Today
Chalmers says the economy is world-beating. The data says it’s not
The treasurer’s international counterparts have no reason to envy him an economy whose only saving grace is population growth.
Labor wants 50/50 split between universities and VET
The move would mean pushing tens of thousands of prospective university students towards TAFE and other vocational courses.
This Month
Labor minister says ‘thickets of regulation’ need to be slashed
Assistant Minister for Productivity Andrew Leigh said government too often rewarded process over outcomes.
‘No time wasters’: Why workplace ditherers are no longer tolerated
Rejecting time wasters can seem abrupt. But in our overloaded age, taking up valuable time is also an affront.
May
A complacent Wonder Down Under is heading for a productivity fail
Crazy levels of government spending, and Victoria’s status as one of the most indebted states in the world, helps explain Australia’s miserable performance.
WFH is probably good for productivity (if it’s part-time)
The Productivity Commission has concluded in an extensive review of the pandemic economy that hybrid work is probably beneficial, but young people could be disadvantaged.
Report casts doubt on Queensland plan to shrink project costs
The state government’s promise to chip away at state debt through savings made from scrapping union-friendly entitlements has been contested by a new report.
Big business the driver of wages, growth: McKinsey
A new McKinsey report says large, fast-growing companies are delivering most of the economy’s productivity growth and higher pay.
Why this year (really) is crunch time for pay rises
Years of flatlining productivity have finally caught up with the minimum wage and this year’s decision could set the standard for years to come.
ANZ tech boss touts AI agents to lift bankers’ productivity
ANZ is working with Salesforce to roll out AI agents that can help bankers prepare for client meetings, says the bank’s technology chief Gerard Florian
Return to office momentum may have peaked: Barrenjoey
Analysts say the full-time return to the office has potentially hit a hard ceiling with attendance stalling at around 75 per cent of pre-COVID levels.
Why Chalmers must lift living standards to become PM
If Jim Chalmers serves as treasurer for nine years, the performance of the Australian economy will be his to own.
NAB in back-to-office push as staff share broken heart emojis
NAB staff will need to be in the office three days a week and team managers four as the bank shifts to an “office-based working model”.
How Jim Chalmers can make workers $14,000 better off
The treasurer’s focus on productivity is good news. It’s the right place to start for any government looking to sustainably improve Australians’ quality of life.
Businesses must earn loyalty, not enforce it: productivity minister
Labor’s Andrew Leigh has told businesses opposing the looming ban on non-compete clauses to offer their workers better pay if they want them to stop leaving.
Super tax hike may force early retirement of skilled workers
Labor’s tax increase on $3 million super balances is unlikely to raise the predicted revenue and clashes with Chalmer’s productivity push.
Wages jump as care workers and public servants get pay rises
Annual wages growth accelerated to 3.4 per cent in March as governments struck fresh pay deals, but economists warn they cannot be sustained without increasing productivity.
Ed Husic’s sacking shows innovation always loses in Canberra’s Game of Thrones
Short-term political expediency has always over-ridden strategic innovation and industry policy.
Husic hit job exposes Labor’s failure on growth
The dumped industry minister reveals that Australians have endorsed a second-term Labor government with no plan for reviving living standards.
‘I’ll need more than two terms to fix the economy’: Chalmers
The treasurer has warned fixing flat-lining productivity will require a third term of government, as he ruled out accepting every proposal that will be put to him in a review.