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Simon Kuestenmacher

Simon Kuestenmacher

The Australian

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Australia’s aged care crisis will worsen

Regular readers of this column will know me to be very optimistic about the future of Australia. There are, however, a few things I am pessimistic...

yesterday 10

InDaily

Simon Kuestenmacher

The Stats Guy: Aged care crisis will worsen

Regular readers of this column will know me to be very optimistic about the future of Australia. There are, however, a few things I am pessimistic...

04.05.2024 60

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

What are Australia’s core values?

Are we on the right track as a nation? How do we even tackle such an issue? We must ignore things that are outside of our control and test if our...

27.04.2024 40

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Made in Australia is worth more than ever

Australian manufacturing was once guarded by protectionist tariffs that ensured imported goods were so expensive that locally produced goods could...

22.04.2024 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Our teacher shortage needs to be fixed – now

Last year I published a column about the dramatic teacher shortage in Australia. As I looked at more education data in the past year, my worries...

07.04.2024 30

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Like it or not, big changes ahead for our suburbs

23.03.2024 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Beyond the hype, migration isn't so scary

Last week I argued that any plausible Australian government will continue the current high migration approach. Today we will explore the basic makeup...

16.03.2024 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Forget about zero migration. It can't happen

Today we explore the topic of migration. In fact, we will end migration altogether today. We explore an Australia ten years from now where we have...

10.03.2024 90

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

How industries will cope with the skills shortage

In a previous column I discussed the prolonged skills shortage that Australia is facing in the coming decade and argued that this alone will guarantee...

03.03.2024 30

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

As the world gets smarter, uni students get dumber

Over the Christmas break I read outstanding biographies of the great thinkers Humboldt , Goethe , and Oppenheimer . As I was reading, I realised...

12.02.2024 30

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

A map showing how rare Australians really are

The last week of parental leave for your friendly neighbourhood Stats Guy is about to come to an end. Today I’m showing you one of my favourite maps...

04.02.2024 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

US loves Australia more than we love it – here's proof

–Your friendly neighbourhood Stats Guy is still on parental leave for another three weeks. Instead of a big data driven column I’m showing you...

21.01.2024 8

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

A simple graph that puts humanity in perspective

Your friendly neighbourhood Stats Guy is still on parental leave for another four weeks. So instead of my weekly data-driven column I am going to...

14.01.2024 50

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

The Stats Guy: Lessons from a global election year

Your friendly neighbourhood Stats Guy is still on parental leave for another five weeks. Instead of my weekly data-driven column I am going to share...

06.01.2024 30

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Why water is the stuff of life – and trade too

Your friendly neighbourhood Stats Guy is on parental leave for the next six weeks. So instead of a weekly data-driven column, I am going to share some...

31.12.2023 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Your guide to migration through the eons

Your friendly neighbourhood Stats Guy is on parental leave for the next eight weeks. So instead of a weekly data-driven column I am going to share...

17.12.2023 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Mapping the world of difference that brought us to now

Your friendly neighbourhood Stats Guy is on parental leave for the next eleven weeks. So instead of a weekly data-driven column I am going to share...

26.11.2023 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

The Stats Guy: Disrupting the property industry to create a prosperous nation

New building materials, shrinking household sizes, the introduction of the internet changing how housing is advertised, and even new property classes...

27.10.2023 3

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Riddle me this: Birth rates soar but families shrink

As a demographer, you get to enjoy birth-related joy every year as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases its annual birth dataset. Last...

24.10.2023 5

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

The Stats Guy: Make haste to reduce rents slowly

We need more affordable housing options for low-income earners. So far, so boring.  Let’s discuss non-market housing today. That concept is...

24.10.2023 2

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

Riddle me this: Birth rates soar but families shrink

No matter who you are, the birth of your child will be one of the most joyous days in your life. As a demographer, you get to enjoy birth-related joy...

22.10.2023 7

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

The Stats Guy: Make haste to reduce rents slowly

15.10.2023 4

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

That old time religion ain’t what it used to be

Three weeks ago, I mentioned the shrinking number of believers in Australia and discussed the increased diversity in the remaining faith pool. I...

08.10.2023 30

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

For a bleak future, keep eroding the middle class

Read any description of the Australian people and you will quickly see us described as being an egalitarian bunch. It’s well and truly a core part...

01.10.2023 30

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

How to view life from multiple perspectives

I wholeheartedly believe you are a better worker, partner, parent, or citizen when you view the world from multiple perspectives. The more...

24.09.2023 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

For Australia’s social cohesion, sport is vital

Let’s talk about the benefits of sports. You of course know that you should exercise regularly – go for a swim, hit the gym, do some yoga. The...

17.09.2023 20

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

For Australia, India is the hot growth prospect

Nothing that happens in Australia happens in isolation. We are very much embedded into a larger global and regional context. The animated map below...

10.09.2023 10

The New Daily

Simon Kuestenmacher

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