Australia news live: Albanese spruiks housing policy; Moira Deeming to take stand in defamation case

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The prime minister will be looking to put pressure on the coalition and Greens to pass two signature housing reforms during a visit to Sydney today, Australian Associated Press reports.

Anthony Albanese is due to meet a homeowner who used a government program to enter the market.

Labor’s schemes before the Senate – help to buy and build to rent – have faced criticism that they would not make housing affordable.

The help to buy scheme would reduce the requirements for deposits for first home buyers through a government loan guarantee.

It’s estimated 40,000 Australians would be able to buy their first property using the government program.

A similar program, the home guarantee scheme, had already been used by 120,000 people, among them the homeowner being visited on Tuesday by the prime minister.

Albanese said parliament had an opportunity to expand housing access:

Australians want to own their own home. Parents want their kids to be able to enter the housing market.

Australians want solutions. It’s time for the Coalition and the Greens to stop blocking so we can get on with building more homes.

SA’s renewable energy record

Reged Ahmad speaks to environment reporter Petra Stock about how South Australia created a renewable energy world record – and how it plans to power the entire state with weather-dependent electricity in just a few years.

Listen to the pod here:

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to the rolling news blog. I’m Martin Farrer and before Amy Remeikis comes along I will be running through a few of the top stories this Tuesday morning.

The latest part of our investigation into the real estate market has revealed that convicted criminals and unlicensed agents are operating in the real estate sector across multiple states. Authorities across the country report having fielded hundreds of complaints from prospective homebuyers about unlicensed agents.

The NSW local elections are showing a mixed bag of outcomes. Labor had some strong showings in areas such as Wollongong but a drop in support in key areas such as western Sydney. Perhaps with that in mind, Anthony Albanese will be in the city today to spruik the government’s home-buying scheme. Later in the day he will be addressing a different constituency when he speaks at the Business Council of Australia annual dinner. More coming up.

The big story in Victoria is a defamation trial where Liberal leader John Pesutto has been sued by ousted MP Moira Deeming. Deeming will be giving evidence today. We will have all the details as they unfold.