Skip to content

Why does Australia have a productivity problem?

October 9, 2026 · 28 min

Show notes

Improving economic productivity is crucial for raising living standards, and Australia’s productivity growth has been sluggish for years. When the Reserve Bank hiked interest rates to a 15 year high last week, the governor, Michele Bullock, even described productivity as ‘doing nothing’. The chair of the Productivity Commission, Danielle Wood, speaks with political editor Tom McIlroy about the policy challenges of encouraging AI integration, improving housing affordability and managing the impacts of the climate crisis

All episodes of Australian Politics

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.