ANALYSIS: Winston Peters promises the crowd attending his main address could number 1000.

Councillor Daniel Newman criticised the violence and called for police action.

Australians wanting to buy their first home are about to find that already-tricky task even more difficult, with house prices set to rise by as much as $154,000 by the end of next year.

Westpac has forecast that dwelling prices will increase by 6 per cent this calendar year before a further 8 per cent hike in 2026, thanks in part to the Reserve Bank's three recent interest rate cuts.

According to Canstar, those increases would see Sydney's median house price rise by a little more than $154,000 between now and the end of next year, taking it up to about $1.67 million.

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"Sydney's median house price could rise by up to $154,000 by the end of next year if house prices rise in line with Westpac's dwelling price forecast," Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said.

"For those already in the market, that's welcome news for their equity. For those still saving, the deposit hurdle is likely to get a whole lot steeper, not to mention the difficulty in clearing a bank's serviceability test.

Six-figure price rises would also hit Melbourne and Perth if Westpac's forecasts play out, with the Victorian capital joining Brisbane and Sydney in breaking the $1 million median house price barrier.

"Melbourne is shaping up as the comeback city in 2026, with double-digit growth on the cards, according to Westpac," Tindall said. 

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"This could see Melbourne's median house price go above the million-dollar mark, which for many first home buyers will be a psychological barrier that makes it feel like the goal posts keep moving further away."

The forecasts for price rises have been driven by easing interest rates, as well as the chronic undersupply and high demand that has been plaguing Australia for years.

However, while the Reserve Bank is expecting to hand down at least one more cut this year, and potentially another in early 2026, ANZ today warned that the cash rate may be left where it currently stands following stronger-than-expected GDP figures this week.

"If evidence of consumer spending momentum continues and weakness does not emerge in the CPI or labour market data, the RBA may assess the cash rate as broadly neutral with no further cuts needed," the big four bank's head of Australian economics, Adam Boyton, said.

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Tindall said unexpectedly high rates could throw something of a spanner in the housing price works.

"You don't have to look too far back to see how quickly market expectations can change when conditions do," she said.

"The danger is, Australians will borrow to the limit, banking on prices continuing to climb. If circumstances change – whether that's interest rates, job security or the economy – it could leave some households overexposed.

"The more households borrow, the more vulnerable they become to rate rises or shocks to employment."

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

A businessman who promised a "pot of gold at the end of a rainbow" is in custody awaiting sentencing after swindling millions of dollars from investors.

Chris Marco was convicted of 43 fraud charges after illegally accepting more than $34 million from six clients and falsely promising healthy returns from investment schemes that did not exist.

The 67-year-old told his victims he was an experienced private investor with exclusive financial opportunities similar to fixed-term deposits, the Western Australian Supreme Court was told.

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But in reality, he was an "illusionist" who used investors' money to pay returns to other clients, prosecutor Steven Whybrow said during the five-week trial.

Marco used word-of-mouth referrals and introductions, and accountants who had spotted the healthy return promises to meet would-be investors.

He took "people to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but there was no pot of gold", Whybrow said.

Corporate regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission said the verdicts marked the end of a sorry chapter.

"This result delivers justice to investors, who Marco defrauded and speaks to ASIC's painstaking investigation into this complex matter," deputy chair Sarah Court said.

Marco was allegedly given a total of more than $253 million by about 150 people across 327 instances between January 2010 and November 2018.

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But the scheme was a "hungry beast" built on "flimsy foundations" and was "taking on water" because it relied on ever-increasing amounts of investment funds to pay returns, Whybrow said.

By the time investigators froze Marco's accounts, he had just $12 million in cash with $711 million in cumulative guarantees and the scheme would likely have toppled in three to four months, the court was told.

About 78 per cent or $198.5 million of the money Marco collected was returned to investors.

Six per cent was allegedly used to buy motor vehicles and property, eight per cent or about $21 million was transferred to Marco and his family, and four per cent was invested.

Marco's lawyer Luka Margaretic reportedly flagged that the verdicts would be appealed after the verdicts were handed down yesterday.

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Marco's former executive assistant, Linda Marissen, 57, was acquitted of 17 charges of fraud.

Marissen had been charged with 30 fraud offences.

But not guilty verdicts were entered for 13 of these during the trial, because there was insufficient evidence for the jury to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that she had helped Marco commit the frauds, as alleged.

Marco was remanded in custody for sentencing on October 30.

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Federal Labor MP and Special Envoy for Remote Communities Marion Scrymgour has opened up about her son's battle with drug addiction after he landed in court earlier this week.

