Economy
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Mice and men: the mouse plague and aggressive land clearing
Over the years, Australian authorities have made many poor decisions about allowing the introduction of biocidal agents into the environment. In most cases, such decisions have been based on the demands of powerful minorities with no responsibility to the general community. The Berejiklian-Barilaro government looks set to outdo them all by authorising the use 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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Should Labor oppose the Government’s Stage 3 Income Tax Cuts?
Australia faces a choice between demands for lower taxes, and raising the revenue needed to fund essential services. This article suggests how a plan to increase taxation revenue could be presented at the next election, starting with ditching the Government’s Stage 3 income tax cuts. Continue reading »
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People movement during Covid and emergence of a growing and permanent underclass
While Prime Minister Morrison initially told temporary entrants in Australia to go home, relatively few followed his instruction. His Government’s new message to these people is to stay and work in largely unskilled jobs. This ignores the long-term consequences of a growing and permanent underclass that will have to be dealt with after the election. Continue reading »
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Radioactive trash – a tale of two Sydney suburbs
Australia is relatively clear of nuclear reprocessing waste problems. But the Sydney suburbs of Hunters Hill and Barden Ridge have radioactive wastes from uranium processing which have been sitting there for decades. A bill is now before the Senate addressing the issue. 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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Australia’s fundamental fiscal dilemma
This was a big pump-priming budget. The maximum deficit as a proportion of GDP is 7.8% which makes the deepest deficits of the Rudd (4.2%) and Whitlam (2.8%) governments look modest. It discards the government’s pre-pandemic commitment to return to surplus. Of the $92 billion of new spending over the next four years, two-thirds is Continue reading »
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When should government debt be repaid and how?
There is no problem financing government debt. As the debt can only be repaid by running budget surpluses, debt reduction should start in mid-2023 when the Treasury is forecasting that economic recovery will be complete and there will be no spare capacity. Continue reading »
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Prosthesis pricing is a dead parrot
Hidden in the 2021-22 Budget papers was an announcement that the government had squibbed an opportunity to reduce private health insurance premiums by ending a protection racket involving private device manufacturers and importers, and private hospitals. Continue reading »
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Road pricing must start with electric vehicles
Electric vehicles provide an opportunity to introduce road pricing reforms, but ‘clean air tax’ lobbyists threaten to embed poor road-use habits. 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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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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