Tom Crowley
Tom Crowley reports for ABC News on the intersection of federal politics and economic policy, using an economics background to explain how government decisions shape the economy and everyday life. He works from the ABC’s Parliament House bureau as a federal political reporter, covering budgets, tax changes, housing, migration and interest rates with a consistent focus on the political stakes around economic reform. In recent coverage of capital gains tax carve-outs following budget backlash, he treats technical tax changes as part of a broader argument about the treasurer’s fiscal strategy and the criticism it attracts.
Budgets and the wealth gap
Crowley returns often to federal budgets and their distributional effects, asking whether economic policy narrows or widens gaps between different groups. In the program “Could Labor’s budget narrow the wealth gap?”, he examines how budget measures interact with wealth inequality and the extent to which fiscal decisions can close entrenched divides. In “Will Labor’s budget ‘pull up the ladder’?”, he explores whether new settings allow younger or less wealthy Australians to advance, or whether they lock in advantages for those already ahead.
Across these pieces he treats the budget as a political document as much as an economic one, highlighting who gains, who loses and how those choices are defended in public.
His reporting on Western Australia’s GST deal as a “costly mistake” shows the same concern with long-run consequences of fiscal bargains. In that work he explains how a special revenue-sharing arrangement, struck in one political moment, flows through to national budget pressures years later.
He uses the GST story to show how the design of tax and transfer systems can embed advantages for particular regions or constituencies, and how revisiting those deals becomes politically fraught even when the costs are clear.
Housing, migration and long-term pressures
Crowley treats housing and migration as linked structural pressures rather than isolated debates. In “Why the housing crisis is such a ‘wicked problem’”, he presents housing as a system issue involving supply, planning, taxation and political incentives, explaining why simple fixes are hard to deliver.
In “Why immigration is back on the agenda”, he traces how migration levels, labour needs and social concerns push immigration into the centre of national politics. These pieces show him stepping back from day-to-day announcements to examine how long-running trends create today’s flashpoints.
His work on migration cuts deepens that pattern. In coverage of Labor preparing big cuts to migration and in the analysis “Everybody wants to cut migration but nobody wants to say how”, he looks at the tension between broad promises to reduce numbers and the detailed decisions about which visas and people are affected. He shows how choices on migration intersect with housing demand, wages, services and demographic change, and how political rhetoric about cutting migration often obscures the trade-offs underneath.
By placing migration debates alongside housing and budget stories, he builds a picture of how different policy levers interact over time.
Interest rates, tax and political accountability
Crowley’s coverage often turns on the question of who should be held responsible when economic conditions worsen. In “Is a rate rise the government’s fault?”, he examines the relationship between central bank decisions, global forces and government policy, and asks how much blame or credit elected leaders deserve for movements in interest rates. He uses that discussion to probe what is within a government’s control and what is not, and how politicians nonetheless campaign on outcomes like mortgage costs.
His reporting on capital gains tax carve-outs after budget backlash sits in the same frame, focusing on the political response to distributional criticism of tax policy.
He looks closely at how changes to CGT are explained and defended, and how they fit within a larger narrative about fairness and fiscal discipline. Across these stories he consistently links technical economic settings to questions of accountability, guiding audiences through which decisions belong to ministers, independent institutions or past governments.
Crowley brings to this work experience as an economist at the federal Treasury and at the Grattan Institute, and as a political journalist at youth-focused outlet The Daily Aus.
That background shows in his habit of grounding political narratives in economic data and policy design, while still paying attention to how measures are communicated and contested. He uses interviews, analysis pieces and explainer formats to challenge simple blame narratives and to clarify where expertise and ideology meet.
Format and voice across platforms
Crowley appears across ABC News platforms, moving between written analysis, radio reporting and podcast segments. He reports for programs such as PM and Politics Now, and contributes as an economics correspondent to series like “The Economy, Stupid”.
His pieces on migration, housing and budgets are presented in formats that mix interviews, explanatory segments and contextual analysis, allowing him to unpack complex policy while keeping the focus on clear, direct language.
Previous work as a political journalist for a youth-oriented news service informs the accessible style he uses when breaking down federal economic issues for a broad audience. He prioritises concrete examples, such as the GST deal, interest rate moves or specific budget measures, as hooks for deeper explanation of policy mechanics. Across topics, his coverage is distinguished by a sustained effort to connect federal political debate with the economic structures underneath, making him a reporter whose stories sit wherever politics, budgets and long-term pressures meet.
4 more finance journalists.
Aaron Bell
Aaron Bell stands out for turning broker research and complex market commentary into clear stories for everyday investors. He writes about the Australian share market as a journalist for The Motley Fool Australia and also works as a freelance journalist and editor focused on financial topics and the Australian economy. His beat covers ASX-listed companies and exchange-traded funds. He writes on broker recommendations, valuation changes, price targets, upside forecasts, earnings results, guidance, and share price reactions. He also covers thematic and emerging markets ETFs, NASDAQ-focused funds, and sectors such as space-related industries. In his reporting, he uses numbers, rating changes, and target prices to explain risk, reward, and what has changed in the business.
Adam McCleery
Adam McCleery tracks the money and deals shaping advertising and media agencies. He is a journalist at AdNews, covering agency pitches, account moves, media buying decisions, budgets, contracts and settlements. His beat sits between finance, media and marketing, with a focus on advertiser confidence, commercial outcomes and the pressures facing agencies, brands and media owners. He reports on television, streaming, subscription models and platform strategies, as well as artificial intelligence, data, privacy and ad technology. His past work spans print, digital and business-to-business titles. He writes in a straightforward, deal-driven style. He follows how brands review, consolidate or shift agency relationships, and how pricing, measurement, fragmentation, policy and economic conditions affect spending, investment, risk and the value of agency services.
Adelaide Miller
Adelaide Miller is an award-winning national business reporter at the ABC who stands out for linking markets coverage with accountability reporting on how finance, regulation and corporate decisions affect workers, consumers and small businesses. She covers superannuation, small business obligations, the ASX, global indices, inflation, government debt, investor sentiment, cryptocurrency, corporate conduct, mortgage stress, and consumer impact. She reports on the gap between legislative intent and on-the-ground practice, and she often uses data, live markets context, and direct reporting from affected people. Her background includes ABC Investigations, Background Briefing, and Four Corners. She also has reported on AI-driven political campaigning, Telstra’s Senate inquiry scrutiny, family law, and a personal essay on her grandmother’s dementia. She works across TV, radio, online, and podcast formats.
Adeshola Ore
Adeshola Ore reports on finance and public policy through their effects on everyday life. They are a reporter at the Guardian, covering tax debates, public spending, institutional policy and the communities shaped by them. Their beat also includes politics, rights, social equity, climate, migration, Indigenous policy, agriculture, food safety and public health. Notable reporting has covered bird flu and egg supplies, catastrophic floods, death cap mushroom poisonings, refugee communities, university misconduct and place-naming rules in Tasmania. Earlier work included global climate conferences, international affairs and social policy. Ore reports through live political coverage, ground-level interviews, documents and hearings. They write news features and explainers that clarify complex rules, risks and rights. They also contribute to the Guardian’s daily news podcast, bringing field reporting and interviews with affected communities into wider discussions of politics and policy.