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If it feels like the price of almost everything has been rising too fast for your wages to keep up – you’re not wrong. Unfortunately, that’s not about to change.
Yesterday, the Fair Work Commission decided almost 2.8 million of Australia’s lowest-paid workers will get a 4.75% pay rise from July 1. The very lowest-paid workers – about 100,000 Australians – will get a bigger 6% bump, as rising costs of living have left some unable to pay their bills.
Those pay rises may sound like a lot. But as wages policy expert John Buchanan writes, a closer look at the data shows even after those increases, those on the lowest wages will still have less buying power at the shops than they did five years ago.
Buchanan explains why wages are struggling to keep up with costs, what it means for interest rates – and who else can expect a pay rise in coming years.
P.S. We’re halfway to our donations campaign goal. If you can help us, donate here.
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Liz Minchin
Executive Editor + Business Editor
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John Buchanan, University of Sydney
Even after the new rises, Australia’s lowest-paid employees will still have less buying power when they go to the shops than they did five years ago.
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Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, UNSW Sydney; Holly Seale, UNSW Sydney; Md Saiful Islam, UNSW Sydney
Three experts explain how the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola may have crossed continents.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The controversial AUKUS pact continues to cause headaches for the government – even within its own ranks.
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Albert Palazzo, UNSW Sydney
The change in the submarine delivery plan should come as no surprise – this deal has been unequal from the start.
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Alexandra Andhov, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The case is one of the most significant actions brought against an artificial intelligence company to date.
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Daniel Angus, Queensland University of Technology; Lauren Hayden, The University of Queensland; Nicholas Carah, The University of Queensland
Increasingly, digital advertising is designed to dissolve into the flow of the content you consume online.
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Bruce Wolpe, University of Sydney
The Democrats have a good chance at winning both houses of Congress, but the Republicans still have some advantages.
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Paul Joyce, Adelaide University
Ozempic-style drugs have been flagged as possible treatments for cancer, dementia, endometriosis, addiction and more. An expert explains what the evidence really says.
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Emily Foley, Flinders University; University of Canberra; Jordan McSwiney, University of Canberra; Kurt Sengul, Macquarie University
One Nation wants to differentiate itself from the Liberals on energy at a time when the parties increasingly overlap on social issues.
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Elizabeth Westrupp, Deakin University; Christiane Kehoe, The University of Melbourne; Rebecca Knapp, Deakin University
If your child has ever dug their heels in on the morning of school athletics day or refused to speak in front of the class, you’re not alone.
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Politics + Society
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Antje Deckert, Auckland University of Technology
Budget 2026 spends $503 million on expanding prisons. But 41% of the prison population is people on remand; more than half are released once their case is heard.
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Heidi Norman, UNSW Sydney; Nicholas Pitt, UNSW Sydney
A smallpox epidemic in the 1830s brought a new and deadly disease to the southeastern frontier. Aboriginal people responded with three distinct techniques.
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Health + Medicine
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Adrian Esterman, Adelaide University
In the second half of last year, influenza killed more Australians a month than COVID. Here’s how it happened.
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Business + Economy
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Rod McNaughton, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Budget 2026 offered useful support for small firms. But building blocks are not the same as a productivity blueprint.
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Environment + Energy
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Perry G. Beasley-Hall, Adelaide University ; Brock A. Hedges, Adelaide University
Caves have long been a refuge. But climate change could pose an existential threat to cave crickets and other cave dwellers.
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Arts + Culture
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Louise D'Arcens, Macquarie University
This mysterious Viking-age hoard lay buried for more than a millenium. Unearthed by an amateur metal detectorist, it is now on show in Sydney.
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Books + Ideas
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Millicent Weber, Australian National University
Pirate versions of bestselling books are swamping YouTube. Barbara Cartland’s voice will be cloned for her audiobooks. And audiobook giants are embracing AI voices.
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Katie Pickles, University of Canterbury
In this adaptation of her bestselling memoir, Jacinda Ardern turns inward to the psychological terrain of her own self-doubt – and how to overcome it.
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Falling asleep at the wheel
“I'm wondering if drivers have a problem because automation has taken the effort away from driving. With auto transmissions first, then cruise control, now lane keeping and other 'aids', the only thing left for the driver is monitoring where the car is going. Not enough brain activity is left for the inherently dangerous activity of driving. I drive a 31-year-old manual with no aids. I have installed additional sensors to provide important information but I have to monitor it. Therefore I have enough brain cells in use to prevent drowsiness – even crossing the Nullabor or Hay Plain.”
Leigh Bunting, Adelaide SA 
Do we really need more people?
“Do declining birth rates really matter? A question rarely asked is whether the current world population, on average, is higher or lower than the planet's carrying capacity. Carrying capacity broadly represents the population size that allows humanity to exist in a sustainable balance with the environment. On this basis, the current world population may well exceed this limit. Therefore, simply replacing the current population level may not be the answer. Instead, advancements in AI, robotics, and humanoid robots could fill the void left by a decreasing population. The solution, perhaps, is not more babies, but technology.”
Ranjan Yagoda
Free power scheme
“We have to consider who some of the beneficiaries of free power are in the middle of a working weekday. Pensioners, people staying home minding children, unemployed or underemployed etc. As a pensioner I have had two lots of free power. It takes planning and hard work to use it well. Clothes washing, baking, vacuuming, sewing, washing carpets, even washing the dog. I am completely exhausted after my 3 hours of free power!”
Carolyn Bussey
We'd love to hear from you. You can email us with your thoughts on our stories and each day we'll publish an edited selection.
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