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A new dawn over stormy seas: how Labor should manage the economy

ShutterstockLabor has inherited an economy with a pretty full “head of steam”. Domestic demand is growing strongly, fuelled by households flush with cash (and enriched by big inc...

Labour’s fourth ‘well-being budget' still comes up short on the well-being of women

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to parliament via video link from COVID isolation during budget day.Getty ImagesAll budgets are about economics and politics, and 2022’s was no dif...

5 charts show how trust in Australia's leaders and institutions has collapsed

ShutterstockWhatever the result of the 2022 election, one thing is clear: many Australians are losing faith that their social institutions serve their interests. Our annual survey of 4,000 A...

At 3.9%, Australia's unemployment rate now officially begins with '3'. What's next?

ShutterstockEarly in the election campaign, on April 14, we learned that Australia’s unemployment rate had slipped below 4% in March, to 3.95% – the lowest rate in 48 years.But t...

A budget for the ‘squeezed middle’ – but will it be the political circuit-breaker Labour wants?

Getty ImagesOne way to make sense of Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s fifth budget speech was to see it as a political performance working on different levels. First, Labour needs th...

Raiding super early has already left women worse off. Let's not repeat the mistake for home deposits

ShutterstockIn 2020 the Morrison government allowed Australians to raid their superannuation to get through during the pandemic. This week Scott Morrison proposed letting people raid their s...

Proof positive. Real wages are shrinking, Wednesday's figures put it beyond doubt

Shutterstock/The ConversationEvery three months the Bureau of Statistics releases the lesser-known cousin of the consumer price index. It’s called the Wage Price Index (WPI) and it rec...

Are real wages falling? Here's the evidence

ShutterstockYou would be forgiven for being unsure about whether the buying power of wages was rising or falling. On one hand, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says wages are going backwar...

Air of compromise: NZ's Emissions Reduction Plan reveals a climate budget that’s long on planning, short on strategy

Getty ImagesUntil now, the government’s approach to climate action has largely been about getting the policy architecture right. This work is vital, but it’s more about rearrangi...

Elections used to be about costings. Here's what's changed

The last week of campaigns used to be frantic, behind the scenes. In public, right up until the final week, the leaders would make all sorts of promises, many of them expensive, with nary a ...

Will the budget be another missed opportunity to get more New Zealanders out of their cars?

ShutterstockIt would be hard to find someone who’s visited Copenhagen or Amsterdam and complained about too many bikes. And you don’t tend to hear a lot of moaning about too much...

The Russian invasion of Ukraine made everyone nervous, upending trade patterns for exporting countries like New Zealand
Getty ImagesUncertainty in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has wreaked havoc wit…
Super for housing or the government as a co-owner: how Liberal and Labor home-buyer schemes compare
ShutterstockAt their first televised debate four weeks ago, Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese were…
Australia is bringing migrant workers back – but exploitation is still rampant. Here are 3 changes needed now
ShutterstockIf the COVID years have taught us anything about migration, it is that Australia depends…
The cost of living crisis means bolder budget decisions are needed to lift more NZ children out of poverty
Getty ImagesUrgent and bold – transformative even – budget decisions are needed if we ar…
We all lose when charities compete with each other. They should join forces
ShutterstockYou want to help Ukrainians in need. Should you donate to UNICEF, UNHCR, Red Cross, Worl…
If governments were really concerned about tax and the cost of living they would cut the cost of childcare
Shutterstock/DatawrapperAmid the talk about tax changes set to cut the middle-income rate to 30%, a …
How well off you are depends on who you are. Comparing the lives of Australia's Millennials, Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers
ShutterstockMost Australian voters are either Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964), Generation Xers (196…
Electricity prices are spiking, ten times as much as normal. Here are some educated guesses as to why
ShutterstockElectricity prices in the short-term (“spot”) wholesale markets in Australia…
The age of hybrid working is here – how can businesses find the right mix between office and home?
Getty ImagesAfter more than two years of disruptions, lockdowns and uncertainty, employers are facin…
Even if next week’s budget avoids the issue, it’s time New Zealand seriously considered a wealth tax
Getty ImagesTax is back in the news. Often this means a looming budget or election, as is indeed the…
Stand by for the oddly designed Stage 3 tax cut that will send middle earners backwards and give high earners…
ShutterstockThe Reserve Bank is pushing up interest rates to take money out of our hands.The first i…
Tiny and alternate houses can help ease Australia's rental affordability crisis
ShutterstockRental housing in Australia is less affordable than ever before. It is no exaggeration …
Poverty isn’t a temporary experience in Australia. We need urgent policy tackling persistent disadvantage
ShutterstockWe often hear a job is the best way to get someone out of poverty. In many cases this is…
Australia is investigating a digital currency, or e-dollar, but its benefits seem slight and the risks to privacy large
ShutterstockWe are used to thinking of money as notes and coins, the kind most of us hold in our wal…

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