The economy is roaring and the RBA may need to act

The rebound in the Australian economy should be, and is, good news - but capacity constraints are starting to bite.

yesterday 9

John Kehoe

Inflation shock increases risk of interest rate hike

It now seems increasingly plausible that the next move in interest rates could just as well be up, as down.

previous day 10

John Kehoe

How the doctor and lawyer cartel make the cost of living worse

One idea to boost competition is to remove the power of industry incumbents. Two prime examples are the self-appointed “gatekeepers” in medicine...

previous day 20

John Kehoe

How a last-resort fund for financial victims is rewarding the reckless

The two-year-old Compensation Scheme of Last Resort to bail out victims of poor financial advice and fraud is turning into a slippery slope.

19.11.2025 5

John Kehoe

If you’re waiting for another rate cut, read this first

The lower speed limit means the economy cannot afford as much income growth for people, and that living standards will increase by less than in the...

12.11.2025 10

John Kehoe

Why the RBA is on alert but not alarmed about its big inflation miss

Solid employment, wage rises and weak labour productivity are conspiring to fuel sticky inflation.

04.11.2025 10

John Kehoe

These hard questions could burst Labor’s Made in Australia fantasy

Profligate industrial subsidies could fuel a culture of rent-seeking by businesses, diverting companies away from innovating to address market...

29.10.2025 4

John Kehoe

Sussan Ley’s revival of Liberal economics is gasping for air

The opposition leader, who is a long shot to ever become prime minister, has nothing to lose and appears to be prepared to take risks.

22.10.2025 3

John Kehoe

‘Jobless growth’ may be the new normal for RBA

A jump in the unemployment rate to 4.5 per cent puts a rate cut in play, but the Reserve Bank will wait for crucial inflation data before making a...

16.10.2025 3

John Kehoe

The treasurer who mistook the super tax cash grab for reform

Sure, tax reform is very politically difficult. But we shouldn’t gild the lily that Jim Chalmers’ original superannuation tax proposal was serious...

15.10.2025 4

John Kehoe

Why Chalmers shouldn’t delay taxing electric cars

If politicians wait too long for high take-up rates of EVs before starting a road user levy, the political resistance against reform will be much more...

01.10.2025 10

John Kehoe

Why ‘bad’ news on interest rates is ‘good’ news for the economy

Consumers are finally spending more as their real incomes recover and the rise in house price makes them feel wealthier.

30.09.2025 8

John Kehoe

Sussan Ley revives the fight over big government

The next election could be an old-fashioned philosophical contest between Labor and the Coalition on the size of government, spending and taxation.

24.09.2025 2

John Kehoe

What Australia could learn from the Nordics for a fairer tax system

Labor will be tempted to try to close down tax breaks and perceived loopholes, such as the capital gains tax discount, in the name of...

17.09.2025 2

John Kehoe

Australia’s tobacco crackdown has created a gangster’s paradise

The government has inadvertently helped enrich powerful gangs who are resorting to violence to retain their financial advantage.

10.09.2025 10

John Kehoe

Why remote work is bad for young women

While working from home benefits experienced staff, it disadvantages one group more than others, a study by three female economists has found.

03.09.2025 3

John Kehoe

Labor’s housing ‘help’ risks backfiring on homeowners

Nationalising the first buyer LMI market could cut competition and put upward pressure on premiums for investors and first buyers not eligible for the...

27.08.2025 10

John Kehoe

Chalmers puts younger workers at heart of tax review

The treasurer hints that the government take is going to rise, but he doesn’t want working-age people to shoulder the burden.

21.08.2025 2

John Kehoe

Beware of Labor ‘kleptocrats’ blowing other people’s money

Politicians no longer want to do the hard policy work of growing the economic pie through productivity-boosting reforms to generate prosperity.

13.08.2025 10

John Kehoe

RBA bombshell exposes grim reality for Chalmers

A week out from Jim Chalmers’ economic roundtable, the Reserve Bank has pulled back the curtain on the Australian economy.

