As it happened: National housing target to be increased; Matildas prepare for Women’s World Cup semi-final clash with England

There are only a few hours to go until kick-off in the Matildas’ Women’s World Cup semi-final against England.

The Herald and The Age’s live blog is already under way, and will answer all your burning questions before the game, provide continuous updates throughout, and bring you the best analysis when the match is over.

Read the live blog here.

Tasmania has become the first Australian jurisdiction to ban the Nazi salute, with penalties of up to three months in prison on the cards for first-time offenders.

The federal government is also moving to ban Nazi symbols, with a proposal introduced to parliament in June, but it doesn’t cover the salute.

Victoria was the first to ban Nazi symbols and has flagged plans to also outlaw the salute. NSW soon followed suit, banning the Nazi flag and symbols in August last year.

Under the law changes in Tasmania, it is an offence to perform a Nazi gesture if a person knows, or ought to know, it is a Nazi gesture.

There is a defence if a person proves the gesture was reasonable and performed in good faith for a genuine academic, artistic, religious, scientific, cultural, educational, legal or law enforcement purpose.

With AAP

National cabinet has backed a deal on housing that sets a new target to build 1.2 million homes over five years with the promise of $3 billion in federal funding to help states and territories meet the goal.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has struck the agreement with premiers and chief ministers in a discussion that side-stepped the idea of a national public holiday for the Matildas, canvassed health funding but focused most of its attention on concerns about property shortages and rising rents.

Sources close to the discussions said the outcome increases the target for the National Housing Accord from 1 million to 1.2 million homes over five years, first agreed last year and seen as a fundamental goal when Albanese and the premiers are warning about the need to boost housing supply.

While the federal and state leaders will confirm the outcome at a press conference, those close to the talks said the federal government had agreed to offer the states and territories $3 billion from an incentive payment fund that will start from 2028, which means it will not help fund initial construction but offers a reward for governments that expand supply.

This is separate from the $2 billion for social housing announced in June when Albanese revealed a Social Housing Accelerator to help the states and territories build more affordable homes, with the money flowing immediately from Canberra.

The commitment to 1.2 million homes is being described as a “stretch goal” that goes beyond the initial National Housing Accord first revealed in the mid-year budget last October.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held a post-national cabinet press conference from Brisbane, alongside the state premiers and territory chief ministers.

You can watch it back here:

In her National Press Club address today, Lidia Thorpe was asked, with specific reference to David Van, whether a senator who has been elected on a party ticket should be allowed to continue on as an independent.

Thorpe responded that the logic of the question could apply to her too, but that she and Van had left their party rooms for “completely different reasons”.

“If your workplace is not tenable, then you’re allowed to leave your workplace and represent in another form. And that’s what happened with me. I couldn’t deal with the internal racism of the Greens.”

Thorpe continued that it was a different story for other senators: “I think that if anyone is doing harm to anyone else in their workplace, they shouldn’t have the opportunity to represent anybody.”

Thorpe alleged in the Senate that Van harassed her, a claim she later withdrew. Thorpe’s statement led to further allegations being brought to Coalition leader Peter Dutton, who then removed Van from the Liberal party room.

Van maintained his innocence in a statement to the Senate, but said he did not wish for the “matter to stain the Liberal Party” and accepted he would “no longer be sitting in the party room”.

As for Thorpe’s working relationship with the Greens in the fallout of her exiting the party, she said: “Their decision to support the Voice on a day that I was violently ill was a bit of a kick in the guts and yes, there are tensions between certain senators. And that has made things difficult.

“But I’m conciliatory. I think that’s the beauty of our people, as we are the most conciliatory people after so much devastation.

“There are good people in the Greens and I hope to continue to work with those that I can work with to get the job done.”

Circling back to Lidia Thorpe’s press club address, Thorpe was asked whether she was still questioning another run at the next election after raising doubts over her political future last month.

Addressing the National Press Club on her 50th birthday, Thorpe said that by the time she faces re-election in 2028, at the age of 55, she may be ready to move on.

“Aboriginal women don’t live as long as white women in this country,” she said. “Our life expectancy is not as long as yours. We don’t have the privilege.

“I do want some peace in my life from this hard fight and this hard struggle. And I do think that there are too many old crusty politicians in there that have no idea what it’s like to struggle.”

She said older politicians needed to know when to retire and allow younger generations to take their place.

“Let the younger breed come in – whoever they are,” she said. “Particularly women, once we make it safer. That’s what I’m going to be moving over for, because that’s the right thing to do as a leader.”

Australia is expected to tip into a recession in the next 12 months, driving up the rate of insolvencies in businesses as they struggle to cope with seemingly ever-increasing costs.

Up to 70 per cent of insolvency practitioners, lawyers, managers and corporate debt restructuring specialists believe there will be a recession over the 12 months.

As many as 90 per cent of the insolvency sector experts surveyed believe the economy will tip into a recession in the next two years.

The figures come from an annual survey conducted by KordaMentha and Turnaround Management Association (TMA) of 115 professionals linked to the restructuring sector.

More on this here.

Thank you for reading our live coverage.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know:

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the national cabinet will focus on housing, rather than a potential public holiday if the Matildas win the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
• He has also rejected paying Indigenous Australians reparations for their treatment by British colonists.
• Independent senator Lidia Thorpe says the Voice to parliament referendum should be called off and says it’s dividing the country. She instead has argued for a treaty.
• Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has cancelled her trip to Australia after a breakdown of her ageing plane.
• Voters are split on whether the federal stoush over housing policy is important enough to trigger a double-dissolution election.
• Leaders across the country are gathering in Brisbane, for the national cabinet meeting with housing to be high on the agenda.
• And overseas, the death toll in Hawaii has climbed above 100 following the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui last week.

I’m heading off and will try to steady my nerves ahead of the Matildas match, and my colleague Josefine Ganko will keep readers updated for the rest of the afternoon.