Her 43-year-old son Richard was remanded in custody and appeared at Darwin Local Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to shoplifting and driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.

Scrymgour said she made no excuses for him but offered a partial explanation for his current and previous string of offences.

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She said her son was once a "proud and dependable worker" with many children and grandchildren, but now "struggles with and succumbs to" his addiction to methamphetamine.

"There may be no end to this journey – I don't at the moment see any light at the end of the tunnel," she said.

Scrymgour shared that she was struggling to navigate his addiction.

"So where to from here? Not just for me but for all the families trying to make sense of and navigate a pathway through the methamphetamine scourge?" she said.

"The answer is that I don't know.

"I certainly don't claim to have any special insight or capacity to fix things just because I am an elected member of parliament.

"If anything, at a family level, that makes it harder because I am away so much and can't always follow through on an intervention or be consistently present to prevent backsliding."

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The 64-year-old politician concluded her candid statement with a promise to help other families in similar situations.

"I have always spoken out for and in support of victims of crime, and I will continue to do so," she said.

"I believe in law and order and protecting the vulnerable.

"But I also need to do more, I need to do better, to assist those family members who are up for it throughout the Territory, especially older mothers like me, to salvage addiction-scarred human beings who, without help, will end up hurting themselves and others."

Scrymgour was first elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 2001 before joining Labor and being elected as the Federal MP for Lingiari in 2022.

She has previously served as the deputy chief minister and held the child protection and natural resources, education and arts portfolios.

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Police believe a shooting in broad daylight in western Sydney this afternoon was a "targeted attack" linked to organised crime.

Shots were reportedly fired from a BMW into a Suzuki Swift by two males in balaclavas on Victor Street in Greystanes about 12pm today.

Shortly afterwards, the BMW was found set alight on Targo Road, Toongabbie.

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Superintendent Simon Glasser told media this afternoon that police believe the male and female in the Suzuki Swift were residents of the home where the car was parked.

"The occupants of the location in Greystanes are known to police, so we believe this is a targeted attack," he said.

Police arrived at the scene, but both cars had left.

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Investigations are under way and members of the public are urged to avoid the area.

About 20 minutes later, Fire and Rescue NSW were called to a car fire next to a block of units on Targo Road in Girraween.

"When firefighters arrived, the car was well alight," FRNSW Adam Dewberry said.

The Suzuki Swift was later found with damage on Whalan Road in Greystanes.

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"There's no information on how the fire started either."

There were no reported injuries following the incident.

The male who was in the Suzuki Swift is currently assisting police in the investigation.

Police have established crime scenes at all three locations.

It's been years since Alan Joyce last worked for Qantas, but the former chief executive has received one last multimillion-dollar payout from the national carrier.

The airline released its annual report this morning, which revealed all of the shares given to executives under the 2023-24 long-term incentives have been vested.

Joyce, who resigned early as Qantas boss in September 2023, had been awarded 353,956 shares under that long-term bonus plan, which, thanks to their June 30 price of $10.74, will net him a payday of slightly more than $3.8 million.

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Qantas' share price a year earlier was sitting at $5.85 – almost half what it is today.

Elsewhere in the airline's remuneration report, it was revealed Joyce's successor, current chief executive Vanessa Hudson, took home more than $6.3 million in cash, bonuses and other incentives and benefits.

That's a jump of almost $2 million from the year before, but it would have been even higher had the airline not lost the personal data of millions of customers when it was hit by a cyberattack in late June.

Executives had their short-term bonuses cut by 15 per cent due to that incident – a blow of $250,000 for Hudson.

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"While management took immediate action to contain the breach, support customers and put additional protections in place, in recognition of the seriousness of the incident, we decided to reduce 2024/25 short-term bonuses by 15 percentage points for the CEO and Executive Management," chairman John Mullen said. 

"This decision demonstrates our commitment to creating a culture of accountability and ownership."

However, there was no further penalty for executives over the illegal sacking of more than 1800 workers, which Qantas was fined a record $90 million for last month.

Mullen said the board had "comprehensively dealt with the remuneration consequences for management from this matter in 2023/24".

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Police have released CCTV of two men who allegedly sprayed an oil-based substance onto the walls, floor and steps of the Anzac Memorial in Sydney's Hyde Park yesterday.

Chief Inspector Gary Coffey said the "disgusting" vandalism to the heritage-listed site would cost up to $20,000 to remove.

The two middle-aged men allegedly responsible can be seen on the footage moving casually around the site, appearing to spray a substance onto the walls, steps and floor.

