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This week, when rejecting suggestions there were implications for federal Labor in the state byelection for the NSW seat of Upper Hunter, Anthony Albanese pointed to the recent state elections in Western Australia and Queensland.
In each case, especially WA, the incumbent Labor government won in a landslide.
Labor continues to attack Scott Morrison for dropping the ball on Australiaâs vaccine rollout.Â
David Rowe
âIf Scott Morrison wants to argue that there are federal implications behind a byelection result in one seat in NSW, then he should apply that to Western Australia and to Queensland, which are the big two resources states in this country,â Albanese said.
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The Reserve Bank has recharged the responsible lending debate and added some pressure on banks by suggesting lending has been too restrictive for small business despite record low interest rates and government incentives.
As bank chief executives met with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Canberra on Wednesday RBA assistant governor Christopher Kent said he had a concern about access to finance and interpretation of responsible lending.
“Responsible lending is very much a decision for the government and legislation is before the parliament. There is a balance to be struck there and the challenge is always about getting that balance right.”
Follow health advice to escape the gilded cage
As health experts now warn, breaking out of Australiaâs gilded COVID-safe cage will depend on accepting the need to live with the virus when new cases inevitably appear.
May 16, 2021 â 6.50pm
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The politically popular COVID-19 elimination strategy pursued by state governments is now the major obstacle to reopening Australiaâs international borders as the vaccine rollout makes it much safer and less risky to do so.
According to former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth, reopening the international borders will require Australia to forsake âthe false idol of eradicationâ and the idea of hiding out in an âeliminationist bunkerâ.
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When Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was in his Canberra office four weeks ago and was told the unemployment rate had – again – fallen faster than anticipated, to 5.6 per cent for March, the Treasurer became confident that he could pull off the great budget pivot.
For months, Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia had privately been nudging the government not to turn off the fiscal support too sharply after the $90 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy finished.
The “official family” of public policy economists believed the government should get more ambitious on its unemployment target and aim to reduce the jobless rate below 5 per cent to get wages growth accelerating and inflation rising.
Unemployment rate: Strong jobs rebound prompts federal budget rethink afr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from afr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.