Thursday, September 6, 2018

Put family home in aged pension assets test: former commission of audit chief Tony Shepherd

Businessman Tony Shepherd says the family home should be included in the assets test to qualify for the aged pension. 

The former Business Council president chaired a national commission of audit for Tony Abbott's government back in 2013 and recommended dramatic belt-tightening - including a higher pension age of 70 by 2053. 

Mr Shepherd has supported Scott Morrison's backdown on the higher retirement age but still thinks still thinks the aged pension is unsustainable and a burden for future generations.

Tony Shepherd spoke with me this morning on AM

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Australia's recession free record hits 27 years

Australian economic growth has picked up pace, growing by 3.4 per cent in the year to the end of June. 

It's a step up from the 3.1 per cent year-on-year GDP growth in the March quarter and above the 3 per cent the Reserve Bank had forecast. 

ABC's Peter Ryan says the economy has notched up 27 years of unbroken growth.

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Blokes club still rules in corporate Australia but gender gap narrowing - Chief Executive Women president Kathryn Fagg

Women still lag men in top executive roles in corporate Australia despite an improved diversity snapshot released today.

The annual survey of Australia's top 200 companies by Chief Executive Women (CEW) shows the blokes club still rules with 93 percent of chief executive positions held by men.

While CEW has declared a "tipping point" towards gender balance, an audit of the ASX 200 shows just 14 female chief executives and 24 chief financial officers slightly up from 2017.

However, the number of companies with no women in their executive leadership teams decreased from 41 in 2017 to 23 in 2018.

CEW president Kathryn Fagg has declared important progress in the attitudes of male-dominated companies with women now comprising 23 percent of executive leadership teams.

Kathryn Fagg speaks with Peter Ryan on AM

Monday, September 3, 2018

Drought to bite into economic growth says Australian Industry Group boss Innes Willox

The impact of the drought is expected to take a bite out of economic growth. 

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox says Wednesday's quarterly GDP reading will be hurt by the drought. 

A report from Rabobank says rural confidence is at its lowest level in a decade.

Here's my report from The World Today

Cream buns, pineapple donuts - 1978 school tuckshop menu has nothing over 40 cents

Menu courtesy of Peter Ryan schoolmate Mick Hamilton

An old schoolmate has found this great tuck shop price list from 1978 at Marist Brothers Eastwood in Sydney. 

This went viral and ended up on the Jonesy & Amanda breakfast show at WS-FM


I suppose it would now be impossible to get a politically incorrect cream bun and pineapple donut.

Drought drives farmer confidence to decade low: Rabobank survey

The drought crippling Australia's eastern states has driven farmer confidence to the lowest level in more than a decade according to a report out this morning.

The latest rural confidence survey from Rabobank says sentiment has plumbed the depths of the millennium drought in 2006 - and more than half of those polled expect conditions to deteriorate over the coming twelve months.

But despite the grim outlook, the survey says many farmers are resilient and adapting to the worsening drought conditions.

I spoke with Rabobank's head of food and agriculture Tim Hunt.