With high capital costs linked to petroleum and gas infrastructure, collection of PRRT funds for regional development may be delayed for several years.
Phil Noble/Reuters
Local communities are likely to be dissatisfied with the report from the PRRT review because its recommendations only apply to future projects and won’t herald any changes in the budget.
Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison says the budget papers will make a formal distinction between ‘good debt’ and ‘bad debt’.
Julian Smith/AAP
In the lead-up to the federal budget, the government has made a number of significant and sometimes surprising policy announcements.
Survey participants reported discrimination both in job seeking and in employment.
Angela Brkic/AAP
Older workers are feeling discriminated against in the search for work, in their jobs and even in retirement, a new survey shows.
After years of low interest rates, economic growth is back.
Dean Lewis/AAP
After years of deflation and disinflation, the economy is “reflating”. But it might not last.
If Australia adopted a similar approach to the Hong Kong to eliminate debt loading abuse, United States oil and gas giant Chevron would have been denied A$6.275 billion in interest deductions.
Ray Strange/AAP
New modelling shows governments need to ensure that corporations benefiting from the use of Australia’s resources, are contributing the same as they do in other jurisdictions.
“Safe debt” played a role in bringing on the GFC.
AAP/Justin Lane
The next financial crisis might be caused not by greed, but a human bias towards safety.
Data breaches are on the rise and insiders are a big part of it.
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You can never be entirely protected from data breaches, but understanding your data is the first step to minimising the risk.
The budget is a centrepiece of fiscal policy in Australia.
Julian Smith/AAP
Because the budget is a very difficult means of carrying out targeted fiscal policy, it’s become more important as a centrepiece for the government’s economic strategy.
The new GST laws will force Ebay and other online marketplaces to pay GST on goods sold by overseas sellers.
Beck Diefenbach/Reuters
The governments move to include low-value online bought goods in the GST doesn’t treat overseas and local sellers in the same way.
Australia’s central bank says labour market conditions have been weaker than expected.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Wages are sluggish, underemployment seems stubbornly high, and there is a continued push to part-time rather than full-time employment.
Despite a huge apartment boom in inner Sydney, Airbnb may make house affordability worse.
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Without proper planning, legalising Airbnb may make housing even more unavailable and unaffordable in high-demand suburbs.
The government’s budget documents are full of forecasts about where the economy is headed.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The budget is full of forecasts about where the economy is going, but other indicators are often more helpful.
Drinking coffee at work has a range of benefits.
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Workplace productivity is about more than fancy gadgets. It’s about taking care of your body and mind, even away from work.
Pat Hutchens/TC
This week, the government announced it would abolish the 457 visa and replace it with a new temporary skill shortage visa program.
The federal government receives more revenue than the states so it divvies it up between them, but with conditions.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The reason for the constant struggle for funding between the states and federal government relates back to the constitution.
The Conversation/Emil Jeyaratnam
Millie, aged 5, wants to know where money comes from. We asked an economist to explain.
With the 457 visa scrapped, the new visa work program will have tightened work experience and English language requirements.
Bernadett Szabo/Reuters
The Turnbull government is axing the 457 visa program and replacing it with a new Temporary Skill Shortage Visa but it might not have the desired affect on the labour market.
All of the increase in spending on social security and welfare is due to the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Dan Peled/AAP
If you look at past budgets, the proposed cuts in social security programs are disproportionate to the amount the government spends.
At least ten cents in every dollar of superannuation assets is indirectly financing house purchases via commercial bank debt.
AAP/Lukas Coch
What critics of the plan to use superannuation for housing miss is that Australia’s super system already channels a significant proportion of retirement savings into housing.
A blockchain’s ability to move assets from one owner to another allows less dependence on intermediaries.
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There are many hidden costs and inefficiencies in housing markets. Blockchain is poised to transform that.
Yes, it makes the world go ‘round.
Mark Strozier/Flickr
There are economic arguments to be had for ensuring an appropriate rate of growth of real wages.
Hot-desking and activity-based work can bring on a range of issues.
AAP
While companies are committing to hot-desking and activity-based work, research is finding negative outcomes for workers.
Research shows women consistently trade time in employment for greater time in domestic work even when their resources are on par with men.
f1uffster (Jeanie)/Flickr
The latest Census shows Australians spend between five and 14 hours a week on unpaid domestic work, but it’s women who suffer the most from this.
Shadow or parallel banking refers to the non-bank financial intermediaries that supply services similar to commercial banks.
Jenny Evans/AAP
Shadow banking provides investors with the means to isolate risks, transfer profits, avoid regulation and increase the range of money-like financial products available for investment.
Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) reveals the average balance on housing loans has barely trended upwards over the last five years.
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
When you look at the data (in three charts) on mortgage stress, the systemic risk of people not being able to repay their home loans appears small.