The number of temporary migrants in Australia (excluding visitors) has expanded to record levels under the Albanese government. When the Albanese government arrived in office in mid-2022, there were 1,640,000 temporary migrants (excluding visitors) in Australia. Over the 2025 calendar year, there were 2,460,000 temporary migrants (excluding visitors) in Australia, excluding visitors: The surge in
Brisbane dwelling values have soared by 116% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, according to PropTrack. As a result, Brisbane is now the nation’s second most expensive housing market after Sydney, with a median dwelling value of $1,046,000 as of February 28, 2026, and a median house price of $1,203,000: According
Treasurer Jim “chicken” Chalmers is convening a confidential roundtable with leading market economists in Canberra to discuss potential economic reforms ahead of the May federal budget. Participants will include economists from the four major banks, and Chalmers has encouraged them to propose unconventional or “left-field” policy ideas beyond those currently considered by Treasury. Discussions are
Of Australia’s main capital cities, Melbourne is the most economically challenged. The latest labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), presented below by CBA, shows that Victoria has recorded the steepest rise in unemployment in the nation: Victoria’s unemployment rate of 4.5% is also the highest in the nation, tracking 0.4% above
The market does enjoy watching a good war. But this is still not all clear, in my book. This is especially true now that the Straits are closed. Goldman reckons due to the collapse of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, damage to energy infrastructure, and storage congestion that caused Iraq to reduce oil
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday reported a 0.9% increase in public sector demand in the December quarter, which was estimated to contribute 0.3 percentage points to GDP for the quarter. Public demand, which comprises all federal, state and local government spending and investment, totalled $198 billion in the three months to December.
Victoria continues to swing to One Nation. According to a RedBridge Group/Accent Research poll cited in the AFR, One Nation, which was not a choice in the previous survey conducted in December, is at 24%. Labour is down 6 to 25%, the Coalition is down 12 to 28%, and the Greens are up 1 to
Wednesday’s December quarter national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) came in hot, with GDP rising by 2.6% in 2025, above the RBA’s latest forecast in the February Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP): Viewed alongside the higher-than-target inflation and lower-than-forecast unemployment rate, the strong GDP print suggests that the RBA will be
Canadian PM Mark Carney has raised the median IQ in Australia for a few days. The world order is undergoing a rupture and the old norms of the rules-based international order are being erased, and that new system that will emerge ultimately is yet to be built. Global institutions have often been too slow to
The ferrous market does love seasonality, and no sooner has it closed the jaws than it is reopening them. This is part short squeeze, part hope for stimmies, with a dash of Iran thrown in. Futures markets have gotten rather short over the last month, so some corrective medicine was due. Second, hope for stimmies