Economy
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How good is the 2021 Budget?
The 2021 Budget continues the Government’s good work in minimising the impact of the Covid recession and promoting economic recovery. However, the Government could still do better in setting up Australia for the future and guaranteeing essential services…. Continue reading »
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Will we ever see a socially responsible budget?
They might be calling it the Women’s Budget, but the way I read it this budget attempts to appear to be in the public interest but it’s actually aimed squarely at the private sector. Funding allocated to target women’s needs is actually designed to give money to providers of services that employ mainly women and… Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy… Continue reading »
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Has the Government’s economic strategy really changed, and what can we expect in future?
The Government’s new focus on unemployment as the key target for budget policy is welcome. But it will need to spend more and therefore tax more, if Australia is to achieve its full economic potential and jobs growth…. Continue reading »
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All-fibre, publicly owned, NBN must top the list of Post-Covid infrastructure investment
On December 24 2020, our Christmas stocking had a surprise gift from Santa in the form of Communications Minister, Paul Fletcher. He announced a fully operational NBN. The long-overdue baby had finally been delivered…. Continue reading »
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Australia’s runaway land price problem
The nation is set to break land price inflation records in three of the next five years, based on past land price growth averages. It is time to act on past tax inquiries…. Continue reading »
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Cheap shot to attack the central bank
Jim Chalmers, ALP shadow treasurer, has shown the dead hand of Hayek, probably inadvertently. The conclusion from Labor’s call for a thorough review of the RBA, is that Albanese and Chalmers have devised no fiscal policy to work in tandem with the RBA’s decent remits…. Continue reading »
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Progress on Australia-EU-UK trade talks
Dan Tehan may well come to regret the timing of his swing through Europe to try and reignite interest in trade deals between Australia and the European Union and the United Kingdom. There has seldom been a week in April when the political agenda right across Europe is so full of events and crises of… Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy… Continue reading »
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Housing affordability is a problem. Here’s why super-for-housing isn’t a solution
The idea that young Australians should be able to dip into their super to help buy their first home keeps going round and round. The most recent iteration put forward by the Coalition’s Tim Wilson and a clutch of other backbenchers has the catchy slogan Home First, Super Second…. Continue reading »
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Are there lessons for the rest of the world in Australia’s management of covid-19 and the “corona-recession”?
One could question whether Australia is ‘leading the pack’ in recovering from the ‘corona-recession’…. Continue reading »
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Superannuation is much more than one man’s legacy
No one is as quick to defend Australia’s superannuation system, and the legislated plan to increase compulsory superannuation to 12 per cent of wages by 2025, as its architect, former Prime Minister Paul Keating. But as is often the case when fundamental assumptions are questioned and legacies are at stake, the rhetoric has become more… Continue reading »
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Australia’s household wealth surged by the end of 2020 — but property owners have taken the lion’s share
The recession was great for some Australians. Despite the pain of the lockdowns, and nearly a million jobs disappearing, by the end of 2020 Australia’s household wealth was surging…. Continue reading »
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Is Australia’s retirement income system delivering on its potential?
‘The Australian retirement income system is effective, sound and its costs are broadly sustainable’ according to the Retirement Income Review chaired by Mike Callaghan…. Continue reading »
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To Halt ’30-Year Race to the Bottom,’ Yellen Calls for Global Minimum Tax on Corporations
“A high global minimum tax can change the face of globalization—by making its main winners (multinational companies) pay more in taxes, instead of them paying less and less.”… Continue reading »
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What is the risk of a housing price bubble?
Home ownership is a cornerstone of the Australian way of life. But it is becoming less affordable. This article discusses the risks of a housing price bubble and what can be done…. Continue reading »
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Public Sector Wage Caps Push Wages in Agreements to 30-Year Low
Public sector wage restraint has contributed substantially to the record-low wage growth that was already being experienced throughout Australia, long before coronavirus ever arrived here. Governments at all levels should abandon this misplaced strategy, and allow free collective bargaining once again with public servants – especially after their heroic efforts to help Australians through the… Continue reading »
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The curious case of the new airport’s metro
Infrastructure Australia recently announced its refusal to include the proposed Western Sydney Airport Metro in its lists. That apparently reasonable result is surrounded by a range of murky matters…. Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy… Continue reading »
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WA’s GST deal is keeping the rest of the nation under water
Every government in Australia is running a budget deficit. Except one. Western Australia, unlike the rest of Australia and the world, is rolling in it…. Continue reading »
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UK conservatives are willing to tax the rich to repair their budget, Morrison will only take from the needy
Conservative politicians in both Australia and the UK profess to believe in small government. However, UK conservatives are prepared to increase tax to fund essential government services while in Australia, our conservatives try to achieve small government by stealth by not properly funding key government responsibilities…. Continue reading »
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The Reserve Bank’s target for wage growth is difficult whilst the Government resists wage increases
The Reserve Bank has tied the future of monetary policy to the restoration of wage growth. But how likely is that, and what are the consequences?… Continue reading »
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Vital Signs: timing of Yallourn’s closure shows it’s high time for a carbon price
If you ever doubted the price of renewable energy was falling so rapidly it would eventually replace fossil fuels, the expedited closure of the Yallourn coal-fired power plant should change that…. Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy… Continue reading »
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It took an accounting book to teach me the importance of Indigenous peoples’ connection to ‘Country’
It is said that Einstein’s Theory of Relativity came to him as he was leisurely riding a bike. Christopher Stone’s inspiration to write a potentially world-changing paper came to him as a result of a flippant question he posed to a law class he was teaching in 1972: Should trees have rights? Both changed the… Continue reading »
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How good is Scott Morrison? Or is it all marketing?
After a bad beginning with the bush fires, Scott Morrison has understandably claimed credit for Australia’s relatively strong performance in mitigating the health and economic consequences of the Covid pandemic in 2020. But looking to the future, how much substance is there, or is he just Scotty from marketing. So long as Morrison remains determined… Continue reading »
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The death of coal-fired power is inevitable — yet the government still has no plan to help its workforce
Yallourn power station — Australia’s oldest, dirtiest coal plant — will close four years ahead of schedule in 2028. Announcing the move this week, operator Energy Australia said it will build a giant energy storage battery on the site to make room for more renewables. This is a powerful statement about where our energy system is heading…. Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy… Continue reading »
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Rising house prices putting at risk the economic stability of the nation
Housing policies are contributing to stagnating economic growth and putting at risk the economic stability of the nation. … Continue reading »
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What happens after JobKeeper ends?
While the labour market has almost completely rebounded, the employments prospects for some groups of workers are much bleaker than before the pandemic hit, while several industries are also lagging in regaining the lost jobs. These situations require a specific policy solution, not just on the basis of equity but also efficiency…. Continue reading »
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