Latest news with #DanielleWood
AU Financial Review
6 days ago
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Gen Z will be richer than their parents. But here's the catch
At 2.30pm on Tuesday, as Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock shocked markets by keeping interest rates unchanged, a few blocks away Productivity Commission boss Danielle Wood delivered an urgent call to kickstart growth to revive living standards. The messages from two of the nation's economic leaders – that something must be done to lift productivity – were a reality check for millions of Australians.
The Age
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Coming together to express horror in Gaza
The risks of AI Danielle Wood nominates the increased usage of AI as her No.1 discussion point for the upcoming productivity roundtable. She acknowledges there are risks that require increased regulation. While the focus of the roundtable is to reduce redtape and increase productivity, the increasing use of AI is indeed a double-edged sword. Big business will be salivating at the costs to be saved and the fewer employees it needs by AI's greater use. Not all the financial benefits of increased productivity should flow to business profits and executive bonuses. Robust controls-protections will be needed to support workers in their immediate and long-term displacement. A Labor government should not be encouraging the slashing of redtape and introduction of new work practices that exacerbate the position of those workers and consumers bearing the brunt of any new technologies. Peter Thomson, Brunswick Morality and war Your correspondent (Letters, 9/7) suggests that few now doubt the moral rectitude of those who take part in Melbourne's weekly Gaza demonstrations. But one is certainly entitled to question the righteousness of those, like your correspondent, who have nothing to say either about Hamas' vile war crime of continuing to hold Israeli hostages, or its human shield strategy that inevitably maximises civilian loss of life. The foremost tragedy of this war is that so many appear to be motivated more by their desire to demonise and delegitimise Israel, than by genuine concern for the welfare of Palestinians. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the uniqueness of this conflict in which efforts to allow civilians to get out of harm's way have been steadfastly resisted. Israel is accused of ethnic cleansing in wanting to facilitate this, but when it doesn't happen, it's accused of genocide. Geoff Feren, St Kilda East What is chant's origin? The fact that demonstrators chanted ″Death to the IDF″ in Melbourne last Sunday deserves more thought. During the rallies against the Vietnam War, no one chanted, ″Death to the American forces″. I know. I was there. When demonstrators marched against the war in Iraq, this did not happen either. No one has marched and chanted for the deaths of Putin, Bashar al-Assad, the generals of Myanmar, or the leaders in the Sudanese war, all ongoing, or recent conflicts. Where could this come from? Surely this is more than anger at the IDF? Pia Brous, Armadale Living in harmony Listening to the Rabbi of the East Melbourne Synagogue on ABC Radio on Monday was inspiring, especially when he spoke of a recent admission of one of his children to the Royal Children's Hospital. At the hospital, he was in a discussion with Muslim and Christian parents. They spoke about what a wonderful country we live in. Australia is made up of many nationalities and cultures, but we must co-exist harmoniously. It is the best country, let's keep it that way. Peter O'Brien, Newport Why muted response? There has been a public outcry about the attacks on two synagogues from our leaders, but hardly a peep out of them, especially the LNP, about the wanton destruction and slaughter going on in Palestine. John Cain, McCrae Putin is not worried I doubt that Vladimir Putin will be too concerned over angering Donald Trump with his intransigence over the Ukraine war he seems uninterested in ending. Putin needs to only wait a few days for Trump to change his mind yet again or if that fails Putin can nominate Trump for a Nobel prize – it seems to be the popular move at the moment. Ross Hudson, Mount Martha Trump, meet Kissinger On the other hand, a Nobel Peace Prize would put Trump in company with the likes of Henry Kissinger – seems about right. Maurie Keenan, Balaclava Protecting the oceans Australia certainly extends beyond Portland, to South Australia and beyond (Letters, 7/7). And the problem of algal bloom around SA is both a major problem itself, and a symptom of the ″marine heatwave″ in the oceans around Australia. The core problem is global warming, including of the sea. In 2024, then environment minister Tanya Plibersek, extended the area of marine parks, including off the coast of Victoria and South Australia. This brought the total area of protected marine space to 52 per cent of Australia's ocean territory. That is a start, but not enough. Marine scientists are calling for $40 million to be spent on marine research and damage mitigation. There is already some focus