This week, senior reporter Greg Bearup and pollster Kos Somaras on how vital migrants have become in the regions, why those towns are voting for One Nation and how new data shows that the shift doesn’t have much to do with immigration.

With additional audio: Nic Walker

Further reading

‘We’ll cut your rent by up to 4k’: Hanson ups the ante on immigration One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has lifted the stakes in the immigration policy wars by releasing modelling showing her policy would save renters between $2000 and $4300 a year.

Taylor’s middle ground on migration might be the safest course The Coalition has tried to reconcile two competing interests: how to slash the number of arrivals without hurting the economy.

Voters turn on Albanese and Chalmers as economic concerns bite The latest The Australian Financial Review/RedBridge Group/Accent Research poll also shows economic management is starting to resonate with voters, jumping 7 percentage points in a month as an issue of concern to sit just outside the top five.

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This week, senior reporter Myriam Robin on the story of a mega landlord and what it tells us about the vibe in the housing market – between renters and Australia’s two million landlords.

Further reading:
This 34-year-old owns over 200 properties. Now his tenants are unionising
Australia was built on the dream of owning property. But as that compact unravels, Eddie Dilleen’s clash with a militant renters union exposes a growing fault line.
Why 6.5pc is the benchmark for new residential property investors
The changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax have made rental returns more important than ever. Here are 37 suburbs that are throwing up opportunities.
Investors are still buying, as this $950,000 inner-Sydney sale shows
We speak to the team behind last week’s most intriguing property sale.

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This week, deputy economics editor Michael Read and wealth reporter Andrew Hobbs on the latest round of the super wars, whether you should be able to access your superannuation early and what is the magic number for a comfortable retirement.

Further reading:
Hanson poses the super question Australia stopped asking
How much super is too much and, in the trade-off between living standards today and in retirement, do we really need to put 12 per cent away?
Support grows to tap superannuation for wages, housing
About 62 per cent of voters support using super to boost take-home pay, as some in the Coalition consider a policy allowing people to pay their mortgage out of super.
Gazumped again? Hanson announces previous Coalition super policy
One Nation’s plan to let workers access 3 percentage points of their super is the same policy the Coalition planned to announce under Sussan Ley.

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This week, markets reporter Alex Gluyas on what the AI threat debate means for tech stocks, why Cathie Wood is predicting a golden era and whether the bond market might spoil the party.

This podcast is sponsored by Ripple

Further reading:
Cathie Wood declares ‘golden age’ for equities after bumpy ride
The high-profile investor is betting equity markets are at the start of a decade-long bull market driven by artificial intelligence. And she’s an Elon Musk fan.
Investors see their own threats in push to slow AI development
One fund manager said tighter restrictions would be a commercial advantage to Anthropic and OpenAI, and hurt newer start-ups and microchip manufacturers.
The market’s biggest fear is no longer the AI bubble. It’s this
Investors are worried about a disorderly meltdown in bonds. Australia – now almost halfway to a correction – provides a window into how it could unfold.

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Senior reporter Jonathan Shapiro and associate editor Primrose Riordan on how Bathla built its property empire, why it all fell apart and why its effects will be felt well beyond western Sydney.

This podcast is sponsored by Elston.

Further reading:
Living in ‘half a house’: How Bathla turned cheap housing into a nightmare
The downfall of the developer has left families stranded in half-built homes and sent shockwaves through the private credit market.
This developer could be private credit's ticking time bomb
Bathla Group, a property developer has almost $3.2 billion in debt, it will be private credit investors who could lose out.
Bathla’s collapse has property insiders panicking like it’s 2007
Australia’s ever-rising property market has masked all manner of sins, particularly in private credit, which has been shown up for its lack of discipline.

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This week, editor-in-chief James Chessell and Victorian political correspondent Sumeyya Ilanbey on the project that has come to sum up Victoria’s problems, whether it is too big to cancel and how it will play into November’s state election.

This podcast is sponsored by Elston.