12.08.2025 4

John Kehoe

Banks and miners are the hurdle to corporate tax cut

The Productivity Commission and Treasury want to avoid granting cuts to the two industries, but there are other options worth exploring.

06.08.2025 4

John Kehoe

Why the big end of town will pay for a corporate tax cut

There are two reasons the PC wants to redistribute the tax burden away from small to medium companies and towards the nation’s largest companies.

31.07.2025 4

John Kehoe

The jobless rate is up. Over to you Governor Bullock

The unexpected jump in the unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent will put scrutiny on the RBA’s surprise decision not to cut interest rates this month.

17.07.2025 8

John Kehoe

The government needs to get out of the way of the private sector

Unless there is a fundamental mindset shift by Labor, the private sector will remain stuck in the doldrums, and we will retain an inflated,...

16.07.2025 2

John Kehoe

Six reasons the RBA’s interest rate hold will go down in history

Governor Michele Bullock took the rare step of thumbing her nose at almost every market economist and trader by holding rates steady.

08.07.2025 7

John Kehoe

ACT Labor is bankrupting Canberra

The government in the nation’s capital is spending uncontrollably, inventing dishonest taxes and overseeing a flawed education system that is...

02.07.2025 4

John Kehoe

Howard and Costello: This is how you do tax reform, Jim

John Howard and Peter Costello have weighed in on Jim Chalmers’ productivity and tax agenda, 25 years after implementing the GST.

22.06.2025 20

John Kehoe

Chalmers’ big test: tax reform or more tax grabs?

The treasurer will embark on a long-overdue tax reform, but it remains to be seen whether Labor can implement the changes needed to improve living...

18.06.2025 10

John Kehoe

Super tax breaks are greatly exaggerated

Treasury claims more than $50 billion in revenue is being forfeited for super tax breaks every year. This is misleading.

18.06.2025 10

John Kehoe

Six tax changes Labor can (and should) implement

Anthony Albanese’s plan to host a productivity roundtable is an opportunity to put overdue tax reform on the government’s agenda.

11.06.2025 10

John Kehoe

Economy will be stuck in the slow lane unless these two things change

There are two worrying trends in the national accounts released on Wednesday.

04.06.2025 10

John Kehoe

Albanese shouldn’t bother pursuing US tariff exemptions

The prime minister should be wary of cutting short-sighted deals with Donald Trump and instead focus on domestic policies he can control to improve...

04.06.2025 10

John Kehoe

Chalmers’ spending transition in doubt

The treasurer’s hope for the economy to shift from government spending to business-led growth may be on shaky ground.

03.06.2025 4

John Kehoe

Why Chalmers must lift living standards to become PM

If Jim Chalmers serves as treasurer for nine years, the performance of the Australian economy will be his to own.

21.05.2025 20

John Kehoe

Trump’s trade uncertainty means more RBA cuts to come

The US president’s name is not mentioned once, but his presence permeates throughout the Reserve Bank’s analysis.

20.05.2025 10

John Kehoe

Liberal Party rebuild must champion lower income tax

The organising principle that can unite conservatives and moderates in the Coalition must be economic management.

14.05.2025 10

John Kehoe

Liberals were too left-wing on the economy

Peter Dutton’s team defied basic liberal economic principles and was punished. The natural policy for it should be to offer lighter income taxes...

07.05.2025 10

John Kehoe

Labor’s missing $8b for housing makes a mockery of budget

More than 80 per cent of the $10 billion that the government committed to build 100,000 homes for first buyers was nowhere to be seen in its election...

30.04.2025 20

John Kehoe

Dutton’s ‘aspiration’ to end tax bracket creep is too little, too late

If the Coalition leader had committed to indexing the tax scales a month ago, he could have given himself a better shot at winning the election.

17.04.2025 7

John Kehoe

Election cons will fuel higher house prices and debt

The extraordinarily dumb demand-side housing policies by Labor and the Coalition will fuel even higher prices and cause first home buyers to take...

13.04.2025 20

John Kehoe

Trump’s chaos kills American exceptionalism

Investor belief in US superiority drove Wall Street to sky-high valuations, but the president’s trade war is now eroding this conviction.

