Wednesday 23 January 2013
It's an election year and some Coalition candidates will probably mention productivity growth and labour costs
Monday 24 September 2012
Oops! Uncle Joe spoke too soon
Australian Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey on the 19th September 2012 at 2.17pm, presumably waving a report he hadn't read and relying on something he watched on the tube or heard on the radio as he chomped his morning cornflakes:
Saturday 18 August 2012
49 Days Since That Carbon Tax Ended Life As We Know It
PAY RISE $17.10 per week for low-paid workers
TAX FREE THRESHOLD No tax until $18,200
TAX CUTS For everyone up to $80,000
PENSION INCREASE 1.7% from May 2013
FAMILY TAX BENEFIT BOOST $300 per child
DOUBLE NSW FIRST HOME BUYERS GRANT $15,000 for purchase of new home
CREDIT CARD LENDERS Forced to clear high interest debts first
TICK AND FLICK BANK SWITCHING Sign one form once
TOUGHER MEDICARE LEVY SURCHARGE 1.25% to 1.5% for high earners without private insurance
LOWER PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE REBATE 10% to 20% instead of 30% for high earners
INSTANT ASSET WRITE-OFF Up to $6500 per small business
MINERALS RESOURCE RENT TAX To raise to $3 billion in its first year
Indicator | Change since end June 2012 |
Market Indicators | |
Official cash rate | No change |
Australian dollar (vs USD) | +2.0% |
10 year govt bond yield | -0.14 percentage points |
ASX200 | +2.1% |
Change in market cap of ASX | +$23 billion |
Economic Indicators | |
RP Data house prices | +0.6% |
Change in Housing Wealth | +$24 billion |
Westpac index of Consumer sentiment | +3.7% |
Monday 11 June 2012
Reserve Bank Governor reminds Australia that its economy is sound
Peter Martin quoting Governor Glenn Stevens on 8th June 2012:
Of course that didn't stop a privileged blowin like South African-Israeli-Australian Ivan teh Grate from spouting this nonsense, from atop the dizzying peak of his 'on paper' fortune, to the Herald Sun on the very same day:
"IVAN Glasenberg, the nation's second wealthiest person, says Australia is a less attractive place to invest than the world's poorest country, the Congo.
Mr Glasenberg, pictured, the South-African-born head of commodities giant Glencore, said the carbon tax and mining resources rent tax had damaged Australia's reputation.
He told an industry dinner in London that mining companies were disadvantaged in Australia as they had less leverage.
"At least in the Congo they need you, they want you there, and if they start changing the rules you may not continue investing," said Mr Glasenberg, an Australian citizen whose wealth is estimated at more than $7 billion.
The war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo this year was named by The Richest magazine as the world's poorest nation."
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Teh Kouk kicks out at Abbott's economic credentials and Pure Poison follows with a boot to the rear
Stephen Koukoulas of Market Economics had this response to the Australian Leader of the Opposition’s Budget Reply Speech on his blog on 10 May 2012:
ABBOTT: People who work hard and put money aside so they won’t be a burden on others should be encouraged, not hit with higher taxes.
FACT: The tax to GDP ratio of the first 5 Labor Budgets averaged 21.1%. The lowest ever tax to GDP recorded under the Howard government was 22.2% and the average was 23.4%. The last time a Coalition Government delivered a tax to GDP ratio below 21.1% was in 1979-80. Cannot see where the “hit with higher taxes” statement fits these facts in the current Budget context.
ABBOTT: And people earning $83,000 a year and families on $150,000 a year are not rich, especially if they’re paying mortgages in our big cities.
FACT: Average annual earnings are around $53,500 in NSW and $51,500 in Victoria. Maybe they are “not rich”, but someone on $83,000 is earning around 60% above the average wage whether they have a mortgage or not.
ABBOTT: Madam Deputy Speaker, from an economic perspective, the worst aspect of this year’s budget is that there is no plan for economic growth; nothing whatsoever to promote investment or employment.
FACT: After registering a 19th straight year of economic growth in 2010-11, the Budget shows Australia growing at 3% in 2011-12, 3.25% in 2012-13 and 3% in 2013-14. Having risen a Chinese-type 18% in 2011-12, business investment is forecast to rise a further 12.5% in 2012-13. Employment is forecast to rise by 1.25% in 2012-13, which will see the creation of around 175,000 new jobs from now until June 2013.
Read the rest here.
The full transcript of Tony Abbott's budget reply (containing no specific economic/funding information concerning his own inchoate policies) can be found here.
Over at Pure Poison they are wondering when the press gallery is finally going to call Abbott out on the rubbish he's spouting:
Thursday 10 May 2012
Australia's unemployment hits 4.9% low. Something the Federal Coalition has to suck up before Abbott's Budget Reply Speech 10 May 2012
ABS MEDIA RELEASE |
| |
10 May 2012 | 67/2012 | |
Australia's unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 4.9 per cent in April 2012 |
Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 4.9 per cent in April, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today. There was also a decrease in the labour force participation rate of 0.1 percentage points in April to 65.2 per cent.
The ABS reported the number of people employed increased by 15,500 to 11,501,000 in April. The increase in employment was driven by increased part-time employment, up 26,000 people to 3,438,200, and was offset by decrease in full-time employment, down 10,500 people to 8,062,800. The increase in employment was mainly driven by an increase in male part-time employment.
The number of people unemployed decreased by 28,800 people to 598,200 in April, the ABS reported.
The ABS monthly aggregate hours worked series showed an increase in April, up 6.6 million hours to 1,633.9 million hours.
There has been some interest recently in how changes in the Australian population impact on the estimates of employment from the Labour Force Survey. The responses collected from the sample of people in the survey are weighted to projections of the Australian population for the current quarter. These population projections are based on the most up-to-date information available, but are different to the official estimates of resident population that are calculated at a later date. In order to explain these issues, the ABS has produced a special feature article "Population Benchmarks and the Labour Force Survey" in this month's publication.
More details are in the April 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), as well as the upcoming April 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) due for release next week on May 17. Both publications are available for free download (after release) from the ABS website - www.abs.gov.au.
Wednesday 9 May 2012
Sometimes I wonder into which alternate universe I have wandered
Australia successfully survived the Global Financial Crisis under the stewardship of a federal Labor Government which did not panic and, with the cooperation of states and territories, acted swiftly to support weak points in the national economy.
So well did the nation weather this financial tsunami that a year on from the initial rolling economic destruction it was being openly stated by northern hemisphere economic commentators that Australia was the envy of the rest of the developed world and, in 2012 in comparison with that same developed world we still have low unemployment, low levels of government debt, low interest rates, an economy which is holding its own despite an historically weak manufacturing sector and good international credit ratings.
Which begs the question of why this Essential Report survey question elicited negative attitudes in these responses below - from 42 per cent of the very people who barely felt any effect of this global crisis.
Trust to deal with GFC
May 7, 2012
Q. If there was another Global Financial Crisis, which party would you trust most to deal with it?
15 Aug 11 | Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
The Labor Party | 31% | 25% | 68% | 2% | 42% |
The Liberal Party | 40% | 42% | 5% | 83% | 5% |
No difference | 20% | 23% | 19% | 11% | 39% |
Don’t know | 9% | 10% | 8% | 4% | 14% |
If there was another GFC, 42% would trust the Liberal Party more to handle it and 25% would trust the Labor Party more. This represents a shift to the Liberal Party from net +9% to net +17%
The Liberal Party was rated higher than Labor with all demographic groups. Those most likely to trust the Liberal Party more were men (47%), aged 55+ (48%), full-time workers (50%) and income over $1,600 pw (50%).
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Commonwealth Budget Papers 2012-13
Over at www.budget.gov.au the 2012-13 federal budget papers are available for those interested in delving deeper than tomorrow's tabloid newspaper headlines.
- Budget Speech
- Budget at a Glance
- Budget Overview
- Budget Paper No.1 Strategy and Outlook
- Budget Paper No.2 Budget Measures
- Budget Paper No.3 Australia's Federal Relations
- Budget Paper No.4 Agency Resources
- Appropriation Bills
A look back at the lack of Coalition economic theory expertise - as Australia waits for the 2012-13 federal budget to be revealed
Hours out from the 2012-13 federal budget, a look back at 2011....
Admittedly, the notion of gross and net government debt is a little complex, but when someone speaks authoritatively about gross debt in particular, one would hope they understood the intricacies of the concepts involved and how the government debt market works before they opened their mouth. It is embarrassing and disturbing, therefore, to hear the Shadow Finance Minister Andrew Robb, join with the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Barnaby Joyce and Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott deliver sensational criticisms about the rise in gross debt in Australia.
Read the rest here.
Thursday 19 April 2012
The End of the Age of Entitlement: Hockey's speech (link to full transcript)
Friday 20 January 2012
Australians trust in the national economy but remain ambivalent concerning the future
This media release of 5 January 2011 from Paris-based Ipsos Social Research Institute illustrates that Australians remain ambivalent concerning the future:
Three-quarters (74%) of Australians believe that our current economic situation is ‘very good’ or ‘somewhat good’ according to the December 2010 Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute’s Global Advisor study. At the same time, one-third of Australians (33%) believe that ‘inflation/cost of living’ is a top issue facing the nation, according to the December 2010 Ipsos-Eureka Issues Monitor.
