APRA chairman Wayne Byers today in parliament: “It’s not our job to solve house prices and its nor our job to solve house pricing affordability. The extent to which there is dynamic emerging of increased risk taking by the community … at this stage it’s not evident.” “I would probably start by clarifying the way
I have been pretty sanguine about this to date. But some of the activity by the Chinese military is pretty out there in terms of regular Cold War “buzzing“: 20 Chinese aircraft violated Taiwanese airspace over the weekend. A Taiwanese source said that it was simulated an attack on US warships. The US is getting
The media line-up of condemnation for Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the weekend was, once again, overwhelming. There is a very simple theme developing in all coverage. The smut crisis began as an alleged specific assault on one woman. The failure to deal with it decisively, humanely and in terms of justice – that is,
Melbourne property values were hardest hit by the COVID-19 downturn. According to CoreLogic’s daily dwelling values index, Melbourne property values declined 5.9% between mid-March and 18 October 2020, but have since rebounded strongly, gaining 6.7% since then (see next chart). As at Sunday 28 March 2021, Melbourne’s dwelling value index was 158.66, which is 30
Via The Guardian: Leftwing senator tells Guardian the chances of raising the federal minimum are better than ever with new president in White House Senator Bernie Sanders says the widespread suffering caused by the pandemic-induced economic crisis has made it “morally imperative” to increase the US’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. And in an
National Seniors Australia (NSA) has called on the federal government to implement a universal pension scheme that isn’t means tested: National Seniors Australia chief advocate Ian Henschke wants a universal pension scheme that isn’t means tested. “Review after review complains about older people failing to spend down their capital; they don’t blame the system, they
Earlier this month I claimed Australia had caught “COVID derangement syndrome” after multiple states and territories abruptly closed their borders to Brisbane and imposed draconian isolation requirements after only one local COVID-19 case was recorded, in turn plunging the travel plans of thousands into disarray: These knee jerk lockdowns make a mockery of the change
From Albo last week: ALBANESE: I wrote to the Prime Minister last week suggesting that he engage with former Prime Ministers Rudd and Howard, both of whom have significant relationships with China and as well, of course, Kevin Rudd has significant relationships with the incoming Biden Administration as well. It’s very clear that when Australian jobs
Via Goldman: We assess the macroeconomic implications of President-elect Biden’s campaign proposal to modify and expand the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which we believe has a good chance of enactment through the reconciliation process. Because many of the effects of the original ACA would likely recur on a smaller scale, we review the research literature
Via Sinocism: China agrees to invite WHO expert after second COVID-19 test – CGTN The British expert was among two WHO team members who did not board a flight to China after they tested positive for IgM antibodies in Singapore on Thursday. U.S. and China clash at WHO over scientific mission in Wuhan | Reuters
Do radicalised ABC editors meet every morning to pat one another on the back on another anti-American, pro-China day at the office? It sure looks like it: He took an escalator in and is taking a helicopter out. When it comes to rides, what a wild one the Donald Trump presidency has been. As a
With thousands of Victorians stranded interstate and abroad amid border closures, and Victoria’s overseas arrivals capped at a measly 160 a day, the Victorian Government last week hatched the idiotic plan to bring thousands of international students into the state to be housed in student accommodation: On Friday, a spokeswoman for the premier, Daniel Andrews,
The housing affordability situation in New Zealand has gone from bad to worse, with new data released by the RBNZ showing that the value of New Zealand’s housing stock hit $1.28 trillion in the September 2020 quarter, up 10.7% year on year. When compared against the size of the economy – currently $321 billion –
Via Gottiboff: First, Australia needs to recognise that it is not all China’s fault. In past years we have behaved badly and contributed to the current situation. At the same time China is now a different country and is ruled by a strongarmed dictator plus the Communist Party. Not surprisingly “The Art of War” offers
Pressure is building on the Morrison Government to rescue tens-of-thousands of Australians stranded abroad and unable to come home due to strict quarantine caps and limited (as well as costly) flight availability. The situation worsened after Emirates suspended all flights from Dubai to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane owing to National Cabinet’s decision to reduce hotel
