Federal Politics

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is confident of a strong recovery in the Australian labour market as COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns end.Labor hopes the treasurer is right this time having made similar comments a year ago, before 2021 ended…

The federal treasurer is warning Australia’s states against overreacting to the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.“The Omicron variant is a reminder of the challenges we face but states need to keep calm and carry on,” Josh Frydenberg told…

Australia’s unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 4.2 per cent in December from 4.6 per cent the previous month, its lowest level since August 2008.The Australian Bureau of Statistics said 64,800 people joined the workforce in December…

This article first appeared in The Conversation.The disruption of the COVID pandemic has led many of us to reconsider our relationship to work, as well as our spending priorities.Some are eager to return to pre-pandemic “normality”. Others…

An expected one-off payment for millions of Australians in the federal budget will be welcome but won’t do much to provide cost-of-living relief, an economist says.Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has vowed Tuesday’s budget will include measures…

The Reserve Bank of Australia predicts inflation will reach 6 per cent before the year is out - pointing to more headaches for households balancing their budgets.RBA Governor Philip Lowe on Tuesday announced the board’s decision to hike the…

The Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate decision will hurt those on the “margins”, compounding the cost of living crisis but doing little to address spiralling inflation.But Tuesday’s cash rate rise of 50 basis points to 0.85 per cent for…

A post-pandemic spending spree by Aussie households has helped the national economy shrug off labour shortages and inflation fears to manage growth in June quarter, while resurgent export rates also bolstered the country’s financial…