Australian Economy

Let’s do a little roundup of today’s economic pet shop starting with some terrible analysis from Deloitte at the New Daily: “Some downturns are big, and some are small,” said Geoff White, head of real estate at CoreLogic.

By Leith van Onselen MB has frequently questioned the efficacy of Sydney’s WestConnex toll road and tunnel project – the $17 billion 33 kilometre motorway under construction that is more expensive per kilometre than the Chanel Tunnel.

Get a load of this data dump from Martin North on household attitudes to property: We have released the latest edition of our household surveys, looking specifically their attitude to property transactions and expectations.

We always love the work of Freelance CEO Matt Barrie not least because he often uses MB charts: Australia’s property market enjoyed a golden run for years on end — but according to one Aussie CEO, those days are now gone for good.

By Leith van Onselen Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO, Juliana Payne, has demanded no increase in the minimum wage in 2019 due to the above-inflation increases of recent years.

Let’s kick off with David Scutt at BI: The responses in the latest [consumer sentiment] survey indicate that Australians are now more risk averse when it comes to their investment decisions — or scared — than what they were during the height of the GFC.

Via Domain: If Labor succeeds in securing an $852-a-week “living wage”, Australia could overtake France and Luxembourg to become the nation with the highest minimum wage.

Via Westpac: The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell 4.8% to 98.8 in March from 103.8 in February.

By Leith van Onselen Life is hard for the senior bank economist.

Via Domain today, the former “independent always” turned immigration-dependent real estate listings firm: Chief executives of some of Australia’s biggest companies have thrown their support behind the nation’s immigration program, saying it is crucial for bringing in the skilled workers they need and underpins economic growth.

Via The Australian today: Bill Shorten has launched a fresh assault in his war on business, branding employers as “fat cats” for criticising Labor’s wages policy and threatening to impose once-in-a-generation changes that would force the industrial umpire to deliver bigger pay rises to 2.3 million workers.

From our Bill today comes confirmation that he will change the rules at the Fair Work Commission to force wage hikes: “There’s a range of ways which governments can put the case to the Fair Work Commission.

The Aussie data just keeps getting worse.

By Leith van Onselen Economist Declan Trott refutes suggestions that labour’s share of income has declined, arguing that it remained at around its long-term average in 2016.

Via Martin North: The latest from our household surveys reveals a further fall in household confidence, with the data to end February 2019.

Via Manpower: Hiring intentions remain in positive territory for 2Q19, despite recording a quarter-on-quarter decline, as a strong outlook for payrolls in the Public Administration & Education sector offsets notable declines across the Transportation & Utilities, Mining & Construction and Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sectors.

By Leith van Onselen The Morrison Government has produced analysis countering Labor’s and the union movement’s assertion that Australian real wages have been stagnant, instead claiming that wages have consistently grown at a faster pace than inflation.