Category Archives: Australian economy

Mortgage holders could face large jump in repayments if interest rates increase by 3%, RBA says

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Deputy reserve bank governor, Michele Bullock, says most Australians are ‘well placed’ to absorb impact of rate rises

Up to 30% of mortgage holders could struggle to keep up with their home repayments if interest rates were to increase by 3%, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, which says first-home owners, late entrants to the market and low-income loan holders are most at risk.

With the bulk of low fixed-rate loans due to expire in the next two years, about half of those coming into the new variable market will face increases in their repayments of at least 40%. For those whose fixed loans expire in the middle of next year, the reserve bank estimates a median increase of about $650 a month in repayments, or a 45% increase.

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Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz calls for windfall profits tax in Australia

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Tax is a ‘no-brainer’ after companies’ huge profits during Covid but corporate influence makes it ‘politically difficult’, Stiglitz says

The Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has called for a windfall profits tax, arguing the idea is a “no-brainer” that has been taken off the table due to the influence of big companies.

Stiglitz made the comments to reporters during a tour of Australia after personally lobbying the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, to introduce the tax and warning that excessive interest rate rises could push Europe, the US, and then Australia into recession.

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Australia news live; treasurer says fuel excise cut ‘too expensive to continue’; Denis Napthine resigns as NDIA chair; 31 Covid deaths

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Gorgeous images coming through from Tasmania where snow has fallen this morning.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is on ABC Radio following the national cabinet meeting which has seen emergency isolation payments reinstated.

If the state is taking away people’s liberty, then the state has an obligation to provide financial support.

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Jim Chalmers warns of ‘confronting’ inflation and wages forecast in July economic update

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Treasurer says rising interest rates will affect economic growth but Labor has plans to provide cost-of-living support

Australia’s July economic update will contain “confronting” news about lower growth projections and higher inflation cutting real wages, Jim Chalmers has said.

The treasurer said the update to be delivered on Thursday 28 July comes as the global economy is in a “difficult if not dangerous place” due to high debt and rising interest rises to combat inflation.

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Jim Chalmers defends delay in reinstating Covid leave payments as cases rise

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The $750 payment for those who need to isolate due to Covid has been extended through September, following pressure on the government

Reinstating Covid-19 isolation payments was a necessary move in the wake of rising cases despite criticism the government was slow in doing so, according to the treasurer, Jim Chalmers.

With infections continuing to increase, a decision was made on Saturday to restore the leave pay measure until the end of September.

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Sixty-three-year-old jobseeker forced to make 250km round trip to keep welfare benefits

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Woman from Yorketown in South Australia has been referred to a job agency in Kadina under new Workforce Australia program

A 63-year-old woman from regional South Australia needs to make a 250km round trip to meet her mutual obligations and keep her benefits under the new $1.5bn-a-year Workforce Australia program.

Michelle*, who lives in Yorketown, on the Yorke Peninsula, has been referred to a job agency in Kadina, about one-and-a-half-hours’ drive or 125km from her home.

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AMA welcomes Albanese’s decision to extend Covid-19 pandemic leave payments after national cabinet meets

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Prime minister Anthony Albanese says support will continue until the end of September amid winter Covid wave set to peak in August

The Australian Medical Association has welcomed the federal government’s backflip on emergency Covid payments, and says they should say in place as long as necessary.

“They should never have been removed,” president Omar Khorshid said.

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Australia news live: nation records 66 Covid deaths as push for Albanese to continue pandemic leave payments and free RATs grows

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NSW has recorded 12,228 new cases and 14 deaths in the past 24 hours.

There are 2,027 people in hospital and of those, 60 are in ICU.

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More than 700 aged care Covid outbreaks – as it happened

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Cockroach alert at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane

As the Maroons and Blues prepare to face off in the State of Origin final decider tonight, another showdown is occurring between the SES and the “influx” of cockroaches in the stadium where the final will take place.

To be very clear, my government has not made this decision, this is a decision that was inherited from the former government and state governments.

I’d encourage concession cardholders to go and get the 10 free rapid antigen tests that they’re eligible for by the end of this month. There’s still a lot of time to go and do that. Of course, on top of that, there are free rapid antigen tests available in aged care facilities, across a range of areas as well in addition to that.

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Rising food prices hit every supermarket aisle putting pressure on low-income families

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Soaring cost of produce in Australia has ‘exacerbated health inequality’ and leads researchers to call for farmers to be subsidised

The price of food has continued to rise, with new data showing that every supermarket aisle has been hit by hikes, not just fruit and vegetables.

The soaring prices have led researchers to call on the federal government to help subsidise growers, amid concerns it’s costing some lower socioeconomic families 40% of their income to buy a week’s worth of healthy food.

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Labor vows to shake up ‘cosy monopolists’ with fines of up to $50m for anti-competitive behaviour

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Andrew Leigh says stopping ‘excessive market concentration’ is key to lifting competition to benefit workers and consumers

Australia’s economy needs a shake-up to ensure “cosy monopolists” don’t dominate the market, with the new minister for competition, Andrew Leigh, pledging to legislate tough new penalties of up to $50m for anti-competitive behaviour.

With stagnant wages growth and high inflation identified as key priorities for the new Albanese government, Leigh says preventing “excessive market concentration” will be a key focus of his role to encourage more competition to the benefit of both workers and consumers.

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Australian superannuation industry leaders to visit Indonesia to turbocharge business ties

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Former Labor frontbencher Greg Combet says group will examine viability of infrastructure investment opportunities as Australia tries to move past its reliance on China

Former Labor frontbencher and chair of IFM Investors Greg Combet will lead a high-powered delegation of leaders from the superannuation industry to Jakarta next month as part of efforts to turbocharge the economic relationship between Australia and Indonesia.

