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Saul Eslake

Saul Eslake

The Conversation

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House prices are falling, and that's actually good news

House prices are falling, and that's actually good news

Falling house prices should ease cost-of-living pressures and help first homebuyers, yet Australia's political debate still treats rising housing...

06.06.2026 20

The Examiner

Saul Eslake

House prices are falling, and that's actually good news

House prices are falling, and that's actually good news

Falling house prices should ease cost-of-living pressures and help first homebuyers, yet Australia's political debate still treats rising housing...

06.06.2026 20

Canberra Times

Saul Eslake

Falling house prices should be welcomed, not feared

Falling house prices should be welcomed, not feared

Falling house prices should ease cost-of-living pressures and help first home-buyers, yet Australia’s political debate still treats rising housing...

04.06.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

House prices are falling in Australia. That’s a good thing – if you believe housing is a basic human need

House prices in Sydney and Melbourne are down by 3.1% and 3.5% respectively, from their most recent peaks, according to the latest data from Cotality....

02.06.2026 10

The Guardian

Saul Eslake

Some further thoughts on the Federal Budget

The income tax reforms in the 2026 budget do deliver greater equity, despite the protests from those who think they will lose out. Immediately after...

27.05.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

‘Death tax’, startups and a rent spike: it’s time to correct misleading claims about Labor’s budget

The changes to various aspects of Australia’s taxation system announced in last week’s budget were controversial. For that and other reasons, they...

19.05.2026 20

The Guardian

Saul Eslake

Budget 2026: The biggest tax reform agenda in a generation

The government’s Budget reforms on negative gearing and capital gains tax will not solve the housing crisis overnight, but they represent the most...

13.05.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Capital gains discounts were meant to usher in an Australia of ‘shareholders’ – not property speculators

If pre-budget rumours and press speculation are to be taken with less than the usual grain of salt, the budget which the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will...

28.04.2026 20

The Guardian

Saul Eslake

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

A sharp fall in confidence and rising fuel prices point to a potential downturn, but traditional policy responses risk making the situation worse....

17.04.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

Higher fuel prices mean that households who have little choice about how much fuel they use have less to spend on other goods and services, which...

16.04.2026 20

The Age

Saul Eslake

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

Higher fuel prices mean that households who have little choice about how much fuel they use have less to spend on other goods and services, which...

16.04.2026 20

WA Today

Saul Eslake

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

Higher fuel prices mean that households who have little choice about how much fuel they use have less to spend on other goods and services, which...

16.04.2026 20

The Sydney Morning Herald

Saul Eslake

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

Higher fuel prices mean that households who have little choice about how much fuel they use have less to spend on other goods and services, which...

16.04.2026 10

Brisbane Times

Saul Eslake

MYEFO leaves the hard work on inflation, debt and budget repair undone

18.12.2025 10

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Update shows Labor has done nothing to fix Victoria’s finances

Little in the budget update will reassure rating agencies the Allan government is prepared to do what needs to be done to alleviate Victoria’s...

05.12.2025 10

Financial Review

Saul Eslake

Western Australia is rich, but it's not the economic powerhouse it claims to be

25.11.2025 10

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Another hung parliament solves nothing about Tassie’s dire budget

The unfortunate reality is that neither party has any kind of mandate to do what needs to be done to put the state’s finances on more sustainable...

20.07.2025 20

Financial Review

Saul Eslake

Is there any hope for a fairer carve-up of GST between the states?

23.06.2025 30

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Chalmers hints at more tax reform – What should we do first? Part 2

22.06.2025 30

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Chalmers hints at more tax reform – What should we do first? Part 1

21.06.2025 30

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Is there any hope for a fairer carve-up of the GST between the states?

Revisiting the GST share of revenue among the states could make a big contribution towards repairing the federal budget.

20.06.2025 30

The Conversation

Saul Eslake

Inequality and inheritance taxes

04.06.2025 30

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Labor’s profligacy in Victoria is a problem for all of us

Ratings agencies assume the federal government stands behind the states’ debts, so if Victoria is downgraded because of its ballooning debt that has...

20.05.2025 30

Financial Review

Saul Eslake

Labor should use its second victory as a platform for ambitious reform

Now that Labor has achieved a swing towards it – for the first time in Australia’s history – it should, ideally, act like a first-term government.

05.05.2025 30

Financial Review

Saul Eslake

The housing policies of both major parties are bad for Australia’s aspiring homebuyers

14.04.2025 20

The Guardian

Saul Eslake

The 2025-26 budget had one modest surprise, but leaves a lot to the next Parliament (and probably Parliaments after that)

26.03.2025 20

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Three reasons Victoria has joined Tasmania, SA as a beggar state

20.03.2025 30

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Three reasons Victoria has joined Tasmania, SA as a beggar state

Unless it can substantially improve its productivity performance, Victoria will continue to be the butt of sneering from richer states.

16.03.2025 20

Financial Review

Saul Eslake