Protecting jobs by killing growth
Australia won't build the next OpenAI, but could be its most sophisticated adopter... unless Labor ties the sector in regulatory knots first.
8 July 2026
Welcome to Detrended
This is the personal blog of Dr Justin Pyvis. I'm an economist living in Western Australia. I'm currently working on [project tk], [description tk].
Before that, I was the Principal Policy Analyst for the Economic Modelling and Policy team at the Western Australian Treasury, where I worked for half a dozen years. I've also worked for the infrastructure consultancy AECOM in Perth, and provided investment analysis for Aletheia Capital in Hong Kong.
If you'd like to get in touch, please send me an email or a DM on Twitter X.
Vibes vs. data at the World Cup
The most successful South American team actually plays a highly optimised, European style of football.
6 July 2026
Cold comfort
The wrong kind of housing cooling, the ACCC loses its way, and OpenAI proposes the friendliest shakedown in tech.
3 July 2026
A new direction
Why proprietary AI is losing its edge, local policy has hit a wall, and where this newsletter is heading next.
29 June 2026
The next reform victim
The Albanese government has found its next target, don't bank on a rate cut in 2026, and no matter how bad it gets there's always the UK.
26 June 2026
Labor's poison pill
The Greens got their concessions, Labor got its tax hike, and the rest of Australia got a revenue grab dressed as neutral reform.
24 June 2026
Caveat emptor
Pauline's big day, Hormuz is open (or is it?), and the biggest meme stock of all-time.
18 June 2026
A nation divided
The rise of One Nation, Oil and the Strait of Hormuz, and the SpaceX IPO.
12 June 2026
Treasury's imaginary gift
Indexing for inflation isn't a concession, and deferring tax until you sell isn't a loan.
10 June 2026
Is Australia a high-taxing nation?
No, but tax-to-GDP is a highly misleading measure of the true tax burden.
8 June 2026