Economy
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Trump’s economic delusions
Trump’s economic strategy is based on a series of delusions that will result in higher inflation, a bigger trade deficit and a loss in the value of the American dollar. How can that Make America Great Again? Continue reading »
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Chinese dance spectacular, Shen Yun faces allegations of child trafficking and abuse
As Shen Yun gears up for its annual multi-million-dollar tour of Australia, the U.S.-based Chinese dance group is facing a class action lawsuit for multiple counts of child trafficking, abusive practices and breaching a slew of U.S. labour laws. Continue reading »
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Options for global trade
Australia and the United States believe China is hegemonic. China uses a different approach to international engagement, and that means Australia fails to understand China’s appeal to the region and the global south. Continue reading »
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To avoid recession, cut interest rates next week
Interest rates settings depend on forecasts of price inflation, wages and unemployment. There is now sufficient evidence to suggest that the Reserve Bank should begin to cut interest rates soon and arguably at its December Board Meeting. The balance of risks if it stays there much longer is that the economy will fall into a Continue reading »
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Are you better off? If not, why not? Productivity, income distribution and the cost of living crisis
While lifting the rate of productivity growth is the obvious solution to the cost of living crisis, judging by the experience of most developed economies, it is not obvious how to restore productivity growth. Continue reading »
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Trump’s tariffs are a fool’s game
US President-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies — marked by high tariffs — have been a major economic setback for the United States. The costs of these policies have harmed domestic buyers and caused job losses in sectors related to the targeted industries. Rather than resolving the trade imbalance issue as Trump intended, his administration’s Continue reading »
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The Future Fund must be a fund for the future
Like all policy instruments, the Future Fund was created to manage the challenges the country was facing at the time. The government has every right and reason to adjust and adapt the mandate to manage very different political and economic challenges today. Continue reading »
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What ails America – and how to fix it
America is a country of undoubted vast strengths—technological, economic, and cultural—yet its government is profoundly failing its own citizens and the world. Trump’s victory is very easy to understand. It was a vote against the status quo. Whether Trump will fix—or even attempt to fix—what really ails America remains to be seen. Continue reading »
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COP 29: grossly inadequate funding signals a deepening East–West divide
Developing countries at COP 29 presented the Western world with an annual US$1trillion financial transfer bill for the cost of their profligate carbon fuelled global warming inducing industrialisation. That sum was no NGO rule of thumb figure but one produced by an organisation funded by Western governments themselves – the International Energy Agency, the world’s Continue reading »
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Tragedy followed by farce in Future Fund dispute
When Marx wrote “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce” he might as well have been talking about the recent spat between former Treasurer Peter Costello and the Albanese Government Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Continue reading »
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Promises and perils of the Future Made in Australia Act
Australia’s industrial policy is shifting significantly with the introduction of the Future Made in Australia Act, which aims to enhance local manufacturing and reduce reliance on commodity exports. But concerns have arisen regarding the potential inefficiencies of targeted investments and the risk of deepening regional disparities. Australia needs a broader and more balanced approach that Continue reading »
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In defence of public education
Over the last 10,000 years or so societies have evolved from relatively simple and loosely structured groups of people to the complex entities of the present nation-states (and even a nascent world society), but in this time period the human being, as an organism, has not changed significantly. So, what has changed? Continue reading »
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Time to take China and Latin America more seriously
The invitation said: ‘Global Multinational Corporations Summit.’ Main Topic: ‘An opening China and the World.’ Continue reading »
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Is the USA a Banana Republic?
In June 1986, as the newly elected MHR for Burke I had the great privilege of standing beside Paul Keating on that fateful morning he declared that Australia “could become a banana republic” if we did not squarely face up to our economic problems. Continue reading »
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Are APEC and G20 irrelevant?
There are 21 members of The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and its purpose is to ease trade throughout the member countries. The aims of APEC are noble and good, they are to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional Continue reading »
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Are you better off than 2020?
