August 2024
- Opinion
- Inflation
For inflation to fall fast, Labor must boost productivity, not hobble it
The Albanese government may not have caused the problem, but its policies help determine why the interest rate pain will last longer here.
April 2024
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Forget Made in Australia: we should do the things we already do well
We can’t be sure what the industries of the future will be, so it’s more prudent to compete in fields where Australia already has a good reputation.
March 2024
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Why I’m not optimistic about interest rate cuts
While international inflationary pressures have eased, there is still plenty to worry about at home. And government policies aren’t helping.
February 2024
- Opinion
- Carbon challenge
The Garnaut-Sims power plan is Argentina on steroids
The $100 billion carbon tax proposal would be an act of amazing self-harm and would destroy Australia’s big export industries to force-feed unproven ones.
December 2023
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Unlucky Jim undermined by his colleagues’ contradictory policies
The treasurer is hoping for a smooth landing on inflation, but the supply-side policies of his fellow ministers make that less likely.
October 2023
- Opinion
- Bonds
US bond market bomb could blow up the world economy
Despite conflicting monetary and budget policies, can Jay Powell get inflation down without unexpected collapses in financial markets? We should all hope so, but it is no certainty.
September 2023
- Opinion
- Interest rates
Has the Reserve Bank tightened monetary policy too little?
Unless other countries have raised interest rates too much, governor Michele Bullock could soon face some difficult decisions.
February 2023
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Chalmers’ essay overlooks the benefits of a flexible economy
Recent Australian governments have lived off the gains of the reform era, but none of them have tried to blow these up the way this treasurer has done.
January 2023
- Opinion
- Australian economy
There is no guarantee that Australia gets a soft landing
An extended mild recession and sticky inflation is more likely – and new shocks could land us in deeper trouble.
December 2022
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Why a smooth landing means watching wages, not inflation
If the Albanese Government’s multi-employer bargaining and restrictions on the gig economy push up wages in the tight labour market it may take a recession to get inflation under control.
September 2022
- Opinion
- Australian economy
We need to double down on resources supply
The commodity price boom has a way to run yet. It is time for the federal treasurer to acknowledge it and explain how the largesse will be best used.