SYDNEY, Australia—Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said Australians were currently suffering the consequences of big government. “Inflation is the price that everybody pays for excessive government. It is a thief in the night,” he said in a speech at the Friedman Conference in Sydney on July 8. Championing the late American economist Milton Friedman’s words that…

Australia’s economic growth is shrinking as interest rate hikes, high inflation, and unfavourable global conditions continue to take a toll on the economy. According to the latest national accounts, Australia’s GDP (gross domestic product) only grew by 0.2 percent in the March quarter, down from 0.6 percent in the previous three months and the lowest…

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor says the federal government needs to stop making excuses for Australia’s inflation crisis and get on with the job of stopping it. In his Budget Reply speech, Taylor said the Albanese government’s budget would worsen the current economic situation. “This is the crisis government has to deal with now,” Taylor said…

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has refuted the idea that the Labor government broke an election promise after announcing changes to the superannuation concession tax on Feb. 28. This comes after Albanese said during the 2022 federal election campaign that the Labor party would not make any major change to the super tax break if it…

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said that the renewal of Australia’s AAA credit rating by rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) proves the effectiveness of the Albanese government’s “responsible economic management” in the previous year. On Jan. 30, S&P Global announced that Australia had retained its AAA credit rating while expecting the country to avoid…

The governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Phillip Lowe, has faced fierce criticism by the federal government over remarks about Australia’s current economic situation on wage growth and interest rate rises. In a speech made at a business dinner on Nov. 22, Lowe said that the country should not “buy into the idea…

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected calls for government handouts to help struggling families cope with rising living cost pressures while stressing the need for further budget repair. Speaking at the Economic and Social Outlook Conference in Melbourne on the night of Nov. 2, the prime minister said that untargeted spending would exacerbate the…

The Australian government has confirmed that it would not provide energy rebates for struggling Australians despite soaring electricity and gas prices. Speaking at the National Press Club on Oct. 26, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said that cash handouts would exacerbate inflation in the long term. His remarks came after the government released forecasts that retail power…

The Australian government will reveal its ambitious plan to build more affordable housing when its first budget is delivered on Tuesday night. Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirmed he was working with state and territory governments, the building industry, and superannuation funds to build one million new homes. During its election campaign, the government already pledged 30,000…

Lidia Thorpe, deputy leader of the left-wing Australian Greens party has resigned from her position—but remains a senator—after revelations emerged of a relationship with the ex-leader of an outlaw motorcycle gang, which occurred at the same time she sat on a parliamentary committee investigating the criminal gangs. The joint-parliamentary committee on law enforcement she was…