Australia news live: Labor’s goal of building 1.2m homes in a decade was a ‘pipe dream’, experts say; ‘strong enthusiasm’ in US for Aukus, Conroy says

Achieving Labor’s 1.2m homes target requires ‘nearly a miracle’

Patrick Commins

New figures confirm that the government’s goal of building 1.2m homes in a decade was always a “pipe dream”, experts say.

We needed to build an average of 240,000 homes a year for five years starting in mid-2024 to reach Labor’s self-styled “ambitious” 2029 target embedded in its housing accord.

Given the country has never built that number of homes in a year before and there are well-known issues with the high cost and complexity of construction, expectations were already rock-bottom.

So it’s no surprise that in the first year, we are already running 65,700 homes behind.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows 174,271 new homes were completed in the 2024-25 financial year.

Cameron Kusher, an independent property expert, said the housing accord “was always a pipe dream and remains so”.

Shane Garrett, the chief economist at Master Builders Australia, said the bar was now “significantly” higher for the remaining four years if Labor hoped to reach the 1.2m homes target. He said:

It would take nearly a miracle for them to actually hit the target.

Updated at 00.45 EDT

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SA police say no new evidence in search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont

No new evidence has been found on the second day of the renewed search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont in South Australia’s mid-north.

South Australian police released a statement saying:

More than 100 search team members, including SA Police, ADF members and SES volunteers, have each been walking between 20 and 25 kilometres each day in hot, harsh conditions.

With temperatures of 36 degrees and strong northerly winds expected in the search area on day 3, Thursday 16 October, searching is expected to start at sunrise and conclude at midday.

Gus was last seen at his family’s homestead on Saturday 27 September. The continued search for the little boy is being conducted as part of Task Force Horizon.

ADF assisting in the search for missing boy Gus Lamont in South Australia’s mid-north. Photograph: SA PoliceShare

Updated at 02.03 EDT

‘It is about time we stopped this worldwide apology tour’: Hume praises Paterson’s speech

The Liberal senator Jane Hume has also praised James Paterson ’s speech, saying it is “so dull and boring when Liberals talk about themselves”.

I read it and thought it was excellent, reminding us that the Liberal Party when it began in the 1940s brought together 11 different political groups that were non-Labor and those group sorted out their differences, worked at the values that bound them together and the objectives they had of presenting a solid opposition, an alternative government to a Labor government what we are facing today and what we should be doing.

It is so dull and boring when Liberals talk about themselves, it is about time we stopped this worldwide apology tour and started getting together that legislative agenda, alternative policy agenda we can take to the next election and hold this terrible government to account for its failures to deliver on its promises, whether it be lower energy prices or cheaper housing or lower cost to go to the doctors, all those things they are failing on. That is what we should concentrate on, not talk about ourselves.

Liberal senator Jane Hume. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare

Updated at 02.08 EDT

Trump administration and Congress have shown ‘strong enthusiasm’ for Aukus, Conroy says

Pat Conroy says there is “strong enthusiasm” in both the Trump administration and Congress around Aukus.

Congress is a co-equal branch of the government and they are very enthusiastic about it and I’ve had good engagement with the Trump administration, obviously being respectful and giving them space to conduct their review and not prejudging it.

But I’ve had very successful meetings with senior members of the Trump administration about how Aukus is meeting every milestone and giving the ADF access to the best equipment in the world but supporting US efforts to upgrade their submarine force and solve some challenges they have.

Updated at 01.58 EDT

Conroy says defence partnership with US gives Australia control of selling missiles built here

Asked to explain how the new defence partnership provides more independence if it is being done in concert with the US, and what capacity is there for Australia to operate these facilities independently or sell them to other countries, Pat Conroy says:

Well we will be building the missiles ourselves rather than relying on long supply lines – so the first factory being built is the first that builds these missiles – the joint naval strike missiles … outside of Norway.

We will be … just building them for our region and the second factory will be the first factory outside the US building what’s called the guided multiple rocket system.

We won’t be relying on imports for these missiles. It gives us more sovereignty and ultimately we will have control of who we sell them to but the logical partner of the factory is the United States since there is a 14,000 backlog there …

This is a definition of a win-win. We get more independence by building missiles we use in Australia and more jobs but we contribute to our Alliance – and this is an example of a shift to a co-designed coproduction co-sustainment model.

Updated at 01.40 EDT

Defence industry minister says deal with US will give Australia greater manufacturing capacity at home

The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, is in Washington DC, meeting with senior Trump administration figures and announcing the progression of a defence partnership which will see Australia prepare to begin producing guided missiles.

Speaking to ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Conroy explained the two strategic objectives behind it:

The first is self-reliance and greater sovereignty in Australia. We’re at the end of very long supply chains and both the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have demonstrated you need to be able to manufacture more defence equipment than previously we have.

We’ve committed to building two missile factories in this country to equip the Australian Defence Force with long-range strike, to help deter conflict in our region.

The second is recognising we have a strong partnership with the US, who faces their own constraints and a large backlog of orders – so by building factories with excess capacity beyond what we need, we have the opportunity to be a second supply source for the United States and other partners which means more jobs for Australians, more security for our ally and greater options for the Australian Defence Force.

Updated at 01.36 EDT

Australian shares eye record as banks and miners rally

Strong performances from the banking and mining sectors have helped lift Australia’s stock market to a second-straight session of gains, as gold hit yet another record high, AAP reports.

The S&P/ASX200 gained 80.1 points on Wednesday, up 0.90%, to 8,979.5, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 79.4 points, or 0.86%, to 9,287.9.

Nearly all 11 local sectors ended higher, led by a bounce in banking stocks and continued strength in the raw materials segment, which notched a record close for a second-straight session.

Iron ore giants BHP and Rio Tinto were strong, along with goldminers as the precious metal topped $US4,190 ($A6,433) an ounce for the first time, buoyed by safe haven inflows and dovish talk from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

The Australian dollar is slightly stronger against the greenback, buying 65.15 US cents, up from 64.69 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.

Updated at 01.15 EDT