Via Alan Kohler today:
By how much? Well earlier this month, KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne suggested between $77 and $83 a week, which would cost about $3 billion. Seems reasonable.
Rynne’s argument was mostly about fairness, not fiscal stimulus: Newstart hasn’t increased in real terms since 1994 – if it had kept pace with wage increases, it would be $83 higher, or $360.85; if it had stayed at 30 per cent of the average wage of the lowest paid workers – in hospitality and retail – as it was in 1994, it would be $355, or $77.15 a week higher.
