Latest
Cost of living crunch adds urgency to Christmas charity appeals
Charities are reporting a dip in the number of donations amid a heightened need for support.
- 11 mins ago
- Gus McCubbing
Renewables are cheapest, even with poles, wires and batteries added in
CSIRO’s annual price comparison of energy sources include transmission and storage costs in renewables calculations for the first time. They still come out on top.
- Ben Potter
UK inflation slows more than forecast, fuelling rate-cut bets
Consumer prices rose 3.9 per cent from a year earlier, down from 4.6 per cent in October, according to the latest monthly data.
- Tom Rees and Lucy White
Surprise fall in UK services inflation may hold key to rate cuts
Economists expect services inflation to continue subsiding, pushed lower by the drop in energy prices, the weakening jobs market and lacklustre demand.
- Tom Rees
Manufacturing sector mood hits lowest level since the GFC
A net 41 per cent of manufacturers expect conditions to worsen during the next six months, according to the ACCI-Westpac industrial trends survey.
- Michael Read
Cyclone Jasper’s damage bill mounts as rain eases
While rainfall eases in North Queensland, the cost wrought by Cyclone Jasper is rising.
- Updated
- Liam Walsh and Tess Bennett
Opinion & Analysis
National security wolves howl at moon over Red Sea warship
Cries of outrage over the decision not to deploy to the Middle East are obscuring questions about Australia’s basic defence capabilities.
International editor
Labor’s best policy might be admitting Red Sea defence gap
If strategy is Labor’s reason, it raises concerns. If there is no available ship, it raises another set of questions about Australia’s alarming lack of military capabilities.
Editorial
Beware economists who won’t admit they were wrong
From an economic point of view, 2023 will go down in the record books as one of the best years ever.
Contributor
Taiwan: A Trojan horse for Beijing?
Taiwan’s elections next month will once more focus attention on the difficulty of any future move by Beijing to absorb Taiwan.
International editor
Yesterday
- Analysis
- Middle East tensions
National security wolves howl at moon over Red Sea warship
Cries of outrage over the decision not to deploy to the Middle East are obscuring questions about Australia’s basic defence capabilities.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Labor’s best policy might be admitting Red Sea defence gap
If strategy is Labor’s reason, it raises concerns. If there is no available ship, it raises another set of questions about Australia’s alarming lack of military capabilities.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Inflation
Beware economists who won’t admit they were wrong
From an economic point of view, 2023 will go down in the record books as one of the best years ever.
- Paul Krugman
- Opinion
- Asia-Pacific
Taiwan: A Trojan horse for Beijing?
Taiwan’s elections next month will once more focus attention on the difficulty of any future move by Beijing to absorb Taiwan.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- Defence
Australia’s Hunter frigate project should be sunk
Its crystal clear that the replacement ships for the Anzac class that we cannot send to the Red Sea will not provide a worthwhile capability for the Royal Australian Navy.
- Rowan Moffitt
This Month
- Analysis
- International affairs
Albanese reaches for Keating’s Asian mantle
In a speech that canvassed all the issues on his foreign policy plate, there was one section that stood out.
- James Curran
Floods, heavy rain put squeeze on mango, sugarcane crops
The rain appears to be easing from severe floods in North Queensland, but some lingering concerns remain with agriculture.
- Liam Walsh
- Opinion
- Health insurance
Keeping premiums affordable requires modern healthcare
If Labor wants to keep health insurance affordable to take pressure off the public system, tougher reforms are needed to make our health system more efficient and sustainable.
- Rachel David
RBA warns it may raise rates again, but markets predict cuts
Markets doubt the central bank will deliver any more rate rises, despite warning it may need to deliver another increase if inflation remains high.
- Michael Read
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Tip private schools out of boardrooms for a more productive Australia
Favouring the wealthy over innate talent in the education system is no way to filter what a country’s human capital might have to offer.
- Adrian Blundell-Wignall
Fed officials add to chorus pushing back against rate-cut bets
Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee said he was surprised by the outsize market reaction to the Fed’s updated quarterly economic projections last week.
- Catarina Saraiva
Labor starts long-term migration planning amid population boom
The inaugural ministerial migration roundtable comes amid growing concern about record numbers of foreign arrivals.
- Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Health insurance
Labor rejects 6pc rise in health insurance premiums
Health Minister Mark Butler has rejected a request to lift premiums by 4 to 6 per cent, as Labor tries to quell voter discontent over cost of living pressures.
- Updated
- Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Chanticleer CEO poll
CEOs warn red tape, higher rates holding back investment
The country’s top energy and resources leaders say stresses from higher financing costs are being compounded by activism and unfriendly government policies.
- James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald
Rubbish tips get do-nothing climate subsidies worth millions: experts
Landfill operators are being given lucrative carbon credits for trapping methane they would not have released anyway, some academics say.
- Aaron Patrick
- Analysis
- Middle East tensions
Is Australia’s delay on US warship request dithering or prudent?
The opposition accuses the government of dithering. But it would be a dangerous mission, and there are powerful historical precedents.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Unlucky Jim undermined by his colleagues’ contradictory policies
The treasurer is hoping for a smooth landing on inflation, but the supply-side policies of his fellow ministers make that less likely.
- Ed Shann
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Super performance test needs changing because the world is burning
Why would we not seek to harness Australia’s $3.6 trillion retirement income system in the decarbonisation race, while leaving it up to superannuation funds to make the investment decisions?
- Jeremy Cooper
Cairns floods break 46-year record, close airport
The state faces days of heavy rain after some areas were hit with totals of more than a metre, the city’s airport shut and water levels passed 1977 highs.
- Updated
- Duncan Murray
Pfizer paid little tax on $1.4b in COVID vaccine sales
Vaccine maker Pfizer paid just $29 million in local tax on its $1.4 billion of sales in Australia during the pandemic, raising political questions about the adequacy of the pharmaceutical giant’s tax payments.
- John Kehoe
