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P&I Guest Writers
This post kindly provided to us by one of our many occasional contributors.
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CHRISTOPHER SHEIL, FRANK STILWELL. Inequality stocktake … or snowjob by the Productivity Commission?
The Productivity Commission has issued a new report called Rising Inequality? A Stocktake of the Evidence. However, when looking at the distribution of wealth in Australia, it turns out not to be a ‘stocktake of the evidence’ at all. Rather, it creates some new evidence that is inconsistent with the established sources of inequality data. Continue reading »
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NILE BOWIE. Mahathir has an Islam problem.
New premier wants Malaysia’s brand of Islam to reflect mercy, justice and compassion, a stance his conservative opponents have seized on as too soft and lenient. Continue reading »
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AARON PATRICK. Did 41 Australian soldiers die in Afghanistan for a failed war? (AFR 27.9.2018)
Australia’s bloodiest war ended 100 years ago in melancholy victory. Australia’s most recent war may end in a delayed defeat, raising an awful question: what did 41 Australian soldiers die for? Continue reading »
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ANN DAVIES. ABC board members appointed by Fifield despite being rejected by merit-based panel (the Guardian, 28.09.18)
The Coalition’s much touted merits-based nominations process for ABC board appointments has been ignored or circumvented in recent years. Continue reading »
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ANATLOE KALETSKY. The US Will Lose Its Trade War with China.
In handicapping the US-China conflict, Keynesian demand management is a better guide than comparative advantage. In principle, China can avoid any damage at all from US tariffs simply by responding with a full-scale Keynesian stimulus. Continue reading »
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GRATTAN INSTITUTE Who’s in the room? Access and influence in Australian politics.
Many business sectors depend heavily on government favours and regulations. They include miners,property developers,road contractors,liquor and gambling industries. Not surprisingly they are the largest political donors who seek favourable government approvals. Continue reading »
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MARIE COLEMAN. Fixing the Women problems: Retirement Incomes, Parental Leave, and the Gender Pay Gap.
With a statement imminent from Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer, Labor has announced modest changes to improve Paid Parental Leave ( $400 million over the out years) and proposed new measures to diminish the gender pay gap. Both measures should contribute to the position of older women in retirement. The P.M. says he doesn’t oppose Continue reading »
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PATRICK MAGUIRE. Why Corbyn is promising a “green jobs revolution” (New Statesman)
The Labour leader’s promise to create 400,000 new skilled jobs is a direct pitch to Brexit Britain – and an implicit criticism of Gordon Brown and New Labour. Continue reading »
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GRATTAN INSTITUTE. Special deals for special interests. Packer’s casino licence
How rent seekers and lobbyists work – The Casino Licence In February 2012, James Packer proposed building a hotel-casino on the Sydney Harbour foreshore at Barangaroo. The NSW premier and opposition leader were quick to back the idea, saying it would bring jobs and tourists to Sydney. Both major parties ignored the public interest. Continue reading »
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BRUCE WEARNE. What can we infer from the more than four month delay in releasing the Ruddock Panel’s Report?
According to the Government’s web-site, the Religious Freedom Review received over 15,500 submissions. In political terms the review was established so that Parliament and the citizens of this country could have qualified juridical advice about the prevailing situation across this Commonwealth and thus how subsequent public debate should proceed, particularly in terms of the consequences Continue reading »
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PETER SMALL. National Party and Climate Change, Part 2.
If we accept the premise that humans are rational beings and have a reason for doing what they do, then in my first article I tried to throw some light on what motivated the National Party, and the Coalition, to have the policies they have or don’t have on climate. In summary I suggested this Continue reading »
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BRUCE KAYE. The Prime Minister’s Pentecostal Christianity and neo liberalism.
Will Scott Morrison really be able to exercise the office of Prime Minister properly while belonging to a Pentecostal church that is said to have a prosperity gospel that promises wealth and health to believers? Guilt by association is always a bad place to start. Nothing is wrong with facts that are relevant. Actually, this Continue reading »
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BRIONY DOW. Do we need a Royal Commission into Aged Care?
With the recent announcement of a Royal Commission into Aged Care, debate is raging in the aged care sector and beyond as to whether it is really needed. Continue reading »
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DANIELLE WOOD. ScoMo can get a quick win by cleaning up Canberra’s murky dealings (Australian Financial Review, 204.09.18)S9
Scott Morrison needs to pull a policy rabbit out of a hat and he needs to do it quickly. At best, he has eight months to convince a sceptical public the Coalition can be trusted to run the country. But fortunately for the new PM, there is a bunny in plain sight. Policies to improve Continue reading »
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GRATTAN INSTITUTE Who’s in the room? Access and influence in Australian politics.
On almost any measure Australia lags behind other comparable countries in managing the lobbying scourge Continue reading »
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PAUL DALEY. ‘Wholesale massacre’: Carl Feilberg exposed the ugly truth of the Australian frontier.
The real ‘settler’ and pioneering stories of Feilberg’s Queensland were confronting and frightening. Continue reading »
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MICHAEL SAVAGE. Ministers warn harder EU exit risks breaking up Britain (the Guardian, 23.09.18)
Theresa May is being warned by cabinet colleagues that a shift towards a harder Brexit will hasten the break-up of the UK, amid a renewed attempt by Brexiters to secure a clean split from the European Union. Continue reading »
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JOHN FALZON.Morrison’s mantra is ‘choice’. But what real choice do the poor and homeless have?
Everyone was walking past, refusing to meet her eyes. She wasn’t asking for somewhere to live. She wasn’t even asking for something to live on. All she was asking for was just enough to buy some breakfast. But everyone just kept walking past and the angrier she got the wider the berth they gave her Continue reading »
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GRATTAN INSTITUTE Special deals for special interests -Catholic School funding
How lobbyists work to advantage Catholic schools at the expense of state schools . Continue reading »
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KATE GRIFFITHS, CARMEL CHIVERS, DANIELLE WOOD. Influence in Australian politics needs an urgent overhaul – here’s how to do it (The Conversation, 23.09.18)
Public policy should be made for all Australians – not just those with the resources or connections to lobby and influence politicians. And mostly it is. But sometimes bad policy is made or good policy is dropped because powerful groups have more say and sway than they should. Continue reading »
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ROBERT MANNE. This pains me, but it’s time to compromise on Australia’s cruel asylum seeker policy (the Guardian, 23.09.18)
In the past 30 years Australia has crafted an almost uniquely cruel asylum seeker policy. Our only competitor is the proudly illiberal Hungary. When Malcolm Turnbull outlined our current policy to Donald Trump in their notorious telephone conversation, the US president was mightily impressed. “You are worse than I am.” No more evidence about the Continue reading »
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TREVOR KENNEDY. Consultants are a blight on government and business.
It is, at the very least, arguable that consultants have become toxic weeds in business and government in Australia. Continue reading »
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LAURA TINGLE. People grumble about political leaders, but there’s a deeper malaise afoot (ABC News, 17.09.18)
People always grumble about political leaders. But there is a deeper malaise afoot now. Continue reading »
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RICHARD DENNISS. The big con: how neoliberals convinced us there wasn’t enough to go around
Australia just experienced one of the biggest mining booms in world history. But even at the peak of that boom, there was no talk of the wonderful opportunity we finally had to invest in world-class mental health or domestic violence crisis services. Continue reading »
