Australia news LIVE: Top US officials join third day of Gaza ceasefire talks; Housing Australia plagued by resignations, bullying accusations

Housing Australia has been plagued by resignations and bullying accusations, with a senior whistleblower writing to Housing Minister Clare O’Neil to say the agency’s ability to deliver Labor’s multibillion-dollar home-building agenda had been seriously compromised, Paul Sakkal reports.

Housing Australia chair Carol Austin was last year subjected to a Treasury probe into claims about her alleged behaviour towards senior executives, the outcome of which has been blocked from public release through freedom of information laws.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil in question time this week.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

However, this masthead was briefed on the outcomes of the probe on Wednesday: it found no formal breach of codes of conduct but did find “concerning organisational challenges”, which led in part to hiring a new chief executive and new processes in the organisation.

A document from the review seen by this masthead shows Austin was accused by executives of a series of actions including rolling her eyes, interrupting people, bringing colleagues to tears and labelling ideas stupid without basis.

Sources familiar with the ongoing peace negotiations in Egypt have said that a Gaza ceasefire is “very close”, as top US officials including special envoy Steve Witkoff are in Cairo for the third day of discussions between Israel, Hamas and the US to negotiate a peace deal.

Hamas, in recent days, said it would accept US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan and release all Israeli hostages it was holding, subject to conditions and further talks.

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has joined the peace negotiations in Cairo.Credit: AP

According to a Hamas official, Israel and Hamas have already exchanged a list of hostages and prisoners to be released as part of a potential deal.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that there has been “a lot of progress” towards a deal in the Gaza conflict, and he is “optimistic,” though he warned there is “still some work to be done.” He also said Trump could “potentially” travel to the Middle East if a deal is reached.