A daily 5 minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability.
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT:
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil has accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of starving the immigration system of resources and allowing criminal syndicates to exploit weaknesses, in the wake of a damning report.
The report found that the visa system is being used to exploit and abuse migrants by bad actors and criminal syndicates.
But Mr Dutton says the problems with Australia's immigration processes are not the fault of the former Coalition government, and they took criminal activity seriously.
"We, on a record basis, cancelled the visas of criminals who have committed sexual offences and other serious offences against Australians. So if you think I'm going to take a lecture from Clare O'Neil and Anthony Albanese in relation to migration and how to keep our country safe, you've got another thing coming."
.
New research suggests Australians are taking longer to sell their properties as more homes come to market.
S-Q-M Research has found the total number of homes for sale rose in September, with Canberra recording the largest percentage increase of total listings.
But the research has also found a modest increase in the number of residential properties being sold under what's known as distressed conditions.
Managing Director Louis Christopher says the number of properties which have been on the market longer than 180 days has also grown.
"I note that we also recorded a pretty big rise in old listings which suggests some vendors have got too lofty house expectations on their property and so they're not selling."
.
Meanwhile new data indicates rents in Australia have hit fresh record highs.
Core Logic data confirms that rents have grown in every major capital city except for Canberra and Hobart, with Darwin rents growing the fastest, followed by Brisbane.
But CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy says while rents are still increasing, tenants have just about reached their affordability ceiling, unable to stretch their budgets any further.
.
Cooler weather across New South Wales has brought some relief for firefighters as crews assess damage from a major blaze on the state's south coast.
Assessment teams have established so far that three houses are lost near Bermagui.
Deputy Rural Fire Service Commissioner Peter McKechnie has told Channel 7 it's not just the south coast that's being impacted, with 51 fires burning across New South Wales, 18 of which are uncontained.
He says work to contain these fires and remove hazards is ongoing.
"We've seen these much improved conditions. We've seen good rainfall on that fire down near Bermagui. Crews will still have a lot of work to do over coming days, because as it does dry out again towards the end of next week and as warmer conditions return, we just want to make sure we've reduced all the risk of anything re-igniting, extinguishing those hot logs and the like."
.
In Victoria, flooding continues to threaten some of the state's fire-ravaged communities.
The state's river systems are flooding after days of heavy rain, especially in the east where residents have been told to leave due to the increased threat.
Victorian State Emergency Service duty officer Shane McBride says the group is keeping a close eye on the entire Gippsland region and that evacuation orders may be issued.
.
Federal police are investigating a video sent to Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe.
In the video, a man in a balaclava claiming to be from neo-Nazi group Warriors for Convict Resistance reads a statement from his phone endorsing "white Australia" before burning the Indigenous flag and performing a Nazi salute.
An Australian Federal Police spokesperson says the video is just one instance of a growing trend of threatening communications sent to politicians.
They say reports of harassment, offensive and threatening communications have increased in the past two years.
I'm Deborah Groarke. This is SBS News in Easy English.
