Category Archives: Australian economy

Greens condemn ‘deeply flawed’ deal – as it happened

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Birmingham explains Dutton’s remarks

The Coalition’s Simon Birmingham is speaking to ABC radio RN Breakfast right now and he is asked about the prime minister’s comments about no one coming to Australia from Gaza at the moment.

Because he answered a question from a fellow journalist, so this wasn’t brought up by Peter Dutton, as is being put.

Yes, the borders in Gaza are closed at present.

Just while I’ve got you, Pete, before you go, and while it’s quiet, I do want to ask you about the security checks on Palestinians coming in from Gaza. Your thoughts on that this morning?

No one is coming out of Gaza, because in order to leave Gaza, of course, Israel, due to the nature of the situation there, was having to approve people going through the Rafah crossing in order to depart earlier on.

So they know that that’s the situation, and that’s the context of Peter Dutton then saying he wants just to pause for the moment. He wants to stop people coming in when he knows that no one is leaving Gaza, at the moment.

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Australia’s productivity riddle – and what it might mean for interest rates

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Michele Bullock keeps telling us productivity is flatlining. How it changes may well determine if the Reserve Bank will tolerate wage rises beyond 3%

If the Reserve Bank’s GDP forecasts about the Australian economy are right, we should be close to a nadir with a sustainable upswing on the way – provided we can get more efficient at what we do.

Productivity growth – a concept that quickens the pulse of economists and almost nobody else – has slowed in Australia and most other developed nations for years.

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Australians’ mortgage payments hit high not seen since before GFC, data shows

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The average mortgage holder is parting with more than a fifth of their pre-tax income, double what they were spending in the 90s

Mortgage holders are spending well over 20% of their pre-tax income on their loans, representing one of the highest levels on record, data compiled by Commonwealth Bank shows.

It has rocketed in recent years amid rising interest rates and high living costs to a level last seen two decades ago when frothy property prices took hold before the 2008 global financial crisis.

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Linda Reynolds defends actions following Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape – as it happened

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Budgets running on fumes as car costs outpace inflation

High transport costs are fuelling household budget concerns, AAP reports, with research revealing a surge of more than 10% over the course of a year.

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Australia news live: Linda Reynolds deleted some text messages with Bruce Lehmann’s barrister during routine ‘cyber hygiene’, defamation trial hears

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The prime minister was asked about criticism that increased public spending is fuelling inflation.

Anthony Albanese pointed to two budget surpluses and said this, plus cost-of-living measures, are applying downward pressure:

Fee-free Tafe, cheaper childcare, energy price relief – all of these measures are aimed at making sure we look after people but do so in a way that’s designed to see inflation continuing to moderate, which is what we want to make sure happens.

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RBA ‘will not hesitate’ to raise interest rates again to combat inflation, Michele Bullock warns

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Reserve Bank governor says there is ‘considerable uncertainty’ over Australia’s economic future and the board ‘remains vigilant’

Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said the central bank won’t hesitate to lift interest rates again to reduce “persistently high inflation” while acknowledging “I know this is not what people want to hear”.

In a speech on Thursday in the northern New South Wales town of Armidale, Bullock also talked up the need for more investment in renewable energy zones, noting these would account for half of electricity generation in coming decades.

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Australia news live: Linda Reynolds tells defamation trial she felt like a ‘punching clown on the fairground’ after social media posts by Higgins and Sharaz

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Wong endorses call from Blinken for de-escalation in Middle East

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said she endorsed Antony Blinken’s call for de-escalation in the Middle East.

We continue to add our voice to the support for the ceasefire outlined by President Biden and endorsed by the security council.

Thank you for an incredibly productive day.

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Anyone hoping for lower interest rates any time soon will be dismayed by RBA chief’s media conference

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Governor Michele Bullock makes clear any expectation of interest rate cuts this year ‘not aligned’ with bank’s present thinking

Those hoping for lower interest rates soon – whether stressed borrowers or those in the Albanese government itching for an early election – would have been dismayed by the Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock’s media conference on Tuesday.

The RBA board had just wrapped up the eighth meeting under her leadership and considered just two options for its key interest rate: “hold for some time” or another rate hike. A rate cut was not up for discussion.

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Australia news live: Wong ‘deeply concerned’ about escalation in Middle East; RBA interest rate decision due today

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Reserve bank’s two-day August meeting likely to leave key interest rate unchanged for a sixth straight gathering. Follow the day’s news live

Australia will join the US Global Entry program in 2025, creating an easier pathway for the hundreds of thousands of Australians who visit the country each year.

Eligible Australians who sign up for the program would benefit from streamlined and expedited immigration and customs clearance channels on arrival into the US, a statement from the foreign minister, Penny Wong, says.

Joining the Global Entry program is a mark of the closeness and the strength of the relationship between our two countries.

The foundation of the friendship between Australia and United States is the friendship between our people. This program will deepen these links and make it easier to foster greater commercial ties.

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ASX loses $160bn in two days as US recession fears prompt sell-off

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Australian share market suffers worst two-day decline since start of pandemic as it tumbles 3.7% on Monday

Australia’s share market has suffered its worst day since the onset of the pandemic as fears of a US recession prompted investors to exit their positions, erasing more than $100bn in value from local stocks.

A sea of red overwhelmed the local market on Monday, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index down by 3.7% to 7,649 at the close.

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Australia news live: Coalition claims Labor education reforms a ‘school funding war’; NZ bushwalker’s body recovered from Tasmania hiking trail

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Murray Watt says advice needed from administrators to determine government support amid administration

Murray Watt, the newly-appointed minister for workplace relations, also weighed in on the Rex Airlines administration on ABC RN just earlier.

