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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’

Housing


Housing is one of the most important things in people’s lives, whether they own the dwelling in which they live, or rent it – and if they own other property as an investment. And as we saw in the lead-up to, and during, the global financial crisis, what happens in housing markets can be enormously important to the stability of the financial system, and to the health or otherwise of the economy.

Saul on Bloomberg’s Wall St Week about Australia’s Housing Crisis

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Economic Video, Housing, Recent Media Interview | 7th April 2026

Saul Eslake talks to Bloomberg TV’s Wall Street Week about Australia’s “housing crisis”, and why it is unlikely to be solved by any conscious government policies.


Federal Budget 2026: Capital Gain Tax Reform and Western Australia’s GST Share

Australian Federal Budget, Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Economic Video, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview, Taxation, The Australian Economy | 2nd April 2026

Saul Eslake talks to Sky’s Laura Jayes about the possibility that the upcoming Federal Budget may include changes to the capital gains tax regime – and why the Government should (but won’t) stop giving so much money to Western Australia.


Opening statement to the Senate Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, Taxation | 25th February 2026

Saul was asked to testify to the Senate Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount on 25th February 2026. Below is Saul’s ‘opening statement’ to the Committee.


The Australian Economy and Housing Markets in 2025-26: Presentation to a Mortgage Brokers conference

Housing, The Australian Economy | 16th October 2025

Saul Eslake: The Australian Economy and Housing Markets in 2025-26


Albanese Government’s extension of the 5% deposit scheme

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview | 8th October 2025

Saul talks to Solstice Media’s 7am podcast, hosted by Daniel James, about the Albanese Government’s extension of the 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers, and why governments of all political persuasions continue to implement policies which serve only to make housing more expensive, despite their professed concerns for the difficulties faced by aspiring first-home buyers.


The Albanese Government’s expanded home deposit guarantee scheme

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, Recent Media Interview | 25th August 2025

Saul talks to ABC News Channel’s Cath Robinson about the Government’s expanded deposit guarantee scheme which will allow more first home buyers to purchase homes with deposits of as little as 5% of the purchase price, without needing to take out lenders’ mortgage insurance.


An inter-generational perspective on wealth inequality in Australia

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Video, Housing, Taxation | 16th May 2025

In this presentation, to the Salvation Army’s annual Red Shield Appeal Business Breakfast in Hobart on 16th May 2025, Saul Eslake puts an inter-generational lens on the issue of inequality in the distribution of wealth in Australia.


Australia’s Federal Election 2025 Key Issues

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, Productivity, Recent Media Interview, Taxation, The Australian Economy | 27th April 2025

In this InEconomics podcast series Saul Eslake dives into an in-depth analysis of cost-of-living and housing issues, shedding light on untargeted policies and the broader economic implications.


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


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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

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LINKS

Useful Links


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

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