It may be 2021 but the 2020 Olympics are only just about to get underway. Tokyo has been a saga, with spectators banned from attending due to COVID-19 outbreaks and calls for the event to be cancelled. With Brisbane working hard to get a guernsey and host the 2032 Olympics, we're asking: are the Olympics fit enough to go the distance? Guests: David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society at WSU. Tim Harcourt, Chief Economist with the Institute of Public P...
Jul 13, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Well, the financial year has come and gone, and you may have received emails or phone calls or postage from any number of charities calling for tax-deductible donations. The not-for-profit sector makes up 11% of the economy, employing around 1.4 million Australians. Indeed, a glimpse at the sector in 2019 paints a rosy picture of a broad industry made of large businesses and smaller volunteer outfits, a sector growing in donations, assets and government support. But this was before the pandemic ...
Jul 06, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 15
More and more, companies are investing based around the buzzword of ESG. That stands for Environmental, Social, Governance, which broadly describes the non-financial factors that are increasingly important to investors. These can include incorporating gender diversity in a company board, to not supporting carbon emitting investments or other such ethical commitments. As the European Union and the United States take steps to regulate the ESG investing industry, the question is whether Australia c...
Jun 29, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Where did you go to school? Over the last 30 years, non-government schools have doubled in size as more and more parents are opting for greater school choice. How these schools are funded has been a point of contention. School funding is provided by partnerships between the federal and relevant state governments. Private schools are predominantly funded by the federal government, while public education is mostly drawn from state funding. A funding model for private schools is set to come in next...
Jun 23, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 13
They say confidence is key to many things in life, but when a pandemic brings a city to a lurching halt, how does it bounce back? As restrictions in Melbourne begin to ease, and government stimulus payments attempt to stem the bleeding, how will Melbournians regain the spring in their step when it comes to spending? It’s a question for a behavioral economist really, and today, we’re joined by Professor Michelle Baddeley from the UTS Business School, to help us understand why confidence is key.
Jun 16, 2021•20 min•Season 3Ep. 12
The Chinese Government have made a monumental policy shift, announcing that it will allow couples to have up to three children, after census data showed a steep decline in birth rates. China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit which has so far failed to generate the uptick in the birth rate needed to keep pace with the countries rapidly ageing population. An online poll conducted by state media outlet Xinhua news found 29000 out of 31000 respond...
Jun 01, 2021•21 min•Season 3Ep. 11
It’s been a big week since the Treasurer handed down the Budget 2021, but the biggest story- and certainly biggest handout- was in the Aged Care Sector. $17.7 billion dollars has been allocated to making a once in a generation change to a sector that has been plagued by horror stories from the Royal Commission, underpaid staff and limited career opportunities. But is almost $18 billion dollars enough when the funding is set to be drip fed over a five year period? The Treasurer announced the plan...
May 19, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 10
The Morrison government has announced the New Home Guarantee will allow 10,000 first home buyers to purchase a new home with a deposit of just 5 per cent, while over the next four years the Family Home Guarantee will let 10,000 single parent families put down a deposit of only 2 per cent. But can we bank upon the housing market with interest rates at uneasily low levels? What happens when they jump? To break this down today is Professor Harry Schuele, Professor of Finance at the University of Te...
May 10, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Australia has had a touchy relationship with Multinationals since the economy was opened to the world during the Hawke-Keating years. But now, the distinction between those well-known multinationals in primary industries such as Rio Tinto or Adani Mining, and the new-age arrivals like Facebook, Google, Netflix and Spotify, is making the argument about why less corporate tax gives Australia competitive advantage a little harder to argue.
May 04, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 8
When I ask you what the cost of climate change is, you’re most likely to answer with a bigger macroeconomic picture. But what are the actual figures? Natural disasters already cost Australians over $13 billion on average every year, expected to rise to $39 billion per year by 2050. The National Climate Disaster Fund is a proposal by independent think-tank the Australia Institute for an independently administered fund to reduce the cost burden of natural disaster response and recovery to Australi...
