One of Australia’s most significant achievements has been its strong and prospering economy with a growing middle class and the equal access to opportunity by all individuals. Today, this mainstay of the nation is being challenged and the increasing pressures on the daily lives of Australians are mounting, as wages stagnate and the gap in income widens.
Australia is currently facing a transformation of its energy markets from electricity generated by fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources like solar and wind. However, the increasing cost of energy is adversely impacting households and enterprises, especially small and medium sized businesses, who do not have the required capital to invest in energy saving mechanisms.
As South Australia enters a state election period, the oft-discussed issue of retail trading hours deregulation has once again emerged as a central issue in the state. The state opposition have argued for the further deregulation of retail trading hours, with the incumbent state government arguing that the status quo should remain in place.
As of December 2017, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) reports total superannuation assets of $2.6 trillion, one of the largest retirement savings pools in the world. The largest category of investments are shares, followed by fixed interest, property and then infrastructure.
Over the past century, one of the most defining trends has been globalisation and the increasing migration associated with it. Multiculturalism has become a defining feature in many of the world’s economies with Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa examples of nations that have embraced a strong immigrant receiving tradition. Similarly, Australia has a robust tradition as a country built upon migration that continues to this day.
Few issues have resonated in Australian public discourse over the past few years like energy prices. Both household and business consumers have suffered the consequences of years of policy inertia, inconsistency and a lack of forward thinking by energy policy makers that have created a scenario in which Australians are significantly paying more to power and heat their homes.
On February 23 2017, the Fair Work Commission ruled in favour of cutting Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for awards in the hospitality, fast-food, retail and pharmacy industries. The following suite of reports has explored the impact of reducing penalty rates since that initial ruling in 2017, focusing on the aggregate national, state and electorate level costs to workers associated with the proposed changes.
This report aims to quantify the likely impact of wage theft - in both the form of regular-wage theft and the non-payment of superannuation guarantee in Queensland – on Queensland workers and the Queensland economy.
