Think: Business Futures

They say confidence is key to many things in life, but when a pandemic brings a city to a lurching halt, how does it bounce back? As restrictions in Melbourne begin to ease, and government stimulus payments attempt to stem the bleeding, how will Melbournians regain the spring in their step when it comes to spending? It’s a question for a behavioral economist really, and today, we’re joined by Professor Michelle Baddeley from the UTS Business School, to help us understand why confidence is key.

The Chinese Government have made a monumental policy shift, announcing that it will allow couples to have up to three children, after census data showed a steep decline in birth rates. China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit which has so far failed to generate the uptick in the birth rate needed to keep pace with the countries rapidly ageing population. An online poll conducted by state media outlet Xinhua news found 29000 out of 31000 respondents would never dream of having three children, so will the governments easing of the rules make any difference? And, iron prices are once again unsettling nerves, as Chinese regulators attempt to cool-off the countries white-hot recovery in manufacturing and industry. Joining the program today, Professor James Laurenceson from the Australian China Relations Institute and Industry Professor and Chief Economist with the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute of Public Policy and Governance, Professor Tim Harcou

It’s been a big week since the Treasurer handed down the Budget 2021, but the biggest story- and certainly biggest handout- was in the Aged Care Sector. $17.7 billion dollars has been allocated to making a once in a generation change to a sector that has been plagued by horror stories from the Royal Commission, underpaid staff and limited career opportunities. But is almost $18 billion dollars enough when the funding is set to be drip fed over a five year period? The Treasurer announced the plan as ‘practical’, but what do the experts think?

The Morrison government has announced the New Home Guarantee will allow 10,000 first home buyers to purchase a new home with a deposit of just 5 per cent, while over the next four years the Family Home Guarantee will let 10,000 single parent families put down a deposit of only 2 per cent. But can we bank upon the housing market with interest rates at uneasily low levels? What happens when they jump? To break this down today is Professor Harry Schuele, Professor of Finance at the University of Technology, Sydney. An expert on the housing market, and a long time contributor to Think: Business.

Australia has had a touchy relationship with Multinationals since the economy was opened to the world during the Hawke-Keating years. But now, the distinction between those well-known multinationals in primary industries such as Rio Tinto or Adani Mining, and the new-age arrivals like Facebook, Google, Netflix and Spotify, is making the argument about why less corporate tax gives Australia competitive advantage a little harder to argue.

When I ask you what the cost of climate change is, you’re most likely to answer with a bigger macroeconomic picture. But what are the actual figures? Natural disasters already cost Australians over $13 billion on average every year, expected to rise to $39 billion per year by 2050. The National Climate Disaster Fund is a proposal by independent think-tank the Australia Institute for an independently administered fund to reduce the cost burden of natural disaster response and recovery to Australian households, businesses and taxpayers. Joining me today is the Australia Institutes Principle Climate Advisor Mark Ogge.

This week, we’re taking on the biggest news story in the country. The gates have been opened across the ditch, and the New Zealand-Australia travel bubble, an idea first floated in April of last year, is finally upon us. Joining me today to help 'burst the bubble' is Senior Lecturer in the Management Discipline Group at the UTS Business School, co-chair of the CAUTHE (Council of Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Educators), and member of DFAT’s Consular Consultative, Dr. David Beirman.

It's time to dive to periscope depth and take a closer look at the Federal Government's $90 billion dollar Future Submarine Deal. With former Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton now sworn in as Defense Minister, many are expecting a decision on whether to stay the course with this white elephant of a defense contract, or simply torpedo the whole thing and start again. We ask former Submariner, and now Independent Senator for South Australia Rex Patrick, why the largest defense contract in Australian history could be already dead in the water. It's time to find that je ne sais quoi which makes a Submarine float.

Earlier this year, struggling businesses GameStop (NYSE: GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings saw their stock prices skyrocket overnight, thanks to a short squeeze initiated by a group of investors on Reddit.com. It was r/wallstreetbets, a coalition of largely amateur investors on the site- known as the front page of the internet- that created a surge of interest in a number of stocks being shorted by some of Wall Street’s largest hedge funds. It was seen as a brave new form of financial activism by some, and a terrifying new brand of speculation by others. Today, Think: Business looks back on those whirlwind months of January and February, when it seemed like occupy wall street had moved online. Joining me to discuss this today is Noam Korbl, Director of Compare Forex Traders, an Australian online trading platform. And Professor Michelle Baddeley, Professor in Economics and Director of Research and Development at the UTS Business School.

They say there's never a bad time to buy Real Estate, but do we believe it? Predictions in March of last year were dire, with a 30% drop in market value expected across the country. Instead, figures suggest the real situation may be the exact opposite. Auction clearance rates are at record highs, asset prices are through the roof, and first home buyers are leading the charge with a 50% share of purchases over 2020. But, with all this hot-air in the system it isn’t easy to imagine one enormous bubble.

