Category: Jim Chalmers

Market Efforts to Lower Electricity Bills Made Harder by Price Caps: Industry Suppliers

Gas suppliers warned that the newly enforced price caps have made it harder for the industry to help bring down Australian electricity prices through “immense uncertainty” to investment in domestic supply projects. Samantha McCulloch, chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), said investment in new supply was the key to providing…


Australia Becomes A Global Leader in Job Creation: Treasury Analysis

Australia’s job market outperformed other G7 countries in the latter half of 2022 despite facing an aggressive interest rate hike cycle and softening economic conditions. A new Treasury analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) workforce data reveals that 234,000 jobs were added to the Australian economy between May and November 2022, representing a…


‘Australia Will Avoid a Recession’ as World Faces Economic Slump: Treasurer

As global economic forecasts heavily point towards pockets of recession, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers remains optimistic that Australia will evade a prolonged economic slump. “It’s our expectation that Australia will avoid a recession. The numbers that the Treasury put into the budget that I handed down not that long ago in October certainly made that…


Australian Economy Suffers $5 Billion Loss from Extreme Floods in 2022

Floods and other natural disasters brought significant financial damage to Australia and affected the lives of nearly 70 percent of the population in 2022. The Treasury has estimated that last year, the Australian economy lost $5 billion (US$3.49 billion), or 0.25 percent of real GDP, due to reduced activities in the mining, agriculture, accommodation and…


Australian Consumer Watchdog to Probe Banks’ Deposit Rates Amid Concerns About Unfair Practices

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has asked the country’s competition authority to investigate the deposit rates banks are offering savers due to concerns about the delays in rate increases. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, the treasurer noted that consumers should have received a boost to their saving rates by now. “Banks should treat…


Australia’s Nursing Home Sector a ‘Mess,’ Bleeding $7,000 per Bed Every Year: Report

Australia’s residential aged care and home care sector is operating at a loss with a recent survey finding that each bed is losing over $7,000 (US$4,700) per year—a loss in excess of $345 million for the September quarter. This follows a 2022 population report that found Australia’s ageing population could pose a strain on the…


Australia’s Population Growth to Shrink in Next Decade Due to COVID-19

Australia’s population growth projection for the next decade has fallen by over one million people compared to previous forecasts due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the latest annual population report due to be released on Jan. 6, the Australian government predicts that the total population will rise from the current 26 million…


Australian Treasurer Downplays Beijing’s Displeasure With COVID-19 Testing Requirements

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed threats of retaliation from Beijing as the country follows in the stead of other governments in imposing mandatory COVID-19 testing on Chinese travellers. The Chinese communist regime has condemned the measure introduced on Jan. 5 on travellers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau. “We believe that the entry restrictions…


Labor’s New Energy Price Cap Will Drive Prices up and Alienate Investors, Opposition Leader Warns

Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has warned the federal Labor government’s plan to impose a cap on gas and coal price will only exacerbate energy prices and push away investors, contrary to what the centre-left government has promised. As the parliament is recalled to vote on the bill on Dec. 15, Labor’s energy relief plan…


Australian Companies to Be Forced to Reveal Green Credentials

Some of Australia’s largest banking, insurance, and pension institutions have backed the government’s move to force companies to reveal what they are doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The comments come as Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the federal Labor government would create a regulatory framework around sustainable investment. In a joint media release (pdf) on Dec….