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The Afr View

Financial Review

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American economy will survive Trump’s capitalism shakedown

While Trump’s “very visible hand” is replacing the “invisible hand” of the market, the dynamism and resilience of the US economy suggest it...

latest 1

Financial Review

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Iran has been exposed but Australia’s antisemitism problem runs deeper

Delaying both the proscription of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the ambassador’s expulsion has come at a grave cost to social cohesion and...

yesterday 8

Financial Review

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WFH a symptom of Victoria’s post-pandemic trauma

The youth crime crisis should prompt soul-searching on both sides of the aisle in Spring Street about the state’s pandemic legacy.

previous day 1

Financial Review

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Labor must make the case for not indexing sophisticated investor test

If the government rejects the regulator’s recommendation, it will need to make a sound and compelling case for why it has opted not to protect...

monday 2

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Hudson should pay penalty again for Qantas culture fails

Following Justice Michael Lee’s verdict on the airline’s behaviour, the CEO should lose a portion of her bonus either voluntarily or at the behest...

monday 10

Financial Review

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Summit week through the eyes of business

Despite a supposed focus on investment, corporate Australia’s most realistic pathway to significant productivity gains looks to be deploying AI.

23.08.2025 10

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Summit legacy can’t just be higher taxes

Three-and-a-half months into its second three-year term, the government can’t just sit on its hands when it comes to difficult reform.

22.08.2025 10

Financial Review

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Diluting performance test could soften superannuation’s core mandate

Australia should be wary of any changes to the current system that would tamper with the funds’ fiduciary duty to act in their members’ best...

20.08.2025 5

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PM and treasurer have at least admitted the productivity problem

The real litmus test will be whether the Albanese government uses the roundtable as a platform to launch a meaningful productivity-enhancing policy...

19.08.2025 4

Financial Review

The Afr View

Long-term vision for universities hung up on short-term politics

Jason Clare’s blueprint calls into question the raison d’être of universities and whether they should exist merely to fill the pipeline of human...

18.08.2025 9

Financial Review

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The week Chalmers can start to craft an economic legacy

The Treasurer’s challenge is to harness the summit proceedings to make the case to the Australian people about a meaningful reform agenda.

18.08.2025 10

Financial Review

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Labor courts business as economic pressures bite

Between CEOs pushing for an always-on culture and unions proposing four-day work weeks, business should set a realistic agenda for next week’s summit.

15.08.2025 3

Financial Review

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Could an EV road-user charge pave the way for more tax reform?

Maybe committing to modernising how we pay to use roads might whet the appetite for other taxation reforms that need to be discussed at next week’s...

14.08.2025 6

Financial Review

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Roundtable can’t be a talkfest with no concrete outcomes

The Albanese government must not up turn up at the table on Tuesday with no big ideas of its own to dig the country out of its economic hole.

13.08.2025 5

Financial Review

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Why Chalmers’ summit must chew on Labor’s spending binge

It’s always easier to feed the beast than to put it on a diet. Nevertheless, history shows that fiscal repair is possible through strong leadership...

12.08.2025 6

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Netanyahu’s government has brought Palestinian recognition upon Israel

The hard line taken by Benjamin Netanyahu has left Western governments with few alternatives and helped make the case for Palestinian recognition for...

11.08.2025 3

Financial Review

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Banks’ new brooms signal cultural shift in corporate Australia

The conversations at Westpac and ANZ about boosting productivity could become an increasingly common part of the new culture in corporate Australia.

10.08.2025 20

Financial Review

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The real threat to workers comes from bad AI policy not AI itself

AI is undeniably reshaping how creative works are produced. Policymakers should be open to reforming Australia’s decades-old copyright regime so...

08.08.2025 3

Financial Review

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Super lending for corporate debt part of Chalmers’ productivity challenge

Tapping the super funds’ deep pools of capital to unlock business investment and unleash productivity growth is an idea whose time may have come.

07.08.2025 3

Financial Review

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Single touch approval a no-brainer for Labor’s productivity roundtable

The summit on Australia’s productivity challenge is surely an opportunity for the government to announce it will deliver an environmental approval...

06.08.2025 5

Financial Review

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Labor’s bailouts for globally competitive smelters a contradiction

The problem with governments picking winners is that this not only creates potential losers but also makes the economy less efficient and dynamic.

05.08.2025 5

Financial Review

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Jacinta Allan’s WFH laws are a political stunt, not good policy

The Victorian government’s interventionist plan to codify remote work risks adding a new layer of rigidity to the nation’s industrial relations...

04.08.2025 5

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Alarm bells ring about Chalmers’ tax hike stitch-up

Business representatives at the roundtable must be prepared to make the strongest possible case for meaningful structural, incentive-sharpening tax...

03.08.2025 10

Financial Review

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Labor’s home battery subsidy low hanging-fruit in energy transition

The real challenge lies in building the transmission networks needed to integrate large-scale solar and battery projects while keeping a lid on power...

01.08.2025 7

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Productivity Commission delivers half-pregnant company tax plan

The great irony of the recommendations by the economic think tank is that it is recommending a tax rise for big businesses to boost investment.

