Lack of bipartisan courage condemns us to be unproductive
There is a defining issue that will determine whether Australians’ standard of living rises or falls over the next decade, but it is one unlikely to feature during the election campaign.
Simon Benson
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Living costs pain lingers for longer
New analysis reveals Australia’s decade of lost living standards won’t be recovered until at least 2030, as one of the country’s leading economists warns: ‘We won’t get our living standards back until we get our courage back.’
Albanese v Dutton: ideological fight for the country’s future
There is an unbridled ideological conflict underlying this election that reaches beyond the economic debate and runs deep into the social fabric.
Election 2025: Albanese and Dutton steeling for ‘future war’
The PM has declared the next election a ‘future war’ between Labor and the Coalition, as the Opposition Leader vows a return to Howard and Costello-era economics while calling for a rejection of identity politics in classrooms.
Chalmers will want to exit this horrid 2024 as soon as he can
Jim Chalmers’ promise of better times ahead for Australians is arguable. In some ways 2025 will be a better year economically than 2024, but such predictions should be tempered with reality.
Jim’s pitch to voters: the worst is behind us
Jim Chalmers concedes most Australians will be ‘pleased to see the back of 2024’ and the inflation pain it inflicted on households, urging voters to be optimistic about the year ahead.
Kennett tips ‘tsunami’ to hit Labor
Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett is convinced that the level of anger at Victoria’s Labor government could cost a considerable number of seats at the federal election.
Dutton nuclear plan ‘economic madness’
Jim Chalmers has fired the first salvo in what is likely to be a sustained campaign of economic attacks by Labor on Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan, to be driven by the Treasurer himself.
New year holds no joy for Labor as rot sets in
As the curtain falls on a troubled year for the federal Labor government, and the country, minority government remains the best outcome it can hope for at the next election.
Pain in the middle high for Albanese, Newspoll analysis finds
Victoria has emerged as a key battleground for the next federal election alongside NSW, as the Albanese government sheds critical support from Middle Australia amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/simon-benson