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Articles by Shane Wright
House values jump on rate cut, denting home buying hopes for young - Shane Wright
House values across the country reached their highest levels on record in the weeks after the Reserve Bank delivered its first interest rate cut in almost five years in a warning to the two main parties that any plans to lift demand for property could make homes even more unaffordable.
Christian Porter knew of WA's $1.8 billion Bell Group leapfrog
Christian Porter has revealed he met WA Insurance Commission chief Rod Whithear in Canberra and discussed the State Government’s extraordinary plan to leapfrog other creditors in the $1.8 billion wind-up of Alan Bond’s Bell Group of companies. But the Social Services Minister and former WA treasurer is using the shield of legal professional privilege to prevent the release of a series of documents sent to him by the WA State Solicitor about the issue.
Young Australians could be $500,000 better off over their lifetime under proposed superannuation changes
Hauke-Christian Dittrich/picture alliance via Getty Images Australians entering the workforce would be up to $533,000 better off in retirement under plans handed to the Morrison government that would weed-out scores of under-performing superannuation funds and force regulators to focus on the interests of consumers.
Savvy Perth drivers save $520 on petrol
Perth motorists are $520 a year better off on average if they fill up their cars on Mondays rather than Tuesdays. A report by the competition watchdog into fuel cycles across the nation’s capital cities has revealed Perth motorists can save more than drivers anywhere else if they buy their petrol on the right day of the week.
New law ‘puts Aussie cyber safety at risk’
Labor is accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of trying to make Australians less safe by fast-tracking new encryption laws that specialist companies warn will make it easier for criminals to target residents and their private details. But the Federal Government will use the last sitting week of Parliament to press its proposals, accusing the ALP of wanting to allow terrorists to communicate with each other.
Perth professionals drive WA recovery
Perth has pulled WA’s economy up by the bootstraps according to figures which show the capital is driving growth at its fastest rate in five years on the back of professionals and health. Amid predictions of a further boost in the State’s economy, figures from a private consultancy show it is the WA capital that is doing the heavy economic lifting after its worst period since at least the 1990-91 recession.
WA Budget on track for back to black
The State Budget is rapidly improving and is within striking distance of a surplus, with figures revealing a lift in revenue delivering a windfall to Treasurer Ben Wyatt. As a new report confirms WA’s debt levels are the worst in the Commonwealth, the State’s quarterly Budget numbers show it is in its best position in at least three years. For the first three months of the 2018-19 financial year, the Budget was in the red to the tune of $100 million.
Federal parliament goes part-time with just two weeks of sitting before 2019 election
Scott Morrison is set to oversee a part-time parliament with the Government sitting for just a handful of days ahead of next year’s election. The parliamentary calendar, set by the Government, shows just two weeks of sittings in the first three months of 2019. The House of Representatives will actually sit seven days, starting from a later-than-usual February 12. For senators, the Government has just three days.
Scott Morrison reveals Federal election to be held in mid-May as Liberal Julia Banks defects
Scott Morrison has effectively revealed the date of the next election just as one of his backbenchers announced she was leaving the Liberal Party to sit on the parliamentary crossbench. In a dramatic 20 minutes in Canberra, the PM confirmed the Federal Budget would be brought forward and handed down on April 2 next year. Saying “you can do the maths”, the date means the Federal election will be held on either May 11 or 18.
End of cheques is on the cards as electronic systems take over
Cheques will soon be a museum piece and cash may not be far behind as Australians increasingly use electronic systems to pay their bills. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe said yesterday though cash may not disappear completely, the days of it being king were numbered as more people used cards and peer-to-peer systems for daily expenses. And those systems might not be delivered by a bank but by a big tech firm such as Apple.
Perth population to boom over coming years but regional areas at risk of ‘de-populating’
WA will be home to up to five million people by 2066 but most of them will be living in Perth. New projections by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, released this morning, shows a sharp slowdown in the State’s growth with regional WA at risk of de-populating over coming years. According to the bureau, WA’s population – currently 2.6 million – will reach 2.9 million by 2027.
WA jobless rate hits year low
WA’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year on the back of a surge in full-time employment. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported this morning that the WA jobless rate fell to 5.7 per cent in October, down from 6 per cent in September. It is the lowest unemployment rate for WA since September 2017. The more stable trend measure also fell below 6 per cent, the first time this year it has been that low.
UBS issues horror warning on Australian house prices if banking royal commission reins in the banks
TIGHTER lending standards forced on the nation’s lending institutions by the banking royal commission could plunge the economy into turmoil, wiping up to 30 per cent from the value of Australian homes. Analysts from international financial giant UBS have issued a warning that with banks already tightening lending standards, house prices in major capitals could slip further, with a broader impact on the economy.
