The Money

There's a seismic change heading our way that will drive up electricity and water usage and it has to do with the uptake of generative AI, including Chat GPT. 

Giant tech companies are investing in nuclear power for their AI-fuelled race, however data centres also need clean, drinking-quality water. 

Guests:

Ben Geman, energy reporter at Axios.com and the author of the daily Axios Generate newsletter, covering the world of energy business and politics.

David Berreby, science writer based in New York

Gordon Noble, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

Obesity and associated health problems cause a significant burden on health systems, but should weight-loss drugs be offered under our PBS just for weight loss?  

In Britain, there is to be a trial of the weight loss drug Mounjaro, that will also seek to measure the economic impact of those benefits.  Britain's Health Minister argues that weight loss drugs will be '"life-changing, help them get back to work and ease the demands on our NHS". 

Guests:

Dr Norman Swan, co-presenter of ABC Radio National's Health Report, and the podcast 'What's That Rash?'

Jonathan Karnon, Professor of Health Economics at Flinders University

Nial Wheate, Pharmaceutical Chemist and Professor of Academic Excellence at Macquarie University 

And the Albanese Government this week announced a crack down on unfair and excessive card surcharges, promising to get a better deal for Australians and small business.  The declining use of cash and the rise of electronic payments means more Australians are getting hit by often hidden surcharges.  

Guest:

Brad Kelly, Co-founder of the Independent Payment Forum

The continuing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have horrified the world with the loss of life and devastation, raising the question, what's the cost of weaponry? World military expenditure surpassed $US2.44 trillion for the first time in 2022. 

Latest available figures show at $US916 billion, the US spends the most and it's also the world's largest exporter of weapons. Also US spending on Israel's military operations and related US operations in the Middle East this year total $22.76 billion, and that is only a partial figure. So how are some of these sums broken down?

Guests:

• William Halsortung, Senior Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and author of Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military Industrial Complex
• Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher in SIPRI's Arms Transfers Program. (Stockholm's International Peace Research Institute)
• Dr Marcus Hellyer, Head of Research at Strategic Analysis Australia

In a new economic analysis of religions, Paul Seabright argues that religions are not the antithesis of economics, instead he likens them to competing businesses, attracting people by providing services such as community and a greater sense of meaning in life. 

The Divine Economy, published by Princeton University Press

Guest:

• Paul Seabright, teaches economics at the Toulouse School of Economics. Prior to that he was a Fellow of All Souls College at the University of Oxford. 

Australian's love affair with paying by card - and not cash - has now surpassed 90% of transactions.  And each time we tap our card, the merchant incurs a cost that's passed onto you, the customer, to the tune of billions of dollars a year.

So who gets the money? As part of a Review of Retail Payments Regulation, the RBA is expecting the industry - the banks, card companies and payment terminal companies - to cut processing costs by using what's called 'least cost routing'.

• Brad Kelly, Managing Director of Consulting Company, Payment Services
• Wes Lambert, CEO of the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association

The ACCC is seeking significant penalties for Coles and Woolworths in the Federal Court, alleging they systematically misled customers with their 'Prices Drop' and 'Down Down' claims. 

• Neil Rechlin, Partner at NextGen Group

The recent Senate Economics Reference Committee chaired by Andrew Bragg, delivered an extremely critical report on the performance of the corporate regulator, ASIC. It was recommended that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission be split into two bodies to address a perceived lack of competence.

Guests:

• Andy Schmulow, Associate Professor in the School of Law at the University of Wollongong
• Dr Jason Harris, Professor of Corporate Law, Interim Deputy Dean and Interim Deputy Head of School at the University of Sydney Law School

What's our environment worth? In 2025, the ABS will release its first set of national data to measure the value of our ecosystems, across terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms. 

Guest: 

• Penny Johnson, Head of the Centre of Environmental Accounts at the Australian Bureau of Statistics

Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently said that 'high interest rates had smashed the economy'. And the Albanese Government has been set on driving through changes recommended in last year's independent review of the RBA - the biggest overhaul of the Reserve Bank in decades. But after the LNP withdrew its support for reform, Labour is now looking to the Greens. 

So how will we know whether the RBA is doing a good job or not? 

Guests: 

• John Simon, former Head of Economic Research at the Reserve Bank, now Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University
• John Quiggan, VC Senior Fellow in Economics at the University of Queensland

And how much pocket money are children getting these days? 

Guest: 

• Matthew Bowen, Head of Consumer and Marketing Insights, ING Bank of Australia 

Free to air TV was once the only place to watch your favourite football match, but that could change as streaming services and tech companies now compete for sports media rights.  

Sports bodies sell their rights to broadcasters, who then sell advertising slots or subscriptions, so the clubs and athletes get paid.  While this mostly remains the case in Australia, the global value of these rights will this year surpass $US 60 billion with Amazon Prime, NBC and ESPN joining up for the rights to both men's and women's basketball.  

Guests: 

Minal Modha, Head of Sport at research firm, Ampere Analysis

Ben Strauss, Sports and Media Reporter at The Washington Post

David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research at the University of Western Sydney

Tim Burrowes, publisher of the media and marketing industry newsletter, Unmade. 

We're almost a quarter of the way into the 21st Century and already it's clear money has changed. 

It's increasingly mobile. It's (relatively) cheap and more and more digital. Economist Richard Holden is charting the changes. 

Guest: Richard Holden, Professor of Economics at the University of NSW Business School

Author of "Money in the 21st Century; Cheap, Mobile, and Digital' published by University of California Press.

It is a bird? Is it a plane? Well, yes, it is a plane, but it's also something much more.

We all know that airlines fly passengers and freight around the country and the world. But they're also like banks, and data collecting businesses. And that's because of the growing importance of their frequent flyer programs. Though you no longer need to fly to gain points. As customers we're not sure what these points are worth. But to the airlines, loyalty programs are so lucrative that they are a core part of their business.

Guests:

Katharine Kemp, Associate Professor at UNSW Law and Justice

Daniel Sciberras, Editor in Chief at Point Hacks

Ganesh Sitaraman, Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University and author of Why flying is miserable and how to fix it, published by Columbia Global Reports 

Leona Tam, Professor at UTS Business School.

This program is repeated from March, 2024