While the government trumpets its jobs figures, it refuses to engage with wage stagnation. The truth is, nobody knows by what formula wages will go up again.
As the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority releases a scathing report on the conduct of Commonwealth Bank, a bandwagon-joining Scott Morrison calls for more heads to roll.
Successive governments have maintained high levels of immigration to stoke the economy. The argument against this is growing, bringing together odd bedfellows.
The government may have thought Kenneth Hayne would run an easygoing royal commission. But his exposure of corruption and exploitation among the big banks sees him join a tradition of commissioners delivering more than their masters bargained for.
While the government remains focused on neoliberal solutions to inequality, homelessness and hunger worsen. Some in the sector wonder whether it is deliberate.
Gross underpayment of Australia’s migrant workforce has become institutionalised in a variety of industries, and with the Fair Work Ombudsman under-resourced and unions kept at bay, the government appears unwilling to address the problem.
