This Month
Meet the bowser boy-in-chief: Dutton flicks switch to showtime
Peter Dutton showed up in a big rig to spruik a promised fuel tax cut. But it was tradies’ utes on his mind when asked about his problem with women voters.
Why Rolexes and Nikes could get more expensive
The ripple effects from the biggest assault on free trade in decades will be felt across the world – not just on US shop shelves.
Gen Z aren’t voting left or right, they want to smash the system
Young constituents are not primarily animated by “wokeism” or culture wars. Their grievances are material – housing, jobs, and living standards.
The ‘credit cycle that never was’ will limit RBA rate cuts
After the pain of 13 hikes, there is still a real question as to how much more support the central bank can really provide in this easing phase.
March
Dutton promises modelling on power price cuts ‘shortly’
The Coalition’s gas policy dominated his first campaign press conference at the XXXX Brewery in Brisbane, which was crashed by a climate protester.
A cost-of-living election that risks missing the point
A minority government will lack the authority to supply the centre-ground policies needed to sustain the early 20th-century high-water mark of Australia’s prosperity.
These two issues should frame the election. Don’t hold your breath
Tension between Australia’s cost-of-living crisis and our record household wealth lies at the heart of this federal poll. Real, long-term thinking is needed.
It’s on: Both sides launch into each other in tax cut duel
The Coalition says it will wind back Labor’s surprise tax cuts if it wins power, while Jim Chalmers says that decision will haunt Peter Dutton for every day of the campaign.
Dutton should step on the gas at the election
Voters don’t want to hear any more politicians going on about targets that will be never be met. They want to know when they’ll get affordable, reliable and abundant electricity again.
$17b tax cut sparks poll fight
A tax cut of $536 a year for each worker has set up a political fight with the Opposition vowing to block what it calls an “election bribe”.
How this typical family will be affected (including housing worries)
Tori and Ryan Spettigue hoped for help with childcare, and they got it. Sort of. They still worry their kids won’t be able to afford to live anywhere near them when they grow up.
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.
11 curious things you may have missed
What was in the budget for the Maugean skate, live music and St George Illawarra? We’ve found the budget’s new ideas and unlikely assumptions.
Chalmers is wrong. The worst is not behind us, it is yet to come
Not only are there no plans to increase productivity and hence living standards, the budget actively makes this harder.
It’s time for the treasurer to stop treating us like mugs
Jim Chalmers’ crackdown on the supermarkets is an exercise in political blame-shifting that risks wrapping the economy in more red tape for no gain. But the Coalition is little better.
Households to get $150 power bill rebate as Albanese extends relief
The one-year $300 rebate announced in last year’s budget was set to expire on June 30, but will be extended to the end of this year.
Woolworths, Coles warn more red tape means higher grocery prices
Disputing the ACCC’s findings that they have oversized profitability, the supermarket giants say increased costs will be passed onto shoppers.
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.
The typical family is $19,000 poorer since Labor took power: Coalition
In a pre-election cost-of-living attack, the Coalition says the disposable income of a typical family is more than $19,000 lower since Labor came to power.
Households face up to 9pc power bill rise amid coal plant outages
But analysts warn that billions of dollars spent on rebates to woo voters are “sugar hits” that could be better spent on long-term solutions to the increases.