Combet has confirmed the group will examine the viability of investment opportunities in infrastructure on the back of a successful visit in June, when Anthony Albanese took a business delegation to Jakarta during his first visit to the country as prime minister.

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Interest rate hikes may send about 200,000 more households into mortgage stress, says analyst

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Households struggling with loan repayments are ‘looking at a deep hole - incomes are not rising but costs are’

Many homeowners may be forced to tighten their belts after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate by half a percentage point, sending an estimated 200,000 households into mortgage stress.

On Tuesday, the RBA raised the official cash rate 50 basis points to 1.35% – the highest since May 2019.

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Three rescued from flood waters; abortion rights protests; 54 Covid deaths – as it happened

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SES warns of flooding across saturated NSW; airport chaos spreads from Sydney to Melbourne; Anthony Albanese meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris. This blog is now closed

Flights have been cancelled, ticket prices are through the roof and queues are out the door at Sydney airport as travellers looking to jet off have been caught up in more chaos.

More than two million passengers are expected to pass through Sydney airport during the July school holidays and it is not clear whether the airport will be able to handle the massive demand over the coming days.

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Nation records 33 Covid deaths as Victoria reports fifth monkeypox case – as it happened

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Mark Butler urges Australians to get boosters as new subvariant circulates; nation records 33 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Australia ‘deeply concerned by continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights’

Penny Wong, minister for foreign affairs, released a statement last night saying Australia remains “deeply concerned” by the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights.

Australia remains deeply concerned by the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms and autonomy, two years since the imposition of the National Security Law.

The National Security Law has been applied broadly to arrest or pressure pro-democracy figures, opposition groups, the media, trade unions and civil society. The electoral reforms imposed by Beijing in 2021 have further eroded Hong Kong’s democratic governance.

This will be the fourth time the government has offered to make the changes, announced the changes, and then backtracked as a result of internal politics.

I’m just not sure where we go from here but our members are resolute. We are going to continue fighting to get these trains made safe, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

It’s going to be a very messy day. It’ll be a weekend timetable with other trains taken out of it.

The families of the railway workers right now could be having $3,000 deposited in their account, instead of having that money spent on modifying perfectly good trains.

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Nation records 60 Covid deaths as SA reports first monkeypox case – as it happened

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Nation records 60 Covid deaths; SA records first monkeypox case; Anthony Albanese meets Justin Trudeau at Nato summit. This blog is now closed

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has renewed his calls for China to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Vladimir Putin “has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world”.

Albanese – who has been in Madrid for a Nato summit – spoke to reporters yesterday after having a meeting on the sidelines with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

There we discussed the important focus of this Nato’s summit on the Asia-Pacific region. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has solidified the support amongst democratic countries for the rules-based international order and a determination to continue to provide support to the government and the people of Ukraine who are suffering as a result of this breach of international law and this brutal invasion by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Vladimir Putin has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world and provide a real determination to make sure that the resilience being shown by the Ukrainian people is backed up by resilience and support from democratic countries, including Nato, but also countries throughout the world.

Well, what we saw is prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we saw a without-limits partnership between Russia and China. We’ve seen a failure of China to condemn any of the Russian aggression that has occurred against Ukraine. China must look at what is happening and look at the resolve that is there from throughout the world and should be condemning Russia’s actions.

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Australia news live updates: ‘optimistic in the extreme’ to expect operational nuclear submarine by the 2030s, says Marles

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Defence minister blames Coalition for submarine delay; NSW parliamentary inquiry into Barilaro appointment begins; David Hurley apologises for promoting builder; Chris Bowen addresses National Press Club; NSW records 11 Covid deaths, Tasmania one. Follow live

Turnbull says Albanese ‘is not Scott Morrison and that’s a big advantage’

Australia’s new prime minister will have an easier time mending relations with the French “because he is not Scott Morrison and that’s a big advantage”, the former leader Malcolm Turnbull has told journalists in Paris.

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Nation records 75 Covid deaths as data shows fatalities rising since March – as it happened

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Australian Defence Force chiefs to have terms extended; nation records 75 Covid deaths as weekly fatalities double since March. This blog is now closed

The census shows that Christianity remains the country’s most common religion, AAP reports, with 43.9% of Australians identifying as Christian. But the number of followers continues to decline, dropping from 61.1% in 2011 and 52.1% in 2016.

Catholicism is the largest denomination, followed by Anglicanism. Other religions are growing: Hinduism was listed by 2.75% of respondents and Islam grew to 3.2%.

And close to 40% (38.9) have no religious affiliation, up from 22.3% in 2011 and 30.1% in 2016.

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Australian Taxation Office crackdown on family trust rorts causes alarm among tax advisers

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ATO gives example of child being given $180,000 then repaying it to parents for cost of bringing them up as going against community expectations

A crackdown by the Australian Taxation Office on rorts involving family trusts has drawn alarm from some advisers as some of the practices under the microscope have become common practice.

Tax advisers are also concerned at the prospect the ATO will be examining the past behaviour of family trusts, raising the prospect of bills for back taxes, inflated by years of interest and penalties.

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Senior ministers to retire before Victoria’s election – as it happened

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Housing market posts first monthly decline since September 2020; at least 52 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Australian scientists celebrate world first

AAP is reporting that in a world first, Australian scientists have developed a device with “exquisite precision” that they say is a huge step towards a commercial quantum computer.

This is a remarkable piece of engineering. This experiment paves the way for larger and more complex quantum systems to be emulated in future.

It won’t be long before we can start to realise new materials that have never existed before.

All of this is just a fantasy because they don’t understand what actually happens at the bargaining table.

I think the Reserve Bank governor has weirdly changed his tune, he was the one who said so long as wages keep up with inflation and productivity, they are not inflationary.

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