The Economy, Stupid

Episodes

• Australia is in a 'vibecession' - is a recession next? 04.06.2026 29m

  The latest economic figures suggest we're not in a recession. But new ABS data shows our overall life satisfaction is in decline. So which numbers should we trust?
• Australia's $200 billion budget secret 28.05.2026 29m

  For decades, governments have spent billions in hidden tax concessions that largely favour the ultra-wealthy. How did they get there?
• How to end the tobacco wars 21.05.2026 29m

  Would cutting tobacco tax weaken a dangerous black market - or reverse decades of progress in reducing smoking deaths?
• Could Labor's budget narrow the wealth gap? 14.05.2026 29m

  This week Labor touched the third rail of Australian politics: wealth and tax. Can it survive the backlash?
• The budget and housing — a fix? 13.05.2026 33m

  What does the federal budget really do for Australia’s housing crisis? Peter Martin from The Economy, Stupid joins Anthony Burke from By Design to examine whether changes to tax settings will make it any easier to buy a home. Peter Martin is an economist and the host of The Economy, Stupid, a weekly guide to the world of business, economics and finance. Listen to The Economy, Stupid here.
• Interest rate rises are designed to hurt. But how much is too much? 07.05.2026 29m

  When RBA governor Michele Bullock announced the third consecutive interest rate rise this week, she acknowledged the real-world suffering that would result. But just how much pain is too much? And is there a better way?
• Inflation’s jumped again - is another rate rise coming? 30.04.2026 29m

  Inflation has surged to its highest level in years, driven by soaring fuel prices, higher energy costs and global instability. For households already squeezed by rate rises, the pressure is mounting. Is this a short‑term shock the Reserve Bank can look through or the start of another prolonged inflation fight? What happens next for interest rates, wages, jobs, and the economy as a whole just one week before the Budget? Guests: Diana Mousina, Deputy Chief Economist, AMP David Bassanese, Chief Economist, BetaShares Show links: See how the price of everything has changed, ABC News StoryLab, March 30, 2026 Consumer Price Index, Australian Bureau of Statistics, March 29, 2026 Why the official inflation rate feels wrong, The Economy Stupid, October 30, 2025 Stagflation is about to push unemployment higher: here's what to expect, The Economy Stupid, March 26, 2026
• Australian gas is booming. But who benefits? 23.04.2026 29m

  Australians might expect to benefit from the global rush on our natural gas resources. But will we?
• Why we still can’t quit petrol even as prices soar 16.04.2026 29m

  Petrol prices are up, car use is down, public transport and electric cars are booming, yet Australians are buying petrol more often than ever. Bank data shows panic topping‑up, driven by fear, not need. In this episode of The Economy, Stupid, we explain why fuel demand barely shifts with price and what it will take to finally break our dependence on petrol and diesel. Guests: Adam Triggs, Economist at consultancy Mandala; Researcher at the Australian National University and the Brookings Institution. Paul Burke, Energy specialist and long‑time researcher at the Australian National University.
• What could be in the budget? 09.04.2026 29m

  You know what they say about a crisis, suddenly, all sorts of things become possible. During the COVID crisis, the government doubled Newstart, paid wage bills, and allowed access to super - things that had almost no chance of happening. Right now, with the budget just weeks away in the midst of a crisis almost anything is on the table. What may that include? Guests: Tom Crowley, ABC economics reporter.  Bob Breunig, tax expert. 
• Australia’s baby bust: what happens when a nation stops replacing itself? 02.04.2026 29m

  Australia’s birth rate is collapsing, heading for a record low next year, well below the level needed for the population to replace itself.  Fewer couples, fewer kids, and a world where ageing societies reshape everything from innovation to taxes. Why is this happening everywhere at once, and what does it mean for your future? Guests:  Viva Hammer, ANU population researcher and tax expert Myriam Robin, AFR senior writer
• Stagflation is about to push unemployment higher: here's what to expect 26.03.2026 29m

