The key battleground for Labour in tomorrow’s local elections, and indeed in the run-up to next year’s general election is the “cost of living crisis”. With the Conservatives able to claim the credit for…
The economy will react slowly to last night’s budget.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The Abbott-Hockey government is continuing to budget for a deficit. This means it is pumping more spending into the economy than it is taking out. The amount of this stimulus is being reduced; the size…
Charis Palmer, The Conversation dan Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation
Since publication this infographic has been amended. The original version stated the NDIS was scaled back. There are no planned cuts to the funding of the NDIS.
Some pain, but the nation will benefit: Hockey’s first budget.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The Abbott government has laid out its path to reach a budget surplus near the end of the decade in the face of continued below-trend growth. Stopping short of making deep cuts in the coming years, Treasurer…
What is the true state of Australia’s economy?
Image sourced from www.shutterstock.com
In the lead up to the budget, the story of crisis has been hammered home, but there’s more to a country than its structural deficit. So how is Australia doing overall? In this special series, ten writers…
Hearing voices. Francois Hollande watches a Mirage 2000-5 taxi out of its hangar.
Philippe Wojazer/EPA
Why does the economic policy pursued or proposed by the Left in Europe often seem so pathetic? The clearest example of this lies just across the channel. France is subject to the same fiscal straitjacket…
Labour leader Ed Miliband addresses the party faithful in Scotland.
Andrew Milligan/PA
Ed Miliband’s goal in addressing the Scottish Labour conference in Perth was straightforward: to promote the campaign for the No vote on the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence. There are all…
There is good news for George Osborne as he approaches his latest budget speech. The Bank of England is predicting the economy will grow by 3.4% per cent this year and the Office of Budget Responsibility…
Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey hosting the recent G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Sydney, a lead-up event to November’s Brisbane Summit.
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
When Australia hosts the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November, a top agenda item for its “Brisbane Action Plan” will be “practical actions to improve productivity and competitiveness”. So here’s a good place…
A mini power plant in a North Sydney basement. Trigeneration plants like these generate electricity, heating and cooling far more efficiently than with mains power.
AAP/Short Communications, Girrit Fokkema
The debate about the future of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) has largely focused on the issue of immediate costs to business. But if we’re thinking about Australia’s long-term economic interests…
After a promising start to an ambitious economic turn-around program, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will have more difficulty with tax changes scheduled to come in over the next few years.
EPA/Harish Tyagi
Another record trade deficit for Japan is raising doubts about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” strategy for economic revival. The new figures follow poor manufacturing sentiment numbers earlier…
So the International Monetary Fund has revised its economic growth forecast for the UK upwards. It now expects 2.4% growth in the UK this year, up from the 1.9% they predicted a few months back. Cue celebratory…
Singapore’s Marina Bay is viewed as a role model for casino precincts.
Slack12/Flickr
Tim Mazzarol, The University of Western Australia dan Antoine Musu, The University of Western Australia
Last month Queensland Premier Campbell Newman called for expressions of interest to develop a major integrated resort casino precinct within the Brisbane CBD. The vision is for a new casino surrounded…
Big car firms now make huge sums from financial subsidiaries.
Martin Rickett/PA
In both the US and UK, policymakers have been excited to see a small but significant increase in manufacturing activity and exports. While growth in manufacturing jobs has been sporadic, the creation of…
Tasmania is travelling down a more sustainable path.
Paul D'Ambra - Australia
Recent reports would have you believe that Tasmania is a basket case and in desperate need of another bailout. The Fairfax-owned Launceston Examiner recently ran a story headlined “Tasmania’s economy is…
How does Australia’s economy stack up when compared globally?
“We have among the lowest of budget deficits and debt to GDP of any other major economies in the developed world… If it’s so bad, Mr Abbott, why have we been given by the three ratings agencies a AAA credit…
The last few years in Australian politics have seen the rise of a new definition of ‘lying’.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Lie (v.) (1) To make a politically unpopular statement; (2) [retrospectively applied] To make a statement which appears inconsistent with a more recent statement, indicating that its maker has changed…
Chris Bowen’s mini budget doesn’t tackle the structural problems facing the Australian budget.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Chris Bowen, the new Labor Treasurer, has announced the government’s plans for savings and new sources of revenue to meet a budget shortfall with the aim of bring about the elusive budget surplus in 2016/17…
Bearers of bad news: Treasurer Chris Bowen and Finance Minister Penny Wong deliver the government’s economic statement.
A slowing economy and drop in government revenue has led to an increased budget deficit, new taxes and some cuts to existing programs. Delivering the Rudd government’s long awaited economic statement…
Chris Bowen and Kevin Rudd are facing the challenge of paying for their new policies while minimising political “nasties”.
AAP/Lori Neilsen-Carr
Now Kevin Rudd has ticked off emissions trading and unveiled his PNG solution on boat arrivals, he’s turning his full attention to trying to neutralise the “debt and deficit” issue. In other words, he’s…