This Month
Public sector jobs surge props up economy
Employment in the public sector is growing at double the pace of the private sector.
- John Kehoe
- Exclusive
- Federal election
More power bill discounts likely in new cost of living package
The Albanese government is mulling a third round of power bill discounts to take to the next election.
- Phillip Coorey
Cbus’ Swan has ‘serious questions’ to answer: Coalition
Fundamental transparency and accountability failings at the industry super fund may yet claim the scalp of its chairman.
- Michelle Bowes, Joanna Mather and Lucy Dean
November
Chalmers commits to ‘first class’ RBA appointees
Jim Chalmers has pledged to put first-rate appointees on the new RBA board, as economists urge him not to put any Labor-aligned figures on the committee.
- Michael Read
Coalition wants to dilute lending laws to pump up first home buyers
An opposition inquiry will call for an overhaul of how banks and the prudential regulator treat prospective first homebuyers.
- Michael Read
Coalition’s nuclear power plants to add to off-budget spending boom
Experts called on both parties to stop funnelling taxpayer money into loss-making investments, with off-budget spending to reach $87 billion in the next four years.
- Michael Read
Rise in underlying inflation to keep rates pressure on RBA
Trimmed mean inflation increased to 3.5 per cent in October from 3.2 per cent in September, even as headline inflation remained unchanged at 2.1 per cent.
- Updated
- Michael Read
Systemic customer failings in super, says ASIC
The opposition has accused the Albanese government of looking after super funds rather than their members, as ASIC warns more prosecutions are afoot.
- Hannah Wootton
October
- Analysis
- Australian economy
The economy has a problem. Can Angus Taylor fix it?
The shadow treasurer gave his most significant economic speech this week, but the Coalition will need to deliver on the rhetoric.
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Why the RBA has a massive public education job to do
Inflation is high because of the stimulus that Canberra and the RBA poured on in the pandemic. But the public struggles to understand this.
- Michael Stutchbury
Taylor takes a swipe at RBA, Treasury for missing inflation outbreak
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor also says the expansion of Jim Chalmers’ “care economy” – such as the $49 billion NDIS – has contributed to a productivity slump.
- John Kehoe and Michael Read
September
- Exclusive
- Home loans
Own home becoming ‘just for rich’: Coalition weighs lending overhaul
Housing has become a key battleground for the major parties, as record prices and high interest rates combine to significantly reduce affordability.
- Michael Read
Electricity bills to surge 47pc next year as government support ends
The Albanese government has hinted it could extend the federal government’s $300 electricity bill rebate to avoid a sharp rise in out-of-pocket energy costs.
- Updated
- Michael Read
RBA overhaul on life support after Greens demand rate cuts
The Greens will not support the creation of a specialist monetary policy board until the RBA cuts interest rates, potentially killing treasurer Jim Chalmers’ signature reform.
- Michael Read
- Opinion
- Canberra Observed
Dutton’s strategic reset targets treasurer and the teals
The latest moves are emblematic of a broader offensive buoyed by polls that suggest a very slim possibility of winning enough seats to negotiate minority government.
- Phillip Coorey
Greens demand RBA keeps power over how banks lend
The minor party wants to retain laws that allow the central bank governor to tell banks how to lend money and that give the government a veto over interest rate decisions
- Updated
- Michael Read and John Kehoe
Chalmers open to RBA deal; Khuda’s migration push; $6trn PE squeeze
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
- Opinion
- Interest rates
We will all pay the price for RBA board reform failure
More expertise on the central bank’s board could help avoid an unfortunate repeat of Philip Lowe’s pandemic-era guidance that interest rates were not expected to rise until 2024.
- John Kehoe
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
Coalition to kill Chalmers’ RBA board overhaul
The Coalition will block Jim Chalmers’ attempt to create a new specialist interest rate-setting board at the RBA after the government slammed the central bank.
- Michael Read and John Kehoe
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Genuine bipartisanship is needed on the RBA dual board plan
The question now is what Labor and the Coalition are prepared to do to ensure those best qualified are in the room when monetary policy is being set.
- The AFR View
