News & Public Commentary
New research shows there is still a long way to go in providing equality in education
Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University; Alan Duncan, Curtin University, and Michael Dockery, Curtin University When we think of a “good society” – one that is fair and just – a defining characteristic is likely to be that all people have the... Read article
Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University; Alan Duncan, Curtin University, and Michael Dockery, Curtin University When we think of a “good society” – one that is fair and just – a defining characteristic is likely to be that all people have the... Read article
Australians are working longer so they can pay off their mortgage debt
Rising mortgage debt is affecting everything from employment to spending, as Australians approach retirement, our study finds. Higher levels of housing debt among pre-retirees are linked to them working for longer. We found for a home owner aged 45-64 years,... Read article
Rising mortgage debt is affecting everything from employment to spending, as Australians approach retirement, our study finds. Higher levels of housing debt among pre-retirees are linked to them working for longer. We found for a home owner aged 45-64 years,... Read article
Women rely on the family home to support them in old age
Thanks in part to the gender pay gap, the gender wealth gap more than doubled between 2002 and 2014. But our research shows Australian women don’t just trail men in total wealth, they also have less diverse asset portfolios. Women... Read article
Thanks in part to the gender pay gap, the gender wealth gap more than doubled between 2002 and 2014. But our research shows Australian women don’t just trail men in total wealth, they also have less diverse asset portfolios. Women... Read article
FactCheck: will 700,000 workers be ‘ripped off’ by penalty rate cuts, as Bill Shorten said?
Author Joshua Healy, University of Melbourne Reviewer Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University Malcolm Turnbull’s cuts to penalty rates will rip off 700,000 workers… – Labor leader Bill Shorten, in a Labor-produced recorded phone call to voters released in March 2017. The... Read article
Author Joshua Healy, University of Melbourne Reviewer Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University Malcolm Turnbull’s cuts to penalty rates will rip off 700,000 workers… – Labor leader Bill Shorten, in a Labor-produced recorded phone call to voters released in March 2017. The... Read article
Get used to your commute: data confirms houses near jobs are too expensive
Australia’s capital cities are getting more and more units, that are largely concentrated and come with a hefty price tag, a new report shows. And while these areas also have lots of jobs, the high price for houses means many... Read article
Australia’s capital cities are getting more and more units, that are largely concentrated and come with a hefty price tag, a new report shows. And while these areas also have lots of jobs, the high price for houses means many... Read article
Budget needs a sharper policy scalpel to help first home buyers
In its 2017 budget, the federal government repeatedly stated its preference for a “scalpel” rather than a “chainsaw” or “sledgehammer” approach to demand management in the housing market. The number of housing measures in the budget are more wide-ranging than... Read article
In its 2017 budget, the federal government repeatedly stated its preference for a “scalpel” rather than a “chainsaw” or “sledgehammer” approach to demand management in the housing market. The number of housing measures in the budget are more wide-ranging than... Read article
Government spending explained in 10 charts; from Howard to Turnbull
Alan Duncan, Curtin University and Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University Successive Australian governments are usually judged on how they balance the budget and spend taxpayers’ dollars. The stereotypes are that Liberal governments keep a tight hold on the purse strings, while... Read article
Alan Duncan, Curtin University and Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University Successive Australian governments are usually judged on how they balance the budget and spend taxpayers’ dollars. The stereotypes are that Liberal governments keep a tight hold on the purse strings, while... Read article
Governments are trapped in a vicious cycle of housing policies and prices
Whether house prices have been inflated by limited supply, or because of transfers to investors and homeowners, government policy is now trapped in a vicious cycle. The wealth accumulated in our houses has become a central part of the retirement... Read article
Whether house prices have been inflated by limited supply, or because of transfers to investors and homeowners, government policy is now trapped in a vicious cycle. The wealth accumulated in our houses has become a central part of the retirement... Read article
Not everyone wins from the bank of mum and dad
The “bank of mum and dad” is helping young Australians with more than just their housing aspirations. New analysis of data on children receiving an inheritance or cash payment from their parents has found they are more likely to be... Read article
The “bank of mum and dad” is helping young Australians with more than just their housing aspirations. New analysis of data on children receiving an inheritance or cash payment from their parents has found they are more likely to be... Read article
FactCheck: does Western Australia have the highest unemployment in the country?
Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University It is true the Liberals and Nationals have … created the highest unemployment in the country in Western Australia, higher than Tasmania, higher than South Australia… – West Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan, interviewed on Radio... Read article
Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University It is true the Liberals and Nationals have … created the highest unemployment in the country in Western Australia, higher than Tasmania, higher than South Australia… – West Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan, interviewed on Radio... Read article
Politics podcast: WA election – Mark McGowan accuses Turnbull of bluffing
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra The end of the mining boom has hit many people in Western Australia hard, and this has flowed strongly into the election. Debt and deficit are besetting the state budget. In this final podcast from... Read article
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra The end of the mining boom has hit many people in Western Australia hard, and this has flowed strongly into the election. Debt and deficit are besetting the state budget. In this final podcast from... Read article
FactCheck: Has the job market got so bad that ‘people have stopped looking for work’?
Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University No wonder, when you have a participation rate that’s in free fall. Last month there was a fall by 0.2%, another 0.2%, it is now at 64.5%. What that indicates is that people have stopped looking... Read article
Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University No wonder, when you have a participation rate that’s in free fall. Last month there was a fall by 0.2%, another 0.2%, it is now at 64.5%. What that indicates is that people have stopped looking... Read article
Western Australia’s economic future remains uncertain after the mining boom: study
The mining industry will still be important to WA’s economy in the future and new growth is unlikely to come from other industries like tourism and agriculture, new research has found. A growing, and ageing, population is likely to drive... Read article
The mining industry will still be important to WA’s economy in the future and new growth is unlikely to come from other industries like tourism and agriculture, new research has found. A growing, and ageing, population is likely to drive... Read article
Can the private rental sector provide a secure, affordable housing solution?
Despite a relatively healthy supply-side picture for the general housing market, the expected trickle down of housing opportunities to low-income households in Australia has failed to materialise. The UK Department for Communities and Local Government boasted this year of a... Read article
Despite a relatively healthy supply-side picture for the general housing market, the expected trickle down of housing opportunities to low-income households in Australia has failed to materialise. The UK Department for Communities and Local Government boasted this year of a... Read article
Will the real gender pay gap please stand up?
Whenever the gender pay gap is mentioned there are always those who argue it doesn’t exist, either because of differences in the way men and women work, choices women make or legislation prohibiting it. Whatever the reason, this confused rhetoric... Read article
Whenever the gender pay gap is mentioned there are always those who argue it doesn’t exist, either because of differences in the way men and women work, choices women make or legislation prohibiting it. Whatever the reason, this confused rhetoric... Read article
Let’s talk about the family home…and its exemption from the pension means test
Late last year a Productivity Commission report found including the family home in the means test for the age pension could deliver the government A$6 billion in much-needed revenue. Despite this, in the lead-up to the federal election, both major... Read article
Late last year a Productivity Commission report found including the family home in the means test for the age pension could deliver the government A$6 billion in much-needed revenue. Despite this, in the lead-up to the federal election, both major... Read article
Election FactCheck: Have 300,000 new jobs been created in the last calendar year and were almost two-thirds held by women?
Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University and Alan Duncan, Curtin University In the last calendar year, 300,000 new jobs were created; almost two-thirds of these were women. – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, speaking to the Menzies Research Centre, June 10, 2016. As... Read article
Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University and Alan Duncan, Curtin University In the last calendar year, 300,000 new jobs were created; almost two-thirds of these were women. – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, speaking to the Menzies Research Centre, June 10, 2016. As... Read article
What’s the key to home ownership for Gen Y?
Over the last 25 years, home ownership rates have fallen sharply for young Australians. Between 1982 and 2011, the home ownership rate for young adults aged 25 to 34 years dropped from 56% to 34%. Growing concerns about their home... Read article
Over the last 25 years, home ownership rates have fallen sharply for young Australians. Between 1982 and 2011, the home ownership rate for young adults aged 25 to 34 years dropped from 56% to 34%. Growing concerns about their home... Read article
Election FactCheck: have 500,000 full-time jobs been lost this year and are over a million people underemployed?
Alan Duncan, Curtin University and Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University On their watch… 50,000 full-time jobs have been lost this year alone. Over one million Australians are underemployed. – Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, speech to Queensland Labor Business Breakfast, June 8,... Read article
Alan Duncan, Curtin University and Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University On their watch… 50,000 full-time jobs have been lost this year alone. Over one million Australians are underemployed. – Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, speech to Queensland Labor Business Breakfast, June 8,... Read article
Lack of housing choice frustrates would-be downsizers
Australia’s housing stock is not meeting the demands of older Australians, according to a new report released today by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC). The report features findings from a BCEC Housing Affordability Survey, which captures the housing experiences... Read article
Australia’s housing stock is not meeting the demands of older Australians, according to a new report released today by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC). The report features findings from a BCEC Housing Affordability Survey, which captures the housing experiences... Read article
Turnbull should help the states switch stamp duty for land tax
Before the government considers company or personal income tax cuts, it should help the states replace property stamp duties with a broad based land tax argues the Australian Council of Social Service. It is well recognised by tax experts that... Read article
Before the government considers company or personal income tax cuts, it should help the states replace property stamp duties with a broad based land tax argues the Australian Council of Social Service. It is well recognised by tax experts that... Read article
Location, location, location: what’s holding back an Australian ideas boom
Alan Duncan, Curtin University; Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University, and Steven Bond-Smith, Curtin University Brisbane has outperformed Sydney and Melbourne in a new Australian index that measures innovation performance at a suburb level. The index is designed to help policymakers better... Read article
Alan Duncan, Curtin University; Rebecca Cassells, Curtin University, and Steven Bond-Smith, Curtin University Brisbane has outperformed Sydney and Melbourne in a new Australian index that measures innovation performance at a suburb level. The index is designed to help policymakers better... Read article
Female senior managers paid $100,000 less than their male counterparts: study
Women are paid less on average than men at a senior management level and have less representation on boards, particularly among male-dominated industries, new research shows. Among top tier managers (those reporting directly to the CEO), female managers are paid... Read article
Women are paid less on average than men at a senior management level and have less representation on boards, particularly among male-dominated industries, new research shows. Among top tier managers (those reporting directly to the CEO), female managers are paid... Read article
It will take more than piecemeal reforms to convince older Australians to downsize
Many older Australians are living in larger dwellings than they need after their adult children leave the family home. The 2011-12 ABS Survey of Income and Housing shows households aged 55 and over are more than twice as likely to... Read article
Many older Australians are living in larger dwellings than they need after their adult children leave the family home. The 2011-12 ABS Survey of Income and Housing shows households aged 55 and over are more than twice as likely to... Read article
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre team acknowledges the Wadjuk Nyungar people as the traditional owners of the land on which the Centre is situated.