In this, our glorious return to the airwaves, we ask; What does the global pharmaceutical industry have to gain from the roll-out of vaccines? Household names like Pfizer are their own kettle of fish, but for the AstraZenecas and Novavaxs of the world, it’s a rare coalition of public goodwill and government assistance that could fundamentally change the industry moving forward. But, when a global health crisis greases the wheels of the world's pharmaceutical regulatory bodies; what happens when the virus is controlled? Joining me today to discuss this is Jennifer Herz, Managing Director of Biocelect, an Australian company now partnered with Novavax to deliver 51 million doses of the global brands Covid19 vaccine, ofcourse pending approval by the TGA. And Dr. John Rose, Professor and founding Director of the Business Intelligence and Data Analytics (BIDA) Research Centre in the UTS Business School.

How many pubs, clubs or restaurants have you signed into over the last few weeks using a QR code on your phone? It’s become the go-to method for digitally tracing outbreaks and hot-spots of COVID19 in NSW, as well as other countries like Singapore. Around 2.2 million NSW residents now have the Service NSW app on their smartphone, up from 1.7 million last month, while another 5 million have a MyServiceNSW account. But, how exactly does one run an operation of this magnitude? And more importantly, how does the data on millions of private citizens stay private? Joining the program today is NSW Minister for Customer Service, The Honorable Victor Dominello MP.

Today, the 24th of November 2020, marks the release of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative's new roadmap to reshape the countries financial system in the wake of droughts, bushfires and a global pandemic. Comprising of 80 organisations across major banks, insurers, super funds, civil society, and stakeholders, the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative has handed down 37 recommendations that will enable the financial services sector to deliver a transition to a net zero, resource-efficient and inclusive economy. Joining me today to discuss the road map, are three contributing academics from the University of Technology Sydney. Dr. Scott Kelly, Research Director at the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney. Professor Robynne Quiggin, Associate Dean (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement), The Dean's Unit at The University of Technology Sydney And Dr. Deborah Cotton, Senior Lecturer in the Finance Discipline Group at the University of Technology Sydney.

It was one of the founding fathers, and the United State’s third President Thomas Jefferson who said of the presidency ; “No man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it. The honeymoon would be as short in that case as in any other, and its moments of ecstasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred.’ In today’s episode, we’re taking a wider scope, and asking; ‘What happens to the rest of us with the United States under new management?’ Joining Max Tillman is University of Technology Industry Professor, and Former Australian Foreign Minister, The Honourable Bob Carr and Associate Dean of Research and Development for The Dean's Unit at The University of Technology Sydney, Michelle Baddeley.

Well, the quadrennial circus of rallies, rhetoric and state roll-calls has finally reached its last stop on the road. And by roughly lunchtime, the world will most likely know whether the polls were right, or whether- once again- political science’s own creation will turn on its masters as the polls did in 2016. Joining me today is Professor Lionel Page, from the Economics Discipline Group at the University of Technology Sydney’s Business School. Professor Page has just released some new research, including an article in The Conversation, outlining the possible effects of political polls on voter patterns, and whether they are a blessing or a burden for the modern democracy…

Criticism has been leveled at the Federal Government's $240 million Women’s Economic Security funding package, that aims to support a return to the workforce for many women, greater opportunities in STEM industries, and channels for female entrepreneurs and start-ups. It’s a mere fraction of the spending, but how little is too little to help women who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic? To discuss this, I’m joined today by Katherine O’Regan, Executive Director of The Sydney Business Chamber, and Dr. Alice Klettner, Senior Lecturer at The University of Technology Sydney's Business School.

It was the 18th century philosopher Voltaire who once said; ‘“The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” And, with the Federal Budget’s delivery in health funding of a record $115.5 billion in 2020–21- and $467 billion over the forward estimates-there’s more than enough to amuse ourselves with here at Think Business Futures. It’s a lot of money, a dizzying amount, but what are the real stories behind that wall of zeroes? Joining me today to pull apart the portfolio is Dr Stephen Duckett, Health Program Director at the Grattan Institute and former Departmental Secretary to the Australian Government Department of Human Services and Health from 1994 to 1996.

The full, unabridged interview with former ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan on this year's Federal Budget.

We covered the murky waters of R&D tax incentives in this week's coverage of The Federal Budget 2020. But for those who's curiosity was piqued, Nicole gives further detail on the evolution of the R&D tax incentive scheme from the Turnbull days of 2016 until now.

Deck the halls with forward estimates! Christmas for the finance world has finally arrived, with the Federal Budget 2020 putting pen to paper on a fiscal year for the ages. And with a deficit to the piercing tune of $213 billion dollars, this year’s tea leaves do not paint a pretty picture. Can we hitch our recovery wagon to tax cuts? Will big-spending in business add up alongside a continuation of social distancing? As they say in economics, ‘You can never judge a budget until it’s at least a week old.’ Joining me to find out whether this financial Christmas we'll be getting a new bike, or a pair of socks is Nicole Sutton from the UTS Business School’s accounting discipline, Richard De Abreu Lourenco with the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation at the University of Technology Sydney and UTS Business School Industry Professor Warren Hogan.