Live: Building company collapse exposes private credit issues

Australia's economy relies on construction and the high-profile collapse of the Bathla Group is asking big questions about the sector.Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.Tue 8 Sep 2026 at 7:59amTue 8 Sep 2026 at 7:59amSuper questions as One Nation flags access to pension potYesterday was dominated by discussion prompted by One Nation, proposing a radical change to the superannuation system that would allow Australians who rent or pay a mortgage to divert a portion of their super payments as salary for up to three years.One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says the change will give Australians who opt in "breathing room" to deal with the cost-of-living crisis. But the peak super funds body says the plan is "economically disastrous" and will drive up inflation while making retirees poorer.(There's a link at the bottom to more detail about the controversial plan).Last night on The Business, host Kirsten Aitken asked industry peak body Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) CEO Mary Delahunty about the potential impact."Do you disagree though that some Australians would say that they are experiencing cost of living pressures they need help with now and that they would agree with Pauline Hanson's position that it is indeed their money to spend when they wish?"Here's Ms Delahunty's answer:"I think we all understand Australians are finding it really tough at the moment, tough at the grocery store, tough with their medical bills and that's one of the problems with the One Nation policy."This is apparently about rent and mortgages but once the money leaves the super system we've no way of confining it to rent and mortgages and so it becomes inflationary."Now inflation adds pressure to interest rates which adds pressure to the housing, to the cost of mortgages."And so I think Australians get that."Tue 8 Sep 2026 at 7:49amTue 8 Sep 2026 at 7:49amStruggling property developer Bathla Group swings the axeTough times for embattled Sydney property developer Bathla Group. Here's a great read from colleagues Lin Lin and Alex Turner-Cohen about yesterday's developments.Here are the key lines:The debt-ridden Bathla Group has reached a short-term funding agreement with five of its lenders, which will continue its survival for another two weeks.The property developer's administrator, Teneo, says this funding will allow construction to continue on those lenders' construction projects.However, construction on other projects will be suspended today, resulting in about 213 employees being stood down.Tue 8 Sep 2026 at 7:28amTue 8 Sep 2026 at 7:28amMarket snapshotASX 200 futures: -0.05% to 8,992 pointsAustralian dollar: +0.1% to 72.16 US cents Dow Jones: -0.5% to 53,414 points (Friday)S&P 500: -0.4% to 7,718 points (Friday)Nasdaq: -0.3% to 26,506 points (Friday)FTSE: -0.1% to 10,882 points EuroStoxx: flat at 649 points Spot gold: -0.5% to $US4,404/ounce Brent crude: +1.1% to $US97.31/barrel Iron ore: -+0.1% to $US99.57/tonne Bitcoin: -0.5% to US$79,200 Prices current around 7:30am AEDT. Live updates on the major ASX indices:Tue 8 Sep 2026 at 7:23amTue 8 Sep 2026 at 7:23amLet's get goingHello, I'm Daniel Ziffer from the ABC business team, and I'll be taking you through the morning on our business, finance and economics blog.Wall Street indices were closed for the Labour Day holiday, so we don't have new numbers for you.On Friday, the blue-chip Dow Jones of 30 mega-companies, including Boeing and Visa, was -0.5% to 53,414 points.The broader S&P 500, which covers 500 of the largest-listed companies in the US, -0.4% to 7,718 points.The tech-heavy Nasdaq was -0.3% to 26,506 points.Our market is set to fall marginally, with the ASX 200 futures index tipping a loss of -0.05% or 5 points to 8,992 points when the market opens.There's lots to get to, all of it news, analysis and information and none of it financial advice.Let’s get started!