Our latest Friday afternoon chat with journalist Tarric Brooker focussed in the great housing debate, which has become a touchstone for debate in Parliament at the moment.
And using the great charts which Tarric presents we look at the issue from multiple dimensions, as well as a quick look at China’s property sector.
You can find Tarric’s charts here: https://avidcom.substack.com/p/dfa-chart-pack-1st-march-2024
An important update relating to the Section 11 power at the RBA with Robbie Barwick from the Citizens Party. In some really good news, it appears this change will be resisted in Parliament, so we explore how this came about, and the broader issues which this whole episode represents.
Yes, the democracy sausage is indeed still sizzling, largely thanks to individuals making their views known to our Politicians and the influence of social media on public discourse to positive effect!
See my show A Question Of Democracy! https://youtu.be/R8GNp1hYdq8
This week the Senate held hearings into the proposed changes to the way the RBA works. The original review was led by three Technocrats included a recommendation to remove the overrule power. This power specifically, section 11 of the Reserve Bank Act 1959 enables the federal treasurer to “overrule” an action taken by the Reserve Bank in extreme situations, via a clear and determined process, and even though no Australian government had used it in the more than 60 years it is important. It’s supposed to be a democratic fail-safe.
The Technocrats recommended the overrule power should be removed from the act. Their reasoning was that there was a risk that the federal treasurer, and by extension the federal government, might abuse that power. But what if the RBA abuses their power? The proposed change was not supported by the bulk of those who appeared in the Senate hearings, so today we look at the evidence provided.
At the heart of the issue is this. How accountable should the RBA be? And if there is no democratic override from the section 11 power, what happens if the Economists at the RBA set monetary policy in a way that badly impacts ordinary people, bearing in mind that another recommendation was to strike safeguarding the “welfare of all Australians” from their objectives. The focus will be on inflation and employment, only.
Central bankers are not infallible, sometimes makes mistakes, and frankly are already not accountable for their decisions, right or wrong. It’s a question of democracy.
So standing back, it seems it was the Technocrats and Economists who wanted to remove the section 11 power, but those with real lived experience, from both the Central Bank, and Government, as well as many respected observers, all agree.
Democracy would be sacrificed, and the Central Bank would be even less accountable if the power was removed. In other words, it is a question of democracy. And more broadly the idea of unelected Central Banks, being able to impose monetary policy decisions without question should terrify us all.
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
More sites have now been confirmed to have asbestos including transport infrastructure projects, primary and secondary schools, supermarkets and hospitals, according to the EPA, across NSW. The premier, Chris Minns, has said the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is examining the sites as it undertakes its largest investigation ever.
The agency on Saturday said a public school, park, and two part-built housing estates were tainted, while transport projects, a warehouse and a hospital have also been confirmed as impacted.
The activity underway to tackle exposed sites is a pimple compared with the total load in the community. But of course, agencies do not want to take the lid off that can, so individuals must become asbestos aware, that is the cornerstone of our ongoing campaign over at Asbestos Awareness Australia.
We are back for another Monday rant with our property insider, Edwin Almeida. We look at the political “fixes” versus reality as rental supply dwindles, and the costs of new builds go through the roof.
Its not a pretty picture and there are social consequences emerging. Can we get politicians to move beyond the political?
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.
Journalist Tarric Brooker joins me for a Friday review, and this week we look at the RBA and how it is trapped thanks to conflicting data.
He also walks through some important slides on property and China. Here is the link to the slides: https://avidcom.substack.com/p/dfa-chart-pack-16th-february-2024
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Find more at https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/ where you can subscribe to our research alerts
RBA Independence or should that be spelt “dance…” was one issue discussed during the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on Thursday 15th February 2024.
Senators Nick McKim and Gerard Rennick quiz RBA Governor Michelle Bullock during the hearings. Highly relevant given the current proposed legislation to remove Government oversight of their activities.
Segments on other issues will follow. Here is the link to the full hearing (1:30:00) https://www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Events/Watch_Read_Listen/ParlView/video/2174307
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
This is my edit of our monthly economic update on Nuggets News, as we explore the current trends across markets and economies. Things are getting interesting as higher for longer plays out.
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
This is an edited version of our live discussion about the current state of play of mortgage, rental and financial household stress across Australia, based on our latest surveys and modelling. We had our post code engine online.
Find out more beforehand by watching this show: Many Households Are In Trouble – Mate! https://youtu.be/np4H9RkPqEo
Original live version with chat here: https://youtube.com/live/Qs__lYQMhP4
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
DFA Live Q&A Replay: Latest Household Financial Stress And Modelling
