Less friction with trade partners will help Australia's recovery
Like many other governments, Australia's response to the coronavirus pandemic was a mixture of tough social measures and generous economic handouts to keep the economy from collapse.
Medically, it was a success: The number of infections was kept to below 7,500, with 102 people dead. But the impact on the economy was devastating: thousands have been left jobless, and the unemployment figure is expected to hit 8 per cent.
At the same time, the coalition government under Prime Minister Scott Morrison is deeply committed ideologically to principles of small government and balanced budgets. That it was prepared to incur debt that, by its own admission, would take a generation to pay off, speaks well of its pragmatism. But now, facing the prospect of a prolonged recession, there are signs that Mr Morrison would prefer social welfare cuts to reduce the budget deficit. There are proposals to end childcare subsidie…
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Columns
An overstimulated US economy is asking for trouble
Too many property agents? Cap commissions on home sales
Time to study broadening of private market access
China’s better economic growth hides reasons to worry
In AI-copyright battle, an existential crisis emerges
Europe shows diversifying from China’s economy is hard to do