My annual reminder: headlines say a deficit of $31.5b but Treasury actually says there’s a 90% chance of the balance being somewhere between $119.7b deficit and $56.7b surplus. #budget26 "Economists put decimal points in their forecasts to show they have a sense of humor." William Gilmore Simms

1/ 🙏 @jacksonwryan.com for the story For >20 years, Pauline Hanson's shown us who she is by targeting immigrants, Asians, Muslims, Voice to Parliament, Indigenous Australians, native title, Welcome to Country & more It's gutting to read about "scientists keen to converse or snap selfies" with her

She blinded me with pretence

At what point do selfies with Pauline Hanson at the annual “Science Meets Parliament” dinner legitimise One Nation’s misinformation campaigns?

themonthly.com.au

Yung En Chee@yungenchee.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Seems Pauline Hanson's cannily been attending Science Meets Parliament "dinners & meetings over many years—likely more than any other parliamentarian—[..] & stays longer at dinner than almost all parliamentarians" Smart PR Shame to normalise the racist, Islamophobic, climate-denying One Nation

New ABS data: on most measures, how Australians experience their lives is getting worse. We've got the information, now we need to tie the information to decision-making and budgeting. Kate Lycett, Georgie Frykberg and I in @aunz.theconversation.com theconversation.com/less-trustin...

Less trusting, more financially stressed: new data show how Australians feel about their lives

Results from a new national survey show Australians feel worse about many things than they did during COVID. Now governments need to use these data to do better.

theconversation.com

Yup theconversation.com/the-rbas-pol...

The RBA’s policy deliberately creates unemployment. So why do we treat the jobless so badly?

The way we deal with rising inflation is highly problematic.

theconversation.com

The RBA deliberately creates #unemployment to control inflation. Then our employment services system treats the jobless as if they caused their own predicament and don't want to work. Unfair and unnecessarily cruel. My latest in @aunz.theconversation.com: theconversation.com/the-rbas-pol...

The RBA’s policy deliberately creates unemployment. So why do we treat the jobless so badly?

The way we deal with rising inflation is highly problematic.

theconversation.com

"There is no technically correct way to design a tax system. Like all public policy, getting it “right” depends on our collective values." – @warwicksmith.bsky.social

Is the capital gains tax discount an act of intergenerational ‘bastardry’?

If we want to avoid becoming a nation where the great divide is between those who own property and those who never will, we should jump at the chance for reform.

theconversation.com

My latest at @aunz.theconversation.com the capital gains tax discount. TLDR: our economic system, including tax system, is currently skewed towards those with wealth and power. Reducing the CGT discount won't fix this but it's a step in the right direction. theconversation.com/is-the-capit...

Is the capital gains tax discount an act of intergenerational ‘bastardry’?

If we want to avoid becoming a nation where the great divide is between those who own property and those who never will, we should jump at the chance for reform.

theconversation.com

There's a good news story on the ABC about how the town of Castlemaine, in northwestern Victoria, formed a member-owned co-op to keep a community hub in community hands: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS7t... #auspol #coop #cooperatives #Castlemaine

Harnessing the people power of co-ops to stave off privatisation | The Business | ABC NEWS

YouTube video by ABC News (Australia)

youtube.com

Our Community Investment Co-op got a write up from the ABC! https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-08/castlemaine-cooperative-privatisation-economic-democracy/106103270 #cooperatives

A 'broken' property market spurred hundreds of locals to buy a building

For its passionate members, saving a historic goldrush-era pub to protect their cooperative was about "economic democracy" and keeping the property out of developers' hands.

abc.net.au

Instagram story from the ABC on out co-op www.instagram.com/reel/DSOZnTT...

😆

My article in @aunz.theconversation.com today on the update of #DoughnutEconomics by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and @kateraworth.bsky.social in @nature.com. It's well past time we reoriented the economy to serve people and the environment instead of profit and rent extraction. #WellbeingEconomy.

