Low paid workers get a small pay rise

Waiting for “market forces” to reverse recent record weakness in wage growth hasn’t worked. Nothing does more to create sustainable economic momentum than strong, sustained increases in the minimum wage. The Fair Work Commission is helping, but it could have been more ambitious.

Will slow wage growth decide Australia’s election?

Labor has pledged to get wages moving again while the Coalition puts its faith in the economy. How voters see this policy divide could determine who forms the next Australian government.

The false hope offered by talk of a living wage

Although it sounds attractive in theory, a higher minimum or “living wage” would give minimal assistance to some people on low incomes, while advantaging others not generally considered in need of support.

The budget needs to address underemployment

Having work, but not enough of it to meet the costs of living, is especially a problem for young people, says UNSW Professor Kristy Muir.

Could “shadow equity” help workers escape the low wage trap?

Paying workers in a similar way to executives might start to reverse the widening gulf in renumeration between executives and employees.

Where the future work skills debate goes missing

“Future Skills”, a new report by Australian thinktank AlphaBeta for Google Australia, argues that positive human traits, rather than knowledge or skills, will be job seekers’ unique selling point in the years ahead.

It’s time to modernise, not abandon, the WTO

There is no shortage of opinion pieces heralding the end of the rules-based multilateral trading system but this means the World Trade Organisation needs to be modernised, rather than abandoned altogether.

The Chinese coal ‘ban’ sends a significant political message

The standoff over Australian coal imports through the Chinese port of Dalian sends a powerful political message that the authorities in Beijing can turn our imports off and on at will.

Dealing with the dragon

China’s recent disruption of Australian coal exports underlines the country’s need to diversify exports to Indonesia, India and other nations, rather than relying so heavily on just one trading partner.

Post capitalism – Life within environmental limits

Capitalism’s limitless growth on a finite planet means the economic system we take for granted could end soon. If so, transformative and sustainable change must come from grassroots action.

Removing broker commissions is a double-edged sword

The number of mortgage brokers providing a money-saving service to consumers could fall under changes recommended by the banking royal commission, according to Mark Humphrey-Jenner of UNSW Business School.

When guard dogs become pets – The problem of ‘regulatory capture’

The fallout from Australia’s recent banking scandals raise a wider question – Do our regulators act in the public interest, or in the interest of those they are meant to regulate?