March
Chalmers splashed 20 major spending measures, but just 3 big savings
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget contains expenditure at a 40-year high outside of the pandemic. Economists warn promises of future restraint seem unrealistic.
Five years after Covid, Australia is unprepared for next global storm
Neither major party has offered a credible path for “growing the pie”, fixing the budget and preparing the nation’s military for a new era of disruption.
Debt-laden ‘poor state’ Victoria to get GST bailout
Victoria will become a “mendicant state” next financial year, receiving a $3.9 billion boost in GST as Queensland suffers a $2.4 billion reduction in funding.
ASX dives; Behind Wall Street’s violent slump; Why Vic is so angry
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
How to undo the damage Victoria’s COVID response did to public trust
Federal and state governments should adopt a uniform code for pandemic management mandating medical advice be signed and published for any restrictive measures.
Why Victoria is still so angry about Dan Andrews’ lockdown
A new report has found 66 per cent of respondents nationally believe their state or territory took the appropriate steps to stop the spread of the virus.
After 32 years as NAB’s economist, Alan Oster has a message for your kids
The veteran reveals his most important economic indicator, his big fear about the Australian economy and why he’s not worried about high house prices.
January
Why it’s a bad year for holidaymakers bringing flu home from Europe
Australians holidaying in the northern hemisphere are returning with nasty strains of influenza which experts blame on low immunisation rates since the COVID-19 pandemic.
December 2024
Ten wildcard scenarios for 2025
To navigate the future, it can help to anticipate the unlikely. Here are 10 unbelievable-sounding things that could happen next year.
November 2024
RBA underestimating risk of recession
Readers’ letters on interest rates; Future Fund investments; a fix for capital gains tax; the response to COVID-19; the influence of founders; data-driven investing; and the ghosts of Christmases past.
October 2024
Don’t suppress democracy in a pandemic
Not even a public health crisis should justify suppression of the normal rules of democratic debate about government actions and policy alternatives.
Don’t blame HomeBuilder for inflation: economists
The Coalition and economists have rejected the pandemic inquiry’s criticisms of the $2.6 billion housing construction stimulus.
The danger of COVID zealots has not passed
The proposed new Australian Centre for Disease Control is open to the same ideological capture that plagued its US counterpart.
Heavy-handed COVID restrictions have destroyed trust in government
Many of the measures taken during COVID‑19 are unlikely to be accepted by the population again, due to the lack of trust created by the heavy-handed response.
US-style CDC to co-ordinate response, combat fake news
A new agency will be charged with preparing against infectious disease, after a review found a lack of real-time data reduced trusts in pandemic restrictions.
Pandemic HomeBuilder response fuelled inflation and housing shortage
Most of the $2.6 billion stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic was spent on renovations, not building new homes, an inquiry has found.
Overall, Australia’s COVID management was a huge success
Where we succeeded, it was the result of good institutions and good decision-making. But that’s not to say we didn’t stumble.
Inquiry whitewashes the colossal mismanagement
The authors of the report are oblivious to the most fundamental big-picture cracks in our institutions revealed by the country’s Covid-19 response.
We should never see such an old-school pandemic response again
At the next pandemic, Australia should focus on key risk groups and be driven by reliable official public data.
RBA concedes $188b in cheap loans may have gone too far
The losses on the loans forced the RBA to suspend paying multibillion-dollar annual dividends to the government and plunged its balance sheet into negative equity.