
Labor vulnerable nowhere in particular, everywhere in general
The best attempt at a post-election pendulum was published recently by Dr Kevin Bonham, who also did a terrific job explaining developments during the preference count in the recent Tasmanian election.
Recent articles in Policy

14 August 2025
The sham of Australia's recognition of Palestine: Hope, but light on glory
Australia’s recognition of Palestine, like that of other Western countries, is a step in the right direction, but it remains a sham.

13 August 2025
Trump's fantasies and the American economy
Donald Trump’s bluster is likely to lead to lower American living standards and higher inflation. But his advisers want to keep their jobs, and won’t tell him that.

9 August 2025
Australia leads the world on rooftop solar, now it needs to catch up with how to manage it
It is an irony of no small significance that Australia, while leading the world in per capita uptake of rooftop solar, finds itself in 2025 well behind the pace on how best to manage this huge and valuable resource as part of a modern, increasingly renewables-powered grid.

8 August 2025
Layered perversion of Australia's defence policy
An amazing thing has happened. Our taxpayer-funded think-tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has commissioned analysis by Robert Macklin which shows that the public debate on Australia’s defence has been biased.

7 August 2025
Algal bloom: first peoples ngamath-sea country
A civilisation that proves incapable of solving the problems it creates is a decadent civilisation. – Aime Cesaire.

5 August 2025
To meet 21st century challenges, business regulation needs urgent reform
A new parliamentary term in Canberra for a re-elected government with a huge majority is a timely opportunity for long-term policy and regulatory reform. One necessary focus is the ecosystem for business success in society under 21st century conditions, in an age of existential threats.

4 August 2025
The GST — past, present, future — and always tense
There’s little elegance in the way Australia approaches tax reform. It’s never a highway cruise.

31 July 2025
Tax, productivity growth and equality
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ upcoming economic summit has triggered renewed debate over the links between tax, productivity, growth and equity. And inevitably arguments between the right and the left – can we understand both and find a way through? I hope so.

31 July 2025
An entirely new approach to public policy
At the outset of the second term of the Labor Government, we may reasonably ask: What policy innovations will the prime minister and his colleagues bring forward?

30 July 2025
Australia employs 'straddle' diplomacy with China and the US
The approach is not doctrinal, but is about speaking frankly to both Washington and Beijing.

30 July 2025
Top Australian writers urge Albanese to abolish Job-Ready Graduates, calling their humanities degrees life-changing
“Earning a humanities degree was not only life-changing, in terms of opening up a world of knowledge otherwise beyond my reach, it also turns out to have been enormously productive – for me and many, many people around me,” said Tim Winton this week. “My little arts degree has created jobs and cultural value for over 40 years.”

28 July 2025
An Australian pathway to productivity, resilience and budget sustainability
The wisdom of serious reform: The forthcoming August 2025 Government Roundtable seeks a better future for all Australians. And, indeed, our society has well-known and well documented lists of policies that can reliably deliver on that desired outcome.