Victoria has become an economic leech on the nation. In 2024-25, Victoria received a massive $3.8 billion boost in its GST, whereas Queensland lost $384 million and NSW lost $188 million. Victoria also received $411 million in additional grants from the Commonwealth in 2024-25. For 2025–2026, Victoria’s GST allocation was increased again by $3.7 billion,
According to Robert Gottliebsen, the architect of Australia’s compulsory superannuation system, former prime minister and treasurer Paul Keating, is said to be furious about current Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ plans to tax unrealised gains within superannuation for balances above $3 million. Back in the early 1990s, Keating and union leader Bill Kelty joined forces to implement
Deloitte Access Economics has released its Quarterly Employment Forecasts Report, which paints the picture of a job market propped up by record government spending. Deloitte notes that almost 390,000 Australians found jobs in the past year, with around two-thirds being full-time, “highlighting the labour market’s resilience”. However, “the overall strength of the labour market has
Chinese steel futures buckled yesterday, both long and flat. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to let this happened when you have already mooted the solution of passing the price weakness upstream to iron ore via steel output put cuts. Chinese growth prospects are hardly shotting the lights out, either. Morgan Stanley. Milder growth
I keep arguing that Australia’s transition to renewable energy will be incredibly expensive and drive up power bills. The reasons are straightforward. Renewable energy sources depend on weather conditions, which makes them intermittent and results in low load factors. As a result, renewables require backup hydrocarbon generation and loads of storage. They also need a lot
It is clear that the world wants to sell DXY. The problem is, there’s nothing else to buy. EUR might be it but its on the end of a tariff bashing. AUD follows EUR. Lead boots are growing wings. Gold, gold, gold! Metals picking up some DXY tailwind. Not miners. EM meh. Junk meh. Yields
With Wall Street closed for the long weekend, most risk markets reacted positively to the 180 degree spinning top EU tariffs by the Trump regime, with European shares taking back their Friday night losses. Meanwhile the broader selloff in USD continued Pound Sterling making a new yearly high while Euro, Loonie and Yen all consolidated
The latest data from the Department of Home Affairs shows a record 2,541,651 temporary visas on issue in Australia (excluding tourists) in Q1 2025. This figure was almost 120,000 more than the previous year and approximately 580,000 higher than Q1 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Q1 2019, the increase in temporary visas has been
The NSW and Victorian governments are pushing hard to liberalise planning and encourage the rapid construction of high-rise towers within inner and middle-ring suburbs. Last year, the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission recommended bigger towers, smaller apartments, less storage and natural light, smaller balconies, and fewer parking places as solutions to the state’s housing crisis.
Risk markets in Asia were mixed to start with on the Trump regime EU tariff bomb from the weekend gap but then the inevitable 180 spin got stocks at least somewhat back on track while currency markets continue to selloff the USD, believing the facts behind the demented spin. The Australian dollar is now at