Skip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footerHelp using this website - Accessibility statement
  • Advertisement

    Jennifer Hewett

    Columnist

    Jennifer Hewett is the National Affairs columnist. She writes a daily column on politics, business and the economy. Connect with Jennifer on Twitter. Email Jennifer at jennifer.hewett@afr.com

    Jennifer Hewett

    Today

    Origin owns Eraring power station.

    Why NSW still needs coal-fired power

    The total disarray of energy transition plans is compounded by the failure of NSW and Victoria to allow any further development of gas fields.

    • 34 mins ago

    Yesterday

    Critical mineral miners chase China’s tail

    The sector has welcomed the 10 per cent production tax credits but the big question is where the additional investment to fund growth will come from.

    This Month

    Chevron’s Gorgon liquefied natural gas plant on Barrow Island

    Gas industry hawks its carbon credentials

    Barrow Island and its inhabitants of kangaroos, perentie lizards and rare native fauna is also home to the world’s largest dedicated carbon capture and storage project.

    The Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery in Western Australia.

    Why WA loves the critical minerals budget boost

    Peter Dutton’s refusal to endorse Labor’s plan for production tax credits for critical minerals processing and green hydrogen won’t make him popular in must-win seats in Western Australia.

    Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, who chairs  the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, says things will get worse before they get better.

    The big fail in Australia’s housing

    The Albanese government’s promises of 1.2 million homes over five years are now in the realm of political fantasy, despite the billions of dollars it has pledged for housing.

    Advertisement
    Treasurer Jim Chalmers at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

    Chalmers confronts his economic critics

    The treasurer insists his budget gets the balance right, even if the economists don’t agree. What will the Reserve Bank and the voters think?

    • Updated
    Jim Chalmers’ third budget confirms the government’s willingness to spend up big even while proclaiming its fiscal rectitude.

    The costs of the future still start adding up today

    Jim Chalmers is betting he can get the balance right between curbing inflation in the short term while promoting growth in the longer term.

    Melbourne Law School

    Calling time on international student numbers

    Australia’s universities and colleges are fighting plans to reduce international student numbers. Spurred by the housing crisis, the government thinks it has no choice.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

    Why Albanese is going all in on gas

    The Labor government has infuriated climate activists by insisting that gas will play a crucial role in the energy transition for many decades to come. Big producers like Woodside will wait to see what that means.

    The sun sets on hopes for BHP’s Nickel West Kalgoorlie smelter.

    Albanese’s troubled critical minerals dream

    The Albanese government has high hopes for much more downstream processing of critical minerals. But the numbers aren’t adding up. What can change that?

    RBA governor Michele Bullock.

    Why data-driven Bullock has her eye on the budget

    RBA governor Michele Bullock says it’s too early to declare victory over inflation as she avoids the markets’ frenzied guessing game on interest rates.

    Gina Cass-Gottlieb and Vanessa Hudson.

    Qantas’ Hudson takes the chance to shed some Joyce baggage

    Vanessa Hudson has finally accepted reality by making a deal with the competition watchdog over ghost flights.

    Mike Henry is set to embark on a complex deal to by Anglo American.

    BHP is betting self-interest trumps politics on Anglo American

    Convincing South Africa’s government its $60 billion takeover bid for the mining multinational is politically palatable is part of BHP’s challenge in a particularly complex deal.

    Jim Chalmers at the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Wednesday.

    Chalmers’ recipe for friendly foreign investment ignores the basics

    The treasurer has a grand new take on industrial policy, but there’s little evidence of the reforms that international investors seek.

    April

    More apartments are urgently needed, but supply isn’t keeping up with demand.

    Why Australia can’t build enough new homes

    The nation’s housing ambitions are way off target. That means the price of new homes and rentals will continue to climb, compounded by still high immigration numbers.

    Advertisement
    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the rally in Canberra on Sunday to call for action to end violence against women.

    Albanese confronts domestic violence crisis

    Women are angry, and the prime minister is dodging criticism even as he calls an emergency meeting of national cabinet on domestic violence.

    • Updated
    Chinese electric cars like those made by BYD are gaining market share in Europe.

    How China plans to win the global EV war

    The US and European governments are increasingly alarmed at the potential for China’s EV ambitions to put their own car manufacturers at risk.

    • Updated
    Woodside will hold its annual general meeting on Wednesday.

    Goyder will face the music at Woodside AGM

    Even if the chairman now looks certain to survive a substantial protest vote and be re-elected, it all adds up to a firm rebuff of the company’s decarbonisation plan.

    Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers.

    Chalmers confronts Australia’s budget dilemma

    Despite the global tensions and the national gamble on the “Future Made in Australia”, the treasurer is about to hand down another surplus next month.

    Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock’s mantra is that the path of interest rates will depend on the data.

    Jobs numbers pose a sticky conundrum

    The Albanese government can only publicly welcome the strength of the jobs market, but a receding horizon for rate cuts is always difficult for political leaders eyeing their election prospects.