About Ipsos
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Overall Australians are going into the 2011 festive season still confident that the economy and home finances are faring well
From the last Essential Report for 2011:
Overall, respondents were optimistic that 2012 would be a good year for themselves overall (52%) and their workplace (45%). They tended to be less optimistic about their financial situation (33% good/27% bad) and somewhat pessimistic about the Australian economy (29%/35%).
Compared to expectations 12 months ago, respondents were much less optimistic about the Australian economy (48% good last year compared to 29% good this year) and also rather less optimistic about their own financial situation (39%/20% last year compared to 33%/27% this year).
When compared with last week’s questions on perceptions of 2011, these figures suggest that respondents expect 2012 to be better than 2011 for themselves and their family (net +36% for next year compared to net +24% for this year), a little better for their workplace (+25% next year, +20% last year) and their own financial situation (+6% next year, -2% this year). The Australian economy is expected to be a little worse in 2012 (-6% next year compared to +2% last year).
UPDATE:
Wednesday 30 November 2011
Now before you indulge in très grande panic with Dr. No - actually look at the 2011-12 MYEFO
"The Mid‑Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2011‑12 (MYEFO) has been prepared in accordance with the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998. The Charter requires that the Government provide a mid‑year budget report which provides updated information to allow the assessment of the Government's fiscal performance against its fiscal strategy."
Tuesday 11 October 2011
O'Farrell Government treats people of the NSW North Coast with open contempt
The Hon. GREG PEARCE: Last week I commented upon the member's North Korean controller and the need to translate his questions from Korean to code, then from code to Korean, and then from Korean to English. I said that his questions are garbled. If anyone could make sense of that question, I invite them to answer it for me. I could not follow it at all—I really could not. I invite the member to put the question on notice to get a detailed answer.
Tuesday 9 August 2011
What a difference having a genuine national fiscal policy makes
AAA/Stable/A-1+
AAA/Stable/A-1+
AAA
In 2011 its public debt as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is running in the vicinity of 23 per cent, the current account deficit is around 2.5 per cent of GDP and total combined public, corporate and private individual foreign debt only resulted in a 3.9 per cent net income deficit as a percentage of GDP in the March 2011 Quarter - according to the figures I can find.
Just as importantly, one of the nation's major Asian trading partners China continues to see Australia as "stable" and gives a domestic currency credit rating of AAA and a foreign currency credit rating of AA+ at a time when Dangong Global Credit Rating has downgraded
America's rating to "negative" and the official Xinhua news agency is stating; China, the largest creditor of the world's sole superpower, has every right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets.
We have taken the ratings off CreditWatch because the Aug. 2 passage of the Budget Control Act Amendment of 2011 has removed any perceived immediate threat of payment default posed by delays to raising the government's debt ceiling. In addition, we believe that the act provides sufficient clarity to allow us to evaluate the likely course of U.S. fiscal policy for the next few years.....
AA+/Negative/A-1+
AA+/Negative/A-1+
According to The Australian on 5 August 2011; Australian 3-year government bond prices posted their biggest one-day rise since 1991 as investors rushed en masse to the safety of risk-free assets.
At 12pm (AEST) 6 August 2011 the Australian dollar was trading at 104.91 US cents....down from $US1.0665 late yesterday and off a 30-year high of $US1.1080 last week. By 8 August the dollar was at 1.0343 US.
On 5 August 2011 NASDAQ placed this recently high currency rate into perspective with this statement; the latest ascent comes about three months after the Australian dollar last hit a 30-year high. The initial push higher that started in June of 2010 came as a continuing mining boom and a series of interest rate hikes from Australia's central bank that began in October 2009 lifted the currency more than 30% against the U.S. dollar in a year.
Placing that fall within an historical context is this ASX All Ordinaries (XAO) Index chart 1988 - 2011 graph:
Even the International Monetary Fund doesn't consider the Australian economy an overtly risky proposition. So the next time either the Opposition Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey, unidentified Liberal/National sources or elements in the Murdoch press attempt to slyly suggest that Australia's economy is inevitably on the way to the poor house without drastic regime change - yawn loudly and turn aside.
The only thing Australia has to fear at this point in time is the contagion of fear itself and perhaps being overly irritated by the silly political point scoring of conservative politicians and big business lobbyists alike.