Date Time
Building approvals continue their record climb: Australia
The number of dwellings approved rose 17.4 per cent in March (seasonally adjusted), following a 20.1 per cent rise in February, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS, said: “The total number of dwellings approved in March was the second highest recorded, only exceeded by the November 2017 result.”
Private sector dwellings excluding houses drove the increase, rising 63.6 per cent.
“The number of private sector house approvals also remained at elevated levels due to HomeBuilder, edging up 0.1 per cent to a new record high in March.”
BOM
Australia’s leading knowledge agencies have welcomed the Commonwealth Government’s $209 million announcement for a new Australian Climate Service that will support better and faster decision making to ensure communities, infrastructure, and businesses are safe, secure and resilient in the face of natural hazards.
The new Service – which brings together world-leading expertise from the Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau), Geoscience Australia, CSIRO, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – will support communities and business to better anticipate, manage and adapt to the risks that a changing climate will bring.
The Australian Climate Service will initially focus on supporting Emergency Management Australia and the Government’s new National Recovery and Resilience Agency.
Missing a stitch in time Discussion paper
The consequences of underinvestment in proper upkeep of Australia’s electricity transmission and distribution system
5 May 2021
Description
Australia’s electricity industry constitutes a large and critical component of our national economic infrastructure. The industry produces $25 billion per year in value- added. It employs around 50,000 Australians, paying out $6 billion per year in wages and salaries. It makes $45 billion in annual purchases from a diverse and far-reaching supply chain, that provides the sector with inputs ranging from resources to equipment to construction to services.
Most important, of course, the industry literally keeps the lights on: it provides an essential input, electric energy, without which no other industry could function and the safety and comfort of Australians would be immediately jeopardised. In this regard, electricity is clearly an essential service: a utility vital
9%
9.25%
9.5%
10%
10.5%
11%
11.5%
12%
This delay has had a knock-on-effect. According to 2017-18 data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the median super balance for people approaching retirement (aged 55-64) was $118,600 for women and $183,000 for men.
That falls short of the ASFA retirement standard, which sets out how much people should have in super for a comfortable retirement.
Raising the SG is intended to help close that gap, and make sure Australians are able to fund a comfortable retirement.
Short term income vs long term benefits
When it comes to superannuation, the conversation tends to hinge on one key question – what are we willing to sacrifice in the short term for future benefits.