This Month
Labor’s wage rise plan amid oil spike risks ‘stagflation’
Economists fear a decision to increase minimum pay could aggravate impacts of the energy price shock, push inflation higher and put more people out of work.
Unions want inflation-plus minimum wage rise due to ‘Trump and RBA’
The ACTU’s claim for a 5 per cent wage increase for 3 million workers would drive minimum full-time salaries beyond $50,000 a year.
Productivity downgrade risks adding up to $100b in debt
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said the slump is expected to continue for the next five years, while economists also forecast wage growth to stall.
RBA deputy issues new inflation and rates warning
Reserve Bank deputy governor Andrew Hauser says the jump in the oil price will push inflation above the 4.2 per cent the RBA has forecast
February
‘As good as it gets’: NAB boss issues dire living standards warning
Andrew Irvine says unless the government acts on one major policy topic, Australians will have to accept the economy is in a state that’s “as good as it gets”.
Real wages go backwards for first time in two years as inflation jumps
Despite wages growing by 3.4 per cent last year, soaring prices mean workers are falling behind and the RBA expects growth to remain stalled until mid-2027.
Union wage claims hit 6pc as inflation bites
Militant union ETU pushes for ambitious pay rises even as employers warn unions risk stoking further inflation.
Real wages won’t grow until 2027
The Reserve Bank forecast deals a blow to household budgets and the Albanese government’s claim of delivering above-inflation pay gains for workers.
January
NSW public servants took home an extra $4000 each last year
Pay satisfaction in the state’s public sector is up after an average 4 per cent rise last year, sending the median salary to almost $105,000.
December 2025
Post-Christmas retail sales expected to hit $3.8b
The spend this year is expected to increase by 4.3 per cent from last year, according to projections by the Australian Retailers Association.
Tax revenue surge saves NSW budget after $2.9b wages blowout
The Minns Labor government is preparing for an election in 2027 by winding down spending on mega-projects and promising no new metro lines after the Metro West.
Albanese ‘misled’ public on wage growth
The prime minister touted eight consecutive quarters of real wage growth, but ABS data shows negative growth in the September quarter.
Like a return to 2011: Wages going backwards as inflation rises
Economists and the Reserve Bank of Australia expect real wages to continue to worsen next year as the government grapples with inflation.
Private sector wages soar 6pc, outpacing profits
The latest data suggests higher wage bills are reducing profit margins and could force businesses to pass their increased costs on to consumers.
November 2025
Wages blowout adds $800m to NSW deficit
NSW Labor wants to fight on fiscal restraint, but abandoning the wages cap and spiralling workers’ compensation costs are making its jobs harder.
Worker paid for three years after they quit in $295k payroll blunder
In a scathing report on public service accounting errors, the NSW Audit Office found that one agency kept paying 481 people after their employment ended.
More inflation pressure as public sector wages outpace private
Despite flat wages growth in September, the RBA say that Australia’s productivity slump is pushing up labour costs and adding to inflationary pressures.
Like Keating, Chalmers should use economic reality as impetus for reform
The warning delivered by then secretary to the Treasury John Stone in 1984 is an eerie experience. Forty years on, we face so many of the same challenges.
NSW dropping public sector pay cap adds budget pressure, warn experts
NSW has maintained its AA+ credit rating but above-inflation public sector wage increases are making fiscal restraint difficult
Public sector wages bill tops $250b as consultants get the chop
Commonwealth public servants collectively took home 9.5 per cent more in 2024-25, while state employees got an extra 7.3 per cent, adding to debt concerns
