What’s making news todayBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our national news live blog for Tuesday, June 2. Here’s what is making headlines today.Reserve Bank officials judged that Labor’s first-term housing agenda did little to improve supply and possibly raised prices, according to internal notes from the bank’s policy experts.New polling places One Nation as the most popular party in Australia. In the poll, published by The Australian Financial Review this week, One Nation received primary support of 31 per cent, above Labor at 28 and the Coalition at 20. The polls bolstered the confidence of party leader Pauline Hanson, who said she believed she could lead the country. Opposition frontbencher Andrew Hastie said yesterday Australia was getting the short end of the stick in a downgraded version of the AUKUS deal, and told the ABC the US does not take Australia seriously because “our defence policy lacks seriousness”. A public inquiry into AUKUS is set to kick off today in federal parliament. Health Minister Mark Butler says Australia is not considering any travel restrictions for visitors from the African nations at the centre of the Ebola outbreak, and will not be quarantining people on arrival. Donald Trump said Israel was halting planned attacks on the Lebanese capital Beirut, which were threatening to derail the ceasefire between the US and Iran, after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US president also claimed Hezbollah had agreed to a total ceasefire and insisted talks with Iran were continuing “at a rapid pace” – despite reports from Iran’s state-affiliated media that suggested Tehran was suspending negotiations.Latest Posts6.45amTrump’s $2.5b ‘weaponisation’ fund put on holdBy The Trump administration said it would comply with a court ruling temporarily blocking a nearly $US1.8 billion ($2.5 billion) fund meant to compensate allies of US President Donald Trump.It has effectively agreed to pause the plan for at least two weeks after setbacks in the courts and a fierce backlash from Republicans who objected to potential payouts to participants in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.The announcement from the Justice Department came in response to a Friday court ruling by a federal judge in Virginia who ordered plans for the fund halted pending additional arguments later this month. The department said in a statement that it “disagrees strongly” with the ruling but would abide by it.The Trump administration had defended the $US1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponisation Fund,” established to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns, as an appropriate corrective measure to make up for what officials insist was weaponised law enforcement during the Biden administration.Though some Trump supporters, including participants in the Capitol riot, celebrated the announcement of the fund, the reaction among Republicans in Congress has been decidedly more hostile.AP6.45amSecret RBA notes reveal harsh judgment of Labor’s housing policiesBy Paul SakkalReserve Bank officials judged that Labor’s first-term housing agenda did little to improve supply and possibly raised prices, directly linking migration to affordability as Labor battles to prove the budget will increase the availability of homes.Internal notes from the bank, which it initially sought to keep secret, described Labor’s first three years of housing policies as “relatively modest”. The documents obtained under freedom of information laws were prepared for a meeting of RBA board members in May last year, the same month as the federal election.The bank documents show its policy experts were critical of policies such as Labor’s Help to Buy share equity initiative and an expansion of a scheme allowing people to buy a house with a 5 per cent deposit.Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities Clare O’Neil during question time at Parliament House.Alex Ellinghausen“In recent years, many policies that subsidise [first home buyers] – are just demand side measures, pull fwd purchases; many of the view this just translates into higher prices,” they wrote. “Being characterised as a demand side measures to bridge the gap until supply is online.”Treasurer Jim Chalmers moved yesterday to counter doubts about whether scrapping investor concessions would boost supply, releasing an estimate suggesting that $25 billion that would have been spent on investments may be diverted to new houses, which can still be negatively geared.Read the full story. Pinned post from 6.45amWhat’s making news todayBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our national news live blog for Tuesday, June 2. Here’s what is making headlines today.Reserve Bank officials judged that Labor’s first-term housing agenda did little to improve supply and possibly raised prices, according to internal notes from the bank’s policy experts.New polling places One Nation as the most popular party in Australia. In the poll, published by The Australian Financial Review this week, One Nation received primary support of 31 per cent, above Labor at 28 and the Coalition at 20. The polls bolstered the confidence of party leader Pauline Hanson, who said she believed she could lead the country. Opposition frontbencher Andrew Hastie said yesterday Australia was getting the short end of the stick in a downgraded version of the AUKUS deal, and told the ABC the US does not take Australia seriously because “our defence policy lacks seriousness”. A public inquiry into AUKUS is set to kick off today in federal parliament. Health Minister Mark Butler says Australia is not considering any travel restrictions for visitors from the African nations at the centre of the Ebola outbreak, and will not be quarantining people on arrival. Donald Trump said Israel was halting planned attacks on the Lebanese capital Beirut, which were threatening to derail the ceasefire between the US and Iran, after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US president also claimed Hezbollah had agreed to a total ceasefire and insisted talks with Iran were continuing “at a rapid pace” – despite reports from Iran’s state-affiliated media that suggested Tehran was suspending negotiations.1 of 1