Is it time for a housing strategy?

Researchers have argued that Australia needs a national housing strategy to ensure that adequate housing is available to everyone in the country. Their report titled Towards an Australian Housing and Homelessness Strategy: understanding national approaches in contemporary policy, found that Australia’s incoherent and fragmented housing policies have become so unworkable that a circuit-breaker is needed.… Continue reading Is it time for a housing strategy?

Mortgage stress at new heights.

Mortgage stress has reached its highest level since August 2008, with 27.8% of mortgage holders being rated ‘At Risk’ by Roy Morgan following the recent RBA interest rate rise to 4.1%. Roy Morgan considers a borrower to be “At Risk,” if their mortgage payments surpass a predetermined level. This level is traditionally met when 25%… Continue reading Mortgage stress at new heights.

Cost of Living Pressure continues to rise.

Headline inflation picked up last month as energy prices jumped, while the underlying price pressures eased reducing the chances of another Reserve Bank rate rise in June. Consumer prices advanced 6.8% in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, a rate higher than the 6.4% pace economists had expected, and the 6.3% reading… Continue reading Cost of Living Pressure continues to rise.

Time to leave the table.

On Tuesday the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the official cash rate to an 11-year high of 3.85 per cent. The last time Australia experienced a similarly aggressive tightening of monetary policy was also when Ray Price or Mr Perpetual Motion led the Paramatta Eels to a Premiership.  Incidentally, this remains their most recent Premiership… Continue reading Time to leave the table.

Goodbye Low- & Middle-Income Tax Offset

This week we found out that more than 10 million Australians are facing a large tax rise. The tax hike comes from the removal of the Low- and Middle-Income Tax Offset (LMITO), which last year gave those with a taxable income of less than $126,000 tax relief of up to $1,500. The LMITO was paid… Continue reading Goodbye Low- & Middle-Income Tax Offset

Labor considering a gas tax hike

Perhaps the federal government has identified a shift in public sentiment, as it is likely that they will impose a tax on the windfall profits of gas producers during the May budget. Which speaks to how confident the Albanese government is in its popularity within the electorate, considering the scarring from the Mining Tax experience… Continue reading Labor considering a gas tax hike

Where’s the representation?

Our Managing Director – Matthew Jones – recently wrote an article for Dynamic Business about the under representation of Indigenous executives within Corporate Australia. We’ve included a few key extracts: A recent Minderoo Foundation report found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people hold less than one per cent of all executive and senior positions within Australia. Indeed, this… Continue reading Where’s the representation?

Coal and Gas Price Caps

The Federal government announced on Friday, 9 December that they intended to introduce legislation to impose a cap on coal and gas prices. Something that will be welcome news to most Australian households, that are feeling the squeeze from high interest and inflation rates. A price cap simply establishes a rate or price to be… Continue reading Coal and Gas Price Caps

Thoughts on the budget and consumer sentiment.

On 25 October, the Federal Labor government handed down their first budget since gaining office in May. While the government was at pains to stress that the budget’s intention was to highlight the state of the nation’s finances. The treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers, also an alumni of my undergraduate alma mater Griffith University, started proceedings… Continue reading Thoughts on the budget and consumer sentiment.