Economy
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Australia’s economy has turned the corner, and consumer spending was a big help
Australia’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in two years in the December quarter, boosted by an improvement in household spending and stronger exports. Continue reading »
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AUKUS: the central point of strategic failure
Donald Trump loves a deal. With the ageing Virginia class submarines, instead of decommissioning them, what better than to sell them to a subservient nation who not only will pay billions for them, but use them as a compliant extension of the US navy? Continue reading »
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Global capitals eye future with investments in China’s tech industry
A dozen days ahead of this Chinese New Year, a large-scale exhibition opened at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Continue reading »
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The key to saving Whyalla and seizing massive national security rewards? A clean commodities trading company
The Albanese government’s decision to partner with South Australia to save the Whyalla Steelworks is one of profound significance for Australia’s national security. The governments’ vision — to turn Whyalla into a pioneering green iron and steel facility and capture global first-mover advantage — is hugely ambitious. Done right it has the potential to boost Continue reading »
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If you wanted to tell a story about a hopeful new world, I wouldn’t start from here
We need to tell a new/old story. Humans are social creatures of a shared story. We tell ourselves into being who we are by the stories we share. From First Peoples’ Songlines, rhythmically repeated and updated to incorporate the latest world developments, to Harry Potter novels and The Matrix movies, we remember and become the Continue reading »
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Resolving insolvency: Tariffs are key to Trump’s solution
Donald Trump has resorted to tariffs, imposed against friend and foe alike. There are no compromises or special deals because it’s not about favours for friends, or compliance, or punishment. Tariffs are part of a desperate bid to stave off insolvency. Continue reading »
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The real truth on productivity: The bosses aren’t trying hard enough
At last, some sense on the causes of our poor productivity performance. For ages, we’ve been told it’s the government’s fault — maybe even the voters’ fault — for failing to make economic reforms. But last week the econocrats finally set the record straight: the problem is, our businesses have stopped doing the things that Continue reading »
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Bulk-billing incentives should be the start of something bigger
The federal government’s new $8.5 billion investment in general practice is a powerful painkiller. It will bring welcome relief to patients facing GP fees, and to a primary care system that’s under pressure. But it won’t cure the system’s underlying problems. Continue reading »
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Garnaut: The renewables boom within our reach
Donald Trump might be a speed hump on the road to net zero, but the business and climate case for renewables leaves Australia in the box seat to capitalise. Continue reading »
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To make Medicare healthy again, our leaders must treat these worrying symptoms
I don’t know if you noticed, but the federal election campaign began on Sunday. The date of the election has yet to be announced – it may be mid-April or mid-May – but hostilities have begun. And they began with an issue that’s been big in election campaigns for 50 years: Medicare. Continue reading »
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China: Still ahead of the curve in the global economic game
US President Donald Trump’s decision to first place, and then delay, a 25% tariff on goods from neighbouring Canada and Mexico, along with his hitting China with an additional 10% tariff increase has made quite a splash in the news. Continue reading »
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Circularity can revive caring and compassion while sustaining the paradigm of care
Peanut Butter is a staple diet for many of us living busy lives and seeking tasty nutrition in a jar. And for those like me who love Bega’s brand of (Smooth) PB (see how it naturally aligns with ‘Personal Best’?), we can be doubly proud that the Australian-owned company behind this brand is part of Continue reading »
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Can Europe dare to do the smart thing and partner with China in Africa?
Europe’s relationship with Africa encompasses significant grim history. Yet the continent is more central to how Europe’s future will look than ever. Meanwhile, China’s remarkably constructive relationship with Africa today presents a potential primary mode for substantially enhancing Africa’s prospects. This geopolitical fact also represents a crucial opportunity for Europe to partner with China and Continue reading »
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At last: A serious attempt to fix retirement phase of super
Last year’s Treasury Discussion Paper, “The Retirement Phase of Superannuation“, highlighted the emphasis that has been placed on the accumulation phase of Australia’s superannuation system, and the continued slow progress on the retirement phase, 30 years on from the system’s creation. Sadly, the government’s timid response in November to Treasury’s suggestions and the wealth of Continue reading »
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What if there is no way of Australia placating Trump?
