Last year, half a million Australians couldn’t afford to fill a script. Here’s what needs to be done to put a lid on rising health costs. Nearly every Australian uses some part of the health system every year, whether it be going to the GP, getting a prescription filled, or seeing a specialist. Despite having… Read more »
There’s a handy summary of RBA economic data available to click on – and at the moment it’s a very reassuring thing to do. Every day we seem to be bombarded with economic data. It can feel confusing and overwhelming, but the Reserve Bank Australia has your back. At the end of each month it… Read more »
Filling up at the pump has never been so expensive. What drives the price of petrol so high and is there anything we can do about it? The price of crude oil is at multi-year highs and that has a flow-on effect directly to the bowser. In a nutshell, crude oil’s price has been affected… Read more »
While credit card debt has been significantly reduced over the past few years, 28 per cent of credit card users say they wouldn’t be able to manage their finances without one. So, what can you do to manage your credit card better? RBA figures show that Australia’s national credit card debt clocks in at over… Read more »
The Australian economy is doing well despite Delta, but 3 major economic challenges loom: housing affordability, the tax mix, and decarbonisation. This week the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published its first Economic Survey of Australia since 2018. It gives Australia good marks for a remarkably good economic response to the COVID pandemic, but… Read more »
Job security? What job security? It’s almost as though the concept has completely disappeared in this COVID age of lockdowns, stand downs and failing companies. It’s not just COVID putting people out of work either. Modern business practices mean companies continue to “resize”, “downsize”, “re-engineer”, or whatever the latest management buzz word is. In the… Read more »
With the prospect of a lengthier lockdown looming over Sydney, the idea of “living with the virus” has resurfaced. But it’s not something supported by most economists. by John Quiggin, The University of Queensland and Richard Holden, UNSW NSW’s health minister, Brad Hazzard, raised the prospect of abandoning the lockdown and accepting that “the virus… Read more »
Despite the Reserve Bank of Australia promising to keep official interest rates on hold until 2024, the rates we pay on some loans are already going up… and are expected to keep going up. In practice, we can already see that interest rates are rising. Australians have been enjoying home loan rates under two per… Read more »
It may not feel like it but, it’s official, the average Australian has never been richer… on paper at least. Before I go through the figures, I should point out that Aussies are asset rich but cash poor. The value of their superannuation and houses have skyrocketed, but not their wages. That’s why you don’t… Read more »
The ABS employment numbers were a shocker in anyone’s book. Employment declined by 227,700 in May, worse than expected, and the unemployment rate was up to a 19 year high of 7.1 per cent… up from 6.4 per cent in April. Unemployment horrible but maybe we’re through the worst Full-time jobs fell by 89,100 and part-time… Read more »
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