it delisted from the stock exchange and taken private.

The deal includes what’s known as a “go shop” provision, which gives Reliance’s board until October 15 to solicit alternative offers from other parties. 

Brookfield is offering shareholders $US3.38 ($4.75) per share, after Reliance’s board rejected three lower offers of $4.15, $4.25 and $4.50 per share in April and May.

The latest offer is a premium of 43 per cent to Reliance’s average share price over the past six months, representing a potential bonanza for its shareholders.

Its shares jumped 4.3 per cent to $4.52 on Wednesday, before falling back to $4.50.

Reliance chairman Russell Chenu confirmed the “go shop” process gave the board the chance to explore broader buyer interest and shareholders would be fully informed.

Brookfield has the right to match any superior counteroffer.

If shareholders agree to Brookfield’s offer, the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. 

Reliance was founded in 1949 in Brisbane as a small tool shop, Reliance Manufacturing Company, which sold innovative valve systems to improve the safety of hot water heaters.

The business evolved over the years through various owners and acquisitions, eventually listing on the ASX in 2016.

It has around 2800 employees across 58 global locations and makes most of its money in North America.

It sells push-to-connect plumbing fittings and water control products under the brands SharkBite, John Guest, Cash Acme and RMC Reliance.

It’s also the biggest maker of push-to-connect behind the wall plumbing gear in the world.

Reliance has been caught up in the US tariff regime imposed on goods exported from Australia to the US, which it has said poses a real challenge and has taken up a significant amount of management time. 

Pauline Hanson’s character is still a “10 out of 10” despite her apology for past comments labelling Indigenous Australians “the most primitive race on Earth”, Barnaby Joyce says.

The One Nation leader on Tuesday said she regretted her comments on First Nations people and apologised, but she stood by her opinion the culture was primitive compared to that of English settlers.

Mr Joyce said Senator Hanson should get top marks for acknowledging the comments and apologising for any harm caused.

“She gets 10 out of 10 for character for doing it straight away,” the One Nation MP told News24.

“I don’t need to encourage Pauline to do that. She can work that out very quickly for herself and I agree with her completely.”

Mr Joyce said that, in contrast, he was still waiting for the prime minister to apologise for “the melon issue” – a reference to comments and a suggestive hand gesture that Anthony Albanese made about a gift from the Japanese prime minister.

Senator Hanson took a day to apologise after her comments, made in a 2025 podcast interview, were reported, initially posting a clip of the remarks on social media and adding “you be the judge”.

She later accused the Liberal Party of digging up dirt on One Nation to discredit the rival right-wing party and distract from its policy announcements.

Liberal frontbencher James Paterson strongly refuted her claims.

“What One Nation is experiencing is the scrutiny that comes when you say you’re running to form a government and that’s unusual and uncomfortable for One Nation,” he told ABC radio.

“But you don’t need a private investigator to find a YouTube video of a podcast that Senator Hanson or Malcolm Roberts or other colleagues have recorded.”

Experts believe it’s unlikely the recent controversies will put a big dent in One Nation’s primary support, which has easily eclipsed that of the coalition for months, according to multiple polls.

Despite shocking many, Senator Hanson’s views should not come as a surprise, Monash University populism expert Benjamin Moffitt told AAP. 

“She does not like Indigenous people. She’s a far-right nativist, racist and nothing’s changed there,” he said.

Senator Hanson made headlines in 1996 when she called for the removal of government assistance for Indigenous Australians, comments that led to the Liberals dumping her as a candidate.

A creature of the political fringe, it took nearly 30 years for voters deserting the major parties to catapult her into the mainstream, Dr Moffitt said.

“That’s the difference here, One Nation is … trying to position themselves as the opposition,” he said.

Populists overseas had a bigger shield, even if their policies were perceived as cruel, Dr Moffit said, pointing to the ability of leaders such as US President Donald Trump to laugh off controversies.

“Hanson doesn’t quite have that and we see that Barnaby Joyce has to come in and clean up the mess,” he said.

Indigenous issues were unlikely to trouble One Nation’s headline polling figures, YouGov pollster Paul Smith told AAP. 

“The thing that has the greatest impact on her lead amongst working-class voters is her support for making it easier to sack workers … this is her actual Achilles heel,” he said. 

Those views were raised during a fiery speech from independent senator Jacqui Lambie on Tuesday, drawing parallels between Mr Trump, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Senator Hanson, who is backed by billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart.

“They care about hanging out with billionaires and feathering their own nests,” Senator Lambie said.

One Nation is level with Labor at 25 per cent of first-preference votes, according to Tuesday’s Roy Morgan poll.

New Zealand’s parliament has passed legislation to implement a free trade ‌agreement with India, under which tariffs on about 95 per cent of ‌Kiwi exports to India would be eliminated or ‌significantly reduced.

The legislation passed by a vote of 93-29, with support from the opposition Labour Party.

More than half of all products covered would become duty-free ‌from the day ‌it ⁠takes effect.

“For exporters, the benefits are ​immediate and substantial,” New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay said in a statement.

“We expect this high-quality agreement to enter into force this year, delivering on our promise to ⁠complete a free ‌trade agreement ​with India this term.”

Under the deal, all ​Indian goods will ‌receive duty-free access to New Zealand. Wellington has ​also agreed to invest $US20 billion in India over the next 15 years.

Both nations originally ​signed ​the trade agreement ​in April.

Two-way trade totalled $NZ3.99 billion ($A3.22 ‌billion) in the year to June 2026, with India ranking as New Zealand’s ninth-largest goods and services export market.

The trade deal will become effective ​after both nations complete their respective ratification procedures.

Mortgage applications have fallen, particularly among first-time homebuyers and young people, as the property market continues to soften.

Mortgage applications were down 14.1 per cent in August, compared to August 2025, according to consumer credit reporting agency Equifax.

Applications fell 21.7 per cent among 18- to 25-year-olds and 18.1 per cent among 26- to 35-year-olds, Equifax said.

Mortgage applications from first-time homebuyers were down 20.1 per cent, the largest year-on-year decline that Equifax has recorded among first-time homebuyers since 2022.

“Younger Australians continue to be the most impacted amid current market conditions and cost of living constraints,” said Kevin James, chief solution officer at Equifax.

Equifax’s data measures applications that go through the Equifax Consumer Credit Bureau by financial services credit providers in Australia.

All of Australia’s big four banks in August also reported double-digit declines in mortgage applications.

Commonwealth Bank, the nation’s biggest lender, said on August 12 that home loan applications were down 15 per cent since May, compared to a year ago.

Sweeping changes to Australia’s property tax rules announced in May, along with three interest rate hikes in February, March and May, have been blamed for the decline in property values.

August was the fifth straight month where mortgage demand was down compared to 2025, Equifax said.

Applications were down 10 per cent in May, 14 per cent in June and 16.4 per cent in July, Equifax said.

“It is positive in some respects to see it has not continued its downward trajectory from the past few months and has softened slightly,” Mr James said.

“However, consumers still appear to be apprehensive.”

Households appeared to be actively re-evaluating their commitments and choosing to hold off on taking on massive new capital obligations while using short-term and unsecured credit to maintain household flexibility, he said.

Equifax said credit card demand returned to growth in August, with applications up 2.9 per cent compared to August 2025, although this growth was driven mostly by older Australians. 

According to figures from property research group Cotality, national home prices have declined for five straight months since hitting a peak in March, dropping a total of 3.6 per cent since then.

William Buck chief economist Besa Deda predicted earlier in September that national dwelling prices would fall a total of five per cent in 2026 and another one per cent in 2027.

Sydney and Melbourne were likely to record the largest declines, at 11 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, Ms Deda forecast.

An Australian fashion retailer has gone into voluntary administration, leaving an uncertain future for staff at more than 50 stores.

Sydney-based fashion business Cue Clothing Co, which operates women’s labels Cue and Veronika Maine, was founded in 1968.

It was handed over on Tuesday to voluntary administrators Duncan Clubb and Shaun McKinnon of accounting company BDO, with Kate Warwick and Vaughan Strawbridge of FTI Consulting appointed as receivers.

The two labels have a combined total of 51 stores across Australia.

The companies’ clothes are also sold in department stores Myer and David Jones at dozens of locations.

In a statement, FTI Consulting said the company had been overwhelmed by overhead costs.

This was despite an increase in sales and other improvements across the business.

The company will continue trading as administrators look for buyers for the business to ensure staff keep their jobs. The receivers will also look at restructuring options.

Another Australian retailer, Barbeques Galore, collapsed in June, leaving 500 workers out of a job.

The company was placed into voluntary administration in February, with receivers tasked with finding a new buyer.

While there were several interested parties, receivers said there were no acceptable offers to recapitalise the business by late May.