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The AFR View

Yesterday

Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

Chalmers’ productivity roundtable a chance for overdue tax reform

The test for the treasurer will be to lead the nation to a genuine tax reform that makes people more prosperous, not a simple tax grab to plug the budget deficit.

This Month

Donald Trump has fuelled the backlash against DEI and ESG.

Managing the S in ESG is crucial to energy transition success

This isn’t about virtue-signalling or a box-ticking exercise. It is fundamental to ensuring long-term resilience and retaining a social licence.

Cbus chairman and former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan’s said last year he was “confident that investment in the social housing sector has the potential to be a win-win for our members.”

Super funds are not a piggy bank for Labor’s pet projects

Chalmers’ vow to put to bed “needless brawls” on super is contradicted by his attempts to wager Australian’s retirement savings to prop up nation-building policies.

As G7 leaders meet in Canada this week, hopes of avoiding thorny geopolitical issues are fading, with Trump’s Middle East response and the knock-on effects of surging oil prices threatening to dominate the agenda.

Iran-Israel conflict exposes Trump’s impotent diplomacy

Donald Trump’s claim that his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier” looks increasingly hollow.

ASIC chairman Joe Longo

Capital market shake-up should preserve shareholder interests

The ASIC review, while well-intentioned, runs the risk of descending into a lobbying opportunity for business and a public relations exercise for the regulator.

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Australia’s move to acquire Virginia-class submarines is under threat with the US’s AUKUS review.

G7 Summit will be a test of Albanese’s diplomatic skill

Foreign policy and trade aren’t the prime minister’s strong suit, and he has also appeared flat-footed on key defence issues

As it carries the imprimatur of the prime minister the roundtable is a promising sign that the government will take action that genuinely lifts productivity.

How red tape and bad tax are choking Australia’s prosperity

The productivity summit must be more than a talkfest. If done well, it could be the basis for taking policy risks and reforms that underpin future growth.

ASIC chairman Joe Longo.

Three ideas for ASIC to revitalise Australia’s public markets

As the regulator considers the vast array of reform ideas from its review, it’s critical that public markets aren’t contaminated by bad practices.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will tell the National Press Club on Tuesday that his government’s immediate focus is on fulfilling the promises it made during the election campaign.

Three big ideas Treasury should put to Albanese on economic reform

This is a rare opportunity to go beyond short-term politics and deliver bold, long-overdue economic reform to secure Australia’s long-term prosperity.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s bromance looks to be over.

Trump’s ‘one big beautiful bill’ is a danger to Australia

The budget is yet another tool to beat trade partners into submission. It threatens our companies, superannuation industry and sovereignty.

Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers.

Jim Chalmers is wrong. The economy is not turning a corner

Labor’s super tax does little to fundamentally improve a badly unbalanced tax system that only grows more unfair, unwieldy and unproductive.

NSW Treasurer Danial Mookhey. Labor deserves credit for putting the politically sensitive workers’ compensation issue on the table.

Workers’ compensation scheme needs to be reformed

With the burgeoning cost of psychological injury claims, it’s reasonable to question if the scheme’s coverage of injury complaints is too broad.

Encouraging younger generations to engage with AI not just as users but as creators will be vital to solving problems, cultivating new industries, and ensuring Australia doesn’t just react to the shifting global AI landscape, but helps shape it.

How can Australia navigate the AI-driven fourth industrial revolution

History shows that great technological revolutions have a pattern: rapid disruption, job displacement, and eventually, adaptation.

Government must step up its game on AI challenges

There is a growing sense that things are starting to get complicated as a growing number of companies start embracing AI as a driver of workforce productivity.

Trump tariffs

Can Labor stop Trump’s tariff assault on Australia?

The PM faces the daunting task of advocating for Australia’s national economic interests while ensuring the nation doesn’t end up dancing to Trump’s tune.

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May

Health Minister Mark Butler.

Brookfield has made private equity’s life harder after Healthscope

The failure of the country’s second-largest private hospital operator will have implications for private investment in social infrastructure for years to come.

Businessman David Gonski says that layers of regulation unduly burden directors with liability, causing boardroom discussions to prioritise governance over critical strategic matters that improve operational performance and enhance returns for shareholders.

Director Awards underline importance of greater boardroom diversity

Homogeneity undermines accountability, stifles directors’ willingness to ask management the hard questions, and causes boards to succumb to mere conformity.

North West Shelf gas exploration project delays have dragged on for years.

North West Shelf green light signals warming to gas

It’s welcome acknowledgment gas will play a key role in the important net zero energy transformation that is proving longer, harder and more costly than first thought.

David Di Pilla’s HMC Capital is one of Healthscope’s two landlords.

Brookfield’s comeuppance no cause for health policy complacency

The reality is that both taxpayers funding Medicare services and users of private healthcare will ultimately need to pay for the rising cost of the system.

Canva has made strides to retool its platform with AI capabilities which appears to have played a role in AI-related redundancies.

Aussie big tech unionisation a sign of AI times

The tech sector is confronting its Frankenstein moment: the very workers who brought AI to life are now trying to survive it before it turns on them.

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