Economic Growth

The RBA has kept interest rates on hold at 4.35 per cent despite political pressure to lower it.

If we reformed the tax system, and made housing more affordable, would monetary policy work more fairly?

RBA governor Michele Bullock says more people are seeking help from community organisations as the economy slows down, but the fight against inflation must be won.

Today’s economic data shows just how hard interest rates are hitting households, and an economy growing at a rate not seen since the early 1990s.

The Treasurer says he won't second guess the advice coming from the Reserve Bank but says GDP data shows the economy is sluggish.

The Treasurer says global economic uncertainty, persistent inflation and higher interest rates are putting the brakes on the economy.

As Australia's economy grows at its slowest pace since the 1990s recession, consumers place more "focus on affordability".

Chief Business Correspondent Ian Verrender says when you strip back population growth, Australia's GDP has gone backwards six quarters in a row.

David Bassanese says domestic consumer spending is weak, with supply constraints holding back the economy.

The Reserve Bank has kept rates steady at 4.35 per cent for another six weeks, amid a dramatic spike in volatility in financial and stock markets.

Australia's annual rate of inflation lifted to 3.8 per cent in the June quarter, up from 3.6 per cent.

A deal with the Philippines on the South China Sea reflects a longstanding balancing act by China, but the broader outlook reveals the regional power could be changing its tone on big issues.

Australia has done exceptionally well riding the boom in the Chinese economy. But the political and economic uncertainty surrounding the world's two biggest economies — the US and China — points to tougher times ahead.

Most Australians are economically better off than their parents were at a similar age, but that's increasingly not the case for those in poverty, women, and people born after 1990, according to the Productivity Commission.

The Australia Institute Executive Director Richard Deniss says increasing interest rates is "dangerously unnecessary" as there's plenty of evidence the economy is slowing.

There's a growing divide in the prices of goods, and it's making the Reserve Bank's job harder. But the federal budget's cost-of-living measures may buy the RBA more time.

The Reserve Bank of Australia's governor says the federal government's proposed $300 energy bill relief will not have a "material" impact on reducing inflation, but is also unlikely to make inflation worse.

Australia's economy grew by just 0.1 per cent in the March quarter and 1.1 per cent for the year.

There's a reason Brisbane has overtaken Canberra and Melbourne for house prices, writes Ellen Fanning, who found herself in the city's cut-throat property market last year — competing with too many newcomers for a limited supply of homes.

Some economists say decades of poorly managed globalisation, overconfidence in the self-regulation of markets, and austerity, have hollowed out governments' ability to respond to crises effectively, and that needs to change.