Australian Economy

This week’s stronger-than-expected CPI inflation print from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has economists tipping near-term interest rate hikes.

Data centre capex is driving the private business investment outlook mad.

Following Wednesday’s stronger-than-expected trimmed-mean inflation by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which led several major banks to forecast imminent interest rate hikes, the ABS on Thursday reported strong household spending in July.

Below is a chart based on Education.gov.au data that shows the share of student enrolments by course: As you can see, the most popular course choice for international students is commerce, which accounted for 34.3% of enrolments in 2024, compared with 14.2% of domestic enrolments.

I argued on Monday that, instead of importing hundreds of thousands of migrants each year to address labour shortages, Australia should abolish the income test for the aged pension to encourage more seniors to enter the workforce.

On Tuesday, Bathla Group — one of western Sydney’s biggest home builders — entered voluntary administration after running out of cash, leaving $3.6 billion in private‑credit debt, 2,000 homes mid‑construction, and 15,000 planned dwellings in limbo.

I have warned repeatedly that Australia’s energy system is on a collision course with physics and reality.

In Australian finance, two ASIC licences do most of the heavy lifting: the Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and the Australian Credit Licence (ACL).

I have warned repeatedly that Australia’s energy policy is on a collision course with physics and reality.

Despite Australia maintaining one of the world’s best-rated healthcare systems, there are still major gaps in our public services, spanning from under-resourced public hospitals to a lack of access to or availability of particular in-demand healthcare and allied health services.

The business lobby and former Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson have pushed back against suggestions that Australia should cut immigration, arguing that maintaining a strong migration program is essential to solving labour shortages and mitigating population ageing.

Yesterday, I noted new Goldman research showing that Australia is leading the globe in throwing its youth under the AI job-displacement bus.

Australians have been subjected to a long, grinding income recession.

Following Wednesday’s weaker-than-expected wage growth data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its July labour force survey on Thursday, which reported rising unemployment.

Goldman has released an alarming study on Australian complacency regarding our new and improved AI+immigration growth model.

Recently Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson pledged that a Coalition state government would restore weekly rubbish collections if they win November’s state election.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the wage price index for the June quarter, which rose by 0.8% over the quarter to be 3.2% higher year-over-year: The result was in line with analysts’ expectations but 0.1% below what the Reserve Bank had forecast in its latest Statement of Monetary Policy.

This is sensible policy.

Former Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson has lambasted the aggressive reduction in the migrant intake advocated by the Coalition and One Nation.

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.