Live news and politics: Donald Trump allies make wild bid to ban pregnant women from US

A sharp slowdown in home loan applications has fuelled fears Australia’s property market is cooling faster than expected, with the Reserve Bank warning Labor’s Budget changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, combined with higher interest rates, are weighing on housing demand.

Dwelling approvals fell for a third straight month in May while housing credit growth has slowed to its weakest pace in a year.

Home prices and auction clearance rates are also falling, with analysts predicting new lending growth could halve over the next 12 months.

Investment bank Macquarie says broker feedback suggests new lending is down 20 to 30 per cent on a year ago, with investor loans plunging by as much as 50 per cent.

Major banks, including Commonwealth Bank and NAB, have already cut investment loan rates as they compete for fewer borrowers.

The Reserve Bank acknowledged the housing market has softened more quickly than expected, saying the slowdown reflects both interest rate rises and Labor’s tax changes.

It warned a prolonged housing downturn could also drag on consumer spending and the broader economy.

Industry confidence has slumped to a five-year low, with the Property Council warning investment momentum is fading.

A new poll ahead of the Victorian election has shown One Nation has overtaken Labor and the Coalition for the first time as Premier Jacinta Allan’s approval rating plummets.

Pauline Hanson’s minor party recorded a primary vote of 27 per cent, ahead of both major party’s shared 26 per cent.

Her lead was recorded in the latest The Australian Financial Review/Redbridge/Accent Research poll conducted between June 17-28 of 5516 Victorians.

A two-party-preferred breakdown of respondent preferences shows Jess Wilson’s Coalition leading Labor 54 per cent to 46 per cent.

A senior Air Force officer has warned miners they must be prepared for the military to commandeer their airfields, skilled staff and possibly even accommodation and catering in a conflict.

The Australian Defence Force is already bracing for state-on-state conflict within the region, and the potential for that to be a drawn-out war, Group Captain Peter Noake told miners and business representatives at a conference in the Pilbara last week, in a previously unreported speech.

It needs civilian businesses to also be ready for what that might mean.

The speech from the RAAF’s most senior officer in WA comes after April’s National Defence Strategy listed civil preparedness as an explicit priority for the first time.

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The Labor government’s gambling legislation is set to be introduced on Thursday - with the Communications Minister revealing a crackdown on online promotion.

Communications Minister Anita Wells confirmed the legislation would bar influencers and former athletes from promoting gambling on podcasts or social media.

“One of the things we wanted to do with this package of reforms is address the influence of influencers in this space,” Ms Wells told Radio National on Thursday morning.

“But at the heart of the package, which is really significant reform, is trying to remove the insidious effect of gambling advertising on children where they experience it incidentally.”

Jacquie Lambie and Pauline Hanson are among 18 politicians who have signed a letter urging the government to stop a legal threat against Rex Patrick.

The former senator is seeking documents detailing where nuclear waste from the AUKUS submarine fleet will be stored within Australia, according to the Guardian.

Mr Patrick won an administrative appeal against the government for the release of the documents, however acting secretary for the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Julia Pickworth, is seeking for the decision to be overturned in Federal Court.

The case has resulted in an unlikely alliance across political parties, with Hanson and Lambie joining teal MPs Allegra Spender, independent Lidia Thorpe, and Greens senator David Shoebridge as signatories in a letter against the escalation.

“It is clear to us that this is an attack on our freedom-of-information regime, with the intent of deterring Australians from pursuing access to information,” the group said in a parliamentary letter.

Several supporters of US President Donald Trump have called for restrictions on pregnant women travelling to the US.

The comments come after Mr Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship in the US was rejected by the US Supreme Court on Tuesday.

In response, Tom Homan, who Mr Trump appointed as “border czar”, said border security should be stepped up, as reported by ​​The Guardian​​.

“Now, we step up enforcement”, he said.

“We step up more enforcement, even though we’re doing record amounts of enforcement now.

“We need to, you know, really buckle down on birth tourism.

“We have many investigations on birth tourism, but we need to triple, quadruple down on that”.

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Communications Minister Anika Wells has blasted the Coalition for having “piffed … off” tougher social media ban laws to an eight-week inquiry that she claims gives the tech giants time to start shredding documents.

The Government put legislation to Parliament this week to double the fines for social media companies that don’t take proper measures to bar under-16s from their platforms, and to give the eSafety commissioner stronger powers to compel them to hand over evidence.

“It’s a 500-word bill … It’s not complex, and I think Angus Taylor should explain why he is honestly giving big tech eight more weeks to prepare their case, eight more weeks to get their ducks in a row, potentially eight weeks to shred documents now that they know these changes are coming,” Ms Wells told Radio National.

“I think this is genuinely urgent. I’m crestfallen. Angus Taylor has decided to walk away from bipartisanship, and he should explain why he would make such a craven and expedient decision.”