Grattan Institute

Every five years the Productivity Commission releases an inquiry into Australia’s productivity, with their latest five-year report released just last week. In it, they outline the case for advancing prosperity through building an adaptable workforce and creating a more dynamic economy, just to name a few. But Australia is facing a number of productivity challenges in the face of an uncertain world, which may hamper our economic growth in the years to come. Listen to host Kat Clay, in conversation with Grattan’s CEO, Danielle Wood, on why productivity matters. Read the report: https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/productivity/report

In the past year, Australians have been navigating the rising cost of living, including increased electricity and gas bills. One tool which gives us an insight into electricity prices for the next financial year is the default market offer (DMO), a draft of which has recently been released by the Australian Energy Regulator. The DMO suggests electricity prices will rise by an average of 20 per cent in the coming year. In this podcast, Tony Wood, Energy and Climate Program Director, and Alison Reeve, Energy and Climate Deputy Program Director, discuss what the DMO means for electricity prices and consumers, in a conversation facilitated by Esther Suckling, Associate.

The Albanese government has declared that they will increase the earnings tax rate on super accounts with a balance of over $3 million, much to the chagrin of the wealthy. While this has made prime fodder for comedians to mock the rich, there’s a more serious issue at play here. Super tax breaks need reform, and the budget deficits need to be repaired. Watch Economic Policy Program Director Brendan Coates, Senior Associate Joey Moloney, and host Kat Clay, discuss whether the government should be cutting tax breaks on multi-million dollar super balances. Read the Money in Retirement report https://grattan.edu.au/report/money-in-retirement/

With tight housing supply in Australia, it’s a landlord’s market, and renters are queuing out the door in a fight to get a lease. But what’s driving this rental nightmare? Is it inflation? Housing availability? The Phillip Lowe effect? This rental nightmare raises even bigger questions for Australia: whether we can fix housing. Because the impacts aren’t just on buildings – there are very real effects on tenants, especially women, seniors, and low-income earners. Listen to host Kat Clay, in conversation with Trent Wiltshire, Deputy Program Director and Joey Moloney, Senior Associate, about what's causing Australia's nightmare rental market, and whether we can fix it.

If you step into a newly built school these days, chances are they look very different to your childhood classroom. Instead of a standard classroom with four walls, you’re likely find a large room that contains two or three classes, with no wall to separate them, and ample room for teachers and students to move between the ‘classroom’ spaces. Listen to host Kat Clay in conversation with Senior Associate Anika Stobart, and Education Researcher Brigitte Garbin, about how open-plan classrooms might be harming our children's learning. Read the article discussed: https://grattan.edu.au/news/faddish-classroom-design-may-be-harming-our-children/

It’s a long way to the top if you want to reform the Australian health system. Prime Minister Albanese has promised an Australian Centre for Disease Control, and it’s the subject of our new report ACDC: Highway to health. While the call for an ACDC comes out of the wake of the pandemic, you’d be forgiven for thinking its role is to deal with infection control. But Grattan's report focusses on the ACDC’s role to prevent chronic diseases. Report authors Peter Breadon, Program Director, and Lachie Fox, Associate, discuss the broader role of the ACDC with host Kat Clay. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/acdc-highway-to-health/

Fuel tax – you might not know much about it, but winding back the 8 billion a year in fuel tax credits given to businesses could reduce the budget deficit by 4 billion dollars. Listen as host Kat Clay, interviews Marion Terrill, Transport and Cities Program Director, and Natasha Bradshaw, Associate, on their latest report, Fuelling budget repair: How to reform fuel taxes for business. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/fuelling-budget-repair/

A small crack in children’s foundational learning can be exacerbated as the years go on. Unless it’s addressed quickly, children get stuck in a vicious cycle, falling further and further behind their counterparts. Which is where small-group tuition comes in. Featuring host Kat Clay, with Julie Sonnemann, Principal Advisor, and Anika Stobart, Senior Associate. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/tackling-under-achievement/

Listen to Grattan CEO Danielle Wood in conversation with renowned journalist Eleanor Hall, as they discuss Grattan's top six thought-provoking, compelling, and relevant books from 2022. It’s been an extraordinary year, and these are extraordinary reads – not only for the Prime Minister, but for all Australians interested in public policy. Danielle and Eleanor were introduced by the CEO of State Library Victoria, Paul Duldig, and joined by the authors of three of these wonderful books, Debra Dank, Sam Vincent, and Jessica Au. The Grattan Institute 2022 Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister is: Career & Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity – Claudia Goldin We Come With This Place – Debra Dank My Father and Other Animals – Sam Vincent Cold Enough for Snow – Jessica Au Buried Treasure – Jo Chandler (in the Griffith Review) Healing: Our path from mental illness to mental health – Thomas Insel Read more about the books: https://grattan.edu.au/news/announcing-grattan-institutes-2022-prime-mini

t’s hard to believe that Australia’s universal healthcare system, Medicare, is almost forty years old. Over that time, Australians’ health needs have changed significantly. We’ve got an ageing population, and mental illness and chronic disease are on the rise. GPs’ work is more complex – and Medicare hasn’t kept up. Our latest report, A new Medicare: Strengthening general practice, calls on Government to overhaul a system that is reaching a mid-life crisis. Host Kat Clay is joined by the authors of the report, Health Program Director, Peter Breadon, and Visiting Fellow Danielle Romanes, to discuss how to strengthen general practice in Australia.

