The Economy, Stupid

Meet an award winning, Aboriginal-owned construction and maintenance services business that’s part of the booming $4.8 billion Indigenous business sector. Plus, Newcastle City Council’s program to attract talented, community-minded workers. And the tough cost of Victoria’s latest lockdown.Guests: Gerard Matera, Director, building services company MarawarProfessor Michelle Evans, University of Melbourne Indigenous Business Research Group Felicia Mariani, CEO, Victoria Tourism Industry CouncilMajed Traboulsi, New Move applicantBuzzy Gray, New Move applicantDeclan Clausen, Deputy Lord Mayor, City of Newcastle

A stake in the famed New Zealand All Blacks is to be sold to a US private equity firm - with Rugby Australia in a dire financial situation, will private equity also offer the Wallabies a lifeline? Plus, as the International Energy Agency calls time on fossil fuel exploration and investment, and sets out the roadmap for a global energy transition, Australia fires-up plans for a gas led economic recovery.Guests:Hamish McLennan, Chair, Rugby AustraliaJohn Stensholt, business reporter, The AustralianSimon Chadwick, Professor of Eurasian Sport, Emlyon Business School, FranceNicki Hutley, economist, The Climate CouncilSamantha Hepburn, Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin University

How low will unemployment have to go before Australians get a wage rise? Analysis of Federal Budget housing measures for single parents, first home buyers and older people thinking of selling the family home. Plus, beer, Superbowl tickets and a million-dollar lottery - can incentives boost rates of vaccination in the United States?Guests:Sarah Hunter, Chief Economist, BIS Oxford EconomicsProfessor Rachel Ong ViforJ, Curtin UniversityLloyd Edge, buyer’s agent, Director of Aus Property Professionals

The economic implications of India's second COVID wave. Plus, revenue is up at Netflix Australia after we binged on shows during pandemic lockdowns. Despite the boost in revenue, the streaming giant paid only $553,705 in local income tax. It’s legal but there may be tax changes on the way. And the power of quotas and why Australia needs them.Guests:Gabriela D’Souza, Senior Economist, Committee for Economic Development of AustraliaRodney Brown, UNSW Business SchoolProfessor Alison Pullen, Macquarie Business School

Most Australians use a tax agent or accountant to manage their returns and sort out complex deductions – it’s a deductable cost. What if everyone was entitled to a $3000 annual standard tax deduction? Plus, an unlikely coalition of parenting, union and business groups call on the Federal Government to prioritise economic security for women in next month's budget. And the value of trust in digital retail.Guests:Michelle O’Neil, President, Australian Council of Trade UnionsSteven Hamilton, Chief Economist, Blueprint Institute Emma Beal, Researcher, Blueprint InstituteProfessor Michael Rosemann, Director, QUT Centre for Future Enterprise

The island nation of Nauru has been readmitted to the World Bank’s high-income club. The turnaround in Nauru’s economic woes is partly due to increased income from fishing licences - but it is revenue from Australia’s Regional Processing Centre that's transformed the tiny economy. Plus, back in the penalty box – trade sanctions are expected as the Commonwealth cancels Victorian agreements with China’s Belt and Road project. And Menulog trials employing food delivery riders.Guests:Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow, Lowy InstituteProfessor Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre, Professor of Economics at the Crawford School, ANUTom Barratt, Lecturer, Centre for Work and Wellbeing, Edith Cowan UniversityMichael Kaine, National Secretary, Transport Workers Union

A big jump in consumer confidence to levels not seen since the resources boom have been described this week as “an extraordinary result.“ Westpac Chief Economist Bill Evans explains the latest data. Farmers also have a spring in their step as they go shopping in record numbers for tractors, helicopters and …coffee machines. Plus, the most unpopular tax, that we don’t have, might be a really good idea.Guests: Bill Evans, Chief Economist, WestpacJulie Rynski, NAB Executive, Regional and AgribusinessSaul Eslake, Independent economistIan Raspin, Managing Director, BNR PartnersDanielle Wood, Chief Executive, Grattan Institute

The Australian government has made it clear that after unprecedented spending last year, it's time to slow things down. In America, however, Joe Biden is going the other way, with a jobs and infrastructure package worth two trillion dollars. Also, how young people economically survived the pandemic, and what the price of your coffee can tell you.

As Brisbane emerges from another costly lockdown, there's pressure on the Federal Government to speed-up the vaccine roll-out. Plus, natural disasters are costing us more, so how about a new way to pay? And single parents, especially women, were far more likely than others to lose work at the height of the pandemic and are far more likely to still be out of work now.Guests:Professor Richard Holden, UNSW Business SchoolKate Griffiths, Policy Analyst, The Grattan InstituteMark Ogge, Principal Adviser, The Australia Institute

A container ship wedged in the Suez Canal adds to global supply chain disruptions. As the JobKeeper wage subsidy comes to an end, The Money revisits some of the tourism and hospitality business we heard from last winter. Plus, new measures to cool New Zealand's housing market and build more homes.