Coolabah Capital portfolio manager Chris Joye published an article in The AFR highlighting the giant contribution of government spending to Australia’s post-COVID economy. A gigantic government cash splash has helped. In fact, a remarkable 63% of all Australia’s economic growth since December 2019 has been driven by the public, rather than private, sector. Expressed another
Last week, the federal government’s own advisory body, the National Housing Supply & Affordability Council (NHSAC) released its 2025 State of the Housing System report, which forecast that only 938,000 dwellings will be built nationwide by mid-2029, 262,000 dwellings short of Labor’s National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes over five years. NHSAC
Risk markets in Asia are doing a little better despite the lack of a lead from a closed Wall Street with the focus on positive Chinese industrial production numbers. However currency markets are still wanting to push the USD down further with a somewhat hawkish talk from the BOJ not helping the USDJPY pair while
Leith and I have both explored the extraordinary price of coffee in Australia, with causes as varied as the price of beans in Brazilian drought to local labour costs and draining income. Coffee is now a luxury item. And the cafepocalypse in full swing. I admit, we’re not losing much here. I have long criticised
The Market Ear with more. So little exuberance Positioning and sentiment remain muted across the board. Hedge fund leverage is at cycle lows, CTAs and systematics are neutral, and there’s over $7 trillion parked in money markets. With so little exuberance, it’s hard to get truly bearish from here. Let’s examine the latest positioning and
Except that it is very common! GPs in NSW will soon be able to diagnose and prescribe medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), under major changes that will slash appointment wait times and make it more affordable for children and adults to receive a diagnosis and treatment. The NSW Labor government will pay for GPs
Here comes the bear doves, via The AFR: Tim Toohey was the local chief economist at Goldman Sachs for more than a decade. Now at major money manager Yarra Capital, Toohey said he expected five quarter-point rate cuts, to 2.6%, by August next year. Toohey said he had two reasons for this unorthodox position. First,
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