Australia today wakes to the horror of a terrorist attack on a large crowd celebrating the Jewish Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach last evening. At least 12 people have died, including one of the two gunmen, and 29 people were injured, including two police officers. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was a targeted attack on Jewish Australians, and an act of evil anti-Semitism. Late last night, one of the alleged gunmen was identified as western Sydney bricklayer Naveed Akram, 24. Several improvised explosive devices were also removed by bomb disposal experts from a car parked on Campbell Parade at Bondi Beach which was linked to the deceased gunman. Overnight there has been an outpouring of support for the Australian Jewish community, from the Prime Minister, to King Charles III, to ordinary citizens.

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News in brief

The auction market is slowing down for the holiday season. Just under 3,000 homes went under the hammer across the five capital cities over the past week, with a preliminary clearance rate of just under 65 per cent – the lowest rate since last December. Over the past four weeks, prices have stalled in Sydney and Melbourne.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has “commenced steps” to repay taxpayers for part of a $16,000 trip she took to Perth in 2023 with her family. A spokesman for Rowland said she would make the repayment after the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority found on Friday that her use of family reunion entitlements did not meet the rule.

Former ANZ boss Shayne Elliott is suing his one-time employer after it stripped him of millions of dollars in bonuses last month.

The number of ETF investors in Australia has jumped 20 per cent and is on track to hit three million next year. The latest Betashares / Investment Trends ETF Report found 411,000 Australians started investing in ETFs in 2025, taking the total number of investors to 2.7 million.

Private capital giant Apollo Global Management has bought a minority stake in Wrexham AFC, the once sleepy Welsh football club whose fortunes and global profile have been transformed under the ownership of Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac (formerly McElhenney).

Fear-o-meter

The MYEFO is an opportunity for the federal government to demonstrate it is interested in fiscal reform. With the budget likely to be in deficit for the rest of this decade, it would be great to see Canberra pulling back on its profligacy.

On the income side, the budget will suffer from lower excise due to a slump in sales of legal tobacco. But it will benefit from a higher iron ore price than forecast. On the cost side, social welfare payments should be lower than expected due to the strong labour market.

There is also likely to be changes to the Electric Vehicle Discount programme, introduced three-and-a-half years ago. It was supposed to cost $90 million this financial year but is likely to cost $1.35 billion. It allows the purchase of an EV without paying FBT. It was supposed to kickstart the uptake of EVs and it succeeded.

Also, the government will inject $5 billion into its Cheaper Homes Batteries program. This was introduced to encourage use of battery storage in homes, small business and community organisations, and like the EV programme, it has over-delivered.

This Albanese government has a massive mandate. MYEFO provides them with an opportunity to use that mandate for good.

Fear & Greed Q+A today

The economic year in review, from interest rates and inflation to house prices and household spending:

 

“Let’s not conclude that the rate cutting cycle is over despite this market pricing… We haven’t finished the year with the economy strong. And that inflation dilemma that’s popped up in the last few months was driven by things that may yet prove to be transitory, dare I say it. The unwinding of the energy rebate for electricity, the unwinding of some childcare subsidies, administered prices on excise on tobacco, petrol and alcohol… things that are unlikely to be continued at such a pace in coming quarters. If we were to see the rate cutting cycle turn into a rate hiking cycle next year, it would be a very short cycle in terms of duration and in terms of magnitude."

Greed-o-meter

Around 10 per cent of the Australian population invests in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). These are the best-performing ETFs this year, according to Betashares and Bloomberg.

Source: Betashares, Bloomberg as of end Oct 2025, reported in AFR

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