Further reading:
The secret tax that says everything about Victorian Labor
The revelation that Labor secretly introduced a tax on public transport users is the latest chapter in a saga in which political momentum has trumped fiscal responsibility. (edited) 
Vic Labor’s secret tax exposes fiscal transparency void
The opposition and leading economists say a charter of budget honesty is needed after the Victorian government introduced a new tax without telling the public. (edited) 
Carroll’s budget scalpel misses the $34b elephant in the room
Premier Ben Carroll is looking to scrape off as many costly, wasteful barnacles he can find before the November 28 state election

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Associate editor Primrose Riordan and courts correspondent Max Mason on why Jon Adgemis is struggling to keep the details of his $1.8 billion financial collapse secret and what his story tells us about the private credit market.

This podcast is sponsored by Westpac.

Further reading:
Jon Adgemis thought he was winning. Then his CFO took the stand
The failed pub baron has been trying to keep the details of his $1.8 billion financial collapse secret. But a chatty former accountant is making that difficult.
Adgemis’ right-hand man alleges tax con funded ‘exorbitant lifestyle’
The business affairs of the former KPMG deal maker-turned-bankrupt are being scrutinised, with allegations of “sham arrangements” to pay for his spending.
From playboy pub baron to bankruptcy: Inside Jon Adgemis’ $1.8b fall
From KPMG consultant to “glamour banker” with the “Midas touch” to junk-debt-laden bankrupt. It’s been a wild ride for Jon Adgemis and Public Hospitality Group.

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Political editor Phillip Coorey on the government’s bet on gambling reform, the problem with "brand Albo" and why there’s nothing funny about the melon incident.

This podcast is sponsored by Westpac.

Further reading:
PM bets on stability pitch as popularity falters
Anthony Albanese celebrated a significant milestone on Friday, but voters have learnt stability and steadiness don’t preclude poor taste.

Migration or superannuation, the spectre of Hanson hangs heavy
Pauline Hanson keeps setting the agenda, whether she means to or not. The government and Coalition are scrambling to follow.

‘Policy capture’: The week that exposed Labor’s gambling ties
An explosive week of public hearings exposed the harms of the gambling industry. So why isn’t the government following its own advice on advertising bans?

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Deputy economics editor Michael Read on what’s going on in the housing market, whether it’s the correction we had to have and why the government doesn't want to call it that.

This podcast is sponsored by Westpac

Further reading:
RBA warns house prices have further to fall
Despite the softness in the housing market, RBA governor Michele Bullock said another interest rate rise remains squarely on the table.
Labor MPs are lost in housing’s hall of mirrors
Prices are falling, but the government is reluctant to claim the credit. So its MPs have resorted to rhetoric about renewed optimism for first home buyers.
Property price slide exposes political peril for Albanese government
As the sharpest housing market correction in almost four years gathers pace, the Albanese government is discovering that voters do not necessarily welcome falling values.

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Angela Macdonald-Smith and Ryan Cropp on the reasons we all stopped freaking out about the oil price and why that was premature.

This podcast is sponsored by Westpac

Further reading:
Labor’s plans to source more fuel leaves shipments stranded at sea
The government has been accused of picking winners for its subsidised import plan, which has created a glut and forced vessels to wait offshore for months.
Ampol rakes it in on refining, trebling first-half profits
Bumper first-half gross profits have been driven by soaring returns on turning crude oil into petrol and diesel during the conflict in the Middle East.
Oil refiners chase sweeter support deal despite surging profits
Ampol and Viva Energy are pushing for a major overhaul of subsidies to keep their refineries running for longer, even as their own earnings are soaring.

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Legal affairs reporter Janek Drevikovsky on why Twiggy is taking on Meta, whether he can win and what happens if he does.

This podcast is sponsored by Westpac

Further reading:
Meta admits it wiped key evidence in Forrest stoush
The social media giant has accepted it should be punished for not preserving copies of Facebook scam ads featuring the mining billionaire’s likeness.
‘Dad, it’s a fraud’: Call that sparked Forrest’s $60m war on Facebook
Why is Andrew Forrest fighting one of the world’s biggest tech companies in one of California’s most storied courts – and spending his own money to do it?
Forrest pressures local ad body to penalise Meta over scam revenue
Andrew Forrest has written to IAB Australia asking for the group to consider Meta’s membership, after news the company made more than $20 billion from scams.

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