Australian Economy

When you turn on the 6 o’clock news and get the latest economic growth figures, it is overwhelmingly the headline rate of inflation-adjusted GDP growth being reported.

By Dr Cameron Murray People simply assume an older population means more economic dependants.

According to the latest version of AEMO’s flagship report, the 2026 ISP released in June, over 5 GW of coal is scheduled to close in 2029: By 2035, Australia is scheduled to have lost around 15 GW of coal capacity, almost all from Victoria and NSW.

When the latest Australian wages data was released, it revealed yet another quarter of falls in real terms.

Without an increase in output (GDP) per hour worked (i.e., labour productivity), Australia’s economy cannot grow at a robust pace without causing inflation.

When attempting to assess the performance of the Australian economy, simply looking at headline figures doesn’t really tell you anything about how the average household is faring.

The spurious claim that intermittent, weather-dependent energy is best to power data centres has been thoroughly debunked by the operators of such sites.

Ross Elliott from The Pulse argues that cities are undergoing a long‑term structural shift away from CBD‑centric office economies towards polycentric, suburban‑focused urban systems.

US nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, far less than expected. The bulk of the drop came from declines in leisure and hospitality (-40k) and local government education (-50k).

The 60 day ceasefire enabling negotiation of a final deal on the Straits of Hormuz ends tomorrow week.

Alex Joiner, chief economist at IFM Investors, posted the following chart on X (Twitter) illustrating the massive difference in goods (merchandise) exports between NSW and Victoria.

Former senior Australian Treasury official David Pearl gave a fantastic interview on the John Anderson podcast where, among other things, he highlighted how economic policy in Australia has lost focus on growing the economy via productivity improvements and has become increasingly reliant on government spending and interference to drive growth.

Sometimes it takes a personal angle to attract interest. I have been discussing the developing super El Niño for a couple of months without anyone taking much notice. The SOI (within its usual statistical parameters) is predicting a global food disaster.

As the debate on the issue of net zero emissions and climate change continues in the halls of power and around backyard BBQ’s across the nation, new data from Compass Polling has shed light on what voters believe when the time comes to pay for action on climate change directly with their wallets.

Last week, I published an article titled “Why New Zealand migration to Australia will fall”, arguing that New Zealand’s improving labour market would lead to fewer Kiwis migrating to Australia.

While rate hikes are off the agenda for now, courtesy of last week’s lower-than-expected trimmed-mean inflation, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would remain concerned about the strength of consumer spending.

In 1984, Australia’s flag-carrying airline, Qantas, began using the slogan “The Spirit of Australia”.

Saul Eslake has taken the moment of Jacinta Allen’s fall to provide some useful advice to whoever inherits her mess.

Former senior Australian Treasury official David Pearl gave a fantastic interview on the John Anderson podcast where, among other things, he highlighted the decline in the Treasury, which he claims has become overly ideological and politicised.