on worsening bleaching to coral on the Great Barrier Reef. This effort must be extended to cover all of Australia's marine areas. John Hughes, Mentone Teaching is a calling I feel obliged to reply to several letters (8/7) about teacher training. In 1958, I started a two-year course in a UK residential teacher training college. As well as visiting several different types of schools and attending lectures relevant to our choice of courses, we had six teaching practices in classrooms. I completed the course in 1960 and was qualified to teach in secondary schools. When I migrated to Australia in 1971 the authorities here accepted my teaching qualification and experience. I retired from a very enjoyable teaching career in 2003. My own secondary education was in a grammar school where all the staff had to have a university degree. Some of my teachers were very good and some, in spite of their degrees, were not. Teaching is not a job. It is a calling comparable with, say, nursing. Chris Rhodes, Gisborne The erosion of joy Managerial culture came to universities in the 1990s (Comment, 9/7). The most noticeable change was the growth of university bureaucracies. To support a corporate culture, university bureaucracies became gigantic. Campuses were filled with layer upon layer of administrators. As a result of these bureaucratic layers, academic activities such as teaching, research and publishing became onerous. The joy of being an academic, and making a contribution to knowledge, was slowly eroded. Dr Sarah Russell, Mt Martha A conciliatory gesture After analysing his own behaviour, Benjamin Netanyahu must see Donald Trump's behaviour as deserving of a peace prize. Dropping only a handful of enormous bombs on another country would seem conciliatory. John Groom, Bentleigh A noble endeavour I'm now soliciting support to nominate myself for the Nobel Prize for Literature for my body of work in Letters to the Age. Peter Price, Southbank AFL out on the full The AFL has lost the plot with its proposed in-season tournament to keep the fans engaged. Instead, how about just progressing all clubs to the finals. Jenny Bone, Surrey Hills AND ANOTHER THING Trump Benjamin Netanyahu nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize is a very dark and scary sick joke. Brendan O'Farrell, Brunswick What an absolute insult to the prize itself. Carole Ruta, Benalla Donald Trump nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize – an oxymoron in keeping with the contradictory naming of the prize. Greg Curtin, Nunawading I'd like to nominate RFK jnr for the Nobel Prize for Medicine. Stephen Baldwin, Frankston ″Donald Trump is like an auctioneer in an ill-fitting suit and loud tie, trying to sell a property that no one wants to buy.″ (Stephen Bartholomeuz, 9/7). A perfect image of TACO Donald Trump. Kay Moulton, Surrey Hills The Trump administration is like one big game of Deal or No Deal. Ron Mather, Melbourne Furthermore How wonderful to have a system of interest-rate settings based on economic reality, not government whim. Graeme Rose, Wangaratta Discussion about the AFL's two-tier competition distracts the football public from bigger issues like the league's dependence on gambling revenue. David Cayzer, Clifton Hill Surely the AFL isn't spooked by the State of Origin in the NRL? Three games that pack out the stands and rate highly on TV but the regular attendance at weekly matches is minuscule compared to the crowds that flock to the AFL. Phil Alexander, Eltham
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
What could Albanese do to improve productivity? Here is a short, non-exhaustive list
In his address last week at the National Press Club, the prime minister announced a 'productivity roundtable' in concert with the Productivity Commission's latest inquiry into the issue. I won't be at the round table, but I do have a few ideas. First off, remember that productivity is the amount you produce with the hours and equipment you have. Work better with what you have or (usually) get better equipment to do your work faster, and productivity increases. It is not about reducing the cost of producing things. Getting paid $10 less an hour to do the same amount of work does not increase productivity even if your employer is more profitable. Unfortunately, productivity is often confused with profit and so business groups argue the key is lower company tax. They claim this will increase investment in things that increase productivity (such as new equipment or new buildings and structures). The evidence, though, is pretty nonexistent. The massive 2017 Trump company tax cuts, for example, which cut the federal US company tax rate from as high as 35% to a flat rate of 21% did bugger all to spur investment: If the graph does not display click here Hopefully the Productivity Commission will heed the advice of the current productivity commissioner, Danielle Wood, who in 2018, wrote that cutting the company tax rate would 'see national incomes go backwards for six years'. And income is really what productivity is about – specifically workers' income and their living standards. In theory, the