Economy

Most governments don’t think, plan and manage with a view to the longer term – but Treasurer Jim Chalmers has claimed the latest intergenerational report is the basis for action. These reports, typically published every five years to provide an outlook on the next few decades of economic challenges, are pointless if their conclusions aren’t reflected in annual budgets and other policy initiatives.

As someone who has long advocated for relying on market forces whenever possible, it pains me to recognise that market failure has been a major feature of the emerging housing crisis. The failure is apparent in the context of a long-term shift by both state and federal governments away from social housing.

Put crudely, Australia’s economic prosperity is dependent on having more people who do more stuff. Herein lies the conundrum: the more reproductive we are, the less productive we can afford to be.

Some in Australia argue any policy that forces landlords to offload stock will only help renters, by increasing available housing stock. This is a shallow perspective and lacks any real understanding of why people rent, or how many rentals are onsold to new owner-occupiers.

The Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme has identified appalling dishonesty and lapses in government processes that had serious consequences for the innocent, and their families, who were hounded for non-payment of fictitious ‘debts’.

As in politics, truth – or a lack of it – in advertising has been a much-debated topic. It seems that the chasm between truth and marketing gimmickry has never been so wide.

Australia’s growth outlook is more uncertain than ever, with recession drawing closer. The economy expanded just 0.2 per cent in the first three months of this year, and this week New Zealand declared that its economy is officially contracting.

Anthony Albanese is furious the ‘Greens political party’ – as he insists on always calling them – is blocking his signature Housing Australia Future Fund in the senate and he is now raising the prospect of using it as a trigger for an early election.

The economy roared back into view as the major focus of contention this week, with some weird developments adding extra drama to the pain and usual blame game that happens when the going gets really tough for millions of Australians. The pain came with the Reserve Bank of Australia continuing its aggressive round of interest rate hikes. The weird came with the nation’s biggest business and industry groups jumping at shadows.

While the struggle to curb inflation has drawn a lot of attention, one of the most pressing economic challenges facing the government has been widely ignored: the collapse in productivity.