Via The Australian: A union-commissioned poll showing the ALP faces the loss of two seats in its political heartland at the next election has prompted a senior CFMEU official to call on Labor to dump Anthony Albanese as party leader. With speculation increasing that an election could be held in the second half of the
God help me, I agree with Innes Willox for once: A leader of a powerful business group has called for a better alignment of the nation’s economic and strategic interests, urging Australian companies to resist bullying from China and for diplomats to get “their hands dirty’’ by helping to find alternative export markets. Australian Industry
More from the ABC’s chief propagandist on the weekend, Stan Grant: I have missed America. I have missed that surge of anticipation and excitement getting off a long plane ride and walking through the terminal of LAX or JFK airport. I have missed waiting in the immigration queue and hearing foreign languages all around me,
Freedom of Information (FOI) documents released on Friday by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reveals that it saw risks in its decision to cut the cash rate to 0.10%, alongside introducing the Term Funding Facility (TFF) for banks and buying government bonds. In particular, the RBA noted that “a permanent (temporary) 100 basis point
Adam Creighton has called for wealthy retirees to access their immense home equity if they want more money in retirement: On average, retirees aged over 75 have just under $1m in equity in their homes plus other financial assets, according to the Grattan Institute, dwarfing their $127,000 still in super. Why shouldn’t “eating your house”,
As we know, ScoMo’s vaccine choice is a little bit dodgy: Goodness. The Director of Government Affairs at Scott Morrison’s suddenly favourite new drug company AstraZeneca is former federal govt lobbyist Kieran Schneemann. He’s also a former Chief of Staff in the Liberal party. Not that there’s anything wrong with that at all. ▫️ pic.twitter.com/wRIIj4IDIj
For 15 years, Australia’s left stood by silently or cheered while Australia’s immigration program was more than doubled: This mass immigration experiment was an unmitigated disaster for Australia’s working class – crushing their wages, pushing up their cost of living, and degrading their quality of life. However, it was a boon for the wealthy owners
More treasonous coverage of the Chinese attack on Australia today at the ABC. First up, we get the whinging beef lobby: China’s ban on beef imports from several Australian abattoirs has cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars while eight meatworks wait to resume trade. Last year, exports of red meat to China were
This is the big one. Via The Australian: In 2019, universities earned more than $7bn in student fees from China, and they fear that if Australia-China relations continue to deteriorate this revenue could be lost permanently. There would also be major losses to the broader economy if Chinese students do not return. In the 2018-19
Kevin07 on ABC last night: Apparently, if I represent Kevin07 as kowtowing to Beijing, I work for the Murdoch Press. Only I don’t and I will still condemn his recommended kowtow which is to: encourage and follow a Biden Administration into better China relations; to build coalitions against Chinese trade aggression, and agree with Bejing
Via the always provocative GaveKal: Throughout my career, I have always found that it pays to bear in mind Jacques Rueff ’s notion of US “imperial privilege.” Put succinctly: the US has long been the only country able to settle its current account deficits in its own currency. So, when the US runs a current
SQM have their latest national property figures out, with a headline decrease in listings of 4% in November and a year on year decline of nearly 13% All capital cities recorded decreases in property listings over the month with the exception of Melbourne which recorded an increase of 1.2% in listings. Darwin, Sydney and Hobart posted
Via The Guardian: Sally McManus has labelled insecure work a “virus”, calling for a target to halve the proportion of insecure jobs in Australia by the end of the decade. The secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions will make the call in a major speech on Wednesday, warning the government that unions are
Is quality at the world’s safest airline about to go downhill? Probably. From The Age: Qantas has confirmed it will retrench another 2000 workers and outsource all ground handling work at major Australian airports after rejecting a bid by employees to save their jobs. The redundancies will be completed early next year and bring the
The nice way of saying it is that Hugh White has painted himself into a corner by declaring China the winner before the game was afoot. At the AFR again: We should not be surprised that Australia is finding it hard to get our relations with China right, because we have never encountered a country like