real value of how much you earn an hour should rise in line with productivity. In the 1990s this mostly happened, but from 2000 onwards workers have missed out: If the graph does not display click here So, when worrying about productivity, we must remember to ask who benefits. But what could the government do to improve productivity? Here is a short, non-exhaustive list. This year, the government will pay about $10bn in diesel fuel rebates to mining and transport companies and the agriculture sector. By 2028-29 it will be $13bn. Despite growing almost as fast as the NDIS, we never hear the government talk about needing to rein in the expense: If the graph does not display click here But the fuel tax credit not only encourages use of fossil fuels, it creates a disincentive to investment in more efficient, and productive new vehicles – such as electric trucks. Research and development is vital to produce new equipment and technology (such as electric trucks). But the Australian government spends much less on R&D than most other OECD governments: If the graph does not display click here The government in April extended the $20,000 instant asset write-off for small business. This was purely a political rather than economic decision. Rather than encourage investment in productivity enhancing equipment, it is mostly a tax rort to buy big utes. How do we know this? Well, last week the AFR's wealth reporter, in a column about avoiding paying tax, described the instant asset write-off as 'a favourite perk of small businesses and sole traders'. They ain't lying. What else is a bad productivity investment? Residential land. It adds bugger all. But Australians devote far too much capital to property – almost 2.5 times that of the US: If the graph does not display click here Our tax system encourages this with the 50% capital gains tax discount and negative gearing, while also reducing housing affordability. The Parliamentary Budget Office estimated that removing the tax discount and negative gearing on investment properties would raise about $13.35bn in 2025-26. Dental health hurts the economy and reduces productivity because workers avoid going to the dentist because of the cost and end up with chronic issues that reduce output. A public system would be much more productive because it would massively reduce the cost hurdle for workers. The PBO estimated that putting dental into Medicare would cost $13.7bn. Rather conveniently for us, that is essentially the same as removing the CGT discount and negative gearing. By the same token, we know health systems that are dependent on private health insurance, such as in the US, are unproductive because the resources devoted to them deliver worse outcomes than public health: If the graph does not display click here Australia's health system is generally well regarded, but a recent report noted that we faired quite poorly when it came to access to care. Private health insurance is not a productive industry – consider the hours and expense devoted to marketing that yields no extra benefit. The same goes for private schools and the fees people pay fees. A 2022 study found that private education does not improve a student's academic performance. More resources devoted to no better outcomes is the essence of poor productivity. Currently both are exempt from GST, which effectively incentivises people to spend money on them (as does allowing donations to build structures in private schools to be tax deductible). Including both within the GST would deliver revenue that could go to improving productive public schools and hospitals, while repairing the shrinking tax base of the GST. Best of all, because richer households spend more of their income on both private school and private health insurance, the tax would actually be progressive. If the graph does not display click here Controversial? Of course. Which is why a government would also want to announce something huge – like say dental in Medicare. Productivity is an ongoing issue, but the key is to always think about who benefits from changes, and that the solutions are not about increasing profits or offshoring labour or reducing workers' pay, but should always be about making people's lives better. Greg Jericho is a Guardian columnist and policy director at the Centre for Future Work
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
$13,296 blow for EV drivers as major incentive could soon be scrapped: 'Would not buy'
