Grattan Institute

Most Australians have enough to enjoy a comfortable retirement. But too many retirees who rent are being left behind. Today, two thirds of retirees who rent privately live in poverty, including more than three in four single women. And a growing number of older Australians are at risk of becoming homeless. With home ownership falling across the board, it’s only going to get worse. On this podcast,...

Some communities are “GP deserts”, where there are too few GPs to ensure everyone can get the care they need when they need it. These communities are typically sicker and poorer than the rest of Australia, but receive less care and face higher fees. On this podcast, host Kat Clay interviews health experts Peter Breadon and Wendy Hu on the problem of GP deserts and how governments can fix them. Rea...

Each year, our staff curate the Wonks' List, a selection of the best technical reads for policy enthusiasts. From the housing crisis to trade policy, each of these works sparks discussion on pressing economic issues. On this podcast, Senior Associates Nick Parkinson and Elizabeth Baldwin break down what made the Wonks' List for 2024, and why. Read the list: https://grattan.edu.au/news/wonks-list-2...

Do you find the idea of planning for your retirement overwhelming? If that’s you, you’re not alone. Our new report shows about 80 per cent of Australians find retirement planning complicated and about 60 per cent of Australians expect that their retirement will be financially stressful. But there are three things the government could do to simplify superannuation – so Australians can enjoy their r...

Peter Dutton has released the costings for the Coalition's nuclear energy plan, proposing to build seven nuclear power stations at the sites of current coal plants. The Coalition says its plan would be markedly cheaper than Labor's plan to convert to mostly renewable energy by 2050. But a report from CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator suggests that renewables have the lowest cost rang...

Each year, Grattan Institute selects its best books of the past 12 months – recommended reading for the Prime Minister, and indeed all Australians, over the summer holidays. From the history of democracy to the stars above, each of these reads put humans squarely in the centre of the frame. Grattan CEO Aruna Sathanapally, and researchers Jessica Geraghty and Nick Parkinson, discuss why we chose th...

Every year, the federal government releases a Climate Change Statement, which documents progress towards Australia’s climate targets. This year’s statement shows Australia’s emissions have fallen and that we are on track to meet the 2030 emissions reduction target of 43 per cent. But hitting this number depends on implementing several policies, including the Capacity Investment Scheme, the Future...

It’s been a big week for housing policy. Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan both announced policies designed to boost housing supply. Our housing experts Brendan Coates and Matthew Bowes analyse the latest policies, and discuss what else could be done to ease the housing crisis.

Negative gearing is back on the table with Jim Chalmers asking Treasury to model changes to property tax breaks. It's not a new proposal for Labor, with tax reform a hot political issue in the 2019 election. But at any mention of changes to negative gearing, landlords immediately voice concerns about losing income and having to sell up. Tenants raise issues about increasing rents. And first home b...

Nuclear energy is a hotly contested topic for the upcoming election, with both sides of politics looking for a plan that enables Australia to hit net zero emissions by 2050 while maintaining an affordable, reliable energy supply. Peter Dutton has declared nuclear a central piece of the Coalition's energy plan, but with the policy light on details, there's a lot of questions left behind. What would...

Gambling is everywhere. And Australia's lax approach to gambling regulation shows. We have the highest gambling losses in the world. While the federal government is considering banning gambling advertising in the wake of the Murphy Inquiry, Grattan's latest report makes the case for more regulation to minimise gambling harm in Australia. In this special podcast, authors Kate Griffiths and Elizabet...

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is failing many Australians with profound disability. More than 43,000 people with intensive support packages are seeing little benefit from a scheme that was supposed to give them greater choice and improved independence. Last year's reports from the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS review called for significant reform and a wider range of housing...

The 2024 NAPLAN school test results show one in three Australian students are not on track with their learning. The results also reveal deep inequities in Australian schools. Indigenous children, children from disadvantaged families, and children from regional and remote areas are falling years behind their more advantaged peers as they move through school. In this special Grattan Podcast, our NAP...

Over the past two years, it's been hard to see an end to interest rate rises. Homeowners have been slogged with one mortgage increase after another.   Despite a couple of months of calm, another potential rate rise is looming on the horizon, with the imminent release of inflation data and a meeting of the RBA in early August.  Kat Clay and Trent Wiltshire, Deputy Program Director Economic Prosperi...

Vaccines save lives. Yet the likelihood an older Australian is vaccinated varies hugely by GP. For some GPs, 90 per cent of older patients are vaccinated for flu. For others, only 40 per cent are vaccinated. For COVID, shingles and pneumococcal, the gap is even bigger. In this podcast, Peter Breadon, Health Program Director, and Anika Stobart, the Senior Associate, discuss their new report, Patchy...

This week, the NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey handed down his second budget since Labor took office. At the same time, the NSW government is facing rising inflation and cost of living, increased public sector wage expenditure, and the worst of Australia’s housing crisis. Find out whether the 2024 NSW Budget tackled these key issues - and more - in this podcast with Grattan CEO Aruna Sathanapally and...

The federal government's 2030 emissions reduction target is under serious threat. Under the International Paris Agreement, Australia has committed to reduce its emissions to 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. But the government is not currently on track to meet these levels. It's led some members of the Opposition to call for Australia to abandon the Paris Agreement. But even if Australia can'...

Skilled migrants contribute greatly to Australia's prosperity, shaping our diverse society, making us more productive, and boosting Australians' earnings and government's budgets. Points-tested visas account for almost two thirds of all permanent skilled visas issued by Australia over the past decade.  These visas allocate points to potential migrants based on characteristics such as  their age, p...

What's Grattan's verdict on Budget 2024? CEO Aruna Sathanapally and a panel of Grattan experts, including Dr. Sam Bennett, Alison Reeve, and Brendan Coates, critically assess Australia's 2024 federal Budget. Has the government got the balance right in supporting people who are doing it tough, without exacerbating inflation? Does the Budget do enough to help fix the broken housing market and tackle...

Australia: it's time for a sugary drinks tax. Sugary drinks are the biggest single source of sugar in our diets, and they increase people’s risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes. While Australian health experts have been calling for a tax on sugary drinks for many years, our new report Sickly sweet: It's time for a sugary drinks tax, outlines why now and why Australia is lagging behind ou...

Most Australians don't spend much time thinking about the electricity system, as long as the lights turn on. But the National Energy Market (NEM) is going through big changes as it moves away from coal generation towards renewables. And Australia’s future prosperity depends on governments getting this transformation right. On this podcast, Grattan energy experts Tony Wood, Alison Reeve, and Richar...

The future of the NDIS – Australia’s world-leading scheme to support people with disability – is in doubt because the costs are exploding. Now the federal government is acting. The Getting the NDIS Back on Track Bill proposes a massive overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, in order to rein in costs and provide greater clarity on program delivery. While the bill has been pitched as...

The Australian Energy Market Operator has published its annual Gas Statement of Opportunities report. The report forecasts difficult times ahead for Australia’s east coast gas market, with a risk of shortfalls on peak demand days in 2025 and seasonal supply gaps from 2026. So, is Australia running out of gas? At the household level, people are concerned about keeping the heater going and the cookt...

School principals can make a big impact. A highly effective principal can raise student achievement by up to seven months a year for a typical student, and even more for a disadvantaged student. But running a school well is a difficult job-just ask any principal. Schools are complex organisations. The average secondary school principal manages a budget of more than $15 million, which is more than...

The release of Australian gender pay gap data by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has highlighted the big discrepancies in women's salaries, the absence of women in traditionally male dominated industries, and the lack of women in senior management of many major businesses. But while the release of this data has sparked a national discussion on why women are often paid less, there's more nuanc...