Statistics New Zealand has released data showing that productivity has collapsed amid the record surge in net overseas migration. “Inputs rose at a higher rate compared with outputs in the year ended March 2023, resulting in decreases in both labour and multifactor productivity”. “Labour productivity fell 0.9%. Labour productivity captures how output relates to changes
Last year, the Albanese government vowed to streamline the list of occupations eligible for employer-sponsored visas. The first draft of the new job list, devised by the government agency Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), reportedly omits chefs, cooks, bakers, and managers, which has angered the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry is now gearing up for
In this interview with Luke Grant from Radio 2GB, I discuss the latest disastrous rental and construction data, which suggests that Australia’s rental crisis will worsen. I also discuss the latest polling showing that Australians categorically reject Big Australia immigration. Edited Transcript: Domain released its March quarter rental report, and the combined capital city house
More economists have backed Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood’s critique of the Albanese government’s “Future Made” subsidies for low-emissions manufacturing. Former Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Bernie Fraser contends that the plan represents a risk to taxpayers. He notes that governments do not have a good track record when it comes to ‘picking winners’
South Asian students are a key driver of Australia’s record increase in net overseas migration. After the former Coalition Government relaxed the cap on international student work hours and extended the time VET graduates could stay in Australia after completing their degrees, the number of South Asian students arriving for work and residency increased dramatically.
Two election polls show that the Albanese government is staring down the barrel of a minority government. An online AFR Freshwater poll of 1055 voters from Friday to Sunday shows that Labor’s primary vote stands at 31%, unchanged from the last poll a month ago, while the Coalition’s primary vote has risen one percentage point
In December 2022, The Australia Institute (TAI) complained that Australia’s transport emissions had risen above pre-pandemic levels, which it blamed on the uptake of SUVs and utes. “The government projects that by 2035, electric vehicles will account for 44% of new car sales compared to less than 1% in 2019. But despite this uptake, transport emissions
The Market Ear on panicking robots. Breaching big levels On April 10, in our thematic email, We are getting close to a CTA selling tsunami, we pointed out the “sensitive” set up and wrote: ” Just a few points lower CTAs will for the first time this year start selling in size…to add insult to
DXY is up and away: AUD has been shot to the cliff’s edge: North Asia is a pair of lead boots: Do we run our cars on gold or oil? Goldman’s latest disgrace, squeezing copper and aluminium is sucking cash up the blood funnel: The world’s second largest iron ore dog is now its hottest
Another hot US economic print plus continued war jitters across the Middle East caused Wall Street to pull back sharply again following the Friday night volatility. The USD pushed back against the undollars, although gold was able to rebound, while bond yields jumped to new highs across the curve. The Australian dollar made new lows