As a quick study in the psychology of Australia-US relations, last week had it all. Continue reading »
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Trump’s tariffs will not restore American manufacturing
The decline in manufacturing jobs is common to most developed economies and is not unique to the US. Further, Donald Trump is nothing if not delusional, and his tariffs will only damage both the US economy and others as well. Continue reading »
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We may be short of leaders, but we’re not short on false prophets
With this year’s federal budget supposedly brought forward to 25 March, the seasonal peak in business bulldust has come early. Last week, Canberra kicked off an annual ritual little noticed in real-world Australia, the call for “pre-budget” submissions on what the government should do in its budget. Continue reading »
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Europeans (and others) vs Trump
I am not suffering from what some of President Donald Trump’s more fervent supporters — both in the US and in Australia — like to call “Trump derangement syndrome”. That is, I’m not disputing that he won the presidential election held last November “fair and square”, as did the Republican Party in both the House Continue reading »
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As expected, the RBA cut its cash rate – but played down the prospects for a series of follow-up moves
Well, they did it! The Reserve Bank of Australia Board decided, at its meeting conducted over the past two days, to cut its official cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.10%, after having held it at 4.35% since November 2023, and having raised it by 425 basis points over the preceding 18 months. Continue reading »
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The costs of impatience: A psychic disorder of modern capitalism?
In Australia at the federal level of government, we have some of the shortest election cycles in the world: often barely three years. This mitigates against even medium-term planning. A new government takes a year to learn the ropes of office, another year to govern before preparing for re-election in the third. And even if Continue reading »
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Snouts in the trough
Ah! Peter Dutton loves the past when sheilas knew their place, blokes were blokes and boozy lunches were a key characteristic of the business environment. Continue reading »
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Caligula’s horse and Washington
“Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too.” Marcus Aurelius Continue reading »
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The nation is finally coming to grips with home affordability
Right now, the prospect of much improvement in being able to afford a home of your own isn’t bright. We don’t look like solving the problem any time soon. But I’ve been watching and writing about the steady worsening in housing affordability for the best part of 50 years, and I’m more optimistic today than Continue reading »
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Prevention – putting health into healthcare
Health outcomes are about more than access to healthcare services: they are highly dependent on the social and economic determinants of health. Despite lip service to the importance of these factors and preventive health actions, the Australian healthcare system is relentlessly focused on treating sick people, with subsequent economic and social costs incurred by governments, Continue reading »
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Dutton’s war on waste
Contrary to what Peter Dutton would like the electorate to believe, reducing administrative waste will save very little money. If Dutton is serious, he would review major capital projects which lack proper evaluation, starting with his uneconomic nuclear energy proposal. Continue reading »
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Public schools bear the greatest burden of disadvantage
A new research paper published by Save Our Schools shows conclusively that public schools bear the greatest burden of disadvantage, but are not resourced to overcome its effect on learning outcomes. Public schools have to do a lot more with far fewer resources than Catholic and Independent schools. Continue reading »
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From Bretton Woods to BRICS
In 1944 Bretton Woods established an international financial system that awarded generous economic advantages to the US. When the system failed, a group of nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, (BRICS), formed to foster a more equitable system, perhaps an alternative international currency to the US dollar. Continue reading »
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Letter from Hong Kong
As I experience my 51st Chinese New Year here in Hong Kong, with the arrival of the year of the Snake, it seems appropriate to write a few words about this remarkable city. Continue reading »
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Hoaxes that gush for winners and trickle down for losers
What do Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and John Howard have in common with the Piltdown Man? They all managed to sell a hoax that lasted for decades, before it was exposed as completely false. But wait, their hoax is still central to transglobal neoliberal capitalism’s stranglehold on us all, whereas Charles Dawson’s 1912 forged ‘missing Continue reading »
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Interest rates should start falling now
Australian inflation is almost back in the target range of 2-3%. The Reserve Bank should begin to cut interest rates now. This will help avoid a recession as well as substantially reducing cost-of-living pressures on the one third of households with a mortgage. Continue reading »