  What happens when the economy stops playing by the rules? We’re taught that inflation and unemployment move like a seesaw, one goes up, the other goes down. But sometimes the seesaw snaps. Prices climb and people lose jobs at the same time.  It happened dramatically in the 1970s, and with oil prices surging again and global tensions rising people are whispering the word Stagnation once more.  Guests:  Professor Bob Gregory, one of Australia’s most influential economists, who watched the original outbreak of stagflation unfold and later sat on the Reserve Bank board during another era of economic upheaval. Gareth Hutchens, ABC business and economics reporter who has spent years examining how these big economic shocks ripple through everyday life.
• Did the RBA just choose recession? 19.03.2026 29m

  The Reserve Bank says it’ll do whatever it takes to crush inflation, even if it means Australia falls into recession.  But for millions of Australians, the pain is already here with petrol prices soaring and mortgage repayments climbing. So did the RBA really have no choice but to lift rates again? Or is this a risk the Bank didn’t need to take? Guests:  Gianni La Cava, Former Senior Research Manager at the Reserve Bank of Australia; now Senior Economist at the e61 Institute. Cherelle Murphy, Oceania Chief Economist, EY
• Navigating a global energy crisis 12.03.2026 29m

  From food security to fuelling our air force, the global oil crisis threatens far more than the cost of driving a car. So what happens next?
• War boosts GDP. But should it? 05.03.2026 29m

  GDP is meant to measure economic progress, yet even war can make it rise. So what exactly is it measuring?
• WA’s Special Deal: Fair Reward or Billion‑Dollar Rort? 26.02.2026 29m

  What happens when the nation’s wealthiest state gets extra funding on top of a needs‑based system? Since 2019, Western Australia has received a special billion‑dollar boost that no other state gets, and now the deal is under review. WA wants it to stay. The rest of the country is paying for it. So is the arrangement justified, or overdue for a rethink? Guests: Saul Eslake, Economic consultant and former chief economist for ANZ and Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Australia Matt McKenzie, Economics writer for The West Australian
• The Most Explosive Tax Debate in Australia Is Back 19.02.2026 29m

  Australia does something a bit weird: if you make money selling a house or shares, you get taxed at half the rate you’d pay on your actual job. Nice if you’re the one pocketing the profit… not so great if you’re trying to buy your first place and keep getting outbid by investors. People have argued about this discount for years; it’s political TNT. Bill Shorten tried to change it twice and got burned both times. Now Labor’s back in government, the issue’s landed in a Senate inquiry, and it’s shaping up to be the first real showdown between Treasurer Jim Chalmers and newly appointed Opposition Leader Angus Taylor. Is this tax break helping the country or just helping those already ahead? And if we tweaked it… would anything actually get better? Guests:  Brendan Coates – Program Director, Housing and Economic Security, Grattan Institute. Cathal Leslie – Generation Z economist who has worked at the Productivity Commission, the Australian Treasury, and the OECD in Paris, now working in the AI sector.
• A Carbon Tax Comeback? 12.02.2026 29m

  Spending is outpacing revenue, and the budget gap isn’t closing. At the same time, Australia is drifting off track on its emissions targets for 2030, 2035 and 2050. The Superpower Institute has a proposal: a revamped carbon pricing model it says could help fix both. Australians rejected carbon pricing more than a decade ago. The question now is whether the country is ready to reconsider?  Guests:  Ingrid Burford, Lead, Carbon Pricing and Policy, Superpower Institute Ben Potter, contributing Editor at The Energy Superpower Institute: The Case for Pricing Pollution: Reducing emissions, strengthening the economy, and delivering a fair share for Australians     
• Will this be the last rate hike? 05.02.2026 29m

  The Reserve Bank has lifted rates, and if you’ve got a mortgage, you’ll feel it fast.  A typical borrower on a $600,000 loan is up around $90 a month for a single hike, and if more follow, the hit multiplies.  Is inflation really back, or is the Bank overreacting? And what would more hikes do to jobs and house prices? Guests:  Michael Pasoe, writes for Michael West Media Cherelle Murphy, the Oceania Chief Economist for the consultancy firm EY 
• Interest rates set to rise: what does that mean for you? 29.01.2026 29m

  The Reserve Bank looks set to lift interest rates after a year of cuts - adding around $90 a month to a typical $600,000 mortgage. If there are three hikes, that’s an extra $3,200 a year. What does it mean for you?