Governments worldwide have put in place economic and tax relief measures to mitigate the impact on businesses and workers of drastic public health measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
A Renault Zoe charging. It’s currently one of the top-selling plug-in electric vehicles in Europe, but what would happen if subsidies dried up?
Werner Hillebrand-Hansen/Wikipedia
Electric vehicles are taking off, but will demand remain sustainable once governments phase out subsidies? And as the “hidden costs” of the EV revolution emerge, some might get left behind…
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson argues his housing reforms would increase self-sufficiency.
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
The administration’s proposed changes to a decades-old housing program supporting the poorest Americans would jack up rents and deepen poverty in the US.
A fully loaded semitrailer can cause 10,000 times more damage to roads than a family car.
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
Australia should follow the lead of other nations like New Zealand and Switzerland and increase the charges for heavy vehicles on roads, proportionate to the amount of wear and tear they cause.
Southern states have attracted foreign investments with incentives to keep their car industry going.
John Kuntz/Reuters
Treasurer Joe Hockey has spent much of the year – certainly since the G20 finance ministers’ conference in Sydney – talking up “capital recycling”. The idea sounds promising: new projects can be built…
Looking for fast broadband? Here, read this report.
Stefan Postles/AAP
Nobody can ever state with certainty how much it will cost or how long it will take to deliver broadband services to more than 22 million people spread out over 7.6 million square kilometres. Even more…
The National Rental Affordability Scheme is working as designed, but has failed to meet targets.
jroyals/Flickr
The National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) looks set for a major shakeup by the government, following suggestions it has been hijacked by universities to develop subsidised studio apartments for wealthy…
Qantas is investing in a loss-making strategy, and there’s no easy way out.
Dave Hunt/AAP
Tony Abbott has thrown a curve ball at Qantas in refusing to offer up the debt guarantee it wanted, but seeking to abolish Part 3 of the Qantas Sale Act in its entirety. This opens the door to foreign…
Qantas is heading into difficult times, but is it still a good investment?
Mick Tsikas/AAP
So it begins – a company running to Canberra with a good story and in need of some or other political favour. To be fair, these companies tend to have very good stories – consumer safety, national security…
Alcoa is to close its Point Henry smelter in Geelong.
AAP
Alcoa’s decision to close the Point Henry smelter, at a cost of almost 1000 jobs in Geelong and elsewhere, comes amid a perfect storm buffeting Australia’s aluminium industry. Point Henry will be the second…
The future is uncertain for SPC Ardmona, but alternate models provide food for thought.
AAP
The failure of Victorian fruit cannery SPC Ardmona (SPCA) to secure A$25 million from the federal government has led to heightened fears about the future of the company and the Goulburn Valley fruit growers…
Farm debt is increasing in Australia, but will writing it off make more farms viable?
Grenville Turner/AAP
Farm debt in Australia has increased by almost 75% over the past decade, from A$40.3 billion in 2004 to an estimated A$70 billion in 2014. Barnaby Joyce, the Federal Minister for Agriculture, has argued…
Motoring executives and politicians have met to discuss assistance for the manufacturing sector, but they shouldn’t overlook the need for local leaders.
Joe Castro/AAP
The Abbott government has made its first move to assist the regions affected by Holden’s planned closure. A high-profile taskforce, to be led by prime minister Tony Abbott and include two other federal…
Will Norway’s electric car boom out-live the tax breaks that popularised them?
C.Bry@nt
Marianne Ryghaug, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Electric cars have been a huge success in Norway, with more electric cars per capita than anywhere else in the world. Sales are thriving, with Norway’s new car market boasting the largest share of electric…
Big farmers win big under agricultural policy, but change is in the air.
Chris Ison/PA
Reforming the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy has never been easy, and that’s hardly surprising. It’s well established that when interests are concentrated together, such as those of farmers…
The loading paid by people over the age of 30 who are insuring for the first time no longer attracts a government rebate.
LUKAS COCH/AAP
The government will no longer refund 30% of the cost of the loading paid by people who take out private health insurance after the age of 30. The removal of the rebate from the lifetime health cover loading…