The World Today

In an Australian first, a private firm will be paid a bonus by the West Australian Government for every woman who doesn't return to jail two years after leaving. The company, Sodexo, gets the keys to WA's newest women's prison today.

About 20 per cent of Australians have lived with multiple generations of their family in the same home since the 1980s. Now more and more young adults are choosing to stay at home longer, bolstering criticism of Generation Y as sheltered and lazy. But with expensive increasingly expensive degrees, the soaring cost of housing and a casualised work force, it's hardly surprising, say the authors of a new book investigating multi-generational living.

Federal Attorney-General George Brandis has given a long and detailed history of the liquidation of Alan Bond's Bell Group before the Senate. The WA Government passed legislation last year which gave it preference over all other creditors in the liquidation of Bell Group assets, including the Australian Tax Office. That law was overturned in the High Court, when former Commonwealth solicitor-general Justin Gleeson wrote a submission. The West Australian newspaper reported last week that George Brandis had instructed Mr Gleeson to run a different line of legal argument. Labor and the Greens are questioning whether that amounts to a "secret deal" to deprive the ATO of $300 million.

Victoria has become the second state, after Tasmania, to make swimming lessons part of the primary school curriculum. The change was recommended by the Victorian Coroner earlier this year, after an inquest into the death of a 12 year old boy.

A tropical antiseptic used to treat wounds in World War One could be the next frontier in the global fight against superbugs. Melbourne researchers say Acriflavine has important anti-viral properties.

The Federal Government has rejected a call by the New South Wales Planning Minister, Rob Stokes, for the Commonwealth to review tax breaks like negative gearing. Mr Stokes says just increasing housing supply won't address Sydney's affordability problem. The Opposition says his remarks should prompt the Government to adopt Labor's policy to restrict negative gearing to newly constructed homes. But while the Treasurer has praised the NSW Government's efforts to increase supply, the Prime Minister says the Government isn't contemplating any change to negative gearing.

The New South Wales Planning Minister's call to reform negative gearing has reignited debate over the tax break. The Property Council of Australia agrees that Australia has a housing affordability problem, but says changing negative gearing would only bring house prices down by a fraction. But reform advocates argue that the Government could use the revenue from scrapping negative gearing to invest in housing for low-income earners.

Former Reserve Bank board member John Edwards warns that Australia has a chance to avoid any fallout from Brexit and Donald Trump's election as US president - but only if Government makes tough policy decisions now. In a paper for the Lowy Institute, Dr Edwards says, in order to avoid stagnation, the Government must make work more attractive for women, keep older people in the workforce and provide better retraining for displaced workers. Dr Edwards also says that Australia stands to lose its prized AAA credit rating without budget repair.

With the cost of buying a house increasingly becoming out of reach for most young people in Australia, a movement is emerging towards smaller and more sustainable homes. The Tiny House movement is well established in the United States, where it grew steadily in the wake of the GFC, but is fledgling here. The houses are not much bigger than a caravan and are providing a small but growing rebellion to Australia's 'McMansion' housing trend.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking the ANZ and Macquarie Bank to the Federal Court over alleged attempts to manipulate the benchmark rate of the Malaysian ringgit. The ACCC alleges that traders at both banks engaged in cartel conduct in attempting to influence the daily rates used for currency trading. The allegations date back to a series of trading days in 2011. The ANZ has admitted to 10 instances of attempted cartel conduct and has agreed to pay a $9 million penalty.