Developers are expecting to build fewer new houses despite the rising demand from increased migration across Australia. The lack of new houses comes as the cost of building materials has soared post the COVID-19 pandemic. Building items have now risen more than 50 per cent above their 2022 prices. The material cost also adds to rising land taxes and other finances. Labour shortages are also attributing to house-build slowdowns, where developers now believe they will not be able to reach the government’s aim of over 170,000 homes by 2027.

Hundreds of thousands of Victorians will begin paying the state government's new land tax this week in an effort to reverse the state’s COVID-19 debt. A new report by the parliamentary budget office reveals it will bring in almost $1 billion more than was initially announced. The COVID-19 debt levy has been defended by a Victoria Government Spokesperson as “temporary, targeted and above all, responsible”. The Victorian Opposition has blasted the Allan government for punishing innocent civilians. The state debt still remains a concern with the figure expected to reach $178 billion by 2027.

Queen Margrethe II has taken her final ride as the reigning monarch of Denmark. The 83-year-old Queen rode through the streets of Copenhagen in a horse-drawn gold carriage for the last time before she steps down on January 14. According to Danish tradition, the carriage is only used once a year for the New Year's ceremony. Her abdication came as a shock to many with some residents referring to her as a 'mother figure'. Queen Margrethe II’s reign has extended to over 51 years.

The Australian Republic Movement’s Adam Spencer says it is time for Australia to have a “mature conversation” about whether we want to be “one of 15 countries in the world” with King Charles III as our king. The last referendum for the Australian republic was in 1999, which failed to pass, with all states voting against it and only the Australian Capital Territory voting for the change. “It’s time for Australia to ask if, in 2024, we should have a King Charles of Australia who doesn’t consider it to be a full-time job, a head of state who doesn’t even reside in this state, a head of state who’s loyalty is not to this state first and foremost,” Mr Spencer told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus. “Three simple criteria to be Australia’s head of state: one, you should be from Australia; two, it should be a full-time job; three, you should be unquestioningly loyal to that country. “King Charles of Australia satisfies zero of those three. It’s time for Australia to start having a mature conversation about whether, in 2024, we want to be one of 15 countries in the world with King Charles as our king … that’s not just where Australia’s at.”

The Australian Monarchist League’s Eric Abetz says the Australian Republic Movement “cannot grasp and accept” Australia’s head of state is the governor-general shows have to create “falsehoods” to give themselves credibility. Sir David Smith, a former official secretary to five governors-general, often argued Australia’s governor-general is the head of state and said the Queen is Australia’s sovereign. “Our head of state is the governor-general of Australia – he is an Australian, in Australia, full-time job. King Charles happens to be our sovereign,” Mr Abetz told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus. “Now, Gough Whitlam himself agreed that the governor-general is Australia’s head of state, so it astounds me that the Australian Republic Movement cannot accept that … the governor-general’s powers don’t come from the monarch, but, in fact, from the Constitution, as voted for by the Australian people. “So why the Republican movement cannot grasp and accept that which is legal fact, which even Gough Whitlam acknowledges, shows the paucity of the Republican argument because they have to create falsehoods to try to give some credibility to their campaign.”

Research and Education Center President Lt. Col. (Res) Sarit Zehavi has discussed Hezbollah's supreme leader Hassan Nasrallah's recent warnings following the attack which killed Hamas' deputy leader in a rare public address. "I think that Nasrallah will continue to drag Israel into war," Ms Zehavi told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus. "I can say that this morning, there was a killing of a Hezbollah military operative, which is relatively more senior than the others who were killed. "This would be very interesting to see the retaliation of Hezbollah to this ... maybe even more interesting than to the killing of a Hamas senior." Hezbollah's supreme leader Hassan Nasrallah warned the Lebanese terror group "cannot be silent" and is "ready for a war without limits" in the wake of the assassination of Hamas deputy leader in Beirut on Tuesday. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack but is largely believed to be behind the killing.

The Australian Monarchist League’s Eric Abetz has called on the Albanese Labor government to abolish the position of Assistant Minister to the Republic Matt Thistlethwaite. The position is responsible for the government’s policy of establishing a republic. It is the first Commonwealth portfolio for republic policy. “It seems somewhat incongruous that somebody that has sworn allegiance to the constitutional monarchy is then committed to its abolition,” Mr Abetz told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus. “Second, the prime minister will undoubtedly be at every single photo opportunity, seeking to bask in the reflected glory of King Charles III, yet, behind the scenes, he’s got a taxpayer-funded assistant minister, costing the Australian people, I reckon, at least half a million dollars a year … to propagate something that the Australian people have clearly shown that they do not want.”

Sky News Contributor Joe Hildebrand says the unsealed documents from a lawsuit connected to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein were "a bit of a fizzer". "I mean ... the number one story on the BBC World News website when it was reporting this and the shock horror number one story of the day was Prince Andrew named as an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, didn’t we already know this," he told Sky News host James Macpherson. “Again, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump both of them were known to have been associates. "Clinton was known to have flown on his [Epstein's] plane and, of course, no allegation of any wrongdoing, so you would kind of argue if there’s no allegations of wrongdoing, what is the point that’s being made?" Hundreds of pages of unsealed documents from a lawsuit connected to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein have been released. The documents include nearly 200 names, including some of Mr Epstein’s accusers, prominent businesspeople, politicians and more. While the documents include hundreds of names, being named does not implicate any wrongdoing.

