Patrick Commins

Patrick ComminsEconomics Correspondent

Patrick Commins is The Australian’s economics correspondent, based in Canberra. Before joining the newspaper he worked for more than a decade at The Australian Financial Review, where he was a columnist and senior writer. Patrick was previously a research analyst at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

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Cost of livingPolitics

LAKE MACQUARIE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 06: Workers install a window at a construction site at Cameron Park on May 06, 2024 in Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. Australia's Labor government is grappling with a slowing economy, weaker commodity prices, soaring housing costs and a softening labor market as it prepares to unveil its federal budget on May 14. To counter these headwinds, the budget is expected to feature smaller revenue upgrades compared to recent years, while outlining the government's interventionist policies aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing and the transition to green energy. Critics warn that such industrial policies risk fueling inflation and diverting resources from more productive sectors of the economy. (Photo by Roni Bintang/Getty Images)

Relief for families threatens rate rise

The risk of further mortgage pain comes ahead of the start of tax cuts and a fresh round of energy bill relief from next week that economists worry will make the nation’s inflation challenge worse.

Patrick Commins

State budgetsPolitics

MUST CREDIT: Aerial imagery by Nearmap - Western Sydney International Airport at Badgerys Creek. March 2023. Images taken by Nearmap

A decade of splurge: states in $171bn spree

State treasurers have gone on a decade-long spending spree, forcing government expenditure to dramatically outstrip inflation and racking up nearly $360bn in debt.

David Tanner, Sarah Elks and Patrick Commins

bank warningNation

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos MARCH, 04, 2021: Shoppers are seen in Pitt St Mall, Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Cost-of-living help could delay mortgage relief

A $60bn jump in federal and state government spending in the coming financial year will add to inflation and risks keeping interest rates higher for longer, new Westpac analysis reveals.

Patrick Commins

energyPolitics

17/07/2022: Federal Opposition Energy Minister Ted O'Brien, at a large electrical distribution facility in Brendale, northern Brisbane. . Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Renewables to play key role in Dutton plan

Renewables will make up the vast majority of electricity generation under Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan, according to energy experts.

Greg Brown and Patrick Commins

Treasurer on the defensiveiNation

Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has warned says “we need a lot to go our way” to bring inflation back under control without having to hike interest rates again, as the central bank board for the first time flagged big spending budgets may be making its job harder.

RBA raises alarm over big-spending budgets

Michele Bullock says ‘we need a lot to go our way’ to bring inflation under control, as the board for the first time flagged big spending budgets may be making its job harder.

Patrick Commins

Cost of livingNation

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos MAY 10 2024. GENERIC. Economy, cost of living, budget, shopping, supermarket, groceries. Exterior of the Woolworths Town Hall. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

High inflation hangover to last years

The prices for essentials have soared by more than 20 per cent in just two years, meaning it will be a long time before workers’ wages catch up, economists say.

Patrick Commins

jobsNation

MELBOURNE, MAY 28, 2024: Street scene recreations - Looking east along Collins Street, Melbourne Town Hall at left of frame. Picture: Mark Stewart

Unemployment drops to 4pc

Australia’s jobs market is comfortably absorbing the boom in new migrants, as the unemployment rate ticked down to 4 per cent in May despite a stalling economy.

Patrick Commins

UniversitiesHigher Education

CANBERRA, Australia, NewsWire Photos. May 16, 2024: Education Minister Jason Clare holds a press conference after Peter Duttons Budget reply speech at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Oldman

S&P alert on Labor’s foreign student bill

Labor’s proposed caps to foreign students ‘threatens to unravel a thriving industry’ and will put the credit ratings of Australia’s biggest universities at risk, S&P Global Ratings warns.

Patrick Commins

TreasurerPolitics

LOGAN, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JUNE 7, 2024: Treasurer Jim Chalmers during a press conference in Logan. Announcing Blackspot funding to improve Queensland roads Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Economy on track for soft landing: Chalmers

Jim Chalmers says Australia is on track for a ‘soft landing’ that will see inflation back under control without ‘crunching the economy’.

Patrick Commins and Geoff Chambers

EXCLUSIVEPolitics

Leader of the Liberal Party Peter Dutton meeting with UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Cameron during his visit to Australia for the annual Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) in March, 2024. Picture: X

Chalmers rejects Lib calls for ‘slash and burn’ approach

Jim Chalmers warns against austerity measures at a time of flat economic growth and high interest rates following calls by Liberal MPs for cost-cutting to lower ballooning structural deficits.

Geoff Chambers and Patrick Commins

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/patrick-commins/page/3