This week, I was interviewed by Steve Austin at ABC Radio Brisbane, where I was quizzed on why policymakers continually implement self-defeating policies that make housing more expensive. Austin’s query followed this month’s introduction of the Albanese government’s 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers, which already seems to have lifted demand and pushed home
It was never a boom in the traditional sense. It was a fiscal stimulus into bedpan jobs, and it has ended. Owing to a far too slow RBA, the private sector is not well-positioned to pick up the slack. The NAB business survey is still consistent with weak hiring intentions. More from Goldman. Today’s update
There is no substitute for sanctimonious greed. A top-20 shareholder in Santos has raised questions about the oil and gas producer’s strategy and called for it to focus on delivering value to investors, just as the gas giant was forced to cut production guidance because of an eleventh-hour hitch at its biggest growth project. HESTA
Victoria is the nation’s most indebted state with the lowest credit rating. Global rating agencies have reaffirmed Victoria’s AA credit rating, although the state government has been put on notice to reduce debt, rein in operating costs, and show fiscal restraint ahead of the November 2026 election. On Wednesday, the Victorian Department of Treasury and
The Pilbara killer is here. A Guinean government minister, meanwhile, said the West African country would inaugurate rail and port facilities for the giant Simandou iron ore project on Nov. 11. The locomotives are arriving. SIMFER, the joint venture of the government of Guinea, Rio Tinto, and the Chinalco-led CIOH consortium, has celebrated the arrival of the
Recently, a reader shared with me the statistics on the level of prosecutions against fraudsters within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The internal reporting of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), the government authority overseeing the scheme, found that in the June quarter of 2024, there were more than 7,000 tip-offs alleging fraud. Of
Compare the Market’s annual Household Budget Barometer report shows that many Australians are continuing to feel the strain of rising living costs. Only 7% of the 3,000-plus respondents feel that the Australian economy has improved over the last year, while just 22% feel optimistic about the economic future. Shadow Treasurer Ted O’Brien says the figures
Under progressive leadership regimes, the Australian central bank has become ever more corrupt and unable to speak truth to power, especially when it comes to the single most important macroeconomic input into the economy: immigration. Just this week, we had another analysis from RBA boffin Sarah Hunter, which refused to acknowledge the obvious: the immigration-led
This week, two polls were released showing that Australians overwhelmingly want significantly lower immigration. First, Resolve Political Monitor released polling of 1,800 Aussies from across the political spectrum on October 7 and 12. The group was told Australia’s current migration policies allow 316,000 people into the country and 185,000 to permanently settle in the country
The ferrous complex is falling apart; it just doesn’t know it yet. Steel prices are collapsing. The spread to iron ore is eviscerating mill profits as inventories pile up. This is both rebar and, more importantly, HRC. It’s so bad that the need for a New Year steel restock is nearly gone. Mills are going