Liberal MP Garth Hamilton says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “misled” parliament and the Australian people over the Qatar Airways issue. “He was getting quite a few chances in his honeymoon period,” Mr Hamilton told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus “The first 12 months of his term were wonderful in the papers. “But bit by bit we’re seeing the cracks come through. “Peter Dutton is right, I think he has misled the parliament, I think he has misled the Australian people.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says the Opposition will not “let go” of the Qatar Airways debacle and will continue to press the federal Labor government for information. “I don’t think the Opposition are going to let go of this,” Mr Macpherson said. “They are going to keep pushing and pushing. “And fair enough.” The Prime Minister's office declined to share what was discussed with Mr Joyce in the 2022 meeting.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan says he was “shocked” to hear the Albanese government hasn’t answered Ukraine’s plea for Australian coal. Ukraine is requesting with the Albanese government for a consistent supply of coal as Russia continues its intense attacks on its electricity grid. According to the Australian Financial Review, four weeks later, it is understood the government is still deciding on the plea, which has been compared to the speedier response time from the Morrison government in March 2022 when they sent Ukraine 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal. “The government talks a big game when we support Ukraine,” Mr Canavan told Sky News host James Macpherson. “I was shocked to hear that it’s been a month to get a response from us and we’re the world’s largest coal exporter, or we vie with Indonesia for that mantle every other year. “When that request came through to a previous Liberal-National government, we acted – we organised some coal … from Whitehaven, an Australian coal producer, to help Ukraine.” “The Albanese government has a lot of questions to answer here: are they putting their own internal politics ahead of the global security of Eastern Europe and, indeed, the world.”

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan says there has been “way too much solar” encouraged by government subsidies, which has led to the situation where the energy regulator has to “effectively restrict” the amount of renewables to keep the grid stable. According to the Clean Energy Council, the federal government provides a financial incentive for individuals and businesses through the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme. “The problem now is we’ve got so much solar in some states that the worth of that power is very, very low,” Mr Canavan told Sky News host James Macpherson. “The problem is, it’s deterring investment across the rest of the day because the coal-fired power stations and gas-fired power stations can’t make any money during the middle of the day – they’ve got to jack up their prices in the evening, and it’s bringing forward the retirements of those power stations. “We’ve got a mismatch between what the value of power is to the grid, to society, and what people are either paying for it or the benefit they’re getting from it by producing at those times. “There has been way too much solar encouraged by government subsidies, and now we have the absurd situation where the energy regulator has to step in many times in any given season and effectively restrict the amount of renewables that are in the system to keep the grid stable.”

A seven-year-old girl has been attacked by a dingo at K'Gari in Queensland. The girl was bitten on the leg, while her family were waiting for a boat when the dingo approached and ran after her. Her parents advised island rangers they would seek medical treatment on the mainland. The incident is the second time a child has been attacked in the span of a month. It follows a similar incident last month when a five-year-old girl was bitten on the thigh.

A 13-year-old from Oklahoma is believed to be the first person to ever beat Tetris since the game's release more than 30 years ago. Willis Gibson was practicing competitive Tetris when he became the first person to win the game. The teenager was reportedly playing for more than 20 hours a week. Previously, only bots powered by artificial intelligence had led the game to its ‘kill screen’, where blocks fall so fast that the game itself can't continue. Willis dedicated his win to his father Adam, who passed away last month.

News Corp Columnist Louise Roberts discusses why Princess Mary is a “great role model” for Australian girls as she is set to become the Queen of Denmark in the coming weeks. The Tasmanian born Crown Princess will take the throne with her husband Prince Frederik on 14 January. Ms Roberts praised the way the future Queen has embraced Danish life with “exquisite class”. “I think it’s a great role model for Australian girls in a way,” Ms Roberts told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus. “To see that’s the trajectory you can take if you end up sort of carrying yourself in a certain way and applying yourself to certain standards.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “explain himself” on the Qatar Airways debacle and involvement with Alan Joyce, Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus says. “On Qantas, and the Labor government’s decision to block extra flights into Australia by Qatar Airways is under the microscope again today,” Ms Marcus said. “It was revealed Anthony Albanese met with Alan Joyce just six weeks after that request from Qatar Airways. “Despite the prime minister’s emphatic denials that he had not consulted with the former airline boss about the decision. “Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is calling on the prime minister to explain himself.”

News Corp Columnist Louise Roberts says Princess Mary has played a “beautiful long game” as she is set to become the new Queen of Denmark in the coming weeks. The Tasmanian born Crown Princess will take the throne with her husband Prince Frederik on 14 January. “I’m a big fan of Mary,” Ms Roberts told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus. “She’s been super patient; she’s inserted herself in Danish and European life with exquisite class. “So HM Queen Mary – long may she reign.”

Further arrests of High Court released detainees have been revealed this week which raises questions over how much longer Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can “protect” his ministers over the debacle, Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus says. “It’s been revealed this week that two more of the detainees who were freed during the controversial High Court ruling have been re-arrested,” Ms Marcus said. “Bringing the total number to seven. “How much longer can the prime minister protect his home affairs and immigration ministers over this debacle?” Ms Marcus sat down with Liberal MP Garth Hamilton to discuss the High Court detainee ruling.

Taiwan's defence ministry says three more Chinese balloons have been detected flying across the Taiwan Strait this week. One is reported to have flown over the island itself. China’s defence ministry is yet to comment. It marks the fifth balloon to enter the airspace in the space of four days. Taiwan’s military have not felt the need to shoot down the balloon, suggesting they don’t feel them to be massive threats.

A group of bushwalkers have been struck by lightning in the New South Wales Blue Mountains. Paramedics were called to Katoomba on Tuesday afternoon after a severe storm hit the region. Four people were walking along the three sisters' track and holding onto a steel handrail when they were struck. All of them were taken to hospital in a stable condition. One woman suffered head injuries when she fell after the lightning strike.