It is impossible for wages to drive inflation when they are actually rising slower than inflation!Remember all that talk about wage-price spirals? About wages driving inflation? All that worry about a wages breakout causing interest rates to rise? Ahh yes, good times. It seems that many commentators and economists love fairytales, and the story that...

Labor touts cost of living package as ‘substantial’ but advocates say changes are inadequateGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe federal government’s decision not to further increase funding for jobseeker, housing and domestic violence is a “gaping hole in the heart of the budget”, advocates have warned, with...

Treasurer says migration ‘important’ but needs to be ‘well managed’Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastJim Chalmers has said the projected halving of net migration will contribute to Australia’s inflation fight, ahead of Peter Dutton’s budget reply which is expected to attack Labor over the spike in arrivals.As Guardian...

Announcements are ‘good steps’ to reduce harms caused by employment services system but fall short of the overhaul required, advocates sayGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe Albanese government will relax some of the requirements imposed job seekers as a condition for their income support, with a suite of changes...

Most Australians don’t know what to do with their dead pets, vapes and lightbulbs, a waste survey has foundGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastWhile Australia may be a pet-loving nation, a majority seem perplexed at what to do when a beloved animal dies.Survey results commissioned by the waste management company...

Exclusive: Bureaucratic process of ‘clearing’ book has dragged on for almost three years with historians arguing obstruction ‘amounts to censorship’Australia’s foreign affairs department (Dfat) is refusing to approve the publication of an official history of military operations in Timor-Leste until references are removed that could embarrass officials...