Retirement
Government urged to take immediate action on reforms
The recovering economic outlook, both globally and domestically, means the government must act now or risk more severe corrections later.
Government urged to take immediate action on reforms
The recovering economic outlook, both globally and domestically, means the government must act now or risk more severe corrections later.
Standard Life Investments’ chief economist Jeremy Lawson said a rallying economy means the current government would be wise enact reform early.
“The recovering global and domestic economy provides a window of opportunity to implement change- if it is wasted, adjustments will eventually have to be far more severe,” Mr Lawson warned.
Over the next 5 years Australia will need to contend with diminished housing affordability, falling inflation, the possibility of blunted monetary policy and a ratings downgrade, a deteriorating long-term fiscal position, and stagnant wages.
“It is critical that the re-elected government tackles all of these challenges at source,” he urged.
“Australian’s think tanks and policymakers are not short of ideas for structural reforms, fiscal reforms and the rebuilding of Australia’s physical and intellectual infrastructure.”
He credited Australia’s current economic status to bygone economic managers, saying the country’s good fiscal standing was “thanks more to the efforts of distant governments than more recent ones.”
He dismissed more contemporary government makers as lacking foresight.
“The RBA has been forced to do too much of the heavy lifting to support economic rebalancing while successive government have avoided reforms and pursued the wrong fiscal mix,” he explained.
He says that with Australia having coped comparatively well in a volatile market and with the mining boom winding down, the opportunity to implement reform is now.
“In many ways the Australian economy has absorbed the shock from lower commodity prices exceptionally well,” Mr Lawson explained.
“The non-mining economy, and especially housing, tourism and broader consumer spending has strengthened enough to partially offset the commodity shock, while the labour market has also performed well, showing the benefits of flexibility enhancing reforms over previous decades,” he added.
Superannuation
Why opt-in super proposal is a ‘secret tax’ on Aussie workers
A proposal to give workers the option to pick between a wage rise or a super contribution increase has been slammed by industry funds, branding it as “a secret tax” on workers. ...Read more
Superannuation
Early super access could be less than expected
Money accessed through the early release of super scheme looked to be coming in under the government’s revised expectations as the scheme drew to a close at the end of 2020. ...Read more
Superannuation
Proposed super reforms to rob millions of Australians
Australia’s largest union has rejected the government’s new super reforms on the basis it will leave members worse off long-term due to being “stapled” to a high-fee fund. ...Read more
Superannuation
ISA takes another shot at super reforms, accuses government of favouring big banks
Just a few days after hitting out at the government’s Your Future, Your Super scheme, ISA is at it again, signalling to the government that it may have a fight on its hands when it comes to this now...Read more
Superannuation
Royal commission reforms pass Parliament signaling more super oversight
The first bill implementing recommendations from Hayne’s banking royal commission has passed through the Parliament. ...Read more
Superannuation
Fears half of super system may be exempt from performance test
While the Your Future, Your Super measure has been a topic of debate for weeks over its ability to create possibly unintended consequences, new questions have emerged about the measure’s ability to ...Read more
Superannuation
AustralianSuper tops $200bn in assets, aims for mega fund title
AustalianSuper has become the country’s first fund to top $200 billion in assets despite the harsh economic conditions which saw Australia dive into its first recession in 30 years. ...Read more
Superannuation
Gender superannuation gap declines to 50%
Superannuation is becoming an increasingly important asset in households’ wealth portfolios, but a gap remains between males’ and females’ account balances, the recent HILDA survey found. ...Read more
Superannuation
Why opt-in super proposal is a ‘secret tax’ on Aussie workers
A proposal to give workers the option to pick between a wage rise or a super contribution increase has been slammed by industry funds, branding it as “a secret tax” on workers. ...Read more
Superannuation
Early super access could be less than expected
Money accessed through the early release of super scheme looked to be coming in under the government’s revised expectations as the scheme drew to a close at the end of 2020. ...Read more
Superannuation
Proposed super reforms to rob millions of Australians
Australia’s largest union has rejected the government’s new super reforms on the basis it will leave members worse off long-term due to being “stapled” to a high-fee fund. ...Read more
Superannuation
ISA takes another shot at super reforms, accuses government of favouring big banks
Just a few days after hitting out at the government’s Your Future, Your Super scheme, ISA is at it again, signalling to the government that it may have a fight on its hands when it comes to this now...Read more
Superannuation
Royal commission reforms pass Parliament signaling more super oversight
The first bill implementing recommendations from Hayne’s banking royal commission has passed through the Parliament. ...Read more
Superannuation
Fears half of super system may be exempt from performance test
While the Your Future, Your Super measure has been a topic of debate for weeks over its ability to create possibly unintended consequences, new questions have emerged about the measure’s ability to ...Read more
Superannuation
AustralianSuper tops $200bn in assets, aims for mega fund title
AustalianSuper has become the country’s first fund to top $200 billion in assets despite the harsh economic conditions which saw Australia dive into its first recession in 30 years. ...Read more
Superannuation
Gender superannuation gap declines to 50%
Superannuation is becoming an increasingly important asset in households’ wealth portfolios, but a gap remains between males’ and females’ account balances, the recent HILDA survey found. ...Read more
More articles
Website Notifications
Get notifications in real-time for staying up to date with content that matters to you.
