Unconventional Economist

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Albanese delivers less transparent, more dishonest government

A recent examination of freedom of information (FOI) requests called into question the Albanese government’s commitment to transparency.

Perth leads booming housing market

Perth’s housing market has experienced one of the nation’s biggest price booms since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, with dwelling values soaring by 102% since March 2020, according to PropTrack: Despite the surge in values, Perth’s housing market remains relatively affordable compared to the other major capital cities.

Inflation spike kills rate cut hopes

The likelihood of a near-term rate cut has been shattered with Wednesday’s Q3 CPI release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Australia the world leader in loading households with debt

Australia is the world’s leader in creating products and policies that load households with debt.

Australia’s residential land bubble swells

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released its annual national accounts for the 2024-25 financial year, which includes extensive data on land values.

New Zealand shows the way on housing affordability

The following chart from Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro illustrates that, in real inflation-adjusted terms, New Zealand dwelling values have crashed back to 2019 pre-pandemic levels: At the same time, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has slashed the official cash rate by 3.0% to 2.5%, which has driven mortgage rates sharply lower.

USA: Land of the mega-wealthy and inequality

Data released in the U.S.

Another shocking year for the Australian economy

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week released the annual national accounts for the 2024-25 financial year, which are summarised below.

Modern Labor will never run a sensible immigration program

In its first term in office, the Albanese government signed two migration-related pacts with India, specifically designed to increase migration flows to Australia, namely: The Australia-India Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement.

If renewables are cheaper, why the endless subsidies?

Last month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese falsely asserted that Australia will experience a “era of growth and prosperity” through a renewables-based future, with the private sector at the forefront.

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