In terms of equity stakes or other financial government support, we’ll make those decisions once the situation becomes clearer through the administrator.

This would only be activated if the company is unable to repay entitlements to any workers who are retrenched, and let’s hope it may not get to that.

But also, our department would be providing employment support to workers who do lose their job to ensure that they can get back into work as quickly as possible.

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Housing approvals fall to lowest level in 12 years despite Labor’s pledge of 1.2m new homes

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Approved dwellings drop 6.5% in June amid high interest rates and building costs as CoreLogic rues ‘dismal result’

New dwelling approvals in Australia have sunk to their lowest in 12 years, as developers battle high interest rates and rising labour and material costs.

For the year to June, 162,892 houses and apartments secured approval, down 8.5% on the previous year and the least since 2011-12, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Tuesday.

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Australia news live: states amass record debt but ratings agency says it is ‘manageable’; scam losses rise again

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S&P Global projects total state and territory debt to hit $600bn by late 2024. Follow the day’s news live

Peter Khalil on new role as special envoy on social cohesion

As Anthony Albanese unveiled changes to his cabinet ministry yesterday, he also announced three special envoys.

The act of forming that united whole, it really is about the relationships that we have with each other within our city, how we work together, common goals we share, what common ground we have, how that society works effectively …

It’s not just about multiculturalism [and] it’s not just about religious background or ethnicity. It’s much broader than that … We [have] our political beliefs, the intergenerational differences, the socioeconomic differences, and that is really important that we find ways and policies to strengthen our ability to form that united whole society, especially when it’s being threatened with fragmentation through many different challenges that we’re facing.

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Australian CEOs made less in 2023-24 but still earned on average 50 times a typical worker’s wage

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Audit also finds CEOs are more likely to be sacked than not get their bonus

Chief executives across Australia’s largest companies are making slightly less money, but are still taking home on average 50 times the pay package of a typical worker.

In its annual audit of CEO pay, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (Acsi) found chief executives at the 100 largest listed businesses averaged $5m in the 2023 financial year, down from $5.2m the previous year.

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Booktopia will not fill orders and may not issue refunds, say administrators

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Customers left out of pocket who placed orders have now become, in effect, unsecured creditors

The administrators handling the collapse of Booktopia have announced that orders placed with Australia’s largest online bookseller will not be filled – and there may be no refunds either.

It means out of pocket customers who placed orders prior to the company entering voluntary administration have now become, in effect, unsecured creditors – which voids store credits and gift cards too.

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Greens and academics criticise appointment of antisemitism envoy – as it happened

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Flights have been cancelled or delayed out of Brisbane airport this morning as thick smoke blankets the city.

According to the Brisbane airport website, nine domestic flights and two international flights have been cancelled. On social media, the airport wrote that widespread fog across Brisbane was “slowing movements on ground and limiting visibility.”

Flights are still departing but there are delays due to the reduced visibility.

Participants will be able to check accessible scorecards that will show what services DES providers offer and how they rate for quality and effectiveness, helping them make an informed choice when selecting their provider.

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Australia news live: Albanese announces special envoy to combat antisemitism, says Jewish students ‘worried’ to wear school uniform

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Meanwhile, attorney general to outline updated legislation to crackdown on money laundering. Follow the day’s news live

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, said that when it comes to the Alice Springs curfew, politics needs to be left out of it.

Speaking with ABC RN, Burney said:

This issues in Alice Springs have been a long time in the making … [The issues] will only be addressed over a long-term funding commitment, which we’ve made from the federal government.

We certainly are concerned that this is going to continue to increase and potentially overwhelm the hospital systems.

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Dutton says ‘Australia can learn’ from new British PM’s nuclear stance – as it happened

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‘Pretty clear’ Fatima Payman has been planning to join crossbench for a ‘long period’, minister says

The finance minister and manager of the government in the Senate, Katy Gallagher, is speaking with ABC RN after Fatima Payman’s resignation yesterday.

It’s difficult to go into, you know, when the decision was made – only Senator Payman knows that – but we do know, now that it’s been done, it’s a matter of fact that there had been obviously discussions about her role as an independent senator and for some time.

I think the way these decisions have been made by Senator Payman make it pretty clear that she has been thinking about this for a long period of time, and it was executed this week …

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Senator says PM’s office planted seed about crossing floor – as it happened

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Josh Burns says Labor motion to recognise Palestine as part of the peace process is ‘the bare minimum’

Josh Burns finished with:

This motion before the House is the bare minimum. It says that we support the recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a peace process. That peace process is something that I hold onto and that I have held onto my entire life.

That peace process says that we are all people, above all, and that there has to be a way through this. There has to be a way through this conflict. I wish that we could pull a lever here in Australia and it would all end today, but we have seen time and time again that that is not the case.

There are so many intractable parts of this conflict. I have a degree in this conflict, and I still don’t quite know how to fix it.

I know that there are players who are desperate to end the peace process and to try and disturb any efforts towards peace. I know that trees take years and years and years to grow and can be cut down in a second, and that is what the Middle East has demonstrated over and over again.

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Older Australians pressured into paying unfair robotax debts will not be compensated, government says

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Finance minister Katy Gallagher says people who felt intimidated into paying back ATO debts so old they are impossible to verify will not get their money back

Older Australians who felt pressured into paying decades-old debts as part of the troubled “robotax” campaign have hit out at a government decision to deny refunds after describing the tax grab as coercive.

The federal government has disclosed it intends to amend laws that will allow the Australian Taxation Office to keep debts put on hold before 2017 on ice indefinitely, rather than extract them from future tax refunds, as was planned.

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