Australia news LIVE: Housing shortages could cost nation $25 billion a year; Crown Sydney wins conditional licence for Barangaroo casino; energy market suspension to be lifted

And that’s it for today. Thanks for reading our live news coverage. If you’ve just tuned in, here are some highlights:

• Treasurer Jim Chalmers is striking a positive tone on the economy, despite high inflation and stagnant wage growth. He says the nation has a promising future and there are good reasons to be optimistic. Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said a recession in the US is a possibility and orchestrating a soft landing for the US economy would be “very challenging”.
• The earthquake that shook Afghanistan has now killed more than 1000 people, wiping out entire families who were sleeping inside their homes when the quake struck in the middle of the night.
• NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has ordered a review into the controversial appointment of John Barilaro as a New York-based trade commissioner – a position Barilaro created while he was deputy premier. Perrottet has promised to make the review’s findings public. Meanwhile, four of the Victorian government’s most senior ministers will retire from politics at the state election in November, forcing a major rethink of Labor’s leadership team.
• Prosecutors have asked Network 10 journalist Lisa Wilkinson for a written undertaking she will not comment further about Brittany Higgins or an allegation the former political staffer was raped, as a judge delayed the trial and set the new date for October 4.
• Education Minister Jason Clare says fixing a teacher shortage is high on his agenda. He said the shortage was getting worse due to a colder-than-normal winter, fewer young people entering the teaching profession and baby boomer teachers retiring soon.
• Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly has called on Australians of all ages to spread the word about the health dangers of e-cigarettes. A new report has found the vapour from e-cigarette devices can be harmful and there is limited evidence that e-cigarettes are effective at helping smokers quit.

We’ll be back again tomorrow morning. Have a good evening.

The lower house of Victoria’s Parliament has passed a Bill to create a key piece of architecture to assist the shared journey towards a treaty – with just a single MP voting against it.

Co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, Bangerang and Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Geraldine Atkinson, said the overwhelming display of unity showed that a treaty was above party politics.

“We’ve got a long journey ahead of us, but it’s great to see people in Victoria are willing to walk with us as ultimately this is about creating a better future together,” said Atkinson.

The legislation, which now goes to the upper house – where it is also expected to pass without amendment – will facilitate an agreement signed earlier this month between the government and the First Peoples’ Assembly to establish an independent treaty “umpire” that will sit outside the usual government bureaucracy and be led entirely by First Nations people.

The Australian sharemarket edged 0.3 per cent higher today thanks to strong real estate and health care stocks, but was held back by falls in the energy and mining sectors.

The S&P/ASX 200 settled after an early high to close at 6528.4 points, 19.9 points higher than yesterday. However, energy stocks followed oil prices lower, declining by 2.1 per cent as recession fears weighed on commodities. Woodside dropped by 2.6 per cent while Santos was down 2 per cent.ent.

Falls in iron ore prices before trade began also hurt the mining sector, with BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue all falling slightly. However, all other sectors were slightly higher, with real estate stocks up 2.3 per cent.

Read more here.

The supplier of a rapid COVID-19 test sold in Woolworths and Coles has rejected allegations it did not provide data to support the performance of its tests and its poor customer service after the medicines regulator slapped it with a $106,560 fine.

Hough Pharma, which makes the tests supplied at major retailers, was given the infringement notices over allegations it did not provide evidence to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) when requested about the safety and performance of three rapid tests.

The TGA also claims that despite being required to have telephone and online customer service operators available seven days per week between 9.00am and 7.00pm, the company was found to have a lack of customer support.

“This compliance action serves as a reminder to companies to take their obligations seriously,” the TGA said in a statement.

However, the Hough Pharma tests remain approved for sale and will still be available in the Australian market.

Read more here.

Bubs Australia is preparing to have a third and fourth US-issued plane to airlift 180,000 tins of its infant formula across the Pacific Ocean in coming weeks, while rival A2 Milk waits for its application to be approved by the US authorities.

The Biden administration, which has already airlifted two planes full of the goat milk formula, will issue another two to pick up a total of 180,465 tins of Bubs’ product in two batches. The first plane will touch down in Los Angeles on June 26 and the second plane will arrive at Philadelphia on July 5.

The 180,000 tins are part of the 1.25 million tins initially announced by Bubs late last month and form Amercia’s ninth ‘Operation Fly Formula’ mission as President Joe Biden strikes deals with several global manufacturers to patch its baby formula shortage.

Click here to read the full story.

Representatives from activist group Blockade Australia are holding a press conference at 2.30pm AEST. They will address comments made by NSW Police about authorities' plans to prevent climate protests scheduled for next week. Watch below: