Economics

Budget overview

by Matt Grudnoff

This is a very mixed Budget: it includes some good things, some bad things and a lot of missed opportunities. On the whole, it can probably be best understood by reference to the Treasurer’s statement that in the current environment, the government can’t even afford to fund good ideas… continue reading →

How to fight inflation and give cost of living relief

by Matt Grudnoff

Real wages are going backwards at the fastest rate since records began. They have already fallen three percent and the budget papers predict that this will continue to fall another 2.25 percent into 2023 and 2024. This means that on average the price of the things people buy is going up faster than their wages. And that doesn’t include increasing mortgage repayments because of rising interest rates… continue reading →

Levelling the working field

by Eliza Littleton

In Australia men earn more than women, have more savings, have higher workforce participation and do less unpaid care work. These gaps between men and women have widened over the past two years… continue reading →

Stage 3 tax cuts: The elephant in the room

by Matt Grudnoff

This budget was an opportunity for the Federal Government to dump the controversial stage 3 cuts to personal income tax. Unfortunately, they didn’t take it… continue reading →

Hope for higher education

by Eliza Littleton

Funding for higher education is set to increase according to the Albanese government’s first Budget—which already sets them apart from the last mob. Before the federal election, universities were placed to have their real funding cut by 3.4% over the forward estimates; now real funding will rise by 1.3%. This is in part due to the new measures to which Labor has committed… continue reading →

The Migration Program and a backlog that demands serious heavy lifting

by Prachi Arya

The recent Jobs and Skills Summit saw both Andrew Giles, the Federal Minister for Immigration, and Clare O’Neil, the Federal Minister for Home Affairs, make significant announcements aimed at increasing Australia’s intake of permanent migrants and expanding its visa processing capacity… continue reading →

You can’t eat representation, man

by Eliza Littleton

Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has spent the last couple of months lowering expectations about this federal Budget—and it turns out that for young people, at least, this was for good reason. Issues affecting young Australians received very little attention in the Budget, and much-needed structural reforms—to address the housing crisis, educational affordability, and inadequate income security—were kicked down the road… continue reading →

Deficits and debt: International comparisons

by David Richardson

Budget time always brings discussion of deficits and debts. Claims are often exaggerated and almost always presented without context. Here we compare Australia’s budget deficit and public debt to other developed countries… continue reading →

Is Australia’s government debt sustainable?

by David Richardson

The Budget deficit for 2022-23 is expected to be $36.9 billion. That will amount to a deficit of 1.5 per cent of GDP in 2022-23 followed by deficits of 1.8, 2.0, and 1.8 per cent of GDP in that order for the following years… continue reading →

Deficits fund capital works

by David Richardson

Budget deficits tend to be treated as drags on the economy that merely add to debt. In the lead up to this Budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has often stated that the Australian Government has a trillion dollar debt and nothing to show for it. He repeated that claim in the budget speech… continue reading →