Off the Charts
A picture tells a thousand words and Off the Charts is where you’ll find the charts and graphs that tell the most interesting stories. Across all the areas the Australia Institute covers, we give you the pictures that help you understand what is really going on in the world.
December 2023
The Wellbeing Framework’s measure of innovation misses the mark
The Wellbeing Framework aims to measure what matters, but its measure of innovation has little to do with research or development
‘No one left behind’: Why doesn’t the Wellbeing Framework measure poverty?
According to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the new Wellbeing Framework “helps us put … fairness and opportunity at the very core of our thinking”, but (astoundingly) lacks any substantive measure of poverty.
..The Wellbeing Framework’s metric of greenhouse gas emissions is the same one used by past climate-change denying governments
The most important issue for Australians’ wellbeing is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and yet the government is not being honest about its progress in the the Wellbeing Framework.
15 per cent of Australia’s emissions come from sending fossil fuels overseas
The Australian government talks big on the world stage about how we need to end reliance on fossil fuels, but our exports don’t match our rhetoric.
The national accounts show just how wrong the RBA was to raise rates in November
In the September quarter, household living standards fell as rate rises continued to hurt. And then in November the RBA decided to hurt them again.
November 2023
The Government needs to stop using dodgy “land use” accounting to suggest emissions are falling
It is time for the Government to stop using land use figures to make their greenhouse gas emission projections look better than they really are.
....First-home buyers grants – 20 years of failed attempts to improve housing affordability
The Queensland government’s decision to double the first home owner grant is just the latest in 20 years of governments stoking demand for housing that makes affordability worse.
With costs rising for public infrastructure, the government needs to stop approving coal and gas mines
In a tight labour market, approving new coal and gas mines is not just bad for the climate, it also raises the cost of public infrastructure projects.
The Tasmanian salmon industry’s talk about boosting the economy does not include paying tax
The Tasmanian salmon industry talks a big game about its importance to the economy, but it is rather quiet when it comes to paying tax
Real wages to take over a decade to recover
The RBA now expects real wages to grow much slower than they were predicting in August, and it means it will take many more years to recover what has been lost in the past three.
...Real wage falls and rate rises make for a double whammy
When you combine the increase in interest rates and falling real wages, you get a picture of households being hit two ways.
Enterprise agreements deliver strong wage growth – which is why employers hate them
Enterprise agreements lodged in the past 3 months have helped recover some lost income for workers.
New research shows our 2030 emission targets are woefully out of date
The evidence is clear – our current policies and targets are insufficient to prevent dangerous global warming, and not aligned with latest scientific research.
Australia is not being flooded by migrants
Don’t be scared by claims Australia is being inundated by migrants
October 2023
Stronger Wage Growth improves the Economy and the Budget
Stronger wage growth will deliver more money to workers and also improve the budget position buy delivering more tax revenue
Enterprise agreements showing the value of bargaining
Enterprise agreements are now delivering strong wage growth and good outcomes for workers.
..Stage 3 Better: A way for the government to deliver better, fairer tax cuts and save money
The Stage 3 tax cuts cost too much, deliver little benefit to those who need it, and leave Australia less fair. We propose 4 ways to make Stage 3 Better
September 2023
Latest figures show workers continue to be the victims, not causes of inflation
The latest data of enterprise agreements shows just how necessary were the changes to the bargaining system made last year, as the number of workers covered by EBA’s remains low.
......Enterprise agreements are showing very pleasing signs of strong wage growth
Strong wage growth from enterprise agreements shows the importance of the government’s reforms.
WA emissions weigh down the rest of the nation
Western Australia’s rising emissions means the efforts by other states to reduce emissions are being cancelled out.
The Voice offers new way forward to end Australia’s appallingly high incarceration rates
Australia has higher incarceration rates for Indigenous men than is the case in the USA for either Black Americans or Native Americans.
Starting to see some signs of stronger wage growth from enterprise agreements
Some recent strong wage growth in enterprise agreements bodes well for workers
A record number of Australians are now working more than one job to make ends meet
In the past year the number of people working more than one job has risen 7%.
The government’s measure of “well-being” just plummeted
The three months to June saw one the biggest ever falls in the government’s measure of well-being.
August 2023
When it comes to jobs, sport kicks fossil fuels out of the park
We often hear how important fossil-fuel mining is for jobs, but the reality is sport is a much greater employer.
Enterprise agreements data shows wage growth remains steady despite some solid increases
The average wage growth in enterprise agreements shows that workers continue to see their real wages fall.
As time runs out Australia’s emissions are going in the wrong direction
Australian’s greenhouse gas emissions are rising and with each month the path ahead becomes harder and more costly.
The Intergenerational Report shows a massive shift towards supporting wealthier individuals’ retirements
Jim Chalmers suggests the superannuation system is the intergenerational “genius” but it really means providing more support for wealthier people who do not need it.
The Intergenerational Report shows Australia’s population is ageing, but we need not panic
Australia’s population is set to age, but that does not mean we need to go without – we just need to be honest about paying for it.
The Intergenerational Report shows we need to talk about revenue
Australia not only is a low taxing nation, it now taxes less compared to the OECD than in the past – that will need to change if we are to provide the services Australians want.
Curated by
Off the Charts is curated by Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work.
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