The question draws from what Trump effectively used in the closing weeks of the recent USA elections. Liberal-National Party (LNP) leader Peter Dutton is exploring a similar approach to winning government in the approaching Australian election. Employer groups are preparing to help him. Will Labor’s messaging on living standards satisfy the Australian working class? Continue reading »
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A new global economic order
Over recent decades, the Western economic system has undergone a profound transformation, veering increasingly toward financialisation—a framework that privileges speculative gains and the accumulation of paper wealth over tangible economic output. This shift reflects a structural prioritisation of elite interests, as financial markets serve as mechanisms for wealth extraction rather than wealth creation for the Continue reading »
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“A nation based on mercantilist plunder”
Australia has a reputation for egalitarianism. It is not deserved. Continue reading »
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Trump’s wake-up call to Australia’s leaders
Trump’s anti-China 60% import tax barrier will weaken China’s economy and is predicted to have flow on effects impacting negatively on Australia’s economy. Will our political leaders now realise that Australia’s involvement in a military war against China for which they are furiously preparing, would have a devastating impact on our economy and Australian life Continue reading »
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The failure of the Left
If you are like me, you are fed up with the so-called educated ‘Left’ who are not at all educated in the underlying causes of humankind’s current problems and the solutions to them. You will also be fed up with people believing that when we elect Left or Centre-Left parties, the world is on track Continue reading »
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APEC – Disintegration or defiance?
The APEC Peru agenda has been hijacked by the spectre of a Trumpian attack on its foundational principles. China provides the only viable counterbalance. Continue reading »
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Foolish anxiety in the global west
Around 18 months ago, The Economist applied uncommon energy to advance the narrative that the US economy was in outstandingly good shape. Very recently, we have been instructed by the same influential British weekly that, “America’s economy is bigger and better than ever” [paywall]: Which makes one wonder, what primary anxieties are prompting these distinctive, Continue reading »
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Urgent case for statecraft on green iron and steel to secure Australia’s future prosperity
A handful of years ago, South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks, owned by British industrialist Sanjeeev Gupta, was touted as the potential birthplace of an Australian green iron and steel industry. Today, the mounting crisis at Whyalla brings sharply into focus both the risks and opportunities of this pivotal moment in Australia’s energy transition, and the transition Continue reading »
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Australia defies UN in defence trade with Israel
Australia is continuing to expand its relationships with Israel’s defence sector, defying the UN’s International Court of Justice. Continue reading »
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Ken Henry: Is Australia an extractive or a productive economy?
Is our dependence on mining a sign of economic weakness? Is Australia suffering from the “resource curse”? This idea is a strong theme in Ken Henry’s address to the Royal Society of New South Wales: Inequality in Australia. Continue reading »
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Putting the mouth back into Medicare
How would it be to walk into a general practice with a toothache and be triaged to see the oral health therapist, who assesses and then develops an oral health care plan? They are then qualified to provide dental treatment but may also involve a GP or dentist across the corridor for further assessment. It Continue reading »
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Trump’s America: ecstasy or agony?
Trump’s election victory is not the momentous or unexpected event many have made it out to be. It is, however, a sure sign of a slowly decaying society where frustration, anger and bewilderment are at epidemic proportions. Continue reading »
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Trump’s impact on the rest of the world, and Australia in particular
Somewhat surprisingly, careful analysis and modelling show that Trump’s crude attempt to Make America Great Again, mainly damages the American economy. The rest of the world, and Australia in particular, should proceed with their own business as usual. Continue reading »
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The US election campaign: Lessons for Australia
Just like in the US , the next Australian election will be decided by the cost of living. Both the US and Australian economies have performed quite well, in difficult circumstances. However, the lesson from the US election is that both Governments need to tell their story better. Continue reading »
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Energy market governance can unlock $19b for consumers through local solutions
The need to restructure energy planning and regulation in Australia has been apparent for over a decade, since households and businesses began rapidly installing solar panels on their roofs, flipping the traditional one-way, large-scale supply of electricity into a two-way, consumer-led transition. There needs to be thorough expert consideration on how best to facilitate this Continue reading »
