Gareth Hutchens

4 days ago | abc.net.au | Gareth Hutchens

Ross Garnaut says this moment is significant. Four days after Labor's historic election victory last weekend, the leading economist delivered the opening address at the national conference of the Energy Users' Association of Australia (EUAA) in Melbourne. It was Wednesday morning, and the room was full of representatives from Australia's electricity and gas retail markets, regulators and academia.

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Gareth Hutchens |Rhiana Whitson |Kirsten Aiken

The Albanese government has an opportunity to "change Australia forever" in the next three years, economist Ross Garnaut says. He says Labor's historic election victory on the weekend was reminiscent of John Curtin's famous victory in 1943 that paved the way for policies that led to decades of full employment with rising incomes after World War II, which permanently altered Australian history. "There's an opportunity to do something like that again," he told the ABC.

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Gareth Hutchens

Headline inflation has remained steady, but the Reserve Bank's preferred measure of consumer prices has fallen within the RBA's target band for the first time in more than three years. The Australian Bureau of Statistics March quarter data show headline inflation remained steady at an annual rate of 2.4 per cent, while the RBA's preferred measure of trimmed mean inflation dropped from 3.3 to 2.9 per cent.

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Gareth Hutchens

Let's tie some threads together. Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor says if the Coalition wins the federal election next weekend, he plans to limit government spending. He say he wants to introduce a "budget rule" that will cap the rate of growth of government spending to (no more than) the economy's growth rate. His logic is easy to follow.

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Gareth Hutchens

Imagine you're interviewing Australia's prime minister. House prices are on your mind, because the price of established homes has doubled in the past seven years. You ask the PM if he's concerned about the increase in property prices, given what it means for housing affordability and the future of the country. Here's a transcript of your interview, which is based on a real conversation. Try to guess which prime minister said these things, and in what year.