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No-confidence vote draws France into new political crisisStage 1 of the Allan government’s planned apartment and townhouse boom in Melbourne’s middle suburbs must include at least 10,000 affordable homes or risk squandering an opportunity to lift vulnerable Victorians out of housing stress, advocates say. The Community Housing Industry Association is urging the state government to set an ambitious 16.5 per cent target for affordable housing in its plan for high-density homes in dozens of “activity centres”. Planning rules are set to be changed this month to encourage more multi-storey apartment buildings in 10 Melbourne suburbs: Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie, North Essendon, Preston and Ringwood. Loading Those 10 suburbs are the first of 60 activity centres the government has identified as suitable for more apartment towers and townhouses. The new rules will fast-track planning processes and reduce councils’ and residents’ right to object, in an effort to build 60,000 new homes. But the government has so far baulked at setting any targets for inclusion of affordable housing. The Community Housing Industry Association’s 16.5 per cent target is based on research of unmet housing need by the University of New South Wales. The UNSW has calculated that on current trends, 177,000 more affordable homes will be needed across greater Melbourne by 2041, with shortages worst in the inner city, the west and the south-east. The association says setting targets is the only way to guarantee Victorians on low and moderate incomes will be able to buy a home or make rent in the activity centres. “We need social and affordable housing targets for every suburb to ensure that individuals on low and moderate incomes can live near their workplaces, maintain social connections, and actively participate in their communities,” chief executive Sarah Toohey said. The Victorian development sector has the opposite view, warning the Allan government not to set targets at a time when the industry is struggling to make projects stack up commercially. “Current market conditions and construction costs are necessitating a price of as much as $12,000-$15,000 per square metre – or $1.5 million for a family-sized apartment. This is well above the borrowing capacity of most Victorian families,” said Linda Allison, Urban Development Institute chief executive. Allison said affordable housing targets made it harder for projects to stack up where sales of market rate apartments are used to subsidise social and affordable homes. “Industry recommends prioritising overall supply, which will put downward pressure on prices,” she said. But one Melbourne developer has found a formula that is enabling it to deliver projects with close to 10 per cent social and affordable housing. Eleni Modinos, a professional actor and director, moved into a social apartment in Kensington in August, after leaving a live-in relationship with a partner who had multiple addiction issues. Eleni Modinos moved into a social apartment in August and says it saved her from a desperate situation. Credit: Justin McManus Moving back in with her family was not possible. Modinos struggled to find an apartment within her price range, and what was affordable to her was barely habitable, she said. One apartment in South Yarra had cardboard instead of a glass pane in the bathroom window. “That was $415 a week,” she said. The Women’s Property Initiative referred her to Local: Kensington, a new $380 million build-to-rent housing development launched in inner Melbourne this month. Modinos pays 30 per cent of her income on rent for a one-bedroom unit. “I don’t know where I’d be without this. My life could look very different if I didn’t have this opportunity,” she said. Forty-two of the 477 apartments at Local: Kensington are social and affordable homes, with 33 dedicated to women in need, and nine for people living with disabilities. Kensington is Local’s first build-to-rent project. The company is developing two more in Box Hill and South Melbourne and has set a target of at least 10 per cent affordable housing in all of its projects. Its co-CEO, Matt Berg, said the Kensington project was profitable overall, but lost a small amount on the affordable housing component. Local: Residential co-founders Dan McLennan and Matt Berg are pushing for a minimum of 10 per cent affordable and social dwellings in their developments. Credit: Justin McManus Berg backed the call to include targets in new developments and said that although 10 per cent was historically high for Australia, the figure paled in comparison to some other countries. “If you try and develop anything in London, minimum 10 per cent, up to 30 per cent is the requirement. We think 10 years from now hopefully other people are doing the same thing and with higher numbers.” Women’s Property Initiative chief executive Roberta Buchanan said the development’s 33 social and affordable homes for women were “like gold”. “Like gold”: Women’s Property Initiative chief executive Roberta Buchanan said she could have filled the Kensington complex’s 477 apartments with women in need of secure housing. Credit: Justin McManus “We could have filled this building with women in need of housing, that’s the reality,” she said. Local’s build-to-rent developments are being financed by NAB, whose chief executive, Andrew Irvine, said that “Australia needs Local: Kensington”. “Last year, we had something like 600,000 newcomers come to our shores, and we only built something like 100 [thousand] dwellings,” Irvine said. Dr Kate Shaw, honorary research fellow with the University of Melbourne school of geography, said she