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Brendan Coates

Fellow, Grattan Institute

Brendan is a fellow at the Grattan Institute. Before joining Grattan, Brendan worked with the World Bank in Indonesia, and prior to that, he undertook a number of roles with the Australian Treasury, including as part of the Treasury’s China Policy Unit. Brendan holds a Masters of International Development Economics from the Australian National University and Bachelors of Commerce and Arts from the University of Melbourne.

Older women often rent in poverty – shared home equity could help some escape

Feb 24, 2022 20:41 pm UTC| Economy

Many older Australian women face insecure futures. Those who are single, divorced or widowed are much more likely to suffer poverty, housing stress and homelessness. Our new Grattan Institute proposal for a national...

Now we'll need $100-$120 billion. Why the budget has to spend big to avoid scarring

Sep 09, 2020 06:33 am UTC| Economy

Australia is in for a long and damaging economic slump, unless governments inject substantially more fiscal stimulus. The July budget update forecast that unemployment would hit 9.25% in coming months. The Treasury...

Early access to super doesn’t justify higher compulsory contributions

Aug 09, 2020 22:44 pm UTC| Economy

A big part of the Morrison governments response to COVID-19 has been allowing people early access to their superannuation. Australians who have claimed hardship have applied for A$30.7 billion to date. This has been...

Money for social housing, not home buyers grants, is the key to construction stimulus

Jun 03, 2020 15:15 pm UTC| Economy

Theres no doubt Australias construction industry is facing tough times. COVID-19 has caused migration to slow to a trickle. Some 2.6 million Australians have either lost their jobs or had their hours cut in the past two...

Think superannuation comes from employers' pockets? It comes from yours

Feb 03, 2020 12:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

A key question for the governments retirement incomes review is who ultimately pays for compulsory super contributions, especially since they are set to climb from 9.5% of wages to 12% over the next five years. Legally,...

Rudd's rental affordability scheme was a $1 billion gift to developers; Abbott was right to axe it

Sep 10, 2019 20:38 pm UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate Politics

Most Australians are spending more of their income on housing than they used to, but low-income households are being squeezed the hardest. Many are in poverty, and many more are suffering financial stress. A growing...

$20 billion per year. That's how much higher superannuation could take from wages

May 03, 2019 17:10 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Stagnant wages are a huge issue in this election campaign. So it is odd that both major parties are hanging onto a policy that will take more out of workers pockets. Lifting compulsory superannuation contributions...

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Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains

Heres something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its attempt to restrain inflation in May...

China’s new world order: looking for clues from Xi’s recent meetings with foreign leaders

There is broad consensus that Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive and more centralised in the decade since Xi Jinping has ascended to the top of Chinas leadership. This has also meant that Chinese foreign...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the worlds biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

One of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many...

Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight

In the early hours of April 15 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a Sudanese paramilitary force attacked the military airstrip in the town of Merowe and deployed troops across strategic locations in Sudans capital,...

Turkey’s suppression of the Kurdish political movement continues to fuel a deadly armed conflict

The world has 91 democracies and 88 autocracies. Yet 71% of the worlds population (some 5.7 billion people) are living under autocratic rule, a big jump from 48% ten years ago. This trend towards authoritarianism can...

Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgias ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on foreign agents in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being under foreign influence if they receive...

Science

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

Technology

Mainland China Investors Blocked from Accessing New Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs

Despite launching new Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong, mainland Chinese investors remain sidelined due to longstanding cryptocurrency bans in their home country. Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Launch in Hong Kong, But...

SHIB Price Climbs as Shibarium Upgrade Sparks Optimism Among Investors

The Shiba Inu cryptocurrency surged over 4% on April 26, buoyed by executive enthusiasm for the forthcoming Shibarium upgrade to enhance the platforms functionality and security. Shibarium Upgrade Fuels Market Optimism,...

China Investigates Digital Yuan Architect Yao Qian Amid CBDC Concerns

Yao Qian, a pivotal figure behind Chinas digital yuan, is under investigation for alleged misconduct, casting uncertainty on the future of Chinas CBDC initiatives. Probe into Yao Qian Shakes Foundations of Chinas...

Shein Joins Facebook, Amazon in EU Digital Regulations Compliance

Under the EU Digital Regulations, Shein has joined tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, and Google in meeting the strict compliance standards set by the EUs Digital Services Act due to its user base surpassing 45 million in...

Metaplanet Inc. Buys $6.25M in Bitcoin, Pivots to Digital Assets

In a strategic financial maneuver, Metaplanet Inc., a prominent Japanese public company, has invested $6.25 million in Bitcoin, marking its entry into the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. Metaplanet Dives into Crypto,...