COST AND STANDARD OF LIVING – AUSTRALIA

Living standards at a five-year standstill

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 12-Apr-16

Australian households’ disposable income rose by 22 per cent during the last five years of the government of former prime minister John Howard. However, data from the Australian National University’s Centre for Social Modelling shows that household income has barely grown in the last five years, when factors such as inflation and population growth are taken into account. Meanwhile, the household savings rate has fallen from 11 per cent of income to 7.6 per cent over this period.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CENTRE FOR SOCIAL MODELLING, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Purchasing power dives on lower $A

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jul-15

Australians may face a significant reduction in their living standards in coming years, due to factors such as a lower currency, slowing growth in wages and falling revenue from commodities. Australian households ranked fifth in the world in terms of global purchasing power in 2014. However, Deutsche Bank economist Adam Boyton expects the nation to be ranked in ninth position in 2015, and 17th within two years. The bearish forecast is based on data from the International Monetary Fund.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Income hit to living standards

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 4-Jun-15

New figures show that Australia’s real GDP grew by a higher-than-expected 0.9 per cent in the March 2015 quarter, and by 2.3 per cent year-on-year. However, real GDP growth has remained below the long-run average for the last 11 quarters, while average income has fallen in each of the last four quarters. Treasurer Joe Hockey says the GDP data highlights the continued strength of the domestic economy, but economist Dr Andrew Charlton is concerned about the outlook for the economy and the nation’s living standards.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ALPHABETA, THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Treasury says lower $A to avoid income crunch

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1-Feb : 22-Jul-14

The Melbourne Economic Forum has warned of the need for a reduction in real wages and higher productivity to avert a decline in Australians’ standard of living. However, Professor Ian McDonald of Melbourne University believes that the economic modelling has too much emphasis on productivity. Meanwhile, federal Treasury economist David Gruen told the forum that the Australian dollar is likely to fall in coming years, which will assist the transition from the mining boom

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE ECONOMIC FORUM, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY. CENTRE OF POLICY STUDIES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Living standards set to fall

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 21-Jul-14

The Melbourne Economic Forum has warned of a sharp rise in the unemployment rate and a reduced standard of living if Australia fails to take action to increase productivity. Economic modelling by the forum suggests that the jobless rate will rise to 6.6 per cent late in 2015 without such reform. Victoria University’s Professor James Giesecke says that productivity will need to grow by 0.7 per cent each year simply to preserve the current standard of living

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE ECONOMIC FORUM, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA