SAUL ESLAKE

Economist

SAUL ESLAKE

‘Welcome to my website …
I’m an independent economist, consultant, speaker,
and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Tasmania’

Australian Society and Politics


You can’t think (or write, or speak) about an economy without also having a sense of the broader social and economic framework in which it operates. I try very hard to avoid partisan political commentary, but I do sometimes feel moved to write or talk about social or political developments.

60 years of housing policy failure

Australian Society and Politics, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview | 18th April 2022

Saul talks to ABC News 24’s Joe O’Brien about the long term failure of the housing policies of successive Australian governments of both major political persuasion.


“Better economic managers”: a factcheck with Saul Eslake

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 13th April 2022

Saul talks to Linda Mottram, of ABC Radio’s flagship program “PM” about the accuracy of political parties’ claims, during election campaigns like the current one, to be “better economic managers” than their opponents


How greed and politics threaten Tasmanian living standards

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, Tasmania | 12th April 2022

Article published by the Tasmanian magazine Forty South about the corruption of the long-standing principles under which revenues from the GST (and before the introduction of the GST in 2000, ‘general purpose grants’ from the Federal Government) are shared among Australia’s states and territories How greed and politics threaten Tasmanian living standards


Scott Morrison spruiks Australia’s post-Covid jobs recovery. We factcheck him

Australian Society and Politics, News, The Australian Economy | 8th April 2022

Guardian Australia’s Paul Karp filed this story based on an interview with Saul, ‘fact checking’ the PM’s claim that the Covid-19 recession was “30 times worse” than the GFC. Scott Morrison spruiks Australia’s post-Covid jobs recovery. We factcheck him | Australian politics | The Guardian      


GST carve up “one of the worst policy decisions” of the past 20 years.

Australian Society and Politics, News | 8th April 2022

Yanchep News Online, which serves Yanchep, Gingin and surrounding areas on the northern outskirts of Perth, has very generously (and bravely, some might say), published this article from YT on the GST revenue-sharing ‘dirty deal’ imposed by the Morrison Government three years ago, and which is being ‘phased in’ over five years starting in the […]


Morrison’s special GST deal with WA – Monday Finance with Elysse Morgan

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, The Australian Economy | 4th April 2022

Saul talks to the ABC’s Elysse Morgan about the ‘dirty deal’ which adds almost $20bn to federal deficits in order to boost WA’s surpluses by the same amount, on ABC Radio National Breakfast


The 2022-2023 Federal Budget with Tasmania Talks’ Mike O’Loughlin

Australian Federal Budget, Australian Society and Politics, News, Recent Media Interview, Tasmania, The Australian Economy | 30th March 2022

Saul talks to Tasmania Talks’ Mike O’Loughlin about the 2022-23 Federal Budget, and its likely impact on Tasmania, wages, and housing affordability


The 2022-2023 Australian Federal Budget

Australian Society and Politics, The Australian Economy | 30th March 2022

This year’s Federal Budget is, inevitably, a pre-election affair – given that an election has to be called no later than 18th April and held no later than 21st May. But, despite being blessed by substantial windfall revenue gains, this Budget isn’t as much of a ‘spendathon’ as some previous pre-election budgets have been. Some […]


SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT

Speaking Engagement | Boardroom Advisory | Commissioned Report | Expert Witness



Saul Eslake spoke to Zurich Australia executives and staff at their ‘Accelerate’ conference in Sydney on 9th May 2024, covering short- and longer-term trends in major ‘advanced’ economies, China, India and Australia, with a bit of geo-politics thrown in.



“You are the best economic thinker in the country hands down”

Sheryle Bagwell, recently retired Senior Business Correspondent (and sometime Executive Producer),
ABC Radio National Breakfast


“Just want to congratulate you Saul on the unbelievably good set of slides you just presented, possibly the best I have ever seen. You have set the bar very high.”

Dr Joe Flood, Adjunct Fellow, RMIT University, Pandemicia


“Thank you very much for your excellent presentation for the Economic Society today. It is always a great pleasure to hear your eloquent, up-to-date and comprehensive talks.”

Andrew Trembath, economist, Victorian and Australian Government agencies


Request Speaking Engagement

WHAT'S NEW

Most Recent Articles, Talks and Presentations


Australian Financial Review magazine feature on ‘The Worst (Australian) Public Policy Decision of the 21st Century Thus Far’
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy, Topics
24th July 2024


Have we passed ‘peak China’? (and might a big fall in the RMB be on the horizon?)
Asian Economies, The Global Economy
11th July 2024


‘The Big Picture’
Asian Economies, Economic Policies, Economic Video, The Australian Economy, The Global Economy
22nd June 2024


ATO’s Latest Taxation Statistics – June 2024
News, Recent Media Interview, Taxation
20th June 2024


Other central banks are cutting rates, why isnt the RBA?
Economic Policies, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy
13th June 2024


Interest Rate and Inflation – Where to now?
Economic Policies, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy
8th June 2024


The pros and cons of cutting immigration
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy
7th June 2024


A post-Budget conversation
Economic Policies, The Australian Economy
16th May 2024


The 2024-25 Australian Government Budget – An Assessment
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, The Australian Economy
15th May 2024


Upcoming Federal Budget with Laura Jayes
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, The Australian Economy
13th May 2024


Preview of the 2024-25 Federal Budget
Economic Policies, News, The Australian Economy
11th May 2024


The WA GST deal – the worst public policy decision of the 21st century thus far – Address to the National Press Club
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies
8th May 2024


The implications of Australia’s higher-than-expected March quarter inflation numbers
News, The Australian Economy
25th April 2024


‘A distinctive part of life in Australia’ The Declining Dream of Homeownership
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing
17th April 2024


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TESTIMONIALS

What Others Say


“You are one of the best at what you do in the world”
Gail Fosler, Chief Economist, The Conference Board, New York, December 2002

“I have never known an economist to have such a knowledge of world economic facts and to be able to bring to bear so much information in answering a question without notice”
Charles Goode, Chairman, ANZ Bank, July 2009

“Saul Eslake is … a highly regarded independent economist with the highest degree of integrity"
John Durie, Columnist, The Australian, July 2009

“… one of the few people in this world who can have so many oranges up in the air at the same time but still manage to catch them"
Andrew Clark, journalist, Australian Financial Review, November 2008

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