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  • Oct 2026
  • My latest podcast with Michael Yardney: “Why Australia’s Growth Engine is About to Stall” – the Politics of Productivity & Immigration
Australian economyPopulation, demographics, immigrationReal Estate and Property

My latest podcast with Michael Yardney: “Why Australia’s Growth Engine is About to Stall” – the Politics of Productivity & Immigration

29 Oct 2026

Yardney3-29oct2026.jpg

 

Greetings fellow investors!

Here’s my latest podcast interview with Michael Yardney’s Property Insights.

https://propertyupdate.com.au/podcast-property-investors-why-australias-growth-engine-is-about-to-stall/

Key points:

    • Australia’s economic growth rate has been DECLINING since WW2 – through ALL governments
    • As productivity stalled, growth via immigration became the lazy option for governments
    • Why cutting immigration will cripple economic growth, create labour shortages, raise prices
    • Why productivity-boosting reforms are urgently needed but have stalled and reversed
    • The politics of the 1980s/90s reforms versus today
    • Why I’m still bullish on property

 

Here are the main topics with time-stamps:

0:00 – Intro by Michael Yardney

2:00 – Why Australia and USA have different SOURCES of economic growth

6:45 – Australia’s heavy reliance on immigration for growth

8:40 – Australia’s economic growth rate has been DECLINING since WW2 – through ALL governments

11:20 – Productivity measures and problems

14:30 – Changing mix of Productivity -v- Population growth

17:00 – What motivated the Hawke/Keating/Kelty reforms of the 1980s-1990s

19:00 – Recent governments have REVERSED the reforms

21:00 - Australia has always relied on high immigration for growth

22:40 – Intergenerational Report predicting magical return to productivity growth

24:00 – Why cutting immigration will cripple economic growth, create labour shortages, raise prices

25:30 – Our boiling frog syndrome - why we need a crisis before governments get serious

27:30 – One no-brainer idea for real reform

30:00 – Why tax reform is essential but extremely difficult

32:00 – How Australia racked up $1 trillion in debt despite record mining revenues

33:30 – Why voters are turning to One Nation

34:30 – Why I’m still bullish on real estate

35:40 – Michael Yardney’s wrap-up on implications for property investors

 

The interview was based on my recent article –

·        Australia’s declining economic growth is mostly just POPULATION growth – the easy, lazy option instead of deep reforms to boost investment & PRODUCTIVITY (4-Sep-2026)

See also -

·        Inflation BIG Picture: Boomers got rich by lucky timing. Next Gen to get higher inflation & rates (25-May-2026)

·        Inflation Cycles & the Australian share market – the Big picture (10 Feb 2025)

·        Inflation Cycles & the US share market – same as Australia, with differences explained – (16 Feb 2025)

·      The Low Inflation era of great returns is over. Investing just got a whole lot harder! (16-Apr-2024)

 

For more of Michael Yardneys’ podcasts covering a wide range of topics for investors -

 https://propertyupdate.com.au/category/michael-yardney-podcast/

 

‘Till next time – happy investing and stay healthy!

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This is just my view of the facts as I see them. It is certainly NOT ‘advice’ or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any stock or security or fund. My aim is to provide dispassionate information, insights, and informed analysis for portfolio managers and advisers.

As always, investors should take your own time, do your own research, form your own views, and seek professional advice based on your own individual goals, needs and circumstances.

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Ashley Owen

 

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Director/Principal, Owen Analytics Pty Ltd (current)

Investment Markets Research & Analytics, Portfolio Construction & Management, Corporate Finance, Venture Capital, M&A, and IPOs. Investment Committee membership, consulting to advice firms and financial institutions.

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Co-founder of Australia's leading investment and superannuation newsletter and website for industry professionals and investors.

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Leading Australian equities fund-of-funds that donates all management fees to Australian charities. The fund has donated in excess of $21m to a range of Australian chartities since inception in 2008. 

Chief Investment Officer, Stanford Brown (past)

Responsible for managing over $2 billion AUM in multi-asset class portfolios and discretionary accounts at a privately-owned advice practice.

Director & Joint CEO at Philo Capital Advisers Pty Ltd (past)

Specialises in investment portfolio construction & management, multi-asset class asset allocation, and global macro strategies.

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The information contained in this document relates to historical, factual events and returns, and contains general commentary and observations about financial markets, asset classes, and asset allocation. This document, or any part thereof, does not, and is not intended to, constitute investment advice, or financial advice, or financial product advice, in any jurisdiction in which it is published, re-published or read. It does not recommend, encourage, or influence readers to buy, hold, sell, or deal in any financial product or security. Where securities of financial products are mentioned, it is purely for the purposes of illustration, context, and/or education, and not intended to influence anyone to buy, hold, sell, or deal in it. The information is current when written. All reasonable measures are taken to ensure its accuracy at the time of publication, but the author accepts no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions. This document is only provided to, and intended for, holders of Australian Financial Services Licences. It should not be used or relied upon by any person or entity other than a duly licenced AFSL holder, or authorised representative thereof. The author receives no benefit, financial or otherwise, from any product provider, or product issuer, or any other firm involved directly or indirectly in the provision or services in or to financial markets or industries, whether mentioned in the report or not. Any opinions expressed by the author are his alone, and are intended for the purposes of education.