Economic Perspective 19 December 2025

The Latest Trending Economic News Curated for You by Balmoral Group Australia

Good morning dear readers,

As we close out the year, we would like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the many collaborators who have worked with us across our projects throughout the year. From partners in the agricultural sector and regional councils to resilience-focused organisations and community stakeholders, your insights, trust, and collaboration have been central to the outcomes we have achieved together. These partnerships continue to strengthen the quality, relevance, and impact of our economic advice.

Looking ahead, we remain committed to supporting our current clients while also expanding our network to assist a broader range of sectors through practical, evidence-based economic consultancy. We wish all our Economic Perspective readers a safe, happy, and successful year ahead, and we look forward to continuing our shared work in shaping resilient, sustainable, and prosperous communities.

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Hope you enjoy the articles and wish you a wonderful holiday season! We’ll be back on 9 January 2026 with new ideas and insights.

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Solar, onshore wind and gas backup is (still) the cheapest way to power Australia: new report 

CSIRO has released their most recent GenCost report draft, an annual report estimating cost for electricity generation, storage, and hydrogen production. The report modelled energy capital costs and price trends into the future, finding solar and wind are the cheapest generation options, supported by the 20% drop in battery prices. The report also rules out offshore wind due to political issues, carbon capture and storage, and nuclear due to capital costs. Read more here.

Quarterly productivity bulletin - December 2025 

The recent quarterly release from the Productivity Commission gives insights into Australia’s economic condition. Despite some areas of improvement, productivity is still much lower than desirable, increasing by only 0.2% in this recent September quarter, down from 0.8% across the year – less than half of the long-term average. The publication also highlights challenges in measuring productivity in the public sector, and reiterates previous recommendations for the care economy such as reforming quality and safety regulations, improving commissioning systems, and boosting national investment in disease prevention. Read more here.

Could gentle density fix the housing crisis? 

A new report from the Committee for Economic Development of Australia tackles government policy for increasing housing supply and affordability. The report makes several key recommendations. Firstly, rather than relying solely on low-density developments on the city fringes and high-rise developments in the centres, policy should encourage middle ground “gentle density” construction, such as terraces, townhouses, low-rise apartments and dual occupancies. The report also suggests using cash incentives for local governments. Read more here.

New gene technologies future-proofing grain production 

The fungal disease “wheat stripe rust” is responsible for an estimated 10% of wheat yield loss annually. To help plant breeders develop new disease-resistant varieties of wheat, researchers isolated and cloned 3 novel resistance genes after taking genetic samples from across the globe. The new genes could retain efficacy over a decade, longer than current varieties which lose resistance within 3 to 5 years due to the ever-changing fungal mutations. Read more here.

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Merry Christmas from Balmoral Group Australia!

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