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Coffey said the men were at the memorial for 20 minutes and at one point even engaged with staff.

The men then left the memorial together and walked north through Hyde Park.

Cleaners are at the site today, attempting to remove the oil-based substance, which Coffey said had caused "permanent" staining to the granite.

"The war memorial is a sacred site to our community and to do this is absolutely disgusting," Coffey said.

"Their actions to my mind were certainly deliberate.

"Someone will know them and they should be held accountable for their actions."

The first man is described as Caucasian, about 50 to 60 years old, with a large build and black and grey hair.

He was wearing black sunglasses, a red and black check long sleeve shirt with a blue striped shirt underneath, light-coloured shorts, black boots with black socks and carrying a red shopping bag cart.

The second man is described as Caucasian, about 50 to 60 years old, with a solid build and shaved head.

He was seen wearing a dark blue button-up collared shirt, dark jeans and black sneakers with white trim and was carrying a brown and black man bag.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police.

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Dashcam footage has captured the moment a motorcyclist allegedly passed police at 218km/h on the New England Highway on Queensland's Southern Downs.

The footage shows police driving in the passing lane of the highway at 12.50pm when they are passed by the motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction.

Police say the 2025 BMW S1000RR motorcycle was travelling at 218km/h.

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That particular stretch of the New England Highway is a 100km/h zone and is tree-lined with minimal shoulders.

Police pulled the driver over on McEvoy Street in Warwick shortly afterwards.

"Mate, he's clocked you at a phenomenal speed," the arresting officer tells the driver in bodycam video of the arrest.

The 51-year-old man was fined $1919 and received eight demerit points.

The arrest coincides with the beginning of Rural Road Safety Month this week.

"There's no excuse for travelling at excessive speed anywhere, anytime but even more so on roads where there are several additional road hazards to deal with," Warwick Patrol group Inspector Kelly Hanlen said.

"This includes road conditions like loose gravel and narrow lanes as well as wildlife encounters, reduced visibility from dust or fog, reduced lighting and increased risk of driver fatigue."

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Australian small to medium businesses are stuggling, with more than three quarters having faced a cash flow crisis in the past 12 months.

Tariffs and a cost-of-living crisis have forced many owners to take out business loans or dip into their own personal savings just to stay afloat.

And if nothing changes, it could put thousands out of business – and hurt everyday Aussies' hip pockets.

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Daniel Trkulja, 27, started his business ThreadLAB as a print shop in 2015 and spent the last decade bulding it into a premium apparel printing business.

He should be riding the high of a job well done, but the last few years have been tough.

"A lot of trouble with tariffs and the trade war have come up, business has been tight, confidence in the market is down," he told 9news.com.au.

"And you're hearing more excuses when it comes to payment."

According to new data from Airwallex, late payments are costing Australian small to medium businesses $24,000 annually on average.

Trkulja confessed the uptick in clients paying late or asking for extensions has put financial pressure on him and the business.

"The biggest killer for cash flow is just getting paid on time," he said.

And that's provided he gets paid at all.

"In the last three months, we've had one client go bankrupt with over a million dollars of stock on the way to them, and another client do us for $200,000 because they decided to go bankrupt without telling anyone," Trkulja revealed.

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That kind of loss could quickly run a small to medium business into the ground.

Especially when so many are also struggling with higher overhead costs due to wage growth, rent and utilities in recent years.

An Airwallex survey of 500 Australian small to medium business owners and decision-makers found that more than half had to dip into personal savings to cover operational costs in the last 12 months.

Some industries have faced more hardship than others, especially those that are contract based like building and construction.

"It comes part and parcel for a small to medium business owner to dip in from time to time, but if it's increasing over time and is becoming more and more prevalent, that's concerning," Airwallex Head of Sales, SME and Growth Matt Patterson told 9news.com.au.

"If nothing changes, it's definitely going to be a period of sustained pressure."

More than a third of those surveyed took out business loans to manage shortfalls.

But for some small to medium businesses it's still not enough, and they're forced to shut up shop.

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The number of businesses entering insolvency risen sharply over the past couple of years according to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), many of them due to challenging economic conditions.

"The flow on effects of that will be dramatic to individual Australians through less competition, increased prices, whatever it might be," Patterson said.

"So we need to make sure that we're protecting them [small to medium businesses] and providing as much support as we can to them."

Trkulja feels fortunate that his business is established enough to weather these financial challenges, especially with the support of financial technology companies.

But confessed that, had he faced this hardship earlier in his journey, it might have put ThreadLAB out of business.

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at Google Play.