Media & Commentary
Media Items
Most vulnerable households worried about summer energy bills: survey
Two-thirds of vulnerable customers were financially better off under an alternative energy pricing product trialled in regional Western Australia by Horizon Power during the 2016-17 summer period, the latest Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre research shows. The new product also has... Read article
Study shows adult kids who get parental cash aren’t happier or healthier
Adult children who have access to the ‘bank of mum and dad’ do not exhibit better health and wellbeing than those who do not receive financial support from their parents, new research led by Curtin University has found. The research,... Read article
Programs for teens with autism should promote strengths
— Program facilitators with shared interests crucial to program success — — Peer mentoring key to building confidence, new skills — The unique strengths of adolescents with autism – including attention to detail, loyalty and memory skills – should be... Read article
A quarter of the poorest Western Australians do not access the internet
— 69 per cent of very remote households in Australia connected to the internet — — Micro businesses more likely to earn most of their income online — — 61 per cent of those aged 65+ access the internet —... Read article
Women are dominating employment growth, but what sort of jobs are we talking about?
One of the biggest transformations we have seen in advanced economies is the increased participation of women in the paid workforce. In recent Australian labour force trends, female participation is growing at nine times the rate of men’s. Women are... Read article
Co-working spaces are part of the new economy, so town planners better get with the times
Cities are seeing a growing number of shared working, or co-working, spaces. They include spaces where individuals and businesses can flexibly rent desks or rooms, or do shared work in “third spaces” such as libraries and cafes. Co-working spaces offer... Read article
One in two Australians believe autonomous cars will reduce crashes
— National survey shows men are more likely to embrace autonomous vehicles — — Three in four see greater mobility benefits for elderly and those with disabilities — About half of Australians believe autonomous vehicles will reduce crashes, emissions and... Read article
Driverless cars really do have health and safety benefits, if only people knew
Driverless cars promise many benefits, including an improvement in safety, but new research shows many people are still not aware of this. A paper, co-authored by me and published today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health,... Read article
Small changes could make WA more ‘China-ready’ for tourists
— Limited trading hours, internet access and language the biggest barriers — — Chinese tourists in WA generally younger, have more money to spend — Western Australia’s biggest spending tourism market – Chinese visitors – frequently suggested that extending retail... Read article
Bosses deserve to be happy at work too – here’s how
We intuitively know that a “happy worker is a good worker.” But what about their bosses? In the modern workplace, managers are accountable to several groups of people, from rank-and-file employees on one side, to chief executives and shareholders on... Read article
Why rural Australia is facing a volunteer crisis
The small town of Coorow is located in the wheat-belt region of Western Australia, about a three hours drive north of Perth. With a population of 400 people, the town funds many of its essential services and community facilities with... Read article
Eight charts on our growing tax problem: what abandoning tax reform means for taxpayers
As we move closer to Treasurer Scott Morrison’s third budget, what we do know is this – Australia has a revenue problem. A more global and digital economy; an ageing population with fewer taxpayers and sluggish wage growth make future... Read article