David Richardson
Don’t hand Australia’s critical minerals to Washington
There have been recent reports that an American company, Energy Fuels, is bidding to takeover Australian Strategic Materials (ASM). The takeover bid is subject to a number of conditions, including government approvals following Foreign Investment Review Board considerations.
Capital gains for the rich outpace the national wages bill by whopping $300 billion
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that, between June and September 2025, household wealth grew by 3.1% per cent ($500 billion) to $18.4 trillion.
Insurance premiums driven higher by higher catastrophic risk
A new study has shown the dramatic impact of climate risk on skyrocketing homeowners' insurance prices
Don’t hobble Victoria with complaints about taxes, debt and deficit
Big business never tires of saying taxes are bad, yet those same companies thrive on the very services taxes pay for.
ANZ is last of the big bad banks to report their profit
The big four have now all reported their obscene profits for 2025 as they continue to dominate the Australian market
Coles shareholders may yet save the Maugean skate?
After the government failed to protect the endangered species, the private sector has taken up the mantle
Free electricity: AGL and the other retailers will fight to keep their outrageous markups on electricity
Solar power is producing more electricity than needed in the middle of the day when the sun is strongest. In turn that has reduced prices to zero in the middle of the day.
The Reserve Bank still thinks the labour market is tight. What evidence does it need?
Yesterday the Reserve Bank of Australia announced no change in official interest rates. Among other reasons it said “measures of labour underutilisation remain at low rates, job vacancies are still at a high level and business surveys and liaison continue to suggest that a significant share of firms are experiencing difficulty sourcing labour.”
Votes by Woolies and Coles shareholders may determine the fate of the Maugean skate
The Australia Institute has documented that salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour is endangering the Maugean skate and the harbour’s World Heritage value.
In Australia we tax work relentlessly and transparently, while we let wealth quietly compound
Two decades ago, the total household wealth of all Australian was equal to 5.7 times household income. Today it’s 8.8. That jump isn’t because workers got lazy.
