Shane Wright
The Sydney Morning Herald
Canberra, ACT, Australia
Contact Shane
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Shane:
Prices change our diets – one banana at a time
Prices send clear signals to consumers. During COVID, that signal was to buy more chocolate-covered muffins. → Read More
Treasury boss among handful on shortlist as next RBA governor
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has confirmed he would decide on the RBA governor’s position in July, as he races to put in place major changes to the bank recommended by the recent review. → Read More
Nation adds 1361 people a day as migrants swell population
Australia has recorded its largest one-year increase in population as migrants return to Australia, but deaths connected to COVID-19 also surged. → Read More
The ‘father of capitalism’ would be worried about how business is done in Australia
Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, would be 300 this week. But if he held a birthday party, he’d have questions about the dominance of big business. → Read More
Lowe interest rate recipe leaving bitter taste in Australians’ mouths
The Reserve Bank is walking a fine line between reducing inflation and bringing the economy to a halt. It’s confusing many, including one MasterChef. → Read More
Coalition seats rake in budget welfare, but PM’s electorate misses out
Of the top 10 communities to receive assistance, seven are in federal electorates held by either the LNP, the Nationals or the Liberal Party. → Read More
A tax surge has helped Chalmers join this exclusive club
Not since Paul Keating and Peter Costello has a treasurer delivered a budget surplus. → Read More
The budget battle begins as Chalmers faces two darkening towers
Two key pressures face Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher in the budget - fighting inflation and delivering cost of living relief. → Read More
RBA lifts rates by 0.25 percentage points in surprise move
Financial markets had said there was a 100 per cent chance of the RBA holding the cash rate steady, and most economists also believed the bank would pause. → Read More
A tale of two party reviews: only Labor took insights to heart
Reviews of the 2019 and 2022 elections by the Labor and Liberal parties reveal very different lessons have been learnt, that could affect the result of the next poll. → Read More
Every second counts: Australia will vote to ditch the ‘leap second’ from world’s clocks
Scientists are meeting in Versailles this week to make a decision that could change the very nature of time. And Australia’s vote counts. → Read More
Reserve Bank lifts interest rates to nine-year high of 2.85 per cent
RBA governor Philip Lowe acknowledged that rates had risen “materially” since May but said the board expected to increase them further over the period ahead. → Read More
Inflation hits highest rate since 1990
There’s more pressure on the RBA to continue lifting interest rates after the consumer price index lifted another 1.8 per cent in the September quarter. → Read More
New coins next year, but you’ll have to wait longer for a King Charles $5 note
Queen Elizabeth II is the only monarch to have appeared on Australia’s decimal coins, but that will change with new ones featuring the King. → Read More
Bob Hope, Danny Kaye and the Harlem Globetrotters: all under the RBA’s watchful eye
Well before you could convert foreign currency with the touch of a smartphone, there were heavy restrictions on the movement of currency out of Australia. → Read More
Real wages slump, unemployment to rise as inflation’s headwinds buffet economy
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will reveal that the battle to control inflation will take a substantial economic toll over the next two years. → Read More
Petrol, construction costs push inflation up to a ‘confronting’ 6.1 per cent
The result was slightly below market and economists’ expectations but means inflation still remains at its highest level in 20 years. → Read More
Foreign investors slugged in first step towards Labor budget repair
Fees paid by foreign investors to buy property, farms and businesses will double as part of the federal government’s budget repair plan. → Read More
The ‘motherhood penalty’: Women’s wages drop for up to a decade after birth
A Treasury analysis shows Australian mothers earn less than half of their pre-birth wage in the five years after childbirth. That’s worse than for women in the US, UK, Denmark and Sweden. → Read More
Interest rates pushed up as Reserve Bank targets high inflation
The Reserve Bank has lifted interest rates amid more signs of the inflationary pressures hitting parts of the economy. → Read More