How to report voter fraud - Crash Course.
Voter fraud is a contentious issue of late; liberals swear it is a myth propagated by evil racist conservatives. We know better. Most on the right are aware of the voter fraud issue but many have little to no idea how to combat or report violations; consider this your crash course. First and foremost, step one in any instance where you see or suspect voter fraud is to alert the state officials who oversee the election process.
Warning from charity as Foodbank funding cut
The Foodbank charity is demanding the Federal Government abandon plans to slash its funding amid warnings vulnerable people across the country may go hungry. Foodbank, the nation’s biggest food relief charity, has been told it will have its funding cut almost 50 per cent to $427,000 a year, just six weeks out from Christmas and while demand is rising because of the east coast drought. It is the third cut in four years for the organisation, which provides food to 2600 charities.
Regular visitor Bill Shorten on the hustings again in WA
FEDERAL Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will use another visit to Perth to refocus Labor’s plea to WA voters on health issues as it hopes to make key gains in Liberal-held seats. Mr Shorten, making his sixth visit to Perth this year and his 17th since the 2016 election, will today announce a $10.9 million plan to renovate and refurbish Bentley hospital in the key marginal electorate of Swan.
RBA picks safe bet ahead of Melbourne Cup with decision to hold interest rates steady
THE Reserve Bank has kept official interest rates on hold while signalling it expects the jobs market to get even tighter. Following its traditional Melbourne Cup Day meeting, the RBA board left the cash rate at 1.5 per cent. It last moved rates in August 2016. Governor Philip Lowe said the bank expects the economy to grow by, on average, 3.5 per cent this year and next.
New tax to hit oil, gas companies
OIL and gas companies will cough up an extra $6 billion in tax over the next decade under plans by the Federal Government to overhaul resource taxes. But the tax plan has prompted warnings that it may stop vital exploration. Five years after axing the mining tax, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg revealed the Government will change key parts of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax to deliver a major financial windfall to Canberra just in time for the looming Federal election.
Perth house price slump adds to national gloom as market reaches six-year low
THE national property market has slumped to its weakest condition in six years, with Perth homeowners continuing to see the value of their homes ebb. Figures from CoreLogic released this morning showed house values in Perth dropped by 0.8 per cent in October. They are now down by 1.9 per cent over the past three months and by 2.9 per cent over the past year. The units market is even weaker, with values down by one per cent over the month and by 5.2 per cent over the past year.
Why Australia’s Reserve Bank won’t lift interest rates in November
THE Reserve Bank still has no reason to lift interest rates with inflation figures showing price pressures well under control. Through the September quarter, the consumer price index lifted by 0.4 per cent, giving Australia an annual inflation rate of 1.9 per cent. The closely-watched measures of underlying inflation, which exclude volatile items, were running lower than headline inflation. The Reserve Bank’s target for inflation is between two and three per cent.
Funding boost for WA charities to provide financial counselling services
WA CHARITIES will share millions of dollars to boost financial counselling services, as pressures grow on families to make ends meet. Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher will today announce the cash that will aid financial literacy as well as a financial counselling helpline. Of $11.5 million for the helpline, WA’s branch of the St Vincent de Paul Society will get $1.7 million, UnitingCare West will get $810,000 and the Jacaranda Community Centre will receive $405,000.
GST: Our fair share set to pay off WA debt
PREMIER Mark McGowan has warned taxpayers and MPs that a $4.7 billion GST windfall will be used to reduce debt, saying the job of repairing the State’s finances is not yet done. Appearing before a Senate committee reviewing the legislation that will overhaul the GST allocation system, Mr McGowan said the cash that would flow to WA would play a pivotal role in repairing the State’s finances.
Billions lost in opening bell wipe-out
THE Australian sharemarket has opened at its lowest level this year, with tens of billions of dollars wiped from the value of local companies. After the first 50 minutes of trade the ASX200 was down 2.1 per cent to 5709.4 points. It follows another poor lead from Wall Street overnight where the Dow Jones lost more than 600 points and the Nasdaq fell 4.4 per cent. It has dropped below its previous low for 2018 recorded in April.
More full-time work cuts WA jobless rate
EMPLOYMENT across WA has reached its highest level in three years, with new figures showing the jobs market strengthening. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported this morning that the State’s jobless rate edged down to 6 per cent in September. It was on the back of the creation of 6900 full-time jobs over the past month. There are now 922,600 full-time jobs in the State. Nationally, the jobless rate tumbled to 5 per cent from 5.3 per cent.
