Australia news live: Julian Hill claims Labor has ‘won the debate’ on housing tax changes; homelessness soars in NSW | Australia news


Labor MP claims government has ‘won the debate’ on housing tax changes

Luca Ittimani

A Labor MP has declared victory in the debate over the government’s tax reforms, engaging in a bit of meta-commentary at the end of parliament’s sitting fortnight.

Julian Hill made the comments on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing on Thursday.

Hill said:

double quotation markI believe the government’s won the debate on negative gearing. I believe we’ve won the debate on capital gains tax on property.

And we’re winning the debate, we got a way to go, on removing the distortion that would otherwise be there. … I think we’re winning the debate … Start ups and so on, we are still engaging on.

But I absolutely believe we’ve won the argument about property and giving young Australians a fair crack at the housing market.

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Homelessness is soaring in regional areas as advocates plead for more funding to stop simply shifting the problem and start solving it, Australian Associated Press reports.

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The number of people sleeping rough in New South Wales has increased 75% in six years, according to a Homelessness NSW report that relies on the state’s street count data.

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While the count in metropolitan Sydney is virtually unchanged between 2020 and 2026, it has surged 689% in the Illawarra Shoalhaven and southern NSW district, from 27 people to 213.

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The district encompassing NSW’s northern region and mid-north coast has also sky-rocketed from 407 people in 2020 to 1024 in 2026, leading it to become the state’s leading area for homelessness.

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Homelessness CEO Dominique Rowe said state government funding for support services needed a 50% boost, along with a commitment to build 10,000 social homes a year until they constitute 10% of all housing.

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“Homelessness services have a situation where 92% of people coming through their doors are not getting the assistance they need,” she told AAP.

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and tents under a bridge at Wentworth Park in Glebe, Sydney, in May”,”caption”:”Shelters and tents under a bridge at Wentworth Park in Glebe, Sydney, in May.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1780606117000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”16.48 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1780607167000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”17.06 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1780606886000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”17.01 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”17.01″,”title”:”Homelessness up 75% in NSW in past six years, report shows”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 4 Jun 2026 17.06 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 4 Jun 2026 16.48 EDT”},{“id”:”6a2136718f08037c52535374″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

A Labor MP has declared victory in the debate over the government’s tax reforms, engaging in a bit of meta-commentary at the end of parliament’s sitting fortnight.

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Julian Hill made the comments on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing on Thursday.

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Hill said:

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I believe the government’s won the debate on negative gearing. I believe we’ve won the debate on capital gains tax on property.

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And we’re winning the debate, we got a way to go, on removing the distortion that would otherwise be there. … I think we’re winning the debate … Start ups and so on, we are still engaging on.

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But I absolutely believe we’ve won the argument about property and giving young Australians a fair crack at the housing market.

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Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.

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After a week in which Labor’s tax reforms came under a lot of scrutiny, the MP Julian Hill told the ABC that he thinks the government is winning the argument for giving young people a chance at the housing market.

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And the number of people sleeping rough in New South Wales has increased 75% in six years, according to a Homelessness NSW report that relies on the state’s street count data.

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Key events

Homelessness up 75% in NSW in past six years, report shows

Homelessness is soaring in regional areas as advocates plead for more funding to stop simply shifting the problem and start solving it, Australian Associated Press reports.

The number of people sleeping rough in New South Wales has increased 75% in six years, according to a Homelessness NSW report that relies on the state’s street count data.

While the count in metropolitan Sydney is virtually unchanged between 2020 and 2026, it has surged 689% in the Illawarra Shoalhaven and southern NSW district, from 27 people to 213.

The district encompassing NSW’s northern region and mid-north coast has also sky-rocketed from 407 people in 2020 to 1024 in 2026, leading it to become the state’s leading area for homelessness.

Homelessness CEO Dominique Rowe said state government funding for support services needed a 50% boost, along with a commitment to build 10,000 social homes a year until they constitute 10% of all housing.

“Homelessness services have a situation where 92% of people coming through their doors are not getting the assistance they need,” she told AAP.

Shelters and tents under a bridge at Wentworth Park in Glebe, Sydney, in May. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian
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