The Productivity Commission has exposed the failure of WA’s GST windfall
The Productivity Commission has found that the 2018 GST reforms are failing on efficiency, effectiveness and fairness, while Western Australia continues to benefit from billions in funding.
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PEARLS AND IRRITATIONS
John Menadue’s Public Policy Journal
Australia is running deficits – and leaving the bill to the kids
Australia is running budget deficits. That means today’s taxpayers are not fully paying for the services they receive – and younger generations inherit the debt.
Shadow flights: Australia’s F-35 parts pipeline to Israel now runs through the US
Leaked shipping records show Australian F-35 parts continuing to reach Israel on passenger aircraft, with shipments now routed through the United States rather than Thailand.
Democrats should make Trump’s $1.1 million an hour impossible to ignore
The reported $2.2 billion in profits involving Donald Trump and his family during his first year back in office has prompted scrutiny of the president’s financial interests. The Democrats should make the scale of the gains more tangible and push for greater scrutiny of presidential conflicts of interest.
Fighting inflation without making inequality worse
Interest rates are a blunt tool for tackling inflation, and can hurt the people least able to absorb higher costs.
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Are we getting too good at managing homelessness?
Australia’s homelessness response has become increasingly sophisticated, but emergency accommodation and outreach cannot substitute for a home. The focus must shift towards prevention, permanent housing and addressing the systems that push people into homelessness in the first place.
China’s EV success was built on more than government intervention
China’s rise as the world’s leading electric vehicle producer offers an interesting case study in industrial policy. Its experience shows how competition between government agencies, local governments and private capital can drive experimentation and innovation, while also creating challenges for governments seeking to support emerging industries.
AUKUS Pillar One, part two: The nuclear dilemma – acquiring a sustainable, sovereign undersea capability
In the second of a two-part series, the focus turns to nuclear stewardship. AUKUS would leave Australia responsible for weapons-grade uranium throughout the submarine lifecycle, while lower-enriched alternatives may offer a safer and more sovereign path.
Why the US-Iran ceasefire collapsed
A US-Iran ceasefire agreement intended to pave the way for 60 days of peace talks collapsed amid renewed military strikes and disputes over the Strait of Hormuz. With both sides accusing each other of violating the deal, negotiations remain deadlocked and the wider war shows little sign of being resolved.
Labor’s 28 per cent should spell danger. Instead, it could be enough to win
Labor’s primary vote has fallen to just 28 per cent as One Nation’s surge splits the right, yet the government remains on track to win the next election. With preference flows still uncertain, Labor faces pressure to address voters’ concerns over immigration, housing and the cost of living.
Productivism won’t fix Australia’s economic woes
Australia’s productivity debate is overlooking the deeper economic problems created by decades of neoliberal policy.
Australia’s home ownership rate doesn’t tell the whole story
Australia’s home ownership rate is 66 per cent when counted by household, but just 51 per cent when counted by person. The difference leaves millions of Australians living in an owned home without owning one themselves – and changes how we should understand Australia’s housing crisis.
The growth of Chinese soft power, and the decline of America's
Global opinion is shifting towards China as its technology, manufacturing and development record strengthen its appeal, while decades of war and political turmoil erode America’s standing.
Seven hours to prove he speaks English: Gaza students in visa limbo
Young Palestinians offered a place by Irish universities shouldn’t lose that future because the mechanisms of a visa system can’t accommodate the reality of the place from from which they are applying.
AUKUS Pillar One, part one: The nuclear dilemma – strategic and operational concerns
In the first of a two-part series, AUKUS is examined as a strategic choice, not simply a procurement program. The planned submarines are designed for US-led coalition warfare rather than a self-reliant defence of Australia.
The democratic danger of knowing more and understanding less
Humanity has built an extraordinary system for producing and sharing knowledge, yet many people still lack a broad understanding of the systems shaping their lives. That gap is becoming a democratic dilemma.
Are the rich and old to be pitched against the young and poor?
Making housing affordable for younger Australians will require lower land prices and a major increase in housing supply. But the rush to build risks sacrificing planning standards, urban amenity and sustainability, while the labour shortage makes immigration an unavoidable part of the equation.
NDIS reforms are coming. Who could lose support?
Proposed NDIS reforms would tighten eligibility, cut some participation funding and move hundreds of thousands out of the scheme, while replacement supports remain uncertain.
The planetary emergency is here. The warnings are getting louder
Decades of scientific warnings have done little to change humanity’s course. A new warning looks at the interconnected pressures facing the planet and what can be done about them.
Cuba needs energy security, not another generation of collective punishment
Six months of intensified US pressure on Cuba’s energy supply have deepened blackouts, transport failures and shortages. The immediate need is humanitarian relief; the longer-term answer is energy sovereignty.
AUKUS Infrastructure, part 7: Sorting the submarine source and sustainment stalemate
In part seven of the AUKUS infrastructure series, the focus turns to Henderson, where fragmented planning risks locking Australia into costly nuclear bottlenecks before construction has properly begun.
Israel's war against Gaza
Media coverage of the war in Gaza since October 2023 has spread a series of lies propagated by Israel and the United States. This publication presents information, analysis, clarification, views and perspectives largely unavailable in mainstream media in Australia and elsewhere.
Download the PDFLatest letters to the editor
Visas for New Zealanders?
Jenny Goldie — Cooma NSW
The elephant in the room
Jenny Goldie — Cooma NSW
Volume of immigration is the issue
Graham Clews — 29 Apperly Close, Kambah, ACT. 2902
Who will care for those migrants leave behind?
Graham Clews — 29 Apperly Close, Kambah, ACT. 2902
Five years on and no better
George Douvos — Victoria
Propping up AUKUS
Ian Bowrey — HAMILTON SOUTH
Aged care and migrant workers
Meg Schwarz — Macclesfield, South Australia
Philosophical inquiry is the answer
John Turner — inverloch, Victoria