Relief on way for small business as Labor leader Bill Shorten backs fast-track tax cuts
Bill Shorten will head off a potential political wedge from Scott Morrison, revealing today the ALP will back the Government’s plan to fast-track tax cuts to small businesses. The Opposition leader said this morning Labor would support the new plan that the Government announced earlier this week. Labor immediately came under pressure from the Government over the move which will see the tax rate for firms with a turnover of up to $50 million put in place by 2021-22.
Banking royal commission: Commonwealth Bank chief Matt Comyn admits complacency fuelled greed, failures that hurt customers
THE head of the Commonwealth Bank has admitted greed has undermined the institution and hurt its millions of customers. In front of an at-times heated appearance before the House of Representative’s economics committee, CBA chief executive Matt Comyn conceded there had been too many failures across the bank for too long. “There have unfortunately been failures of judgment, failures of process, failures of leadership, and in some instances, greed,” he said.
ATO bid to return $1.7b in lost super to West Australians with 378,000 lost accounts
A single person in Rockingham has lost a superannuation account holding more than $1.5 million, figures show, as the tax office tries to reconnect West Australians with hundreds of thousands of forgotten nest eggs. The ATO has revealed there are 378,000 lost super accounts in the State with $1.7 billion at stake. Over the past year, thousands of previously lost accounts have been found with $409 million consolidated into active accounts.
Many Australian credit cardholders pay too much
MILLIONS of Australians could save $250 a year by better using their credit cards or finding a card that suits their spending habits. A study by the Reserve Bank found that up to one-third of Australians are, even with rewards points and special deals, worse off than they could be with their credit cards. There are more than 16 million credit card accounts in use in Australia, with 243 million purchases made with them last month.
WA Budget improving with report showing best bottom line since 2013-14
THE West Australian Budget is rapidly improving on the back of better than expected revenues and the Government’s efforts to keep a lid on costs. The final report on the 2017-18 Budget shows that the deficit for the just finished financial year was $618 million. In May, the Government was expecting the deficit to hit $1.3 billion. It is the best Budget bottom line since 2013-14 when it showed a $719 million surplus.
Bowser pain as petrol prices surge
PETROL prices across Perth are approaching their highest level in four years and could be stuck there for months despite service station competition growing. Australian Institute of Petroleum figures show that the price of unleaded petrol in Perth averaged 151.2¢ a litre last week. It surpassed the highest price recorded this year — in June when unleaded in the city averaged 150.2¢ a litre.
WA Liberal MP Julie Bishop questions merit of male MPs
THE nature of Australian politics would improve if there were more women involved, former foreign minister Julie Bishop has declared, while suggesting some of her male counterparts had risen through the parliamentary ranks without merit. Ms Bishop, who quit her position after attracting just 11 votes in the leadership ballot that made Scott Morrison the prime minister, said there were questions across the world about the demise of Malcolm Turnbull.
Strawberry needles crisis: saboteurs could face 10 years in jail under new laws
THE Federal Government will introduce a new law which could see someone thrown in jail for up to 10 years in a bid to stop the widespread contamination with needles and pins of the nation’s strawberry crop. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, labelling those behind the mass adulteration of fruit as “grubs” and “cowards”, said Parliament would continue sitting this week until it passed a new law targeting “reckless behaviour”.
Big swing to Labor could wipe out Liberals in WA
THE Liberal Party could be left with just a handful of WA seats and lose key influence in the Federal coalition on the back of an election wipe-out. Polls taken in the wake of last week’s leadership battle suggest a nationwide swing to the ALP that could deliver it up to 28 extra seats while also making inroads into the Senate. This week’s Newspoll showed Labor leading the coalition 56-44. Separate single seat polls on the east coast point to big falls in Liberal primary votes.
Liberal leadership: ‘Wreckers’ deliver horrific poll result
That’s the banner the “wreckers” need to put up in their parliamentary suites, outside their electorate offices and on top of their official letterheads. Today’s Newspoll results, showing the coalition 44-56 behind, is solely the result of the turmoil inflicted on the Turnbull Government by members of the Turnbull Government. To put how truly horrific the result is, if it was repeated across WA it would be a 10-point swing to the ALP.
Quality of mercy strained amid Portia’s deadly brew
PORTIA’S is one of Canberra’s political and eating institutions. This suburban restaurant, about a five-minute cab ride from Parliament, has been serving high- quality Chinese for decades. Some of its best dishes include a melt-in-your mouth King Island beef and shantung lamb. And it was over this food on Thursday night that Mathias Cormann broke a fortune cookie with the man who would be prime minister, Peter Dutton.
Peter Dutton woos voters with power bill cuts, signals second challenge to topple PM Malcolm Tunbull
PRIME ministerial aspirant Peter Dutton has suggested taking the GST off household power bills in a bid to alleviate price pressures on consumers. Outlining his first policy initiatives if he was to become PM, Mr Dutton — beaten 48-35 by Malcolm Turnbull in a leadership ballot yesterday — suggested axing the 10 per cent GST on power bills would help struggling households. “People would fell that impact straight away,” he told Melbourne radio.
