Economic and budgetary issues - ONLINE ONLY
Date
From: Friday April 11, 2025, 4:00 pm
To: Friday April 11, 2025, 5:00 pm
Economic and budgetary issues
The John Curtin Institute of Public Policy is hosting a webinar at 4pm this Friday 11 April with well-known economic commentator Saul Eslake on “economic and budgetary issues which we should be talking about during the election campaign – but probably won’t be”. Registration is free, and closes at 10am on Friday.
Click here to register:
Abstract
The latest federal budget indicates that after two years of surplus, Australia will experience large deficits for at least the next decade. Federal spending is going to be 1½-2 percentage points of GDP higher, permanently, than it was on average over the period between 1975 and 2019 (before Covid). The public clearly wants more spending on health, aged and disability care, and other services. There is a bi-partisan political consensus that Australia needs to spend more on defence. And because of the big increase in net debt, current and future governments also have to spend a lot more on interest than previously.
At this election, both major parties should be having an ‘adult conversation’ with the electorate about the least economically damaging, and fairest, ways of raising an additional 1½-2 percentage points of GDP in revenues. Unfortunately, this seems very unlikely. In this presentation, well-known economic commentator Saul Eslake explains why this is the case, and what the consequences for Australia might be.
About the Speaker
Saul Eslake is one of Australia’s best-known economists. He’s been following, analysing and offering commentary and advice on the Australian and other economies for more than 40 years.
Saul began his career as an economist working for the Australian Treasury and later worked in Australia’s financial markets for 25 years, including as Chief Economist at the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group between 1995 and 2009; and Chief Economist (Australia and New Zealand) for Bank of America Merrill Lynch between 2011 and 2015.
Since 2015 Saul has been running his own independent economics advisory and consultancy service, Corinna Economic Advisory, from Hobart, Tasmania. Saul is a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Tasmania; a member of the Australian Parliamentary Budget Office’s panel of expert advisors, and a member of Australian Taxation Office’s ‘Tax Gap’ expert advisory panel. In 2024, he undertook an Independent Review of Tasmania’s State Finances, pursuant to an agreement between the Premier of Tasmania and the three members of the Jacqui Lambie Network elected to the Tasmanian Parliament that year.
