Conrad Natoli

Productivity isn’t an abstract Treasury metric. It’s the engine that ultimately funds living standards, wages, services and opportunity. Without it, less new wealth is created. That’s part of the argument I explored in my recent piece for @SpectatorOz: bit.ly/42LqHyg

Australia’s economic debate increasingly feels trapped at the surface level. But beneath it sits a deeper question: Why has productivity growth stalled - and what does that mean for Australia’s long-term prosperity? My latest for @SpectatorOz : spectator.com.au/2026/05/austra…

Buried in the budget papers is one of the most important economic admissions in years. Treasury has lowered Australia’s long-term productivity assumption from 1.5% to 1.2%. Sounds small? It isn’t. Productivity growth is how living standards rise without simply taxing more.

Australians are right to question whether we’re getting a fair return on our gas wealth. But the current debate risks collapsing a complex structural problem into a slogan. My latest for the @SpectatorOz: spectator.com.au/2026/05/what-d…

It’s an argument for remembering that there are some things governments cannot provide: Purpose. Belonging. Responsibility. The dignity of building something for yourself. I explore the idea more fully here: conradnatoli.substack.com/p/the-rise-of-…

And over time, something cultural changes too. Risk appetite declines. Initiative softens. Dependence starts to feel normal. This isn’t an argument against government.

The biggest shift in modern politics isn’t wealth trickling down. It’s reassurance trickling down. Not money, but mood. Not opportunity, but sedation. 🧵

I just wrote my first note on Substack substack.com/profile/407330…

New article in @SpectatorOz exploring the idea of trickle-down government: how modern states increasingly regulate mood, not opportunity, and why that matters for aspiration, agency and civic culture. spectator.com.au/2025/12/the-mi…

@CarltonFC Deserves to be All Australian this year.

Sure, we may have combined for 21 goals, and yes, our mids had very good days. But we are committed to giving just as much as love to the defenders. In another consistent season, Newy deserves every bit of the acclaim. Nic Newman, our Round 16 player of the match! 🍜

@UptheBaggers If there was a forced change I feel this might be a good one. Need more run instead of carrying the two ruckmen.

The “everything sucks” doomerism of the far left and right is wrong. Worse, it needlessly radicalizes people. Today is better than yesterday and tomorrow is going to be even better. So here’s a list of 50 areas where we're seeing progress. 1/

@kirovkate It's maybe a response to fourth-wave feminism, but very much a response to wokeism and most likely academic feminism. The focus on individual empowerment and personal identity is inherently feminist, but - like the trad-wife movement - quite reductive. No space for nuance.

Until recently, I thought no word had been so woefully abused into meaninglessness as “woke”. Then I watched these videos. thewest.com.au/opinion/kate-e…

@dieworkwear I think in the late 80s Britain actually had some great fashion.

London street style, 1989

@1116sen @WhateleySEN And for that matter, Steve Waugh after 20 tests averaged 26.25

@1116sen @WhateleySEN Matthew Hayden after 10 Tests: 25.81

"He's played 10 tests and averaged 26..." Robert Craddock doesn't believe Cam Bancroft should be at the top of the list to replace David Warner. @WhateleySEN | #AUSvPAK

@DanKilgrave2 Phenomenal talent