December 2024
There’s nothing naughty about being poor. Why Christmas is a horrible time for kids living in poverty
The busiest shopping weekend of the year is upon us, where shopping malls become a desperate frenzy of overindulgence and waste. But spare a thought for those who can’t afford even the trimmest of trimmings this Christmas.
Secret research undermines democracy
This month, the Australian economic debate was hijacked by a report from the world’s most powerful consulting firm: McKinsey & Co. The consulting firm apparently found that declining living standards represent a “national emergency” – and the care economy, regulations and Australia’s corporate tax rate are to blame for low productivity growth. The only problem?
Another hold likely. So, what was the point of the RBA review?
Will the RBA cut interest rates tomorrow? Probably not. It’s Groundhog Day and they’re locked into repeatedly making to same mistake over and over again. A mistake that the recent RBA review criticised them for making just before the pandemic.
Salmon spin and pollution all a bit fishy
Salmon companies are ripping off Tasmania and trying to pass it off as yet another ‘jobs vs environment’ fight. This is the kind of fight that Tasmanian politicians love to have, and like performing seals, the Tasmanian government and opposition have lined up to bark and do their tricks. But the fight over salmon farming
November 2024
Two new housing policies, both doomed to fail
The government’s latest housing affordability policies, “help to buy” and “build to rent” are the latest in a long line of policies from both major parties that will do nothing to ease the housing crisis.
How to fix Australia’s broken childcare system so everybody wins
The potential social and economic benefits of early childhood education and care are huge.
Private health insurance is a dud. That’s why a majority of Australians don’t have it
Right now, final submissions are being made by private health insurers to the government for an increase in insurance premiums next year.
October 2024
Government is ‘nature positive’ in the same way asbestos is lung positive
It’s like an episode of Utopia or Yes Minister – just a week out from the government’s Global Nature Positive Summit, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek approved three whopping coal mine extensions in NSW.
September 2024
The report the Prime Minister cites against changes to negative gearing actually shows housing would be more affordable and rents barely affected.
Rather than show negative gearing changes are bad, a Deloitte report cited by the Prime Minister concludes they would improve housing affordability and home ownership.
The mining industry is the biggest whinger in the country
The mining industry is now surely the biggest whinger in the Australian economy. This week it launched an all-out assault on the federal government at Minerals Week in Canberra, with chief executive of the mining industry’s chief lobby group the Minerals Council, Tania Constable, warning the government: “Undermine it at your peril.” Relative to its
The logging industry should be bound by Australia’s environment protection laws just like everyone else
This week, a private member’s bill to end native forest logging was up for debate. It sought to repeal legislation that exempts logging in much of Australia’s public forest estate from our national environment laws.
Chalmers is right, the RBA has smashed the economy
In recent weeks the Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been criticised by the opposition and some conservative economists for pointing out that the 13 interest rate increases have slowed Australia’s economy. But the data shows he is right.
August 2024
The 9 to 5 is back! Time to put the phone on silent
If you’ve ever flicked off an email before bed, texted your boss out of hours, or received an ‘urgent’ work call after clocking off, you’ll be glad to hear some respite is just around the corner. A new right to disconnect from work, for employees in businesses with 15 or more staff, comes into force
Closing Loopholes Protections, Including Right to Disconnect, Come Into Effect 26 August
New labour rights coming into effect on 26 August, including the ‘Right to Disconnect’.
Who is holding the purse strings?
Next month, the Albanese government is due to announce its proposed changes to Australian electoral laws. It has been a long road. The minister responsible, Senator Don Farrell, had planned to introduce the laws by the end of last year.
Fossil fuels are gobbling up construction capacity and it’s hurting at home
In the wake of the Reserve Bank’s latest forecasts, Treasurer Jim Chalmers is facing calls that government should cut back on infrastructure investment to relieve inflation pressures and free up workers and resources to build much-needed housing.
July 2024
Would you like a recession with that? New Zealand shows the danger of high interest rates
New Zealand’s central bank raised interest rates more than Australia and went into a recession – twice.
A second Trump presidency would send Australia down a dark economic path. Here’s how it might play out
While Kamala Harris has restored some hope for Democrats in November, the likelihood of a Trump presidency still remains very strong. And if that happens, Australia may find itself more damaged than any other major country.
Australian workers’ living standards have been destroyed – and there is little good news ahead
Over the next few weeks, the Reserve Bank will ponder just how strong the economy is.
Renewable hydrogen: Superpower, or green mask for fossil super villains?
My children are aged three and four. They love anything with super powers – Spiderman, vampires, Paw Patrol, everything.
Understanding the Future Made in Australia
The Albanese Government’s industrial policy framework – the Future Made in Australia Act (FMAA) – has finally been unveiled.
Why Queensland is Miles ahead of the game
Canberra doesn’t really have a fossil fuel industry, which perhaps explains why we lead the country in decarbonising our economy.
Value for money? The princely salaries of private school principals
While public school funding lags, principals of private schools are paid up to four times their state system counterparts.
June 2024
As the Coalition goes nuclear, Labor is free to ensure fossil fuels are burned with abandon and little scrutiny
The sham of Australia’s climate change policy has been made clear in the past two weeks.
Households are hurting. Savings are weak. The future’s uncertain. Is a rate cut near?
The Reserve Bank’s decision to keep rates steady reinforced that the economy at this moment remains one with both good and bad signs, and the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, is refreshingly upfront about the difficulties.
Obsessing over the inflation rate misses one key point: the economy is more than just how fast prices are rising
Over the past few weeks some economists and commentators have become rather obsessed and unhinged about Australia’s inflation rate.
Machiavelli would have known what to do about PwC
Today, the name of Niccolò Machiavelli is a byword for cynicism and hunger for power, but there was one profession so parasitic and selfish even he could not stomach it.
Australia is on the brink of recession. So why does the RBA think we are spending too much?
The latest GDP figures reveal that the RBA has got its wish of an economy growing so slowly that it teeters on the edge of a recession.
May 2024
‘Sticky’ inflation is not falling – but it’s not rising, either. Why should that mean another RBA rate hike?
The latest inflation figures released on Wednesday showed that inflation is “sticky” and is no longer falling at the pace it was earlier this year.
Does leave for menstruation and menopause advance women’s rights and gender equality at work?
As pressure grows for action to establish new work rights, including additional leave, for those who experience menstruation and menopause, the Centre for Future Work’s Senior Researcher, Lisa Heap, canvases the debate about whether these rights will advance gender equality at work.
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