Apr 20, 2021•26 min•Season 3Ep. 6
This week, we’re taking on the biggest news story in the country. The gates have been opened across the ditch, and the New Zealand-Australia travel bubble, an idea first floated in April of last year, is finally upon us. Joining me today to help 'burst the bubble' is Senior Lecturer in the Management Discipline Group at the UTS Business School, co-chair of the CAUTHE (Council of Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Educators), and member of DFAT’s Consular Consultative, Dr. David Beirman.
Apr 06, 2021•26 min•Season 3Ep. 5
It's time to dive to periscope depth and take a closer look at the Federal Government's $90 billion dollar Future Submarine Deal. With former Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton now sworn in as Defense Minister, many are expecting a decision on whether to stay the course with this white elephant of a defense contract, or simply torpedo the whole thing and start again. We ask former Submariner, and now Independent Senator for South Australia Rex Patrick, why the largest defense contract in Austral...
Mar 30, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Earlier this year, struggling businesses GameStop (NYSE: GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings saw their stock prices skyrocket overnight, thanks to a short squeeze initiated by a group of investors on Reddit.com. It was r/wallstreetbets, a coalition of largely amateur investors on the site- known as the front page of the internet- that created a surge of interest in a number of stocks being shorted by some of Wall Street’s largest hedge funds. It was seen as a brave new form of financial activism...
Mar 23, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 3
They say there's never a bad time to buy Real Estate, but do we believe it? Predictions in March of last year were dire, with a 30% drop in market value expected across the country. Instead, figures suggest the real situation may be the exact opposite. Auction clearance rates are at record highs, asset prices are through the roof, and first home buyers are leading the charge with a 50% share of purchases over 2020. But, with all this hot-air in the system it isn’t easy to imagine one enormous bu...
Mar 16, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In this, our glorious return to the airwaves, we ask; What does the global pharmaceutical industry have to gain from the roll-out of vaccines? Household names like Pfizer are their own kettle of fish, but for the AstraZenecas and Novavaxs of the world, it’s a rare coalition of public goodwill and government assistance that could fundamentally change the industry moving forward. But, when a global health crisis greases the wheels of the world's pharmaceutical regulatory bodies; what happens when ...
Mar 09, 2021•27 min•Season 3Ep. 1
How many pubs, clubs or restaurants have you signed into over the last few weeks using a QR code on your phone? It’s become the go-to method for digitally tracing outbreaks and hot-spots of COVID19 in NSW, as well as other countries like Singapore. Around 2.2 million NSW residents now have the Service NSW app on their smartphone, up from 1.7 million last month, while another 5 million have a MyServiceNSW account. But, how exactly does one run an operation of this magnitude? And more importantly,...
Dec 01, 2020•25 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Today, the 24th of November 2020, marks the release of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative's new roadmap to reshape the countries financial system in the wake of droughts, bushfires and a global pandemic. Comprising of 80 organisations across major banks, insurers, super funds, civil society, and stakeholders, the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative has handed down 37 recommendations that will enable the financial services sector to deliver a transition to a net zero, resource-ef...
Nov 24, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 38
It was one of the founding fathers, and the United State’s third President Thomas Jefferson who said of the presidency ; “No man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it. The honeymoon would be as short in that case as in any other, and its moments of ecstasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred.’ In today’s episode, we’re taking a wider scope, and asking; ‘What happens to the rest of us with the United States under new management?’ Joining Max Till...
Nov 10, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Well, the quadrennial circus of rallies, rhetoric and state roll-calls has finally reached its last stop on the road. And by roughly lunchtime, the world will most likely know whether the polls were right, or whether- once again- political science’s own creation will turn on its masters as the polls did in 2016. Joining me today is Professor Lionel Page, from the Economics Discipline Group at the University of Technology Sydney’s Business School. Professor Page has just released some new researc...
Nov 03, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Criticism has been leveled at the Federal Government's $240 million Women’s Economic Security funding package, that aims to support a return to the workforce for many women, greater opportunities in STEM industries, and channels for female entrepreneurs and start-ups. It’s a mere fraction of the spending, but how little is too little to help women who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic? To discuss this, I’m joined today by Katherine O’Regan, Executive Director of The Sydney Bu...
