Unconventional Economist

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Melbourne’s Manhattanisation won’t deliver affordable homes

The Albanese government’s fantastical target of building 1.2 million dwellings over five years is centred on delivering a boom in high-rise towers that is even bigger than the one experienced between 2015 and 2020.

Aussie unemployment calm before the storm

Risky mortgage lending surges

One Nation forces Labor immigration pivot

One Nation has achieved what nobody thought was possible: the highest percentage share of primary voters in NSW from any party: This latest polling result follows late-February Roy Morgan polling, which showed that One Nation’s primary vote was 30%, ahead of Labor at 25% and the Coalition at 19%.

RBA sets Australia up for GFC 2.0

Author Mark Twain once famously said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”.

Matt Canavan embraces policy gimmick

New Nationals leader Matt Canavan is proposing income splitting for couples with dependent children — allowing them to combine their total income and divide it evenly for tax purposes.

One chart exposes Australia’s energy vulnerability

Ending the era of the “big business” university

Over the past 20 years, Australian universities have completely transformed into revenue-driven corporations.

Net long-term arrivals hit new high in January

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday released monthly overseas arrivals and departures data for January, which recorded explosive growth in the number of people arriving in Australia and intending to stay for 12 months or more.

Consumer gloom engulfs Australia

The latest SEC Newgate Mood of the Nation Survey, which was released in February before the United States and Israel attacked Iran, showed that Australians had entered 2026 with a “markedly darker outlook on their standard of living” amid “ongoing interest rate uncertainty and global economic volatility”.

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