31.07.2025 4

Financial Review

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Corporate leaders need to speak up like Ryan Stokes

PR-conscious and risk-averse business chiefs need to act like the community leaders they should be by engaging in important public debates about the...

30.07.2025 4

Financial Review

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AI fear and loathing must not rule in Canberra

The best strategy to manage the disruption of the AI era would be to make Australia a better place to work, invest and hire.

29.07.2025 5

Financial Review

The Afr View

Trite to say, but Israel is losing global PR battle

The tragic pictures of starving children are cutting through and galvanising international opinion regarding recognising the independent state of...

28.07.2025 6

Financial Review

The Afr View

Brisbane and Hobart stadium challenges go beyond building it so they can come

The moral of Tasmania’s stadium furore should be that unrestrained government spending ultimately makes it difficult to pay for potentially...

27.07.2025 10

Financial Review

The Afr View

Productivity summit will fail if ideology runs the day

The danger of forming blocs at the roundtable is that it fosters an echo-chamber mentality and is more likely to pit business and unions against each...

25.07.2025 3

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Hubris delivers Macquarie a pay protest

The first strike by shareholders is a wake-up call for the bank’s management, which must restore investor confidence or risk another showdown next...

24.07.2025 6

Financial Review

The Afr View

Climate action is a productivity challenge for Chalmers’ roundtable

An economy-wide carbon tax, which would encourage the private sector to invest in the cheapest ways to reach our climate targets, should be on the...

23.07.2025 3

Financial Review

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Business can’t fool itself about Chalmers’ roundtable

Corporate Australia must push hard on the ambitious tax, industrial relations and regulatory reform agenda that is needed to fix the nation’s...

23.07.2025 20

Financial Review

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Disagreeing with Xi will be the real test of China ties

Albanese’s overly diplomatic tone risks casting Australia as deferential to the Chinese Communist Party, and inadvertently playing into Xi...

21.07.2025 3

Financial Review

The Afr View

Libs must fight back on the economy at the roundtable

The party can fill the political leadership void by showing it is prepared to advocate for pro-growth, pro-aspiration and pro-productivity policies.

20.07.2025 7

Financial Review

The Afr View

Chalmers bets on AI to revive stagnant economy

It’s imperative that informed voices in the tech industry play a role in advocating for policies that can boost investment, infrastructure and...

18.07.2025 3

Financial Review

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Chalmers should heed Hawke on red tape

The challenge for the treasurer at his Economic Reform Roundtable will be to ensure the good ideas do not get lost in translation.

17.07.2025 3

Financial Review

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The roundtable needs to be Labor’s ‘Nixon in China’ IR moment

Labor needs to challenge its policy and political orthodoxies on workplace regulation to fix the nation’s economic malaise.

16.07.2025 5

Financial Review

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Time to root out Australia’s tax system rot

Fixing the most damaging parts of our tax system won’t be painless, but it’s necessary to stop the nation sliding further behind.

15.07.2025 3

Financial Review

The Afr View

Chalmers’ roundtable must rise to Australia’s economic challenges

There are worrying signs that the three-day talkfest in Canberra risks becoming another missed opportunity to properly tackle the nation’s economic...

14.07.2025 4

Financial Review

The Afr View

Shots across AUKUS bow throw PM off course in China

The realities of an assertive China and managing the US alliance are more complicated than allowed for by those who dream of Australia going it alone.

13.07.2025 10

Financial Review

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PM must read the tea leaves on China security and trade

We should question whether Albanese’s visit will meaningfully improve Australian-Sino relations or simply serve as political window dressing for...

11.07.2025 5

Financial Review

The Afr View

Rise in mental health claims a symptom of a bigger malaise

Mental health and insurance providers must fix the system’s entrenched flaws to avoid the worst of the sustainability and affordability crisis ahead.

10.07.2025 8

Financial Review

The Afr View

BHP ‘same pay’ case an IR wake-up call for business

Unless business is willing to push the Albanese government on the IR elephant in the room, the roundtable will fail to come up with the meaningful...

09.07.2025 5

Financial Review

The Afr View

RBA’s rates hold juggles Trump and inflation

The shock decision to keep interest rates steady is a reasonable one based on the known unknowns about Trump’s tariffs and the trajectory of...

08.07.2025 4

Financial Review

The Afr View

Violent protests have no place in Australia’s democracy

The action required must come from governments, and should include upholding the law against protests that cross the line into antisemitism.

07.07.2025 9

Financial Review

The Afr View

Artificial intelligence cold war heats up for Australia

The Albanese government must reject China’s offer of an AI partnership. Yet, we should be under no illusions about the threat the Trump-big tech...

06.07.2025 9

Financial Review

The Afr View

The week Labor’s childcare legacy became a bigger challenge

Labor’s education challenges with schools and universities are now dwarfed by the need to restore faith in the childcare system after the shocking...

04.07.2025 3

Financial Review

The Afr View

Australia’s code war cut-out pass against China in the Pacific

Backing both sides appears to be something the country will now have to do to avoid getting caught in the crossfire between union and league.

03.07.2025 4

Financial Review

The Afr View

A second reckoning for private equity in Australia

Any doubt about the likely end of the experiment in private equity provision of health and other social services is evaporating in the most appalling...

02.07.2025 5

Financial Review

The Afr View