In order to ease the domestic housing crisis, the Australian government recently issued a “purchase restriction order” to strictly restrict foreign investors from buying houses in Australia.

The Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported on the 16th that according to the new regulations of the Australian government, foreign buyers will not be allowed to buy houses and buildings (stock houses) that have been built in Australia from April 1 this year. The validity period of the “purchase restriction order” will last until March 31, 2027, when the Australian government will decide whether to extend it depending on the situation. In addition to foreign investors and “house speculators”, the new regulations also apply to “temporary residents” – such as international students and short-term residents with work visas, as well as foreign companies. However, AAP said that new houses under construction are not affected by the “purchase restriction”. In addition, the Australian government will also crack down on the “land hoarding” behavior of foreign real estate developers in Australia, requiring existing vacant land to be developed within a reasonable time.

Singapore’s Straits Times reported that the continuous rise in housing prices in recent years has exacerbated Australia’s livelihood crisis. Take Sydney as an example. In the past decade, the city’s housing prices have soared by 70%, with the median house price reaching 1.2 million Australian dollars (about 5.53 million yuan), and rents are also rising. The housing shortage problem in New South Wales is particularly prominent. According to a government report, the state’s affordable housing gap for low-income groups will exceed 220,000 units in 2022. This predicament even threatens the ruling party’s election prospects. Those in power are worried that young people who cannot afford to buy a house will no longer vote for them. The Global Times special correspondent observed that soaring housing prices have become one of the key factors affecting Australia’s social stability. At the same time, the issue of controlling the rapid growth of housing prices is also one of the core topics of this year’s Australian election. However, according to the media, the Labor government’s new policy has an impact of less than 0.4% on the country’s entire property market, and its actual effectiveness has aroused widespread doubts from the media. What’s more ironic is that this new regulation almost “copied” the concept proposed by the opposition last year. At that time, the Labor Party also criticized the opposition leader Dutton for this idea. “Psychological disorder.”

The country’s Housing Minister O’Neill said on the 16th that the new rules are aimed at “ensuring that more young Australians can own homes” and are a “good policy that benefits the public.” But she also admitted that the “purchase restriction order” is not a “panacea” to solve the housing crisis, and the government does not have a perfect solution at all.

The Australian government is ready to nationalize the country’s third-largest airline, provided that bankruptcy management experts cannot find a buyer for the troubled Australian airline.

Regional Express entered voluntary administration in July last year. The Australian government said it would not bid for Regional Express, but would step in if administrator EY could not find a buyer.

Regional Express had a market value of about A$64 million when it entered administration. Since December 2020, the company’s stock price has fallen by more than 75%.

A senior trade adviser to U.S. President Trump said Australia is “killing” the U.S. aluminum market and that the Australian prime minister’s efforts to obtain an exemption from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, which will take effect next month, may be in vain. On Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Albanese spoke with Trump by phone, and Albanese said Trump agreed to consider exempting Australia from steel and aluminum tariffs.

Albanese has been under intense pressure from local lawmakers and business executives to obtain an exemption before the May 17 election. Navarro, a senior U.S. trade and manufacturing adviser, accused Australian exporters of flooding the U.S. market and violating the trade agreement between the two countries. “Australia is killing our aluminum market,” Navarro said. “President Trump said, no, no, we will not accept the status quo anymore.” “They are flooding our market.” “This is what we are dealing with. Our aluminum industry is at risk.”

The Australian parliament has passed laws that will provide production tax breaks for critical minerals and renewable hydrogen to boost its energy transition plan, which aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The Australian government said the laws passed on Tuesday will provide a 10% tax break on the processing and refining costs of 31 critical minerals in the fiscal years ending June 2028 to 2040, for up to 10 years per project. “By processing more of these minerals in Australia, we will create jobs and diversify global supply chains,” said Resources Minister Madeleine King.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese said on December 1 that he was willing to discuss Australia’s social media ban on minors with Musk, the owner of social platform X.

On November 28, the Senate of the Australian Federal Parliament passed a bill to ban minors under the age of 16 from using most social media platforms. The new law is due to take effect in 12 months.

“Elon Musk, he has his own agenda, and as the owner of X, he has the right to advance this agenda,” Albanese added on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s program.

The bill does not specify which platforms will be banned. However, Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland previously stated that the ban applies to Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Companies that fail to take reasonable measures to prevent minors under the age of 16 from using their platforms will face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, Tesla CEO and X owner, has repeatedly opposed Australia’s ban.

The Australian Anti-Dumping Commission issued Announcement No. 2024/085, stating that in response to an application submitted by Australian domestic company Capral Limited, it launched the third anti-dumping and countervailing duty sunset review investigation on aluminum profiles imported from China.

The dumping investigation period of this case is from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, and the injury investigation period is from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2024.