September
- Exclusive
- Home loans
Own home becoming ‘just for rich’: Coalition weighs lending overhaul
Housing has become a key battleground for the major parties, as record prices and high interest rates combine to significantly reduce affordability.
- Michael Read
Electricity bills to surge 47pc next year as government support ends
The Albanese government has hinted it could extend the federal government’s $300 electricity bill rebate to avoid a sharp rise in out-of-pocket energy costs.
- Updated
- Michael Read
RBA overhaul on life support after Greens demand rate cuts
The Greens will not support the creation of a specialist monetary policy board until the RBA cuts interest rates, potentially killing treasurer Jim Chalmers’ signature reform.
- Michael Read
- Opinion
- Canberra Observed
Dutton’s strategic reset targets treasurer and the teals
The latest moves are emblematic of a broader offensive buoyed by polls that suggest a very slim possibility of winning enough seats to negotiate minority government.
- Phillip Coorey
Greens demand RBA keeps power over how banks lend
The minor party wants to retain laws that allow the central bank governor to tell banks how to lend money and that give the government a veto over interest rate decisions
- Updated
- Michael Read and John Kehoe
Chalmers open to RBA deal; Khuda’s migration push; $6trn PE squeeze
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
- Opinion
- Interest rates
We will all pay the price for RBA board reform failure
More expertise on the central bank’s board could help avoid an unfortunate repeat of Philip Lowe’s pandemic-era guidance that interest rates were not expected to rise until 2024.
- John Kehoe
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
Coalition to kill Chalmers’ RBA board overhaul
The Coalition will block Jim Chalmers’ attempt to create a new specialist interest rate-setting board at the RBA after the government slammed the central bank.
- Michael Read and John Kehoe
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Genuine bipartisanship is needed on the RBA dual board plan
The question now is what Labor and the Coalition are prepared to do to ensure those best qualified are in the room when monetary policy is being set.
- The AFR View
August
- Opinion
- Political leadership
Greens, Coalition set the pace on a hapless government
Anthony Albanese’s Labor has been left as piggy-in-the-middle, trying to catch a ball being thrown by the opposition parties.
- Laura Tingle
Labor warns on production credits as Libs flag $92b in spending cuts
Resources Minister Madeleine King says the Coalition will risk national security if it revokes production tax credits for critical minerals to fund tax cuts.
- Phillip Coorey
- Exclusive
- Federal election
Coalition to fund ‘aspirational’ tax cuts from axed Labor policies
Lifting the $135,000 tax threshold is one option being considered as the Coalition aims to help aspirational voters.
- Phillip Coorey
Coalition not convinced on RBA board split
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor is hosing down expectations of a deal on the government’s stalled reforms to the central bank.
- Updated
- Michael Read
Chalmers offers deal on RBA board split
The treasurer offers to shift all RBA board members onto a new interest rate-setting board, presenting a potential breakthrough in stalled Coalition negotiations.
- Michael Read and John Kehoe
Labor working ‘arm-in-arm’ with RBA on inflation, Albanese insists
The prime minister has pushed back on claims that federal government spending is making it harder for the Reserve Bank to tame inflation.
- Tom McIlroy
July
- Opinion
- Building Bad
Albanese is responsible for the monster that is the CFMEU
A friendly political environment created by the Labor government allows the lawless union to thrive.
- Aaron Patrick
Deloitte 1, Jim Chalmers 0
Deloitte is sceptical of the government’s Future Made in Australia policy. Did that lead Jim Chalmers to slap down its economic forecasting too?
- Updated
- Myriam Robin
- Exclusive
- Federal budget
Albanese quietly frees up funds for election fight
The prime minister has implemented a shift in budget strategy that allows him to free up funds for election priorities, causing some dismay among senior officials.
- Phillip Coorey
June
Climate wars to escalate with Dutton to unveil nuclear sites
Peter Dutton will escalate the climate wars on Wednesday by announcing site plans for nuclear power plants.
- Phillip Coorey
May
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Why rate cuts look even further away
The latest inflation figures look like bad news for interest rates, even if the government doesn’t agree.
- Jennifer Hewett