Our Scans · Melbourne · Weekly Summary

• [New] The Australian stockpile, expected to reach full capacity by 2028, will be kept in Melbourne before being moved to US warehouses to be constructed in 2027 at an Australian military base at Bandiana in rural Victoria, tender documents show. Dawn
• [New] Densely populated areas around Melbourne and Canberra generally face their greatest danger between December and February. Caliber.az
• The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Unemployment Expectations Index jumped 9.7% to 147.8 to be up 14% over the 3 mths to April (recalling that higher reads are a deterioration that means more consumers expect unemployment to rise over the year ahead). Westpac IQ
• First home buyers who recently purchased using the Albanese government's 5% deposit scheme are most at risk of falling into financial stress, since they borrowed large amounts and have seen mortgage rates rise and, in Sydney and Melbourne, home prices fall. MacroBusiness
• Combined with CDC's Laverton campus, Melbourne is projected to host more than 800 megawatts of sovereign digital capacity, critical for AI workloads requiring sustained access to high-density power, cooling and secure environments. IEEE Spectrum
• Higher borrowing costs do slow activity and change buyer behaviour, but a rate environment that slows Sydney and Melbourne more sharply will have a softer impact on Brisbane, where structural undersupply is doing more of the heavy lifting. Property Update
• Adelaide is tipped to record growth of 8.2%, while Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart and Canberra are forecast to see more moderate gains. realestate.com.au
• The inland rail project, aimed at moving freight between Melbourne and Brisbane, will now terminate in Parkes in New South Wales, saving taxpayers $4.4bn. The Guardian
• Labour will contribute an extra $3.8bn to Melbourne's Suburban Rail Loop project over four years, while saving $4.4bn by curtailing the inland rail project at Parkes, rather than completing the massive planned Melbourne-Brisbane project. The Guardian

Last updated: 25 June 2026