Australia news live: Hegseth asks Marles to lift defence spending to 3.5% of GDP; house prices jump after rate cuts
Key events
Sprint sensation Lachie Kennedy broke the 100m 10-second barrier this weekend
21-year-old Lachie Kennedy became just the second Australia in history to run the 100m in less than 10 seconds this weekend. Kennedy won the event against a strong field in Nairobi on Saturday night, finishing with a time of 9.98 seconds, AAP reported. Kennedy said:
I was there to win today and bring it home, and I am super-stoked to get the win and the time. It’s so good. I can finally say I have run nine.
The only other Australian to achieve the celebrated feat was national record holder Patrick Johnson, who ran a sizzling 9.93 in Mito, Japan in 2003.
Andrew Messenger
Queensland premier hopes to find resolution with nurses union
Queensland’s premier, David Crisafulli, says strike action is the last thing he wants as the state’s union for nurses prepares to take industrial action this week.
The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union’s secretary, Sarah Beaman, said industrial action is “likely” this week. The union is locked in negotiations with the state government for a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
Crisafulli said he is confident there will be an agreement this week, noting on Sunday:
I hope it’s the last thing that the union wants as well.
The minister has engaged in good faith and in response, so too have the nurses’ union. And I do think we can get a deal. I do think there’s been a pretty good offer put forward, and it honours the commitment we’ve made. Now it’s important that we negotiate in good faith with them, and we will do that.
The government promised before last October’s election to guarantee “nation-leading” wages and conditions for nurses.
Beaman said they will conduct only relatively non-disruptive industrial action this week like wearing union pins and campaign shirts. About 96% of union members who took part in a recent strike ballot voted to walk off the job.
She described an updated government offer as “subpar”. The health minister, Tim Nicholls, said the union had yet to make a counteroffer, on Friday.
The QNMU’s 55,000 members have not been on strike since 2002.
Good morning
Happy Monday, Nick Visser here to take you through this morning’s breaking news. First up today:
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The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has asked Australia to increase its defense spending to 3.5% of its gross domestic product during a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles. Anthony Albanese pushed back against those calls at the Shangri-La Dialogue this weekend, but we didn’t know just how much Hegseth was asking for until this morning.
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House prices have surged after the RBA’s rate cut in May, with the median price across Australia sitting at $831,288 last month, AAP reports. Every capital city saw growth of 0.4% or more, largely due to buyers feeling better about their purchasing capacity.
Stick with us throughout the morning for more on these stories and whatever else the day brings.
