Unconventional Economist

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Victorian government drowns in Suburban Rail Loop lies

Recent polling undertaken by SEC Newgate Australia suggested that Victorians do not see the $200 billion Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) as a high-priority project.

Treasury pumps immigration. Ignores the consequences.

Why is Australia “running out of workers”?

Simon Kuestenmacher, dubbed the “Stats Guy”, is a well-known immigration shill.

Australian population growth reaccelerates

The latest net permanent and long-term arrivals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that 446,504 net migrants arrived in 2024, slightly less than the record 449,813 that arrived in 2023.

Energy costs to soar under renewables push

The federal Labor Party announced its Powering Australia Plan in late 2021, promising to cut National Energy Market (NEM) wholesale power costs by $11 per MWh, from $62 to $51, by 2025.

Insurance crisis beckons as Cyclone Alfred bears down

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is now forecast to hit Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the NSW Northern Rivers on Friday, with fears it is slowly strengthening into a category 3 system, unleashing winds greater than 150 km/h.

Australian households are entrenched in recession

Wednesday’s Q4 2024 national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that the economy finally emerged from its per capita recession.

Teals talk sense on income tax

A group of independent Teal MPs is calling on the federal government to index income tax thresholds to inflation.

How asinine tax policy spawned the tobacco black market

For years I have warned that taxing cigarettes as heavily as Australia does would result in three unintended consequences.

Victoria finds new way to destroy productivity

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) annual state accounts showed that Victoria’s per capita GDP declined by 1.2% in 2023-04 and has only increased by 10.4% since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008.

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