February 2019

What The Hell Is Dividend Imputation?

featuring Ebony Bennett, Richard Denniss and Matt Grudnoff

What the hell is dividend imputation and why is everyone talking about franking credits? In this episode, Follow the Money explains how it all works.  Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at The Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Contributors: Richard Denniss, chief economist at the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI  Matt Grudnoff, senior economist at the Australia Institute // @MattGrudnoff Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey // Additional

December 2018

Big Sticks, Batteries And Bills

featuring Ebony Bennett, Richard Denniss and Matt Grudnoff

As 2018 draws to a close, Australia’s climate and energy policy remains almost entirely unresolved. While the government under Scott Morrison has a Minister for bringing down energy prices, it really has no clear plans to reduce emissions and has flagged plans to underwrite new coal-fired power. Meanwhile Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has announced Labor’s

November 2018

Will Australia Meet Its Paris Commitment?

featuring Ebony Bennett, Matt Grudnoff and Richie Merzian

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly claimed Australia will meet its Paris commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2030 ‘in a canter’, but is this true? As we approach the next United Nations climate negotiations in the Polish town of Katowice, the Institute’s director of Climate & Energy Richie

June 2018

Tax cuts by electorate

by Matt Grudnoff

Read the full report: 2018 tax cuts by electorate. Table of electorates Rank Electorate Percentage  of average Party 1 Wentworth 192% LIB 2 North Sydney 180% LIB 3 Warringah 172% LIB 4 Sydney 167% ALP 5 Melbourne Ports 160% ALP 6 Higgins 159% LIB 7 Bradfield 158% LIB 8 Kooyong 156% LIB 9 Grayndler 154% ALP

May 2018

December 2017

May 2017

October 2016

Interest Rates

featuring Ebony Bennett, Richard Denniss and Matt Grudnoff

Interest rates may be one of the most discussed and least understood area of economics in Australia. Our Chief Economist and Senior Economist discuss the whats and whys of Reserve Bank policy and how interest rates really effect people and the broader economy. Contributors: Richard Denniss – @RDNS_TAI  Matt Grudnoff – @MattGrudnoff Ebony Bennett – @ebony_bennett.  Produced by

September 2016

Is this a new low: politicians using a natural disaster to push a fact-free agenda?

by Matt Grudnoff in The Guardian

Unburdened by evidence, anti-wind campaigners used the South Australian blackout to kick off a debate about renewables while others waited for facts. First published by the Guardian Australia – here. Normally natural disasters are off limits to politicking, at least in the period straight after the event. So it was pretty awful watching politicians and

May 2016

March 2016

Double Negative

featuring Cameron Amos and Matt Grudnoff

Episode three of The Australia Institute’s exciting new podcast series Follow The Money looks at Negative Gearing. You can subscribe to Follow The Money on iTunes.  Contributors: Matt Grudnoff @MattGrudnoff Cameron Amos @CamAmos_  Frank Keany @FJKeany Find us on Twitter/Facebook.   More on Negative Gearing – recent papers from The Australia Institute: Top Gears: How negative gearing and the capital gains tax

History has a sense of humour

by Matt Grudnoff

History surely has a sense of humour. In 2010 after taking down a sitting Prime Minister, Julia Gillard went on after the next election to run a minority government. Fast forward 5 years to 2015 and Malcolm Turnbull takes down a sitting Prime Minister only to discover that he too is running a minority government.

February 2016

Super Duper

featuring Richard Denniss and Matt Grudnoff

The second episode of The Australia Institute’s exciting new podcast series Follow The Money looks at Australia’s superannuation system. You can subscribe to Follow The Money on iTunes.  Contributors: Richard Denniss @RDNS_TAI Matt Grudnoff @MattGrudnoff Francis Keaney @FJKeany Find us on Twitter/Facebook. More on Super – recent papers from The Australia Institute: A Super Waste of Money Tax Concessions

June 2015

Three solutions to housing affordability other than ‘get a good job’

by Matt Grudnoff

While the public are rightly outraged at the callous tone of the Treasurers ‘get a good job’ remarks in response to housing affordability, economists should be equally disturbed about the bizarre logic behind the government’s approach to the issue. Joe Hockey seems to be increasingly confused about what housing affordability is. Hockey and Abbott believe

May 2014

Budget hacks away at our core principals

by Matt Grudnoff in ABC The Drum

The Government says our education system, our health care, our pensions and our social safety net are unsustainable. The big question I have is why? Every prime minister since Whitlam has managed to maintain the principles of universal health care and education. They have managed to maintain help to our elderly and less fortunate. Why

February 2014

Government’s industry policy lacks compass

by Matt Grudnoff in On Line Opinion

The government’s industry policy is a complete mess. They can’t seem to decide if they want to crack down on corporate welfare or spend big on industry development.   The high Australian dollar is going to continue to put manufacturing businesses under stress. Claims for assistance will keep on coming and the government is deeply

November 2013

October 2013

September 2013

July 2013

May 2013

Those income tax cuts don’t look so good now

by Matt Grudnoff in ABC The Drum

Federal government budgets are always strange affairs. They are billed as fact-based, hardnosed economics, when in fact they are far more about political theatre and posturing. While the budget is supposed to reveal the economic credentials of a government, most economists are left shaking their heads. Take the debate around the surplus. Both the Government

April 2013

Gas industry has itself to thank for higher prices

by Matt Grudnoff in ABC The Drum

Coal seam gas protesters shouldn’t be blamed for rising gas prices in Australia – for that, the gas industry can thank only itself. The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) is blaming opposition to coal seam gas for the coming rise in gas prices. APPEA’s argument is that there is a shortage of gas

February 2013

Geelong’s boom pain

by Matt Grudnoff

The rapid expansion in the mining industry over the past decade has done more harm than good to Geelong’s economy. Mining has created virtually no jobs in Geelong and has induced a high exchange rate that is crippling Geelong’s manufacturing industry with more than 1 in 8 manufacturing jobs lost over the past six years.

November 2012

August 2012

Time to clear the haze of carbon price charges

by Matt Grudnoff in The Canberra Times

The question perplexing many ActewAGL green power customers is a simple one: if my bill says I am responsible for no carbon emissions why did my bill go up when the carbon price came in? Unfortunately, the answer from ActewAGL has been anything but simple. Since my first article about this in The Canberra Times

July 2012

Why pick green power under new pricing model?

by Matt Grudnoff in The Canberra Times

You would think that, with the introduction of a carbon price, the gap between the cost of coal-fired electricity and the cost of renewable energy would close, but, at least if you are an ActewAGL customer, you would be wrong. Surprisingly, despite not facing a carbon bill for the production of green power, the price

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