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.
May 2023
HECS/HELP debt for low income earners is set to increase due to indexation
The indexation of HECS/HELP debt this year will leave people earning less than $62,000 with a bigger debt even after their repayments.
Consultancy firms boast of action on climate change while advocating for more coal mines
Consultancy companies like to boast they are committed to action on climate change, but they much prefer overstating the benefits of coal mines
As profits rise, workers continue to be the ones reducing inflation
While record company profits are dismissed as “short-term” workers continue to suffer ongoing falls in real wages
The RBA raised rates in March and May despite its own analysis saying they were not needed
The Reserve Bank’s own research showed that raising rates after February would only increase unemployment, not lower inflation
Wage growth under enterprise agreements shows no signs of driving inflation
Wages growth under enterprise agreements show that workers continue to be the ones doing it toughest during the period of high inflation
Surging mining sector profits are distorting Australia’s economy.
Profits in the mining sector are surging, but output is not – and the increased prices come at a cost to the rest of the economy
How the public is kept in the dark about what consultants tell the government
Less than 20% of consultants’ reports to government are published
Lower inflation but lower wages – the RBA predicts lower real wages
By the middle of 2025 the average wage will be worth less in real terms than it was a decade and half earlier
The latest enterprise agreements show public sector workers are being hurt by wage caps
Stronger wage growth in the private sector is good news, but public sector workers continue to be left behind
It’s not just mining – non-mining profits have also driven inflation
As the Reserve Bank continues to raise rates, it continues to misread the nature of inflation that is being driven largely by profits.
April 2023
Slow improvement in wages growth under enterprise agreements
Wages under enterprise agreements are slowly rising, but remain well below inflation
The Stage 3 tax cuts are so geared towards the rich that most workers will pay more tax in 2025 than they did in 2022
Losing the low-middle income tax offset and getting the Stage 3 tax cuts will leave most workers worse off
Forecasts for fossil fuel production and exports – good for mining companies, bad for the climate
The latest forecast for gas and coal exports show no sign of any shift away from fossil fuels
March 2023
Falling inflation growth should give the RBA pause
The latest monthly consumer price index figures show that inflation has peaked and is on the way down.
The market sees the safeguard mechanism deal as a loser for mining companies
The market’s early view of the safeguard mechanism deal is bad for gas and coal mining companies
New South Wales needs to end its addiction to the pokies
NSW has one poker machine for every 88 people – more than 10 times the amount in Western Australia
Emissions from the 116 proposed coal and gas projects would swamp the reductions from the safeguard mechanism
New fossil fuel projects would create 24 times more pollution than what the safeguard mechanism would (theoretically) remove
Ignore the fears from the gas industry, Australia has more than enough gas
Once again the gas industry is crying wolf and telling us we need more gas to prevent shortages. But if you read beyond the scare quotes today’s report from Australia’s Energy Market Operator report shows we already have more than enough gas.
Wage rises show some improvement but continue to rise well below inflation
The latest data from the Fair Work Commissions suggest wages continue to be deflationary as profits drive inflation
It’s not just mining: profits have increased by more than wages in almost all industries
Yes the mining sector has booming profits, but they are not the only businesses whose profits are growing faster than the wages of their workers
925,000 are now working more than one job
The rising cost of living and falling real wages has seen the number of people working more than one job surge in the past 2 years.
February 2023
Wages rising slower than expected as profits continue to drive inflation
With public sector wages dragging down wage growth and private sector wages rising slower than expected, it is clear Reserve Bank needs to pause its run of rate rises
The destruction of real wages will take a long time to recover
The Reserve Bank now predicts real wages will being to recover from the start of next year, but will take many years to recover
The Reserve Bank has delivered a massive credit crunch
The 300 basis point increase in the cash rates has delivered one of the biggest falls in lending ever seen. The risk of a recession to follow cannot be ignored
January 2023
No signs of a wage-price spiral as wage growth in EBAs stagnate
The latest enterprise agreements lodged with the Fair Work Commission show that wages continue to lag well below inflation
Slowing inflation in the USA gives cause for the RBA to pause rate raises
As price growth begin to slow around the world, the RBA needs to stop slamming on the brakes
December 2022
The latest figures from the Fair Work Commission suggest no sign of a wages-prices spiral
The average annual wage growth in enterprise agreements not only remains well below inflation, it shows little sigh of increasing.
A Record Interest Shock Hitting Australian Households
The past 6 months has seen a record rise in the amount of interest households are having to pay
ABS data shows being in a union delivers better wages
Whether you are old or young, low or high income, working in construction or admin, a labourer or a manager, being in a union delivers you better pay.
Nearly 900,000 people are working more than one job
As wages fail to keep up with inflation a record number of poeple are having to work more than one job to get by
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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