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.

New Zealand’s housing crash reignites

Following one of the largest booms in the developed world during the pandemic, New Zealand’s house prices experienced a significant decline.

Why have Australian households stopped spending?

This week’s Q1 national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that real per capita household consumption has been negative for seven consecutive quarters on an annual basis, down 2.4% from its peak.

Housing market launches after RBA rate cut

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) 25 bp rate cut last month had an immediate effect on the housing market. The final auction clearance rate across the combined capital cities soared to its highest level since early July 2024, despite the second-highest auction volumes (2,918) of the year.

Sydneysiders pay for endless immigration

I’ve long argued that water is the ‘elephant in the room’ of the immigration debate, something policymakers and pro-Big Australia supporters never acknowledge.

Victoria defunds emergency services to plug budget deficit

Victoria’s finances are in dire straits, carrying the nation’s highest debt and lowest credit rating.

Is the household income shock over?

Judgement Day for Australian energy policy

In this week’s Treasury of Common Sense on Radio 2GB/4BC, I lambasted the Albanese government for opposing East Coast gas reservation and explained its implications for energy bills and the economy.

History repeats with “liar loan” mortgage scandal

Mixed signals on Australia’s population growth

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) population data has become a lottery. The population estimates in the Q3 2024 and Q4 2024 national accounts releases (here and here) differed wildly from the official quarterly population statistics released a few weeks later.

Australian politicians love the net zero distraction

By Stephen Saunders Here’s Mr Albanese, pretending to re-fly the Coalition’s east-coast gas reservation, outing his 40-year emissions-rich “surprise” for Woodside NW Shelf gas, while smirking “it’s net zero, not zero”.

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