Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
For more than 40 years, governments and the media, besotted with neoliberalism, have spruiked the need for greater company profits rather than stronger wage growth and household income.
This has driven the push for a smaller government with lower taxes, less government spending and more vital services being delivered private-for profit companies.
In boom times such a policy is disguised as a successful case of “trickle down” but in reality it is just a cover for greater inequality and more profits at the expense of workers and those reliant on government payments and services.
The past 5 years have seen an unprecedented drop in real wages and falling living standards combined with the Reserve Bank raising interest rates despite the main driver of higher inflation being increased profit margins.
The policy school provides a picture of the state of the economy and how to explain that the solutions are not complex. When living standards have been hit, the government can help. And the most common-sense way to deliver this is to fix how we tax most profitable industry in Australia – gas.
SPEAKERS:
Greg Jericho — Chief Economist, The Australia Institute
Dr Alice Grundy — Research Manager, The Australia Institute
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For more than 40 years, governments and the media, besotted with neoliberalism, have spruiked the need for greater company profits rather than stronger wage growth and household income.
This has driven the push for a smaller government with lower taxes, less government spending and more vital services being delivered private-for profit companies.
In boom times such a policy is disguised as a successful case of “trickle down” but in reality it is just a cover for greater inequality and more profits at the expense of workers and those reliant on government payments and services.
The past 5 years have seen an unprecedented drop in real wages and falling living standards combined with the Reserve Bank raising interest rates despite the main driver of higher inflation being increased profit margins.
The policy school provides a picture of the state of the economy and how to explain that the solutions are not complex. When living standards have been hit, the government can help. And the most common-sense way to deliver this is to fix how we tax most profitable industry in Australia – gas.
SPEAKERS:
Greg Jericho — Chief Economist, The Australia Institute
Dr Alice Grundy — Research Manager, The Australia Institute
Get our latest analysis sent to you via our fortnightly newsletter!
📧 theaus.in/newsletter_signup
Help us make more videos like this by becoming a supporter:
❤️ theaus.in/donateYT
