The Economy, Stupid

Australia does something a bit weird: if you make money selling a house or shares, you get taxed at half the rate you’d pay on your actual job. Nice if you’re the one pocketing the profit… not so great if you’re trying to buy your first place and keep getting outbid by investors.People have argued about this discount for years; it’s political TNT. Bill Shorten tried to change it twice and got burned both times. Now Labor’s back in government, the issue’s landed in a Senate inquiry, and it’s shaping up to be the first real showdown between Treasurer Jim Chalmers and newly appointed Opposition Leader Angus Taylor.Is this tax break helping the country or just helping those already ahead? And if we tweaked it… would anything actually get better?Guests: Brendan Coates – Program Director, Housing and Economic Security, Grattan Institute.Cathal Leslie – Generation Z economist who has worked at the Productivity Commission, the Australian Treasury, and the OECD in Paris, now working in the AI sector.

Spending is outpacing revenue, and the budget gap isn’t closing.At the same time, Australia is drifting off track on its emissions targets for 2030, 2035 and 2050.The Superpower Institute has a proposal: a revamped carbon pricing model it says could help fix both.Australians rejected carbon pricing more than a decade ago.The question now is whether the country is ready to reconsider? Guests: Ingrid Burford, Lead, Carbon Pricing and Policy, Superpower InstituteBen Potter, contributing Editor at The EnergySuperpower Institute: The Case for Pricing Pollution: Reducing emissions, strengthening the economy, and delivering a fair share for Australians

The Reserve Bank has lifted rates, and if you’ve got a mortgage, you’ll feel it fast. A typical borrower on a $600,000 loan is up around $90 a month for a single hike, and if more follow, the hit multiplies. Is inflation really back, or is the Bank overreacting? And what would more hikes do to jobs and house prices?Guests: Michael Pasoe, writes for Michael West MediaCherelle Murphy, the Oceania Chief Economist for the consultancy firm EY 

The Reserve Bank looks set to lift interest rates after a year of cuts - adding around $90 a month to a typical $600,000 mortgage. If there are three hikes, that’s an extra $3,200 a year. What does it mean for you? 

A year ago, we were told the housing market was about to cool, but it didn’t. What’s in store for us in the year to come? Guests: Amy Auster, director of Policy Institute AustraliaBen Phillips, principal Research Fellow at the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods

Australia’s mental health system is costly — and full of cracks. What would it take to fix it?

The Australian housing dream is no longer guaranteed. Is it too late to turn things around? 

Some economists say Australia could become a clean-energy superpower — massively rich, world-leading. But how would we get there?

How do companies keep us paying more, and can we fight back?

Most Australians die with more money than they retired with. Are we squirrelling away too much into super — and if so, who benefits?

Economic bubbles inevitably burst, but often leave behind a better world. Can we hope the same for AI?

Does GDP still capture the truth about Australian life?

From sunscreen recalls and childcare failures to tech overreach, the corporate social contract is in crisis

After a historic shock, Australia’s jobs market rebounded. But work has changed

Floods, fires and spiralling premiums are pushing millions of Australians out of insurance. Can the system itself survive?

The Reserve Bank has paused rate cuts amid rising uncertainty, while investors pour trillions into AI — with consequences that could reshape jobs, markets and society

Inflation’s jumped to 3.2% — but for many of us, it feels even higher

Australia is an economic success story. But can the institutions that built it survive an uncertain world?

Hidden debts, coercive control — and why the tax system can punish people most in need of help.

The rich keep getting richer while millions are falling behind. What future awaits us all?