News
Fair Work: 5.75% Award Wage Boost will not cause “Wage-Price Spiral”
Today’s 5.75% award wage increase is a necessary boost for the lowest paid workers but does not keep pace with inflation. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has today explicitly said this increase “will consequently not cause or contribute to any ‘wage price spiral’”. Key Points: Award wage increase of 5.75% is less than inflation, which
The level of public housing needs to return to previous levels
Australia needs more housing, and we definitely need more public housing
May 2023
Profit-Price Spiral an Inconvenient Truth for Big Business: Economists
Despite a mainstream shift in the national conversation away from baseless claims of a “wage-price spiral”, some big business proponents and conservative economists appear unwilling to accept the economic evidence of a profit-price spiral.
Workplace Law Reform Must Limit Cancer of ‘Gig Work’ in Care Economy: Research
New research reveals the growth of ‘gig’ employment in the NDIS and care sector is undermining minimum employment conditions for tens of thousands of workers, with thousands of workers likely earning below-award wages, missing out on superannuation and experiencing inferior WHS protections and gender pay equality outcomes.
Real wages falls and interest rates rises signal tough times for households and the economy
You can’t sustain household spending while real wages continue to fall, and households are starting to let everyone know
Wages are growing solidly but real wages continue to plummet
Wages are growing the best they have for 11 years, but real wages are now back at the level they were 14 years ago
Don’t worry about a budget surplus, worry about a slowing economy
Rather than be a budget that will fuel inflation, the budget is actually closer to austerity than stimulation
Affordability of a Liveable Jobseeker Payment is a Non-Issue
Commonwealth on Track for Diminutive Deficit or Surplus in 2022-2023 In the lead-up to its 2023-24 budget, the Labor Government finds itself in an awkward position, accepting that the Jobseeker payment is “seriously inadequate” and an impediment to regaining work, yet professing that it lacks the financial capacity to afford a meaningful increase anytime soon.
The Reserve Bank’s decision to raise rates shows a total lack of coherency
Wages growth is rising slowly and inflation is falling faster than expected, and yet the RBA decided to hit the economy again with another rate rise.
April 2023
Latest inflation figures show the RBA was right not to raise rates in April
Inflation is falling steadily but hitting low-income households the most.
7% Minimum Wage Rise Would Tackle Inflation, not Feed it: Research
A 7% National Minimum Wage rise for low paid workers would help tackle the rising cost of living for those on award wages while having a virtually undetectable impact on economy-wide prices, new research from leading economists at the Centre for Future Work has found. The data comes as the Fair Work Commission deliberates about
The Stage 3 tax cuts are bad economics combined with terrible politics. They should be dumped.
The Stage 3 tax cuts were always bad, but with the removal of the low-middle income tax offset, they become a terrible political strategy as well
Wealth inequality across generations will only fuel voter disenchantment
Millennials are not becoming more conservative as they age – and the rigged housing market is just one reason why
With the impact of rate rises still to come the RBA is wise to pause
Perhaps as much as a third of the rate rises since April have yet to fully hit the economy
March 2023
Stop the fear, give workers a fair pay rise
The whole point of public-sector wage caps is to keep all wages down
The housing market has cooled, but housing unaffordability remains a long way off
House prices are falling but housing unaffordability remains high
Women Earn $1m less than men & $136,000 Less in Super over Working Life
New research released on International Women’s Day reveals Australian women earn $1.01m less over their working lives than men, based on median income data. Women earn $136,000 less in superannuation over their working lives than men, based on median income data. Women earning the median wage will accumulate approximately $393,676 in super, $151,000 below what
Australian Inflation Reflects a Historic Redistribution from Workers to Bosses
The upsurge of inflation since the COVID-19 lockdowns has not had equal impacts on all Australians. Workers and low-income people have experienced the worst losses: both because their incomes, in most cases, have not kept up with prices, and because they are more dependent on essential goods and services (like shelter, food, and energy) than higher-income households.
February 2023
Profit-Price Spiral: Excess Profits Fuelling Inflation & Interest Rates, not Wages
New empirical research reveals the main driver for inflation in Australia is excess corporate profits, not wages, and that inflation would have stayed within the RBA target band if corporates had not squeezed consumers through the pandemic via excess price hikes. The dramatic expansion of business profits has gone mostly ignored by the RBA and
Superannuation needs an objective and needs to be reviewed
Superannuation is too important for retirement to be allowed to be a tax dodge scheme for the wealthy. It is time to review the scheme and stop the abuses
Carmichael Centre Announces Appointment of Prof. David Peetz as Laurie Carmichael Distinguished Research Fellow
The Carmichael Centre at the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work is proud to announce the appointment of Prof. David Peetz, one of Australia’s most outstanding labour policy experts, as the new Laurie Carmichael Distinguished Research Fellow. Prof. Emeritus Peetz has recently retired from a long career at Griffith University, where he served as Professor
With interest rates set to rise another 3 times, no wonder consumers are feeling grim
The Reserve Bank now forecasts real household incomes will take longer to recover than they did during the 1990s recession and is also projecting economic growth at historical lows. Australian consumers are right to feel worried about the future.
The Reserve Bank is betting that monetary policy is not powerful
The signs are already evident that household consumption is falling despite most mortgage holders yet to feel the full effects of the rate rises. The Reserve Bank however believes more pain is needed.
As interest rate rises bite, the Reserve Bank should not raise rates next week
The cost of mortgages is soaring and households are spending less in the shops – the Reserve Bank should hold off on raising rates again next week
January 2023
Inflation looks to have peaked but the RBA set to keep raising rates
Most economists believe inflation has peaked and yet the Reserve Bank is still expected to raise rates next month despite real wages falling by more than 4% last year.
The Reserve Bank needs to wait before raising rates again
Home loans have fallen sharply in the past year, and the rate rises are clearly having a major impact. As such the Reserve Bank needs to wait before raising them again.
A new tool reveals how badly the Stage 3 cuts mismanage the budget
The Stage 3 tax cuts will cost $300bn in their first 9 years. A new tool shows how we can spend the money better
December 2022
Inequality and poverty is a policy choice – and the Stage 3 tax cuts will make both worse
When you reduce the revenue available to fund government services, you inevitably increase inequality
The economy is slowing as the Reserve Bank hits the brake
The build up of savings during the pandemic is over – now we need strong income growth to keep the economy going as the Reserve Bank tries to slow it.
The Reserve Bank needs to watch that it doesn’t push the economy off a cliff
For most of this year, the warnings and news about inflation have been one of hope for the best but experience the worst. Predictions of future inflation growth have continually been revised upwards and with it has been the suggestion that interest rates need to keep rising.
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