April
Albanese shows his woeful grasp of public sector salaries
Peter Dutton may not have checked egg prices since 2019, but it seems Albo hasn’t looked at pay rates for department executives since 2006.
Labor and Coalition urged to fess up on deeming rate plans
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has left open the prospect that 900,000 welfare recipients could have their payments lowered soon after the federal election.
Callum’s $78k student debt is proof HECS is broken
Young people are facing record, unsustainable HECS debts due to an unfair student loan system, says independent senator David Pocock.
Dutton sniffs upsets in Melbourne’s outer suburbs
The opposition leader and his campaign team are hoping electorates in the Victorian capital and regional seats such as Bendigo will throw up some surprises.
Will insurance premiums ever get cheaper?
The country’s big insurers have found themselves in a political storm as the cost of policies balloons $30 billion over a decade. But are those hikes unfair?
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.