Qantas cop big fine

The economic roundtable

Employee training levy

Housing reform

Roasting robots regulating

Climate change & productivity

Some regulations are good. Some are not. But cutting mystery ‘red tape’ is not panacea for improving productivity growth.

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Matt and Elinor discuss the big fine handed to Qantas, how a training levy on businesses could improve productivity, the misunderstandings around the causes of Australia’s housing crisis, and the latest from the government’s economic reform roundtable.

Sign our petition calling on fossil fuel producers to pay a climate disaster levy.

Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us by Richard Denniss is available to pre-order now via the Australia Institute website.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 21 August 2025.

Host: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @mattgrudnoff

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

SA algal bloom underlines urgent need for National Climate Disaster Fund, the Australia Institute (August 2025)

Productivity in the Real World: What it is, what it isn’t, and how to make it work better for workers by Jim Stanford, the Australia Institute (July 2025)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Some regulations are good. Some are not. But cutting mystery &lsquo;red tape&rsquo; is not panacea for improving productivity growth.
On this episode of Dollars &amp; Sense, Matt and Elinor discuss the big fine handed to Qantas, how a training levy on businesses could improve productivity, the misunderstandings around the causes of Australia&rsquo;s housing crisis, and the latest from the government&rsquo;s economic reform roundtable.
Sign our petition calling on fossil fuel producers to <a href="https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/climatedisasterlevy">pay a climate disaster levy</a>.
Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us by Richard Denniss is <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/store/dead-centre-vantage-point-issue-2">available to pre-order</a> now via the Australia Institute website.
This discussion was recorded on Thursday 21 August 2025.
Host:&nbsp;Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mattgrudnoff.bsky.social">@mattgrudnoff</a>
Host:&nbsp;Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/elinorjohnstonleek.bsky.social">@elinorjohnstonleek</a>
Show notes:
<a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/sa-algal-bloom-underlines-urgent-need-for-national-climate-disaster-fund/">SA algal bloom underlines urgent need for National Climate Disaster Fund</a>, the Australia Institute (August 2025)
<a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/productivity-in-the-real-world/">Productivity in the Real World: What it is, what it isn&rsquo;t, and how to make it work better for workers</a> by Jim Stanford, the Australia Institute (July 2025)
Theme music:&nbsp;Blue Dot Sessions
We&rsquo;d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to <a href="mailto:podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au">podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au</a>.

Economic data can tell us a lot about what's happening the economy and society, but it's easy to get lost in data. Dollars and Sense dives into the latest economic figures to explain how they impact you and what they tell us about the state of the Australian economy, with host Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia.

Economic data can tell us a lot about what's happening the economy and society, but it's easy to get lost in data. Dollars and Sense dives into the latest economic figures to explain how they impact you and what they tell us about the state of the Australian economy, with host Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia.

Dollars & Sense

Dollars & Sense demystifies the latest economic figures, how they impact you and what they can tell us about the economy, with host with Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work, and author of Guardian Australia's Grogonomics column.  

Dollars &amp; Sense demystifies the latest economic figures, how they impact you and what they can tell us about the economy, with host with Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work, and author of Guardian Australia's Grogonomics column.

Some regulations are good. Some are not. But cutting mystery ‘red tape’ is not panacea for improving productivity growth.

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