Generous tax subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs) could soon be phased out as the federal government tries to rein in spending. EV drivers have been able to save thousands of dollars thanks to Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemptions and other incentives. Sydney resident Tom Gao told Yahoo Finance these tax breaks were the main reason he jumped on the EV bandwagon when he bought his first Tesla. Productivity Commissioner chairwoman Danielle Wood has indicated it could be on the chopping block to make way for cheaper initiatives. 'We have a whole range of policies at both federal and state level to try and reduce carbon emissions,' she said on the ABC's 7.30 programme. Tesla driver backs $13,000 cash boost for EV drivers as popular rebate under fire ATO, Centrelink warning over $100 million Powerball lottery win Aussie teen's job paying $300 per hour without a uni degree 'Each of those has sort of an implicit cost per tonne of abatement. Some of those we've said in the past are pretty high, things like fringe benefit tax subsidies for EVs.' The tax break was introduced by Anthony Albanese in 2022 and was designed to boost the number of EVs on Aussie roads. That has definitely been achieved. According to the Australian Automobile Association, there were 6,752 battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) sold in the first quarter of 2022. Fast-forward to the first quarter of 2024, there were 25,552 sold. BEV sales have dropped off since then as plug-in hybrids became more popular due to being the best of both worlds between a battery and internal combustion engine (ICE).You can deduct the cost of an electric vehicle if: The EV was worth less than $91,387 The car was bought with a novated lease A novated lease allows an employee to buy a new or used car and have their employer cover the cost of lease repayments to an agreed financial supplier. The employer makes the repayments to the leasing company out of the employee's pre-tax salary in a salary sacrifice arrangement, which reduces the employee's taxable income. For example, if a worker secured a $68,000 EV through a novated lease through their company, they could save around $13,296 thanks to the exemption. As many as 100,000 people have taken up the tax break so far, according to the National Automotive Leasing and Salary Packaging Association. "I would not be buying an EV if FBT exemption is removed," Goa told Yahoo Finance, who feared there would be a "significant drop in EV purchases" if it was scrapped. "If you look at uptake of EVs in countries like Norway, it's completely driven by government incentives," the Sydney driver said. "That's the case across the world." The government ended the FBT exemption for plug-in hybrids at the end of March this year. The Productivity Commission is currently reviewing the tax break ahead of a government summit in August. It's set to release a report on its findings before that meeting in a few months. Treasury had forecast the FBT exemption policy would only cost taxpayers $55 million in the 2024-25 financial year. But figures from the Institute of Public Accountants found it cost closer to $560 million per year. The Commission estimated in 2023 that the policy cost between $987 to $20,084 per tonne of carbon abatement. This means the government is spending that much money for every tonne of carbon emissions it has helped prevent. That reportedly makes it the most expensive climate policy on the government's balance sheet by a long shot. For comparison, the next most expensive policy at a federal level is the discounted excise for E10 petrol, which is $128 to 274 per tonne of carbon abatement, according to the Australian Financial Review. While Gao has enjoyed the benefits of the policy, even he admitted it was an "outrageously" generous handout and bordered on being "extremely fair" for ICE drivers. While the FBT exemption for EV drivers might get scrapped, the Commission could suggest allocating the money towards broader emissions reductions strategies. This could include expanding the carbon emissions cap to additional sectors like road transport and electricity. During the 2025 election campaign, Peter Dutton said the Coalition would axe the exemption if his party won. The promise sparked major concerns in the EV community, with Electric Vehicle Council CEO Julie Delvecchio saying she was "extremely disappointed and confused". 'The electric car discount has been helping thousands of workers finally afford to buy an electric vehicle. When Australians make the switch to an EV, they stand to save up to $3,000 per year on fuel and maintenance costs, but the biggest roadblock is the upfront cost," she said. "The FBT exemption has been helping to lower that barrier. "The Australians who're set to lose out most are those in outer suburbs, who have embraced the electric car discount in droves. "People living in the outer suburbs and regional communities — who typically drive longer distances — are finally able to access the savings that EVs offer, thanks to this discount." She said the exemption had been "highly effective" at getting more EVs on the road and getting rid of it could "stall progress toward cleaner, cheaper-to-run transport".
ABC News
11-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Tackling Australia's productivity problem
We have been talking about stalled productivity in Australia for some time. Now the prime minister has called for a summit in August to drive change - with a caveat that the government's industrial relations changes are not up for discussion. All parties agree that business investment needs to increase, but what does business get in return? Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood says look to AI. 7.30's Sarah Ferguson interviews Danielle Wood.
