As Australia’s housing affordability crisis worsens, governments are spending more on housing. Victoria’s Andrews government has announced a suite of reforms (such as boosting social housing and making planning processes faster) in an effort to get 800,000 extra homes in Victoria over the next decade. Federally, the Albanese government’s A$10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund,…
Did you know that on average, there are 250 babies born every minute around the world. This adds up to over 130 million new human beings entering the world every year. Then it’s no surprise that the world’s population, which now stands at a whopping 8 billion, has more than tripled since the mid-20th century. This graphic…
As we approach the release of Monday’s employment white paper we can expect to hear a lot about something called the NAIRU – the so-called Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment. This ungainly acronym, which currently dominates the thinking of both the Reserve Bank and the Treasury, derives its power almost entirely from the economic crisis…
Victoria has led the states and territories in setting out a detailed housing statement that it says will help tackle the state’s housing shortage. Broad in scope and ambition, the plan includes new dwelling supply targets for Melbourne and regional Victoria, new fast-track deadlines for dwelling approvals and legislative reforms to protect private tenants. There…
The Block has begun its 19th season this month, billed as “a Block that’s entirely relatable to people right around Australia”. This year, contestants renovate five “authentic ’50s dream homes” in “the perfectly named Charming Street, in Melbourne’s Hampton East”. But if the median price for a four-bedroom house in Hampton East is around A$1.6…
The government has provided another $1 billion for public and community housing to secure a deal with the Greens to finally pass the Housing Australia Future Fund. After months of stalling, the Greens agreed to pass the legislation through the Senate this week, despite the government refusing to give ground on the minor party’s demand…
Surely Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe won’t move to a private bank after his term as governor ends next week. After having chaired his last board meeting on Tuesday, there’s nothing to stop him, and – as shabby as it seems – he wouldn’t be the first. There are three reasons why he shouldn’t join…
Such simple stories are likely part of the explanation why polling by the Australia-China Relations Institute finds three-quarters of Australians think our economy is “too reliant on China”. In the middle of last year, indicators emerged that China’s large, and iron-ore-hungry, property construction sector was struggling. This meant, according to an analysis published by News.com.au,…
Australia’s economy grew a mere 0.4% in the June quarter according to figures released by the Bureau of Statistics today, a performance Treasurer Jim Chalmers describes as “steady in the face of unrelenting pressure”. The lacklustre growth follows growth of 0.4% the previous quarter, and is a step down from the growth of 0.7% in…
A group of crossbench parliamentarians have revived the idea of increasing the rate of the goods and services tax from 10% or removing exemptions on food, education and health purchases. The group, which includes Allegra Spender and David Pocock, say increasing the GST rate would raise revenue to lessen government dependence on income tax as…
