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.

“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 […]


Federal Budget 2022-2023 Preview with ABC PM’s David Lipson

Australian Federal Budget, Australian Society and Politics, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 28th March 2022

Saul previews Tuesday evening’s 2022-23 Federal budget with David Lipson of the ABC’s flagship evening radio current affairs program ‘PM’ 


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

VIDEO

Most Recent Multimedia


TESTIMONIALS

What Others Say


Australian Minister for Housing, the Hon. Clare O'Neill MP on ABC Q&A, September 2024

“We are lucky as a State to have an economist of your calibre willing to readily make yourself available to give us a clea r perception of where we are at and the direction we need to go for a better future”
Diplomatic Representative, August 2024

“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

Read more


WHAT'S NEW

Most Recent Articles, Talks and Presentations


Opening Statement to Senate Select Committee on the Tasmanian Freight Equalization Scheme
Economic Policies, Tasmania
13th November 2024


“Hiding in Plain Sight” – $180 billion of spending over four years.
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, The Australian Economy, Topics
11th November 2024


‘Tasmanian Money Matters’ – Tasmania’s Economy and Public Finances
Economic Policies, Tasmania
3rd October 2024


Challenges and Opportunities for Australian Agriculture
Commodities, The Australian Economy
1st October 2024


Negative Gearing
Economic Policies, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview, Taxation
26th September 2024


Will Anthony Albanese succeed where Bill Shorten failed in making changes to the taxation treatment of property investment?
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, Taxation
26th September 2024


‘Super for housing’ is a souped-up first home owners grants scheme – and it won’t help any more than first home owners grants have
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing
24th September 2024


‘Super for Housing’ – a Thoroughly Bad Idea
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, The Australian Economy, Topics
19th September 2024


A ‘path back to surplus’ for the Tasmanian Budget? Not really
Tasmania
17th September 2024


What’s happening in the economy – nationally and in Tasmania
Economic Policies, Tasmania, The Australian Economy
13th September 2024


Tasmania’s State Budget 2024 – 2025 with Leon Compton
News, Recent Media Interview, Tasmania
13th September 2024


Tasmania’s 2024-25 State Budget – an Assessment
Economic Policies, Tasmania
12th September 2024


Solutions to Australia’s Housing Crisis
Australian Society and Politics, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview
11th September 2024


LINKS

Useful Links


Below is a list of links I’ve found useful under the following broad topics

Read more