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Brickworks chief executive Lindsay Partridge said new home building will be halted by an artificial ceiling due to land and skills shortages, and the NSW government should release 20 years' worth of land supply at once if it wants to tackle Sydney's housing affordability crisis.

Coal seam gas is shaping as one of the major issues ahead of the NSW election this Saturday.

Australia's interconnected gas pipeline grid will allow increased volumes of gas to flow into New South Wales and the east coast, even if NSW's own coal seam gas resources are slow to develop, gas pipeline owner APA Group says.

The federal government is less than a week from releasing its much-touted tax white paper but prominent investor Mark Carnegie says there's no point: it should instead return to the Hawke-Keating era of decision-making and boldly implement the changes identified by reviews already.

It's quite logical really. If there’s a shortage in a market, or if the price is high, the market should respond; the higher prices and intensive demand should encourage an increase in supply as new and existing participants come in to take advantage of opportunities.

NSW Labor's proposed ban on Santos's $2 billion Pilliga coal seam gas venture has been branded "very frustrating" by manufacturers, while Resources and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts accused Opposition Leader Luke Foley of "pandering to inner-city greens".

Australian shoppers are fed up with confusing food labels and want honest and clearer country of origin descriptions on their groceries, but that goal may not be as simple as it sounds.

Low-income families will be given a $90 rebate on their gas bills should the Baird government be ­returned to power on ­Saturday.

US manufacturing output was down in February, with the country’s Federal Reserve tracking a third straight monthly decline in the sector. A mixture of extreme winter weather, low oil prices and a strengthening dollar - up 13.5 per cent compared to the country’s major trading partners - combined for a result lower than forecast by economists.

Large east coast gas users fear they may suffer the worst of two worlds if falls in oil-linked export gas prices deter new players from entering the domestic market wihtout lowering domestic prices.