‘Doughnut economics’ shows how global growth is out of balance - and how we can fix it

A new economic update shows it’s more important than ever to think carefully about what progress means.

theconversation.com

We did it. The Castlemaine Community Investment Co-operative borrowed $2m in small loans from 330 community members and bought our first building. We will permanently remove the building from the market to be managed by the community for the community #CommunityWealthBuilding www.castlemaine.coop

The moment has arrived. The Castlemaine Community Investment Co-operative is now raising capital for this exciting #CommuntyWealthBuilding project. We want to buy The Hub and make it community owned for good. Like a term deposit, we're borrowing money and repaying with interest www.castlemaine.coop

Our #CommunitWealthBuilding #cooperative in Castlemaine is building up to its first capital raise in June. We're looking to borrow money from the community to buy the iconic Hub building in town. More details at castlemaine.coop. www.linkedin.com/posts/jeanet...

On 1 June we will open our first debenture offer for a beloved building… | Jeanette Pope

On 1 June we will open our first debenture offer for a beloved building 'the Hub' in Castlemaine that is full of environmental/sustainability organisations, small businesses not often availabl...

linkedin.com

A good one from Matt Golding in The Age today.

Catastrophic bleaching of #Ningaloo reef in WA with fossil fuel driven global warming record sea surface temperatures is absolutely gut wrenching - but no one should be surprised. This has been long predicted by the scientific community. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Large areas of WA’s Ningaloo corals could die in ‘weeks ahead’ after widespread bleaching documented

Conservationists call for urgent government action as prolonged heatwave affects renowned reef, including Turquoise Bay, Tantabiddi and Bundegi

theguardian.com

I'll be speaking on Friday on a great panel at the Community Tax Summit in Melbourne and online. You can still get tickets. The summit has a really impressive lineup of contributors - a real who's who of tax in Australia. Really looking forward to it.

Per Capita Australia@percapitaaustralia.bsky.social · last yr.

Day 2 of the Community Tax Summit will include a look at: Climate transition, regional development and community wellbeing, International taxation, lived experience, and finishing up with a discussion on how to achieve the change we need. Get your tickets at: events.humanitix.com/community-ta...

“Patriotism is an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles.” George Jean Nathan #AustraliaDay #InvasionDay

Great article here from the Midland Express on Mount Alexander Shire Council's work towards a #WellbeingEconomy. Thanks to Katherine Trebeck for coming to our little town of Castlemaine for this screening of Purpose. midlandexpress.com.au/latest-news/...

Council reimagines the economy | Midland Express

Council changing the way we look at the economy

midlandexpress.com.au

Let’s find a new perspective starting with poverty.

The Wellbeing Economy in Brief that Katherine Trebeck and I wrote early last year made APO's 2024 top 10 list for economics publications. Good company to be in with publications from ACOSS, the Productivity Commission, Impact Economics and Policy etc. #WellbeingEconomy apo.org.au/top-10s/econ...

Mimbres School 2025 Courses: SPRING: Slavery and Unfreedom When is Capitalism? Philosophy: Friend or Foe? SUMMER: Domestication Syndrome Anti-Kant FALL: Political Arithmetic Prehistory of Islam Childhood Tuition $250. Registration open soon. See thread for descriptions

You actually can though, that’s the whole point.

Denise Difficult-Shrivell@deniseshrivell.bsky.social · 2y ago

🤦‍♀️ #auspol

Here is a list of (semi-)economists on BlueSky who work on climate change impacts, adapation, mitigation, strategies, policy, etc. Suggestions for relevant omissions are welcome. go.bsky.app/B8TM2GS

Here's a list of people on BlueSky contributing to the debate about economic growth vs environmental sustainability. This includes those writing specifically on growth positions, such as green growth, degrowth and agrowth. The list also covers folks promoting beyond-GDP metrics. go.bsky.app/NKz1ex3

Albanese told parliament that he want to make sure "children have a childhood and parents have peace of mind"... and so he is raising the rate of govt assistance to ensure children will not live in pover...oh wait, sorry I am being handed a note...

Looking forward to speaking with Kim Shore and Graham Boyd at this online RSA event tonight at 7pm AEDT. We'll be talking #WellbeingEconomy, regenerative economy and, presumably, ergodicity (come along to find out from Graham what that is). www.eventbrite.com.au/e/re-designi...