The Safeguard Mechanism is a key policy in Australia’s fight against climate change, which caps emissions from big industrial facilities and other large polluters. Greenhouse gas emitters, from LNG platforms to mines to airlines, must keep their emissions below a baseline, or pay. Now it faces reform, as the Albanese government has committed to amend the mechanism, to meet the 2030 target of cutting emissions to 43% below 2005 levels. But as ever, the devil is in the detail. Host Kat Clay is joined by Alison Reeve, Deputy Program Director, and Esther Suckling, Associate, to discuss the Safeguard Mechanism design issues facing the government. Read the Safeguard Mechanism reform paper: https://storage.googleapis.com/converlens-au-industry/industry/p/prj2135e8da0cf17d76c70fc/public_assets/Safeguard-Mechanism-consultation-paper.PDF For more information, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/

It won’t come as a surprise to the mums listening to this podcast, but there’s a price to pay for being a mother. Whether it’s the countless extra hours of unpaid labour, losing out on a promotion because you’ve got to pick the kids up from school, or even choosing to work part-time, this all has an enormous impact on lifetime earnings for Australian mothers. In this podcast, Kat Clay interviews Natasha Bradshaw, co-author of a Treasury paper on children and the gender earnings gap, alongside Owain Emslie, Grattan senior associate, on his policy recommendations to reduce the motherhood penalty. Read the Treasury paper: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-10/p2022-325290-children-gender-gap.pdf Read Dad Days: https://grattan.edu.au/report/dad-days/ Read Cheaper Childcare: https://grattan.edu.au/report/cheaper-childcare/ Donate to Grattan: https://grattan.edu.au/donate/

One of the biggest announcements of the October federal Budget was the National Housing Accord, with the goal to build one million new, well-located homes over five years from 2024. Host Kat Clay and Economic Policy Program Director, Brendan Coates, discuss this ambitious goal, and how it could ease the housing crisis. For more information, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/

Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down his first budget on Tuesday night, amid the usual fanfare of speculation, promises, posturing, and of course, photo ops. In this special Grattan podcast episode, Danielle Wood, CEO, and Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, cut through the fanfare to the heart of this federal budget, and what it means for Australia's economic future.

The Victorian Government’s announcement of the revival of the State Electricity Commission, alongside bold targets for climate change and renewables, is the most dramatic in the last 25 years of Australia’s energy system. Tony Wood, Energy and Climate Change Program Director, and Alison Reeve, Deputy Program Director, break down this announcement and what it means for Australian policymakers, industry, and consumers. Donate to Grattan: https://grattan.edu.au/donate/

For teachers, deciding what to teach and how to teach it can be a big part of their job. Great teaching inside the classroom relies on great planning and preparation outside of the classroom and this takes time. But how do teachers find the time for this kind of curriculum and lesson planning? For our latest report, Ending the lesson lottery: How to improve curriculum planning in schools, our staff surveyed more than 2,000 Australian teachers and school leaders, about curriculum planning practices in their schools and what help they need. Listen to host Kat Clay in conversation with Senior Associate Amy Haywood, and Associate Nick Parkinson, on how to improve curriculum planning in Australian schools. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/ending-the-lesson-lottery-how-to-improve-curriculum-planning-in-schools/

If you’ve been watching TV or reading the paper, chances are you’ve seen an ad spruiking the achievements of federal and state governments, from the next big transport project to how they’re reducing the cost of living. While some of these ads are worthwhile—such as encouraging people to get vaccinated—others masquerade as subtle political ads on the taxpayer dime. So, what can be done to prevent such blatant misuse of taxpayer-funded advertising? Join host Kat Clay, as she discusses the latest report in the New Politics series, with co-authors Kate Griffiths and Anika Stobart. For more information, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/

The rumours are swirling. The US economy might be headed for a recession. And what happens in the international market significantly impacts Australia. Many commentators are concerned that we too might be headed for a recession. But is this an accurate prediction, or are there ways Australia can weather the storm? Host Kat Clay is joined by Trent Wiltshire, Deputy Program Director, Migration and Labour Markets, to see if the rumours are true.

In this Henry George lecture for Prosper Australia, Grattan’s Brendan Coates shows how expensive housing sits at the heart of some of Australia’s most pressing policy challenges. Read the full speech: https://grattan.edu.au/news/the-great-australian-nightmare/

Last week, MPs, business leaders, unions, and economists met at the national Jobs and Skills Summit to discuss the future of the jobs market in Australia. High on the priority list were the skills shortages felt across Australian workplaces, increasing productivity, and improving the migration system. On this podcast, host Kat Clay interviews Grattan CEO, Danielle Wood, who gave the opening address at the summit. She is joined by Brendan Coates, Economic Policy Program Director. Read Danielle's opening remarks from the conference: https://grattan.edu.au/news/think-big-a-new-mission-statement-for-australia/