Since Parliament last sat, the likelihood of a rate rise this year has gone from 'not likely' to 'lock it in'. I wish I could say this is because, in the past couple weeks, there has been data showing that the economy is going gangbusters and is in need of cooling off. But alas… this is not the case.
You’ve been told your whole life that taking on debt for an education is OK, because that education will land you a good job. The debt will be manageable. Your earning power will increase. University will be your pathway to social mobility.
In a sign of the brutal impact of the Reserve Bank’s three interest rate rises, more than 1 million Australians worked multiple jobs in the June quarter for the first time. When cost of living pressures rise, one of the more dramatic impacts we see in the economy is more people needing to work more than one job to make ends meet.
Non-compete clauses suppress wages, reduce productivity and stifle innovation. Now, the federal government is looking to ban them for most workers.
The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the pernicious impact of non-compete clauses and the federal government’s new legislation seeking to ban them for 9-in-10 workers.
This episode was recorded on Tuesday 8 September.
More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest edition in the Vantage Point series, is available now.
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Guest: Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and Federal Member for Fenner // @aleighmp
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett
Quality research, analysis, explainers and factchecks from experts you can trust.
Show notes:
Reform to non-compete clauses and other restraints – draft legislation, Department of Treasury Consultation Hub
Government seeks to ban non-compete agreements for most workers by Jack Thrower, The Point Live (September 2026)
New data shows many businesses are now using non-compete clauses – and that’s bad for workers by Jack Thrower, the Australia Institute (February 2024)
The great unbinding: non‑competes, freedom and the future of competition, Sydney Institute address by the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP (September 2025)
Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
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