Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Life hasn’t been this unaffordable in Australia in 40 years. There’s still time to redesign tax cuts starting next July – which would give $9,000 to high earners but just $1,000 to ordinary earners.
Trish Keeper, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Laid-off Supie staff were paid by an anonymous donor – but many employees never get what they’re owed when a company fails. New Zealand should follow overseas examples to better protect workers.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
It’ll now be a frugal Christmas in many Australian homes. But there is a glimmer of good news: if we do tighten our belts, rates could start to come down by as early as the middle of next year.
We found people who own their home outright were 1.5 times as likely to be highly satisfied with life as renters. But it can be a different story if you have a mortgage – especially if you’re 50-plus.
Everyone involved in the tourism industry will need to manage risk differently after a court found the landowners of Whakaari/White Island guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
In this podcast, independent economist Chris Richardson joins The Conversation to discuss a rate rise, "sticky" inflation, the fall in the standard of living, and a bleak prospect as we go into 2024.
The ACCC has published calculations for two children in care five days a week. More typical is one child in care two days a week. The typical cost is 5% of after-tax income, not 16%
Bringing together worker, business, and government representatives helped set clearer rules for everyone on public holidays. We need to try that same approach to lift NZ’s poor productivity.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
30 of the 50 economists surveyed want a carbon price of the kind introduced by Julia Gillard in 2012 and abolished by Tony Abbott in 2014. Several say there’s little “time left to act seriously”.
Manufacturers have too much legal freedom to sell products that don’t last or are hard to repair. It’s time local law caught up with global efforts to address this environmental and consumer issue.
Inflation has slipped from 6% to 5.4%, but the price of petrol climbed 7.2% in the September quarter. Much depends on what the RBA thinks will happen from here on.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Australian age pensioners who earn more than $227 a week from paid work lose two-thirds of it in tax and pension cuts. If we adopted NZ’s approach, we could have an extra 500,000 willing workers.