Malcolm Turnbull declares the Liberal leadership vacant
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to face divided party this morning, he could be facing a leadership challenge at nine o'clock this morning.
Tax office to check on public servant ‘bribes’
COMPANIES alleged to have bribed senior Health Department public servants could face fresh troubles, with the Australian Taxation Office likely to check their books. The West Australian can reveal the tax office has signalled an interest in the firms as they may have fallen foul of laws that prevent bribery of public officials.
Malcolm Turnbull forced to overhaul his power plan
Malcolm Turnbull will overhaul his planned changes to the national electricity market in a bid to mollify despondent Liberal MPs who fear the Prime Minister is set to lead them to electoral defeat. Just days after winning partyroom support for his National Energy Guarantee, Mr Turnbull is set to make changes he hopes will win over conservatives in his own party as well as Labor States.
Full-time work cuts WA jobless rate
WA’S unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the year on the back of a lift in people holding down full-time work. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning showed the State’s unemployment rate down to 6 per cent through July. The last time it was at that level was in February.
NAB grilled at royal commission over hazy super fees
NAB kept charging fees to super fund members by assuming they knew they could ditch them, the financial services royal commission has been told as figures show the big four banks and AMP have repaid more than $220 million to people for charging for services that were not delivered.
RBA marks two years of record low interest rates
THE Reserve Bank has marked two years of sitting on the interest rate sidelines by again leaving the cost of money in Australia at record lows. Following its August meeting today, the RBA left the cash rate at 1.5 per cent. It was at the August meeting of 2016 that the RBA last moved rates, slicing them to their current level. Governor Philip Lowe gave few hints the Reserve is in any rush to move them higher.
Super fund trustees ‘surrounded by temptation’
AUSTRALIANS’ $2.6 trillion in superannuation nest eggs is in the hands of people “surrounded by temptation”, the banking royal commission was told yesterday, as evidence suggested plans by one bank to axe commissions to financial advisers were resisted for fear it would hurt the corporate bottom line.
Surge in immigration hits population forecasts for six
ABOUT 7pm tomorrow, the arrival of a migrant or a baby will lift Australia’s population to 25 million. Australia, the world’s sixth-biggest nation by size, will maintain its position as the 53rd biggest by population — between North Korea and Ivory Coast. But with some of the nation’s major cities bursting at the seams, more debate about Australia’s immigration program and anxieties on everything from wage growth to job security, there is unlikely to be a celebration of the 25th million resident.
Canberra declares new war on nation’s banks
THE Federal Government is signalling a new war on banks to drive down costs for ordinary Australians, saying “the deck is stacked against” customers. Treasurer Scott Morrison will reveal today government plans to deliver power to customers that will force banks to offer competitive borrowing and deposit rates, better services and more financial options.
Perth housing plunge leads national downturn
HOUSE prices across the country are now in freefall, led by Perth, with new figures showing a deepening in the national property downturn. CoreLogic’s house price index, released today, showed house values in Perth fell another 0.8 per cent through June. They are now down by 1.1 per cent over the past three months and by 1.8 per cent over the past year. There had been some signs the market had bottomed but buyers got cold feet through July.
Treasurer Scott Morrison holds line on tax cuts for companies
TREASURER Scott Morrison is standing by the Federal Government’s signature company tax cut plans as pressure grows from the backbench to dump them amid warnings that the coalition faces a wipe-out at next year’s election. Mr Morrison said the Government was sticking with its plan to take the cuts, which would reduce the corporate tax rate to 25 per cent for firms with a turnover of more than $50 million by 2026-27, to next month’s parliamentary sittings.
Do men or women work more each week?
Do men or women work more each week?The results from the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey have been released, with some interesting findings.Facebook IconTwitter IconEmail IconLink Icon
Basic HILDA money test exposes dumb and dumber population
THE young, the old, singles, people without a job and those without high education all struggle with everyday financial literacy that puts them at long-term economic risk. The HILDA survey found big gaps in the knowledge of ordinary Australians when it came to day-to-day finances. People were asked five questions covering issues including a simple interest calculation, inflation and money illusion. Only 35 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men managed to get all five correct.
Women still carry the load with housework and child care despite men doing more
WOMEN are increasing the number of hours they work, do chores around the house and look after children or relatives even as men try to do more. The long-running Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia report, which has tracked 17,500 people since 2001, has revealed that as men have lifted their effort to look after children and do work around the house, women have done even more. And women are getting more upset at what they see as an unequal division of labour around the house.
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