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Brendan Coates

Fellow, Grattan Institute

Brendan is a fellow at the Grattan Institute. Before joining Grattan, Brendan worked with the World Bank in Indonesia, and prior to that, he undertook a number of roles with the Australian Treasury, including as part of the Treasury’s China Policy Unit. Brendan holds a Masters of International Development Economics from the Australian National University and Bachelors of Commerce and Arts from the University of Melbourne.

Migrant Crisis Series

How should the skilled migration points test be reformed? It’s an $84 billion question

Jun 03, 2024 11:01 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

As the government consults on potential reforms to points-tested visas for skilled migrants, the stakes couldnt be higher. Skilled migrants contribute enormously to Australias prosperity shaping our diverse society,...

Older women often rent in poverty – shared home equity could help some escape

Feb 24, 2022 20:41 pm UTC| Economy

Many older Australian women face insecure futures. Those who are single, divorced or widowed are much more likely to suffer poverty, housing stress and homelessness. Our new Grattan Institute proposal for a national...

Now we'll need $100-$120 billion. Why the budget has to spend big to avoid scarring

Sep 09, 2020 06:33 am UTC| Economy

Australia is in for a long and damaging economic slump, unless governments inject substantially more fiscal stimulus. The July budget update forecast that unemployment would hit 9.25% in coming months. The Treasury...

Early access to super doesn’t justify higher compulsory contributions

Aug 09, 2020 22:44 pm UTC| Economy

A big part of the Morrison governments response to COVID-19 has been allowing people early access to their superannuation. Australians who have claimed hardship have applied for A$30.7 billion to date. This has been...

Money for social housing, not home buyers grants, is the key to construction stimulus

Jun 03, 2020 15:15 pm UTC| Economy

Theres no doubt Australias construction industry is facing tough times. COVID-19 has caused migration to slow to a trickle. Some 2.6 million Australians have either lost their jobs or had their hours cut in the past two...

Think superannuation comes from employers' pockets? It comes from yours

Feb 03, 2020 12:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

A key question for the governments retirement incomes review is who ultimately pays for compulsory super contributions, especially since they are set to climb from 9.5% of wages to 12% over the next five years. Legally,...

Rudd's rental affordability scheme was a $1 billion gift to developers; Abbott was right to axe it

Sep 10, 2019 20:38 pm UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate Politics

Most Australians are spending more of their income on housing than they used to, but low-income households are being squeezed the hardest. Many are in poverty, and many more are suffering financial stress. A growing...

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Economy

Gold Prices Rebound as Dollar Weakens, Fed Decision Looms

Gold prices moved higher on Wednesday, snapping a three-session losing streak as a weaker U.S. dollar supported bullion. Investors also remained focused on escalating Middle East tensions, rising oil prices and the Federal...

China Inflation Accelerates in August as CPI, PPI Rise

Chinas consumer inflation strengthened in August, while producer prices climbed faster than expected, signaling a gradual improvement in domestic price pressures as Beijing works to support demand and economic growth....

Oil Prices Rally as Brent Nears $100 on U.S.-Iran Escalation

Oil prices extended their rally during Asian trading on Wednesday, with Brent crude approaching the key $100-per-barrel level as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions fueled concerns over Middle East oil supplies and shipping...

Asian Stocks Mixed as AI Chip Rally Meets Oil Surge

Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday as semiconductor shares extended gains on strong artificial intelligence demand, while rising oil prices and escalating Middle East tensions fueled concerns about inflation and higher...

Asian Stocks Mixed as Korean Chipmakers Rally

Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as strong gains in South Korean semiconductor shares boosted the regions technology sector, while rising oil prices, higher U.S. Treasury yields and expectations for tighter monetary...

Politics

Australia Defends Social Media Algorithm Law Amid US Concerns

Australia said Wednesday that its relationship with the United States remains strong despite reports that the Trump administration has raised concerns over Canberras proposed social media algorithm regulations. Australias...

U.S. Accuses Chinese AI Firms of Extracting Model Capabilities

U.S. security agencies have accused several major Chinese artificial intelligence companies, including DeepSeek and Alibaba, of systematically extracting capabilities from advanced U.S. AI models to reduce development...

Trump Threatens Bombardier U.S. Sales Ban

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier from selling planes in the United States unless the company expands its manufacturing operations in the country, escalating tensions...

Australia Plans New Rules Giving Users Control Over Social Media Feeds

Australia has proposed new social media regulations that would give users greater control over the content appearing in their feeds, expanding the governments efforts to strengthen online safety and regulate major...

Cuba Says No US Talks as Blockade Costs Hit $8.1 Billion

Cubas foreign minister said Monday that no negotiations with the United States are currently taking place and there are no plans for future talks, as Havana blamed Washingtons decades-old trade embargo for more than $8...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Qualcomm Stock Jumps on Amazon AI Chip Deal

Qualcomm Technologies (NASDAQ: QCOM) shares surged 9.5% after the chipmaker announced a multi-generational partnership with Amazon to develop custom silicon and high-speed optical connectivity technology for artificial...

Google Revamps EU Search Results to Meet DMA Rules

Alphabets Google has introduced major changes to its search results in Europe as it seeks to comply with European Union antitrust rules under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Google said Tuesday that the overhaul represents...

Anthropic Drops $6 Billion Decart AI Acquisition Talks

Anthropic has reportedly abandoned plans to acquire artificial intelligence startup Decart AI after exploring a potential transaction valued at roughly $6 billion, according to Bloomberg News. The maker of the Claude AI...

Huawei Launches Mate XT2 Foldable Phone in China

Huawei unveiled its latest flagship foldable smartphone, the Mate XT2, on Monday as the Chinese technology giant looks to maintain its dominance in the countrys premium smartphone market amid growing competition from Apple...

Nvidia CEO Says AGI Has Arrived With OpenAI GPT-6 Astra

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang has declared that artificial general intelligence, or AGI, has arrived, pointing to OpenAIs newly launched GPT-6 Astra as a major milestone in the accelerating development of...