Oct 27, 2020•27 min•Season 2Ep. 35
It was the 18th century philosopher Voltaire who once said; ‘“The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” And, with the Federal Budget’s delivery in health funding of a record $115.5 billion in 2020–21- and $467 billion over the forward estimates-there’s more than enough to amuse ourselves with here at Think Business Futures. It’s a lot of money, a dizzying amount, but what are the real stories behind that wall of zeroes? Joining me today to pull apart th...
Oct 20, 2020•31 min•Season 2Ep. 34
The full, unabridged interview with former ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan on this year's Federal Budget.
Oct 16, 2020•13 min•Season 2Ep. 33
We covered the murky waters of R&D tax incentives in this week's coverage of The Federal Budget 2020. But for those who's curiosity was piqued, Nicole gives further detail on the evolution of the R&D tax incentive scheme from the Turnbull days of 2016 until now.
Oct 16, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Deck the halls with forward estimates! Christmas for the finance world has finally arrived, with the Federal Budget 2020 putting pen to paper on a fiscal year for the ages. And with a deficit to the piercing tune of $213 billion dollars, this year’s tea leaves do not paint a pretty picture. Can we hitch our recovery wagon to tax cuts? Will big-spending in business add up alongside a continuation of social distancing? As they say in economics, ‘You can never judge a budget until it’s at least a w...
Oct 13, 2020•41 min•Season 2Ep. 31
You’ve probably heard of Flappy bird, and you’ve definitely heard of Fruit Ninja and Temple Run. Little did you know, those games were developed in Australia. And despite their global popularity and literally billions of downloads, the domestic game deployment industry can’t seem to get past the first level. In anticipation of this evening’s budget, the Australian video game industry have asked for a 30% refundable tax offset and a restored Interactive Games Fund for video game development to be...
Oct 06, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 30
The last time the Liberal Party turned their heads to energy, we had the NEG, which drove a factional wedge between the party room and led to the downfall of a PM. This time, it’s a global pandemic. You’d think once bitten twice shy, but politics is full of surprises. Are we going to be lifted above the pandemic by a hydrogen powered economy? Or is it just a lot of hot air? Max Tillman is joined by Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Program Director at the Australia Institute. And Dr. Paul Bro...
Sep 29, 2020•27 min•Season 2Ep. 29
How far would you be willing to get financial data on your super fund? A quick google search? Some clandestine cyber-sleuthing? Or, would you sign up to 20 odd super funds as a member, in the hopes of gaining access that way? Well, that’s exactly what today’s guest, Dr. Thulaisi Sivapalan, a recent PhD graduate from the UTS Business School, did for his thesis. And if you're wondering where the ‘fun’ in super fund went, or if it ever existed at all, today’s episode may have the answer.
Sep 15, 2020•25 min•Season 2Ep. 28
On July 31st, The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission introduced it's draft news media bargaining code. Under the code, Google and Facebook would be forced to pay for Australian news published on their sites to help fund public interest journalism. It’s being characterised as a Mexican stand-off between the giants of modern tech, and Australia’s consumer watchdog; but is that necessarily true? And, should Facebook and Google submit to the ACCC’s new guidelines; what effect could this ...
Sep 08, 2020•28 min•Season 2Ep. 27
In today’s episode, we’re tackling the wave of mass redundancies that have swept millions of Australians out of reliable work, and left many wondering what there chances are when the dust settles; and the job they once had is no longer required? Our guest today is Associate Professor Jonathan Tyler from the Accounting Discipline Group at the University of Technology Sydney’s Business School.
Sep 01, 2020•27 min•Season 2Ep. 26
We’re all anxiously awaiting news in 2020 about a successful vaccine for COVID19, with the Australian Government securing a ‘letter of intent’ with Oxford University and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. But, as we do at Think: Business Futures, it is important to take a closer look at the petri dish, and find out whether the vaccine could bust the virus, or break the bank? Joining us is Dr. Richard De Abreu Lourenco, Associate Professor at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation...
Aug 25, 2020•31 min•Season 2Ep. 25
