West is best again in economic circles but big gains made on the other side of the Nullarbor have surprised economists and left eastern states languishing. A boost in housing construction has propelled South Australia to second position, above Queensland and Victoria, in CommSec’s latest State...
Headline and underlying inflation figures fell to four-year lows in the June quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Wednesday, lifting hopes of an upcoming Reserve Bank rate cut. KEY FIGURES * Headline inflation came in at 0.7 per cent in the June quarter, down from...
Australia is missing out on a $7 billion per year economic boon because it has failed to keep pace in the international research and development stakes, according to a new report. Tax cuts and red tape have dominated discussions ahead of Treasurer Jim Chalmers’s economic roundtable. But...
A one-off HECS debt reduction for university students is all but set after the federal opposition confirmed it would back the proposal. Laws to cut 20 per cent off the HECS bill for students passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, which would slash $5500 from...
About one in seven Australian workers will have their penalty rates increased and their employers will not be able to reduce them, under changes proposed by the Albanese government. One of those workers is service assistant Ruth Sumner, who for 25 years had to struggle to...
Workers could eventually be $14,000 a year better off if an upcoming roundtable is successful, Australia’s productivity tsar says, as competing interests draw battle lines over the summit’s priorities. Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood says Australia should adopt a “growth mindset” to prioritise economic outcomes and...
Employers must ensure job security and transparency when implementing artificial intelligence in the workplace, the peak union body says. The ACTU is calling for tougher regulations during the rollout of artificial intelligence in workplaces in order to protect jobs. At a federal economic reform roundtable next month,...
Most creative workers want the government to intervene in the unrestricted use of artificial intelligence software, a study has found, and more than half are “extremely concerned” about use of the technology and its impact on jobs. Actors, musicians, crew members and journalists expressed concerns in...
Businesses and technology providers will look to foreign countries if Australia does not build digital infrastructure to house artificial intelligence, experts say. AI is stored in data centres – massive facilities that process data from cloud servers, with complex operations being needed by millions of customers. Industry...
A push to expand Australia’s childcare subsidy to include more care options has the support of parents, advocates and politicians as the government remains focused on improving standards at existing centres. A bill empowering authorities to strip funding from childcare operators who fail to meet safety...