did not know of any social democratic cities outside of Australia that do not require a percentage of social housing in large new developments. Urban geographer at Melbourne University Dr Kate Shaw says Australia is an outlier for its lack of affordable housing targets in new developments. Credit: Penny Stephens “Even in solely private residential developments a social housing component is routine,” she said. Shaw said it was a scandal that a state-led pilot project would seek to build 60,000 new homes without stipulating one new affordable home. “We are in an affordable housing crisis – the city is not short of high-end houses and apartments, it’s the low-cost end we need to focus on,” she said. “Building more of the expensive dwellings that the market likes to provide is not helping those on low incomes – despite the trickle-down nonsense from the YIMBY [Yes In My Backyard] crowd.” An Allan government spokesperson said its plan to build more homes around 50 train stations would give young Victorians the opportunity to rent or buy a place that is connected to public transport. “We know the best way to make housing more affordable is to build more homes, and no other state is building and approving more homes than Victoria,” the spokesperson said. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article City life Property development For subscribers Jacinta Allan Adam Carey is senior city reporter (suburban). He has held previous roles including education editor, state political correspondent and transport reporter. He joined The Age in 2007. Connect via Twitter or email . Most Viewed in National Loading

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A terrorism trial began on Monday for a Virginia man accused of supporting the Islamic State. The Trial Mohammed Chhipa, 35, of Springfield, Virginia, is accused of sending tens of thousands of dollars to the Islamic State group. During opening statements on Monday, a defense attorney described Chhipa as a lonely individual seeking a wife who was targeted by relentless FBI sting operations, including one undercover agent who posed as a potential bride. Meanwhile, prosecutors at the trial in a U.S. District Court in Alexandria alleged Chhipa met multiple times with an undercover FBI operative who provided him with hundreds of dollars on several occasions between 2021 and 2022 that was intended for a Syrian woman and Islamic State member known as Umm Dujanah. In his opening statement, prosecutor Andrew Dixon said Chhipa accepted the funds, converted them into Bitcoin and transferred the money to accounts in Turkey, where it was intended for the Islamic State. The trial opened with some unusual circumstances. Chhipa appeared in court wearing a green jumpsuit from the Alexandria jail, where he remains in custody. He declined to wear civilian clothing, which is often provided to defendants to avoid potential bias from jurors seeing them in jail attire. Accusations Against Chhipa Dixon told jurors that Chhipa funneled more than $74,000 to accounts in Turkey, gathering contributions from willing donors and channeling the funds to the Islamic State through Dujanah. He added that Chhipa was particularly focused on aiding women affiliated with the Islamic State to escape prison camps where they were held after the group was driven out of its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. Dixon said Chhipa knew his actions were illegal, even fleeing the country at one point before being forced to return to the United States. While under surveillance, Chhipa reportedly remarked, "I'm not sure why I'm not in prison." Chhipa's defense attorney, Zachary Deubler, argued that the FBI had monitored his client for years, primarily due to his extremist rhetoric on social media. Despite the scrutiny, Deubler noted, the FBI found no grounds to arrest Chhipa, even after a 2019 search of his home uncovered a cache of Islamic State propaganda. Deubler admitted that Chhipa traveled abroad, heading through Latin America with the intent of reaching Egypt. When Chhipa returned to the U.S., FBI agents met him at Dulles International Airport and questioned him about his activities but chose not to arrest him. Deubler argued that the government escalated its entrapment efforts, deploying an undercover agent posing as a potential bride and another acting as a Muslim marriage broker. "He was a lonely, sad, inflated man who the government tried to set up," Deubler said. Following Chhipa's arrest last year, prosecutors revealed that he claims to be married to Allison Fluke-Ekren, a Kansas-born American currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Fluke-Ekren pleaded guilty to organizing and leading Khatiba Nusaybah, an Islamic State battalion where approximately 100 women and girls were trained to use automatic weapons, grenades and suicide belts. Prosecutors noted that the marriage appeared to have been conducted online and holds no legal standing in the United States. They added that Chhipa, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from India, has been attempting to adopt Fluke-Ekren's children. The trial is expected to conclude within a week. This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

This merger would create the world’s largest candy companyAdelaide [Australia]: After being bundled out for merely 180 courtesy of Mitchell Starc 's stellar career-best 6/48, India's pace attack couldn't make the best use of the new pink ball under the lights, and despite a slightly improved showing on the second day, conceded a 157-run lead. India's bowling coach Morne Morkel believed that his side may have erred in failing to get the right lines and lengths on the first evening of the game. Australia managed to bat through the evening on day 1, adding 86 runs for the loss of merely one wicket. "In the first Test match, our lines and lengths were exceptional, and I think that was the blueprint going for us, into this Test series," Morkel told reporters at the post-day press conference. "We wanted to bring stumps into play as much as we can, and I felt that last night with the ball moving around a bit. We missed that, we were slightly off the mark in finding the right length," he added. Morkel went on to explain that hitting the right areas in the nighttime has historically brought success to pacers in the day-night Tests, something that held true for Australia on Day 2. They ran through India's top order, sending back five batters for 128 in India's second innings. 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If you look at the history of pink ball Tests, that time of night if you bowl [in those areas], then you can pick up wickets.," said Morkel. Morkel was, however, pleased with the improved performance of India's attack on the second day. "This morning, we got more balls in the right area, more consistently. We bowled better in partnerships," told Morkel. While Jasprit Bumrah held his own through the innings, picking up 4/61, Mohammed Siraj's luck shined towards the end of the innings, with the bowler earning a four-for despite going at four runs an over. On the other hand, newcomer Harshit Rana , in just his second Test, went for quite a few, conceding 86 at over five without any wicket to his name. India bowling coach Morkel expressed his sympathies with the youngster, stating that this 'painful' experience could turn out to be a good learning curve for the player. Harshit Rana is playing his second Test match, it will be a big learning curve for him, playing his first time in Australia. He is a guy who will learn from today and we can just look to get better," said Morkel. " Test cricket is a tough place. There is no place to hide. He has only played his second Test match, he is going to learn from these conversations. I think the biggest job for me is to put my arms around him today. Playing in front of 50,000 people, that is intimidating. I want him to feel as a guy with a lot of potential, that we still back him as a team, we definitely do that. [I want to] just keep on having conversations with him, to keep learning. Ask good questions [to him]. Days like today [are] helpful. Even though they are painful, they are helpful in the longer way," added Morkel. At 128/5, India are 29 behind Australia's advantage in Adelaide in their second innings. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )The Senate is pushing toward a vote on legislation that would provide full Social Security benefits to millions of people, setting up potential passage in the final days of the lame-duck Congress . Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday he would begin the process for a final vote on the bill, known as the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate policies that currently limit Social Security payouts for roughly 2.8 million people. Schumer said the bill would “ensure Americans are not erroneously denied their well-earned Social Security benefits simply because they chose at some point to work in their careers in public service.” The legislation passed the House on a bipartisan vote, and a Senate version of the bill introduced last year gained 62 cosponsors. But the bill still needs support from at least 60 senators to pass Congress. It would then head to President Biden . At least one GOP senator who signed onto similar legislation last year, Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, said he was still “weighing” whether to vote for the bill next week. “Nothing ever gets paid for, so if it's further indebtedness, I don't know,” he said. Decades in the making, the bill would repeal two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset — that broadly reduce payments to two groups of Social Security recipients: people who also receive a pension from a job that is not covered by Social Security and surviving spouses of Social Security recipients who receive a government pension of their own. The bill would add more strain on the Social Security Trust funds, which were already estimated to be unable to pay out full benefits beginning in 2035. It would add an estimated $195 billion to federal deficits over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget also estimates that if passed, the policy would hasten the Social Security program's insolvency date by about half a year as well as reduce lifetime Social Security benefits by an additional $25,000 for a typical dual-income couple retiring in 2033. Sen. John Thune, the no. 2 Republican in leadership, acknowledged that the policy has strong bipartisan support, but said some Republicans also want to see it “fixed in the context of a broader Social Security reform effort.” Conservatives have opposed the bill, decrying its cost. “Even for something that people consider to be a good cause, it shows a lack of concern for the future of the country, so I think it would be a big mistake,” said Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky. Still, other Republicans have pushed Schumer to bring it up for a vote. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said last month that the current federal limitations “penalize families across the country who worked a public service job for part of their career with a separate pension. We’re talking about police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other public employees who are punished for serving their communities.” He predicted the bill would pass.