The “fierce independence” of RBA Governor Michele Bullock is championed today, but in the past, the central bank’s independence has been challenged not only by government ministers, but RBA members who have willingly conceded it.
Failure demand: the true cost of an economy not built for people, place and planet, and what would it take to fix it?
Both last year’s Productivity Commission’s figures and Treasury’s in the Intergenerational Report this week promise enough benefits from AI to roughly maintain the status quo, but not so profound an improvement that you might start to worry life will be completely different in 2046 than it is today.
Artificial intelligence dominates the latest Intergenerational report – but are multi-decade predictions about the rapidly changing technology any more than just a stab in the dark?
On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Skye discuss the focus on artificial intelligence in the latest 40-year outlook, the latest data on ‘middle Australia’, and why homeowners have reported higher levels of financial stress.
This discussion was recorded on Wednesday 23 September 2026.
Join an outstanding line-up of policymakers, academics and independent experts at the Australia Institute’s Revenue Summit 2026. Tickets are on sale now for the event at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 14 October.
Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut
Host: Skye Predavec, Researcher, the Australia Institute // @skyelark
Show notes:
Quality research, analysis, explainers and factchecks from experts you can trust.
Single, couple or family: not all Australian middle-income earners are equal by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (August 2026)
The Intergenerational Report has found its shiny new toy: AI. But what about climate change? by Greg Jericho, The Point (September 2026)
The Government is hyping artificial intelligence, but its numbers tell a different story by Bill Browne, The Point (September 2026)
Australia and the World’ 2026 Annual Lecture: The Hon Jim Chalmers MP, the Australian National University on YouTube (September 2026)
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. Subscribe to Dollars & Sense on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.
