Our Team

James KirbyAssociate Editor – Wealth

James Kirby, Associate Editor-Wealth, is one of Australia’s most experienced financial journalists. James hosts The Australian’s twice-weekly Money Puzzle podcast.He is a regular commentator on radio and television, the author of several business biographies and has served on the Walkley Awards Advisory BoardHe was a co-founder and managing editor at Business Spectator and Eureka Report and has previously worked at the Australian Financial Review and the South China Morning Post. Since January 2025 James is a director of Ecstra, the financial literacy foundation.

@kirby_journo

Latest

Property pricesBusiness

22/03/25. Weekend Telegraph. Real Estate. Concord, Sydney,NSW. Pics by Julian Andrews.Pics from the auction of 8, Alton avenue in Concord, as auctioneer Emanuel Comino brings down the gavel on the sale.

Eager first home buyers to push property prices higher

First-home buyers armed with 5 per cent deposits are going to put a rocket under some zones across the country and create a demand spike from January.

James Kirby

InvestingWealth

MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos MAY 5, 2025: Westpac bank branch generic photo in Melbourne, Australia.Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

CBA in the spotlight after Westpac disappoints

Bank stock prices have been hitting it out of the park — but the first result of the reporting season reveals a gap between expectations and the hard numbers.

James Kirby

WealthWealth

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaking in Springwood after the LNP released there costing for the Federal election. Pic Annette Dew

Why tax on super’s unrealised gains will drive the rich offshore

Activist fund manager Geoff Wilson says federal Labor’s planned super tax will have enormous unintended consequences and he believes there is a better way forward.

James Kirby

WealthWealth

A vigil will be held at Murwillumbah tonight.

HESTA customers ‘imprisoned’ by super fund blackout

Industry super fund HESTA’s seven-week tech shutout of its customers exposes them to the vulnerabilities already identified in an industry battling issues of transparency.

James Kirby

WealthWealth

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JANUARY 21, 2023: Sydney's rental crisis has reached new heights as renters complain of unfair price hikes.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

How property tax changes would trigger higher rents

Independent research has revealed that cutting capital gains tax benefits for property investors would not only increase costs for landlords, but also for tenants.

James Kirby

WealthWealth

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos. JULY 28: Pedestrians cross Princes Bridge with Melbourne's skyline in the background during a cold and wet day as the city experiences an icy blast on July 28, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. Picture: NewsWire / Tamati Smith

Rate cuts, equity uncertainty help revive property play

The housing market is ripe with action, but there’s a new kind of investor – not the wealthier older Australian, rather the younger ‘rentvestor’.

James Kirby

WealthWealth

The shape of the country of Australia in the colours of its national flag recessed into an isolated white surface with a wad of folded Australian Dollar notes resting on it; ; superannuation saving generic

Tripled deeming rate clouds new super tax

A refreshed plan by Labor in the next parliament for a new tax on superannuation savings could mirror the ‘deeming rate’ for pensioners – but the rate would be three times higher.

James Kirby

WealthWealth