What's the story: The head of Australia's top spy agency, Mike Burgess, says at least three foreign governments are prepared to carry out an assassination on Australian soil. That alarming revelation came at a major speech delivered by the ASIO director-general last night. However, he assured listeners the intelligence community was "accutely alive to this threat".
But there's more: Burgess is also warning that we're facing an unprecedented number of threats to our social cohesion
, with hostile governments keen to stoke the flames. The actors include Russian trolls, neo-Nazis, Islamists, extreme anti-Israel activists and hostile state actors. And aggravating that threat is artificial intelligence.
Cost of housing: Also making news this morning, workers like Peter Njoroge are, on paper, eligible for the federal government's first homebuyers scheme. But even though he earns $130,000 a year, his status as a casual worker has resulted in knockback after knockback.
Private lending:
The corporate regulator has taken a look into the sector and it does not like what it has seen. ASIC is now threatening the private lending industry with tighter regulation unless operators improve their game.
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