Will AI make inequality worse? Patricia Karvelas offers a preview of my speech today https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-12/andrew-leigh-questions-whether-ai-could-increase-inequality/107257758 #ausecon #auspol

Real iron ore prices since 1980

1986 and the Banana republic statement by Paul Keating mark the low point.

At this time the belief was that resources could not underpin a first world standard of living.

#auspol #ausecon

Prelim Domain auction clearances
Syd 46%=final ~46%,Oct avg 64
Mel 58%=final ~53%,Oct avg 64
Clearances are being helped by listings running around -35%yoy, but rising spring listings & weak demand due to rate hikes, tax hikes & poor confidence are keeping them depressed. Melb doing better
#ausecon

A controversial ban on credit card payments on tax bills will be delayed by more than six months, after the federal government overruled the tax office and announced new stopgap funding.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... #auspol #ausecon

Turns out that locking up talent can lock down innovation. Labor's reforms would ban non-competes for most Australian workers, letting people move and ideas circulate. Will the Coalition support the proposed changes? https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20240804 #ausecon

Prelim Domain auction clearances
Syd 53%=final ~53%,Oct avg 64
Mel 56%=final ~53%,Oct avg 64
Long wkend in Syd & clearances helped by listings being around -30%yoy, but rising spring listings & weak demand due to rate hikes, tax hikes & poor confidence will keep clearances depressed.
#ausecon

Keating's banana republic warning 40 years or so later
#auspol #ausecon

Aussie inflation undershoots, RBA hike bets get slashed, ASX jumps — but US bond yields just hit a 19-year high. The full picture is messier than the local headline. https://market7.financialregister.com.au/p/australia-s-inflation-cools-asx-jumps-to-three-week-high #AusEcon

From tomorrow, the price you see should be the price you pay.

Ending card surcharges means clearer prices, easier comparison shopping and fewer nasty surprises at the checkout. https://www.andrewleigh.com/transcript_abc_radio_queensland_30_september_2026 #auspol #ausecon

RBA: hikes rates.
Blue Sky: *no reaction*

Bunch of you paid your homes off in 2002 and it shows!
#ausecon

Not sure what it augers if anything, but this is the first time in ages Gold and Oil have not been in reverse correlation.
#HopeTheAiBubbleBurstsInsideElonHuangandAltmansColon
#ausecon
#econsky
#auspol

Prelim Domain auction clearances
Syd 51=final ~51%,Aug avg 66
Mel 52%=final ~49%,Aug avg 66
Long wkend in Mel, but rising spring listings in Syd & weak demand on the back of rate hikes, tax hikes & poor confidence is depressing clearances. Expect further weakness.
#ausecon

An excellent launch of Catie Bradbear & Melissa Bray's new book "Power in Numbers: Australian Women in Economics". #ausecon

No evidence of a 'wage-price spiral' in Australia, says RBA board member Iain Ross, a former President of the Fair Work Commission
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09... #ausecon

The 2026 Intergenerational Report is the seventh report in the series.
It projects the outlook for the Australian economy and the Government’s budget to 2065–66.
treasury.gov.au/publication/... #auspol #ausecon

Debit and credit card surcharges in Australia will be eliminated from 1 October, as part of Reserve Bank reforms that will do away with extra checkout fees on Visa, Mastercard, and Eftpos payments.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... #auslaw #ausecon

Prelim Domain auction clearances
Syd 48%=final ~46%,Aug avg 66
Mel 57%=final ~54%,Aug avg 66
A rise in listings with demand hit further by talk of 2 rate hikes on investors, with ongoing impact of tax hikes & poor conf saw clearances fall. Syd back to mid yr lows. Expect further weakness.
#ausecon

Business groups, miners and the housing industry have welcomed the federal government's changes to the migration system. But farmers and the hospitality and tourism industries say the govt's crackdown on working holiday visas will hit the economy and make labour shortages worse. #auspol #ausecon

Open now | We want to hear from current and former public servants on how governments are implementing the #PriorityReforms under the National Agreement on #ClosingTheGap
Take the short survey: https://bit.ly/3VeyRi3
Closes on Friday 9 October

#PublicService #AusPol #AusEcon