Data centres & National Cabinet

Fuel prices & the war on Iran

Corporate profits driving inflation

East vs West over the GST

Profits are surging and living standards are not. Will the AI boom be any different?

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Angus discuss the carve-out for Queensland and Northern Territory data centres that’ll allow them to run off coal and gas, the skyrocketing profits of some of Australia’s biggest companies, and the east coast vs west coast beef over GST revenue.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 27 August 2026.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Angus Blackman, Executive Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB

Show notes:

What will we get out of the AI boom? The data suggests lots of noisy, energy-hungry datacentres and not much else by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (August 2026)

What do they mean by "energy agnostic?" by Fiona Katauskas, The Point (August 2026)

Wages are not to blame for rising inflation by David Richardson, Greg Jericho & Matt Saunders, the Australia Institute (February 2026)

Australia’s gas giveaway, the Australia Institute

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. Subscribe to Dollars & Sense on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

Profits are surging and living standards are not. Will the AI boom be any different?
On this episode of Dollars &amp; Sense, Greg and Angus discuss the carve-out for Queensland and Northern Territory data centres that&rsquo;ll allow them to run off coal and gas, the skyrocketing profits of some of Australia&rsquo;s biggest companies, and the east coast vs west coast beef over GST revenue.
This discussion was recorded on Thursday 27 August 2026.
<a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/store/more-fool-me-vantage-point-issue-6">More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia</a> by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.
Use the code &lsquo;FOOLME&rsquo; on <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/store/vantage-point-subscription">a four-edition Vantage Point subscription</a> to receive a free copy of Richard&rsquo;s book, Econobabble.
Host:&nbsp;Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/grogsgamut.bsky.social">@grogsgamut</a>
Host:&nbsp;Angus Blackman, Executive Producer, the Australia Institute // <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/angusrb.bsky.social">@AngusRB</a>
Show notes:
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2026/aug/27/ai-boom-noisy-energy-hungry-datacentres-construction-economy">What will we get out of the AI boom? The data suggests lots of noisy, energy-hungry datacentres and not much else</a> by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (August 2026)
<a href="https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/260827-why-dont-you-ask-chatgpt">What do they mean by "energy agnostic?"</a> by Fiona Katauskas, The Point (August 2026)
<a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/wages-are-not-to-blame-for-rising-inflation/">Wages are not to blame for rising inflation</a> by David Richardson, Greg Jericho &amp; Matt Saunders, the Australia Institute (February 2026)
<a href="https://gas.australiainstitute.org.au/">Australia&rsquo;s gas giveaway</a>, the Australia Institute
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>. Subscribe to&nbsp;Dollars&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Sense&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/dollars-sense/id1717300562">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5FWzwVKWUR2tZCbXSKuBE2?si=1c2f3558cc6d44ab">Spotify</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/dollars-sense/9cc37d00-6a4f-013c-9f4c-0acc26574db2">Pocket Casts</a>&nbsp;or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

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.

Profits are surging and living standards are not. Will the AI boom be any different?