Stagflation risk puts tax reform back on the table
This budget will be especially challenging. Given the risks of stagflation, fiscal policy needs to be tightened. But in a cost-of-living crisis the main burden should fall on those who are relatively well off and that requires tax reform.
Recent articles in Politics
14 April 2026
Voters no longer want managers – they want fighters
Across Western democracies, voters are abandoning consensus politics in favour of leaders willing to fight, name enemies and prosecute a cause – a shift now reshaping both left and right.
14 April 2026
Trump deletes image of himself as Jesus-like saviour after backlash
Donald Trump is facing criticism from church leaders, conservatives and political figures after posting an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure and attacking Pope Leo XIV.
14 April 2026
Climate change, the community and the Coalition: going slower
The Coalition’s abandonment of net zero by 2050 marks a retreat from climate action, putting it at odds with public opinion and weakening Australia’s long-term response.
14 April 2026
No one likes the Job-ready Graduate scheme – so why does it still exist?
The architect of the HECS scheme Bruce Chapman, says economists agree, the Job-ready Graduate scheme is bad economics.
14 April 2026
China doubles down on state-led tech – and delays reform
China’s latest Five-Year Plan doubles down on state-led investment in high-tech sectors, strengthening national power while sidelining structural reform and consumption-led growth.
14 April 2026
By avoiding means testing, the government is giving handouts to the rich
Australia’s highly targeted tax and transfer system is being eroded by a shift toward universal benefits – redirecting support away from those who need it most.
14 April 2026
Iran debacle is Suez moment for US-Australia alliance
While there is already introspection both in the US and among its allies as to the long-term effects of this crisis on American capabilities and capacities, will Canberra seize the moment to reflect?
14 April 2026
Defund, don’t debate – the playbook for silencing dissent
The closure of the Grace Tame Foundation exposes a troubling pattern – dissent isn’t debated, it is defunded through pressure applied behind the scenes.
14 April 2026
Albo’s signature secrecy will ultimately bring him down
A court-ordered release of the Pezzullo report is a win for transparency – but it exposes a deeper culture of secrecy and institutional failure.
14 April 2026
Australia’s pre-emptive strike against Iranian asylum seekers
A new law allows Australia to block entire groups of visa holders from entering the country – a sharp break from past practice with major consequences for asylum policy.
14 April 2026
Pope Leo reframes the moral language of war
Leo may help break a trend that has dominated American Catholicism – less religion as national glue, more faith as a critique of power.
14 April 2026
Orbán out – Hungary votes to end 16 years of rule
Hungary’s election has ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, with voters backing a conservative challenger promising a return to democratic norms and a closer European path.