09.04.2025 10

John Kehoe

Bullock was right about Australia’s shock absorber against US tariffs

Last week, the RBA governor said the exchange rate would be an important “buffer” in Trump’s trade war. It is what economists call it an...

08.04.2025 10

John Kehoe

Recession talk is premature

The major parties are jostling to be perceived as the best placed to manage the international economic turmoil. Australia needs cool heads to prevail.

08.04.2025 10

John Kehoe

Chalmers’ broken budget rule is a slippery slope in a world of debt

Australia has relatively moderate federal debt levels compared with most countries. But the picture is not so benign if ballooning state government...

02.04.2025 8

John Kehoe

RBA has interest rate trigger for Trump trade war

The Reserve Bank of Australia isn’t quite sure what impact Donald Trump’s imminent next round of tariffs will have on inflation, but it is ready...

01.04.2025 20

John Kehoe

Dutton’s fuel tax cut is bad economics

The pledge to temporarily cut the price of petrol exposes the Liberals for embracing a Labor-lite version of debt-funded spending, while shying away...

27.03.2025 10

John Kehoe

Is Katy Gallagher tough enough on spending to be finance minister?

The Canberran is responsible for the expenditure side of the budget. But that is at a 40-year high and there is no plan to rein it in.

26.03.2025 10

John Kehoe

A $1 trillion debt looms. There will be a price to pay for it

Treasurer Jim Chalmers may have delivered a politically clever budget, but he is amassing more on the national credit card without a plan to pay for...

26.03.2025 10

John Kehoe

Trump’s big trade shock is coming for Australia

A private speech by the US commerce secretary to Australian executives in Washington was a jaw-dropper and a wake-up call about the next steps in the...

19.03.2025 20

John Kehoe

How Albanese can fight Trump’s tariffs

Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium are more of a political headache for Anthony Albanese than an economic problem for Australia.

12.03.2025 20

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The economy is roaring and the RBA may need to act

John Kehoe

Inflation shock increases risk of interest rate hike

John Kehoe

How the doctor and lawyer cartel make the cost of living worse

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How a last-resort fund for financial victims is rewarding the reckless

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If you’re waiting for another rate cut, read this first

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Why the RBA is on alert but not alarmed about its big inflation miss

John Kehoe

These hard questions could burst Labor’s Made in Australia fantasy

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Sussan Ley’s revival of Liberal economics is gasping for air

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‘Jobless growth’ may be the new normal for RBA

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Why ‘bad’ news on interest rates is ‘good’ news for the economy

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Sussan Ley revives the fight over big government

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What Australia could learn from the Nordics for a fairer tax system

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Australia’s tobacco crackdown has created a gangster’s paradise

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Why remote work is bad for young women

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Labor’s housing ‘help’ risks backfiring on homeowners

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Chalmers puts younger workers at heart of tax review

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Beware of Labor ‘kleptocrats’ blowing other people’s money

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RBA bombshell exposes grim reality for Chalmers

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Banks and miners are the hurdle to corporate tax cut

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Why the big end of town will pay for a corporate tax cut

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The jobless rate is up. Over to you Governor Bullock

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The government needs to get out of the way of the private sector

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Six reasons the RBA’s interest rate hold will go down in history

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ACT Labor is bankrupting Canberra

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Howard and Costello: This is how you do tax reform, Jim

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Chalmers’ big test: tax reform or more tax grabs?

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Super tax breaks are greatly exaggerated

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Six tax changes Labor can (and should) implement

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Economy will be stuck in the slow lane unless these two things change

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Albanese shouldn’t bother pursuing US tariff exemptions

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Chalmers’ spending transition in doubt

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Why Chalmers must lift living standards to become PM

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Trump’s trade uncertainty means more RBA cuts to come

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Liberal Party rebuild must champion lower income tax

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Liberals were too left-wing on the economy

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Labor’s missing $8b for housing makes a mockery of budget

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Dutton’s ‘aspiration’ to end tax bracket creep is too little, too late