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.

Weekend reading and media appearances

International Reading: Trump to Dismantle FEMA After 2025: Let the States Handle It – Atlas News French drivers sue Tesla claiming Musk turned cars into ‘extreme-Right’ symbol: Tesla owners in France have filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk – IBC Canadian Boycott Of U.S.

$8 coffees will bankrupt cafes

Australia’s cafe industry is on the verge of collapse.

Reserve Bank must stimulate sagging economy

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut the official cash rate by 2.25% to 3.25% over the past nine months.

Victoria is headed for energy Armageddon

The Victorian government has set a delusional target to deliver 95% renewable energy by 2035. These targets are legislated in the Renewable Energy (Jobs and Investment) Act 2017 (Vic), namely: 25% by 2020 (achieved) 40% by 2025 65% by 2030 (previously 50%) 95% by 2035 (new).

Australia’s housing debate drowned in sea of lies

For a textbook example of how Australia’s housing affordability debate has been perverted, look no further than the latest Housing Affordability Report from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre.

Australia’s rental crisis is ongoing

SQM Research released its rental vacancy rate for May, which fell 0.1% over the month to a historically low 1.2% nationally—the same level as last year. While all markets are tight, Sydney (1.5%) and Melbourne (1.5%) have significantly higher vacancy rates than the other capital cities, which are all tracking below 1.0%.

Renewables lobby spews endless propaganda

I reported on Thursday how an unexpected outage at Victoria’s second-largest coal-fired power station had heightened concerns that colder weather could strain the market and drive up wholesale electricity prices.

Aussies want to live in houses, not apartments

Policymakers are exerting significant pressure on Australians to live in shoebox apartments.

“Scarred” households refuse to spend

Last week’s Q1 national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), revealed that real per capita home consumption has been negative for seven consecutive quarters on an annual basis, down 2.4% from its peak.

Minns is wrong about Sydney’s housing crisis

NSW Premier Chris Minns wants to solve Sydney’s housing crisis by accelerating the supply of shoebox apartments.

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