How consultocracy became a national security blind spot
Espionage today is less about weapons than insider access to economic policy. Australia’s muted response to the PwC scandal reveals a serious failure to treat economic intelligence as a core national security asset.
Recent articles in Economy
25 February 2026
Should Australia copy Canada and New Zealand on immigration policy?
Canada and New Zealand cut migration sharply and saw modest rent falls – but only alongside weaker labour markets and stronger housing supply. The lesson for Australia is not imitation, but stability.
25 February 2026
How Australia should fix capital gains tax
The 50 per cent capital gains tax discount departs from the original purpose of taxing real gains, entrenches inequality and unfairly advantages wealth over work.
25 February 2026
Why security-first critical mineral policy risks slowing the energy transition
Western efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains from China are increasingly driven by security logic. That approach risks raising costs, slowing decarbonisation and undermining the global energy transition.
24 February 2026
Capital gains tax should increase
Reducing the capital gains tax discount would make the tax system fairer, raise much-needed revenue and have little effect on housing supply, given how constrained that supply already is.
20 February 2026
AI, productivity and the long stall in living standards
Artificial intelligence may offer the best chance to lift stagnant productivity and living standards – but without deliberate policy choices, its benefits will be uneven and limited.
17 February 2026
When both sides chant 'lower tax', the country pays in division
As the Coalition reasserts “lower tax” as political identity and Labor rushes to deny the high-tax label, Australian politics is losing the language needed to fund shared purpose, rebuild trust and sustain public life.
16 February 2026
John Mitchell, David Lindenmayer and Bruce Chapman: Keeping the farm in the family can come at a high cost
As Australia’s farming population ages, poorly planned succession can destroy wealth, fracture families and leave no one better off.
11 February 2026
Capital gains tax reform could reshape Australia’s housing market
As debate over capital gains tax returns to parliament, longstanding concessions are again under scrutiny for their role in driving housing speculation, inequality and intergenerational imbalance.
10 February 2026
Why higher taxes make more sense than higher interest rates
Rather than cutting public spending to restore the budget balance and reduce inflationary pressures, it would be better to increase taxation.
1 February 2026
How much federal income tax will Elon Musk’s Tesla pay on $5.7 billion in 2025 revenue? $0
The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress “have allowed a hugely profitable corporation to avoid paying even a dime of federal income tax on their 2025 US profits.”
30 January 2026
Period pain is costing the Australian economy billions every year in lost productivity
Period pain and heavy menstrual bleeding are widespread, under-acknowledged, and quietly draining Australia’s economy. New research puts the cost at around $14 billion a year in lost productivity and shows why workplace policy reform is long overdue.
30 January 2026
Historic EU-India trade deal to slash auto tariffs, double bloc’s India exports by 2032
Brussels diversifies away from China and US risks, while the pact makes India a more attractive place for European firms to sell vehicles and fuel growth.
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