A Twitter account dedicated to sharing the unflattering stories of people who claim to have worked for PinkNews released alleged audio recordings of CEO Benjamin Cohen that are, to say the least, troubling!
Chaya Raichik, or LibsofTikTok, is spotlighting the tragic loss of a trans man, Griffin Sivret, to demonize the entire community. She shouldn’t set the tone for this conversation. Let’s hear what Griffin had to say.
Earlier this year PolitiFact debunked a rumor about a California town supposedly providing trans residents with UBI. Today I’m asking you: Why shouldn’t they?
Subjected to weeks of public ridicule and internet harassment instigated by transphobic celebrities, Imane Khelif’s lawyer has announced that they’ve filed suit in France against “unknown parties.”
Writing for The Atlantic, James Kirchick seems to think the struggle for queer liberation is pretty much over in the US. The more you read, the clearer it becomes that James just doesn’t think the trans community is worth fighting for.
Plans to import LNG to Australia reveal the extraordinary failure of consecutive Australian governments to stand up to multinational gas corporations, the Australia Institute has said.
Key Points:
Australia is one of the biggest exporters of gas in the world, alongside Qatar.
Around 80% of Australia’s gas is exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Over half (56%) of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational corporations for free.
Across the country, gas and oil extraction employs just 21,200 workers — less than half of one percent (0.15%) of the 14 million people employed in Australia
“This is pure farce,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at the Australia Institute.
“We produce, burn and export a staggering amount of gas in this country. The gas industry itself is the biggest user of gas in Australia due to the gas it burns to process LNG exports. To suggest there is a shortage is absurd.
“The fact of the matter is that we have allowed multinational gas companies to take us for a ride by giving away our resources tax free and locking us into unsustainable export contracts.
“When facing a genuine resource shortage, the usual first step is to reduce usage, but that is far from what’s happening here.
“Heavily subsidised multinational corporations have been driving up the cost of gas in Australia by forcing us to bid against the international market for our own resources.
On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss the latest GDP growth figures, how rate increases have damaged the economy and what might come next.
Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed.
Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut
Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @ElinorJ_L
A significant proportion of young Australians say attending live music is important to them, but rising costs are a major barrier to young peoples’ attendance at live music, a first-of-its-kind national survey conducted by The Australia Institute and commissioned by The Push has found.
As the live music industry in Australia continues to struggle financially, the survey found there is strong support among young Australians for policies that would both support the sector and encourage more young people to engage with live music events.
The Australia Institute, commissioned by The Push, surveyed 1,009 Australians between the age of 16 and 25 between 9 and 15 August 2024. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
Today’s national account figures show that GDP per capita fell by 0.4% during the June quarter. This is the 6th consecutive quarter of negative GDP per capita growth, showing that Australia is in a per capita recession amid an ongoing inequality crisis.
Key Points:
GDP per capita growth of –0.4% represents the 6th consecutive quarter of negative per capita growth in Australia while total GDP growth of 0.2% is historically weak.
Household consumption fell by 0.2%, the weakest growth rate since the COVID-19 lockdowns in the September quarter of 2021.
Government expenditure contributed 0.3% to GDP growth.
Interest rates are a blunt instrument that are causing normal Australians significant financial pain while the tax system is turbocharging wealth inequality.
“Today’s figures show that Australia’s economy has gone backwards for a record six consecutive quarters once you take into account population growth,” said Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute.
“They confirm that households have been smashed by high interest rates despite our research showing that inflation has been mostly driven by company profits and supply-side factors. Fortunately, government spending has helped stop the economy from shrinking.
“Today’s figures highlight again how necessary the change to the Stage 3 tax cuts were, which will deliver some much-needed relief to low- and middle-income households rather than overwhelmingly benefit the rich.
GDP growth figures released today show the economy almost grinding to a halt. The economy grew by only 0.2% for the quarter and just 1% over the last year. The release of these GDP figures shows that the Reserve Bank is wrong when it says, “the economy is running a bit hot” and it is time to start cutting interest rates.
The only reason the economy has seen any growth is because of the contribution of government spending. Without this contribution the economy would have shrunk by 0.2% this quarter. Worst still, without the government’s contribution the economy wouldn’t have grown at all over the last year.
This highlights just how weak the private sector is right now. Household spending is down. Business investment is down. The private sector has been smashed by the rapid rise in interest rates, demand has dried up and production is grinding to a halt.
The current economic conditions highlight how close the Australian economy is to recession and how damaging high interest rates have been to the economy. With inflation falling in Australia and around the world it is time for the Reserve Bank to follow other central banks and cut interest rates.
