Not Stupid

With 420 thousand jobs currently unfilled in Australia, where are all the workers? Beyond long border closures, Australia can be expensive for immigrants, so how can we get the right skills mix?

And tragedy strikes one of Afghanistan’s poorest regions, with a massive earthquake killing and injuring thousands. Can the dysfunctional and repressive Taliban government rise to the need, even as it presides over poverty, starvation and a brain drain nationally.

Skyrocketing fossil fuel prices have caused a crisis in Australia's national power grid, with the market suspended and the operator taking charge.

Experts say the eastern states need more certainty on their coal exit timeline, to speed the transition to cheaper renewables.

And a pay rise is granted to Australia's lowest paid, with warnings it will fuel already rising inflation and send some businesses to the wall.

But what is the evidence on the impact of such a pay rise and how can companies adapt?

A US Congressional investigation into the January 6 capitol riots begins prime time tv hearings, presenting evidence pointing to former President Donald Trump’s culpability for organising and inciting the rioters and attempting to overthrow Joe Biden’s election. The nation’s energy ministers have met, admitting there is no quick fix to the current energy price crisis. But they agree to have a national plan to bolster renewables, which experts have welcomed, saying the grid, storage, and efficiency in our homes are crucial.

Australia's east coast has descended into its most serious energy crisis in decades and the government is under pressure to do more to help consumers cope. So should fossil fuel exporters face a supertax on their largely untaxed super profits?

And after 100 days of war, the US has finally agreed to send multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine to assist the country in the fight against Russia.

Labor takes office, with Australians demanding more action on climate change. Its policy is a start, but what must it do next? And what role will the climate-focused cross bench play? The new government is also forced to leap onto China’s latest challenge in the Pacific so how does Beijing’s sweeping new economic and security plan rank against Australia’s offerings to the Pacific?

Political veterans, Liberal Kerry Chikarovski and Labor’s Bruce Hawker, look back at the campaign, the role of the “teal independents” and plead for a “big act of faith” from both major parties on climate policy in the next Parliament. And while Australia celebrates unemployment under four percent, many institutions and enterprises are struggling with staff shortages because of COVID. Will it cut into the participation rate and become a handbrake on the economy?

The focus of the Federal Election shifted to wages this week with Labor arguing for an increase in the minimum wage. The Prime Minister says it isn't that simple, but he also says he will have to change his leadership style to win another term. So where are we in the campaign with one week to go? And why is no-one talking about how closing the gender wage gap would fix Australia’s skills shortage?

The RBA has announced the first rate rise in more than a decade, in an attempt to deal with inflation. Still the economy is in strong shape, so why are so many economists whispering concerns about “stagflation”? And amid the inflation concerns, spiralling health costs are rarely mentioned. How bad are they and can they be fixed?

Official figures confirm Australians’ complaints about soaring prices and analysts say the worst news is the increasing cost of essentials. They say there’s a risk the economy could stagnate even as prices keep rising. The election campaign pivots on the news, with the Coalition blaming global pressures, and Labor criticising government inaction on wages.

And long before he set about menacing Ukraine, Vladimir Putin was becoming more menacing to his own people. How the Russian leader has ramped up repression at home, transitioning from soft autocrat to full-fledged fear-dictator.

A security deal between China and the Solomon Islands has paved the way for Chinese armed forces to be deployed less than 2,000 kilometres from Australia’s east coast. What does it mean for Australian security?