Category Archives: Economy

Yesterday Part 1 of this article argued that bringing forward the second and third stages of the Government’s legislated tax cuts would achieve very little economic stimulus and would damage the longer-term fiscal position. Part 2 today considers the future … Continue reading →

It used to be said that governments are terrible at picking winners but losers are good at picking governments. Is that still true?

The Covid-induced recession has turned out to be worse than we initially hoped writes Michael Keating. Part 1 of this article discusses the additional fiscal stimulus that will be necessary and why it should not include bringing forward the Government’s … Continue reading →

‘Parliament should endorse the Banking Amendment (Deposits) Bill 2020 to explicitly rule out the possibility of bail-in where authorities would allow banks to convert your deposits to shares in a banking crisis — should be a no-brainer for any government.”(John … Continue reading →

Australians hate privatisation. It is politically toxic and has brought down governments on both the political left and right.

There is a myth that we are heading toward a ‘post-industrial’ economy, in which manufacturing doesn’t matter anymore. In reality, we use more manufactured goods every year – and they are vital to all other jobs, too (including in resources … Continue reading →

The Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has announced the government recovery strategy – emulate Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. The problem is that Australia has been there and done that with the same very mixed results Reagan and Thatcher achieved.

What people in other forums are saying about public policy

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg invoked the name of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to support his plan to rescue Australia’s economy in the era of pandemic. My first reaction was furious anger. On reflection, Frydenburg has done us a great … Continue reading →

It has never been clear what ethical principles guide Josh Frydenberg’s politics. He appears to be a hollow man, especially with his recent declaration that he will look to the economic policies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Regan for inspiration … Continue reading →

If there was ever a time for a government to take the bit between its teeth and achieve great things, this is the time. The coronavirus has essentially picked up the chessboard, and thrown all the pieces up in the … Continue reading →

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the current economic situation requires ‘supply-side’ reforms like those undertaken by the Thatcher and Reagan governments in the 1980s. The relevant lessons from those years are really rather different, as are the current needs of Australian … Continue reading →

The Prime Minister, the head of Treasury and the present or former Chief Medical Officer may each be experts within their fields, but none of their guesses about when Coronavirus will loosen its grip on the nation’s economic throat are … Continue reading →

Recovery from the recession will be slow and painful because of uncertainties: the coronavirus is just one of them.

The Government’s long-awaited update of the fiscal and economic outlook contains no real surprises. But what we still need to know is what the Government intends to do next when the present economic support measures run out.