News Australia

Ongoing discount loans lose momentum Borrowers’ preference for fixed rate home loans is continuing at an unrelenting pace regardless of recent cash rate cuts, national loan approval data from Mortgage Choice has revealed. Fixed rate loans accounted for 24% of all new home loan approvals during December 2011, up from 21% in November and well [...]

We’re on a roll with environmentally-friendly work tips and here are five more great ideas if you have the ear of the boss. 1. Cleaning Products Whether you’re using an independent cleaning person or the building management has staff in place, now is the time to switch cleaning products to greener versions to drastically reduce [...]

Fixed term mortgages hit 3.5 year high in October Basic variable rates were the most popular with new home loan borrowers only 11 months ago, but today they have been far surpassed by ongoing discount rates and fixed rates, according to loan approval data from Mortgage Choice, Australia’s largest independently-owned mortgage broker. At that time, [...]

It can sometimes feel like making earth-friendly choices means spending more money.  Well, the good news is that being green doesn’t have to break the bank. With a little creative thinking, it’s easy to ditch the high prices of trendy eco products and go green at no cost. Here are the first five of our [...]

One in 10 Australian households is in housing stress and at risk of financial hardship and poverty, a new report says. Renters and first home buyers are most under pressure, with 26 per cent of renters and 15 per cent of first home buyers in housing stress, the Australians for Affordable Housing (AAH) said on [...]

Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 5.1 per cent in July, official figures show. The June figure was an unrevised 4.9 per cent. Total employment was steady at 11.450 million in the month. Full-time employment fell by 22,200 to 8.055 million in July and part-time employment was up 22,100 at 3.395 million. The July participation rate [...]

Australian kids are clashing with their parents over the importance of climate change, a survey has found. The survey, by research groups Bayer and the CSIRO, found one in three families disagree on the importance of climate change with one in five parents saying they didn’t believe in climate change. "It is encouraging to see [...]

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has spared borrowers an interest rate rise, leaving the cash rate at 4.75 percent in a widely expected move. The Reserve Bank last increased the overnight cash rate in November 2010 to 4.75 percent from 4.5 percent and most economists still expect a rate rise this year. “We expect [...]

THE appearance of the deadly Hendra virus in a dog is unprecedented, Queensland authorities say. A dog from a property already under quarantine near Beaudesert in south-east Queensland yesterday tested positive to Hendra. Queensland chief vet Dr Rick Symons said it was the first time outside of a laboratory that an animal other than a [...]

Biosecurity experts from NSW and Queensland will hold a crisis meeting today to discuss the first case of Hendra in a dog. The male kelpie, a family pet, lives on a property at Mount Alford in Queensland’s southeast where three horses have died of the virus. Premier Anna Bligh’s described the development as very worrying. [...]