The Economists' Corner

CEDA’s CEO Melinda Cilento taps into the concerns of the youth today and looks at how future generations will be impacted by climate change. She is joined by Deanne Stewart, CEO Aware Super, and Taylor Hawkins, Founder & Strategy Director of Future Frontiers Group, who was present at the COP26 in Glasgow, to discuss whether the climate change discussions addressed the call to action from youth activists and what really matters to young Australians.

CEDA’s CEO Melinda Cilento reflects on the outcomes of COP26 and whether they go far enough to limit the impending impacts of climate change. She speaks to IBM Consulting’s Global Director of Sustainability, Murray Simpson, who was in Glasgow to witness the negotiations, as well as Erin Coldham, Chief Development Officer of Star of the South, Australia’s first offshore wind project. Christian Gergis, Head of Policy at the Australian Institute of Company Directors, also weighs in on corporate responsibilities when it comes to climate.

The Federal government has secured a commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 just in time for COP26, the United Nations climate change conference, in Glasgow next week.

But will it be enough when other nations are already looking to 2030 commitments?

To discuss what COP26 means for Australia, CEDA CEO Melinda Cilento is joined by ANU Crawford School Professor and Director of the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Professor Frank Jotzo, and Arup Australasia Co-Chair, Kerryn Coker.

Chief Economist Jarrod Ball explores what are the different types of digital assets, why digital platforms are increasingly embedding financial services and how the sector needs greater regulation.

He speaks to Citi’s Tony McLaughlin and Senator Andrew Bragg to make sense of this trend.

On Thursday, the ABS released its labour force statistics for August 2021. They show that while unemployment decreased by 0.1 per cent, the participation rate also decreased significantly. To help make sense of these figures, CEDA Chief Economist Jarrod Ball spoke with University of Melbourne Truby Williams Professor of Economics Jeff Borland.

Yesterday WA released its 2021-22 State budget, unveiling a massive $5.6 billion surplus. Some of the big-ticket items in the budget include an $875 million social housing package and $1.9 billion in extra healthcare funding.

But will the measures announced set Western Australia up for long-term success? 

CEDA Chief Economist Jarrod Ball is joined by our Perth-based Senior Economist Cassandra Winzar to find out more.

The June quarter GDP figures are out, and Australia looks likely to avoid a second recession in two years. 

GDP grew by 0.7%, which ended as the Delta variant took hold in NSW and sparked a wave of lockdowns across the east coast.

So what does this tell us about how the economy entered the extended state lockdown, just how bad is the news for the September quarter, and are we still at risk of a so-called technical recession?

To discuss this, CEDA Chief Economist Jarrod Ball is joined by ANZ Senior Economist, Felicity Emmett.

Rapid antigen tests have become a crucial tool around the world in managing COVID-19, but Australia is only using them in some industries and workplaces.

That’s despite the fact an Australian company created the first rapid COVID test to receive approval for home use in the United States last year.

The Brisbane-based digital diagnostics firm Ellume has a deal with the Biden administration to provide 8.5 million home COVID tests, and its new US manufacturing facility is set to begin production later this year.

CEDA CEO Melinda Cilento spoke with its founder and chief executive, Dr Sean Parsons, about the potential of rapid testing in Australia and his experience developing and manufacturing this technology.

But first Melinda is joined by CEDA Chief Economist Jarrod Ball to talk about some of the other issues we are thinking about at CEDA this week.

This week, it’s the first episode in a new mini-series where we dive into the dynamism of Australian businesses big and small.

Business dynamism is one of our key research areas here at CEDA. We’re keen to understand Australian companies’ risk appetite, the quality of our managers and what drives their decision-making.

Someone who’s long taken an interest in business dynamism is the head of structural policy analysis at the OECD’s Economics Department, Dan Andrews. He’s just released some insightful research showing high-productivity firms were more likely to grow and low-productivity firms more likely to contract during the first year of the pandemic, using small-business accounting and payslip data from Xero.

It’s particularly relevant now amid growing concerns our economic recovery is under threat, with much of the nation stuck in lockdown amid spiralling COVID-19 outbreaks.

But first, CEDA Chief Economist Jarrod Ball is joined by CEDA Chief Executive Melinda Cilento to discuss some of the issues we’re thinking about at CEDA this week.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report out this week has some very stark warnings about “unprecedented” levels of climate change that it says are “unequivocally” the result of human actions.

The IPCC says we’ll exceed global warming of 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius this century unless we make deep emissions cuts in the coming decades.

The Federal Government says Australia can get to net-zero emissions “preferably” by 2050 using technology, not taxes, through its technology roadmap.

One body the Government is relying on to get us there is the Clean Energy Finance Corporation or C-E-F-C. I spoke earlier with its chief executive Ian Learmonth.

But first, CEDA CEO Melinda Cilento is joined by our Chief Economist Jarrod Ball to discuss some of the issues we’re thinking about at CEDA this week.