Thu 6 Nov 2025 17.00 AEDT
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
On our 100th episode of Dollars & Sense, we discuss why the Reserve Bank always seems to prioritise inflation over employment in its interest rate discussions.
Greg and Elinor discuss the Reserve Bank’s predictable rates decision, Microsoft’s decision to refund some customers after pressure from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, and whether Australia’s tobacco excise has become self-defeating.
Aiming Higher: Universities and Australia’s future by Professor George Williams is available now via Australia Institute Press.
This discussion was recorded on Thursday 6 November 2025.
Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut
Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek
Show notes:
The RBA predicts inflation will rise faster than wages. Let’s hope it’s wrong by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (November 2025)
Explainer: Illegal smoking police raids are being done to raise tax by Greg Jericho, The Point Live (November 2025)
Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.
Under One Nation’s policy, the gas industry would not pay anything for at minimum 10 years – which is why it hasn’t kicked up a fuss. What Hanson has done, is show that Labor and Liberal are the only ones who see the status quo as the way forward. The gas industry knows that, so it is supporting the circuit breaker, which makes it seem like something is being done.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing backlash after quoting inaccurate statistics from the gas lobby, while defending his decision not to impose a 25% tax on gas exports in the federal budget. Mr Albanese was interviewed on radio during a post-budget trip to Perth, during which he claimed that “gas companies paid $22 billion of tax last year”. The $22 billion figure is not an official estimate by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), but a figure produced by a gas lobby group.
