Economy
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MUNGO MacCALLUM: Tax – in the eye of the beholder.
The dementors of Newscorps couldn’t believe their luck. When the hapless Duncan Storrer rose to ask why rich people were to receive tax cuts while the poor, like himself, did not, the man ticked all the boxes. He was obviously a victim, and presumably a whinger. And he was not only an invited guest of Continue reading »
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JOHN KEANE. Money, Capitalism and the Slow Death of Social Democracy.
In this article, John Keane speaks of the slow death of social democracy but suggests that there may be possibilities that social democracy could embrace Green movements, intellectuals and parties that have common interests. See extracts from article below and link to the full article in The Conversation. Continue reading »
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BOB KINNAIRD. Like earlier Free Trade Agreements, the new FTA with Singapore continues to waive labour market testing which has been designed to protect Australian workers and students.
Prime Minister Turnbull announced the Australia-Singapore ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ (CSP) on 6 May last, just a few days before he called the 2 July election. Cynics will suspect the timing and also see the Singapore announcement as something of a consolation prize. The much bigger FTA fish for the Turnbull government was the elusive agreement Continue reading »
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WAYNE McMILLAN. Is there any difference between Labor or Liberal coalition governments when it comes to economic management?
There is much political rhetoric spouted by both sides of Australian politics when it comes to economic management and the truth generally lies somewhere in between the myths and the half-truths. To make matters even worse, so-called economic experts from the financial and business sectors, shock jocks and news media outlets tend to centre discussion Continue reading »
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IAN McAULEY. The more we examine the Coalition’s ‘plan’ to cut corporate taxes, the more is revealed of its economic shortcomings.
The more we examine the Coalition’s proposal to cut corporate taxes, the more is revealed of its economic shortcomings. Many have commented on the inequity of cutting corporate taxes while tightening eligibility for disability support, reducing benefits for new welfare recipients, freezing Medicare rebates, and inadequately funding health and education. Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Bamboo ceiling and the old boys club. Our business sector is not equiping itself for our future in Asia.
For three decade James Ruse High School in NSW and similar high schools around Australia have been dominating Higher School Certificate results. And according to the NSW Education Department 80% of these top students come from a background other than English with most coming from Asian Backgrounds But despite this remarkable record few of these Continue reading »
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GEOFF HISCOCK. Asia’s easy opportunities overshadow Indian business ties. Australian businesses lack enthusiasm for Indian opportunities.
At the Australia India Business Council forum in Sydney earlier this week, Indian diplomats wondered why Australian businesses lacked enthusiasm about engaging with an economy that is destined to become the world’s third largest within the next two decades. Continue reading »
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Brexit and possible consequences.
In the London Review of Books, Ferdinand Mount, describes the gaggle of opponents of the EU and the possible consequences if the UK votes to brexit (exit from the EU). He highlights some of the risks: a risk of recession or at worst a slump; capital flight; impact on employment; a rumpus in Scotland and Continue reading »
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JOHN AUSTEN and LUKE FRASER. Urbane transport policy. Part 2 of 3.
Urbane transport policy This article is the second in a series about transport infrastructure. Part 1 dealt with the Prime Minister’s focus on mass transit and 30-minute cities. This deals with other matters raised by the Prime Minister: value capture, city deals. A final article will deal with the Commonwealth’s role.[i] Value capture Value capture Continue reading »
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IAN MARSH. Our political system is in gridlock.
Longer term policy making in Australia. Longer term policy making in Australia is in a parlous state. The scale and significance of this problem is totally unrecognised. For example, since 1996 almost no contested measure that required legislative approval has past the Australian parliament. Change to the Senate voting system was one – but it Continue reading »
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JAMES MORLEY. The idea that conservatives are better economic managers simply does not stand up.
Conventional wisdom holds that conservative politicians are more prudent stewards of the economy. These politicians are often happy to reinforce this view by citing their business acumen and denigrating the experience – or lack thereof – of their opponents. Think of Mitt Romney as multi-millionaire businessman versus Barack Obama, former community leader. Donald Trump also Continue reading »
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National Foundation for Australian Women. Budget 2016-17: A gender lens.
The National Foundation for Australian Women has prepared an analysis of the Budget 2016-17 with what it calls a ‘gender lens’. An executive summary of this analysis follows. A link to the full document can be found on ‘the budget’ button: www.nfaw.org. Budget 2016-17 fails to bring Australian women into the centre of the economy Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Health principles and policies for the next parliament.
Thanks to Medicare introduced over 40 years ago, despite bitter conservative opposition, we have one of the best health systems in the world. It is sustainable but we waste over $20 b per annum. There are threats and problems that we must face. What are they? Continue reading »
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Chris Bonnor. My Gonski is bigger than yours
We should have known it would come to this. For years both Labor and the Coalition have ducked and weaved while the education sector battled to ensure that at least the Gonski funding hope was kept alive. Labor recast Gonski’s recommendations into a form that the Gonski panel would hardly recognize, and the Coalition was Continue reading »
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Warwick Elsche. If words were deeds.
If words were deeds – or even credible policies – Malcolm Turnbull might already have joined the company of Australia’s pre-eminent Prime Ministers. All three of Malcolm’s pre-politics callings, journalism, law and banking, have involved the extensive used of the words medium. But none of these also involved the commitment, the enduring exposure, or the Continue reading »
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Are conservatives better economic managers?
Are conservatives better economic managers? Part 1 In my blog of 3 May 2016, I queried the claim by Malcolm Turnbull and apparently supported by many media commentators and also by the public, that conservatives are better economic managers. The evidence and the record do not show that. In last week’s budget and in the Continue reading »
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Bruce Duncan. Julie Bishop cuts Overseas Development Aid to record low.
Despite lobbying from many groups, the May federal budget for 2016-2017 is hacking another $224 million from Australia’s overseas aid, reducing our aid to $3.8 billion, and as a percentage of our national income to just 0.23%, our lowest level ever. The Coalition had already cut $1.1 billion off our aid, reducing spending in Africa Continue reading »
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John Austen and Luke Fraser. Urbane transport policy. Part 1 of 3.
Prime Minister Turnbull made a splash on urban transport recently. He sketched a vision of ‘30 minute cities’ where residents spend on average just one hour a day travelling to regular activities like work and shopping. He also considered mass transit solutions rather than just more motorways. This article is the first of three raising Continue reading »
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Bruce Duncan. Budget ignores growing inequality
Scott Morrison’s Commonwealth budget aims to be politically balanced but, like the Hockey budgets, neglects struggle street. The budget still labours under the neoliberal belief in minimal taxes, small government and maximum freedom for private enterprise. Morrison’s mantra is that cutting taxes on businesses and the wealthy will increase investment, growth and jobs. The trouble Continue reading »
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Kim Williams. Fair use does not mean free: Copyright recommendations would crush Australian content
As someone who has spent my life running organisations that take risks, invest billions and innovate to provide the best of local and international content to Australian consumers, reading the Productivity Commission’s draft report into our intellectual property arrangements was profoundly dispiriting. I cannot think of another recent report that so seriously misses the main Continue reading »
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Michael Keating. The 2016-17 Budget. Part 1 of 2.
The Turnbull Government’s Budget for 2016-17 reflects an essentially ‘steady as she goes’ fiscal strategy. Not that that is a fault – indeed it can be a virtue, especially when matched against the give-aways in other previous pre-election budgets. Furthermore, we could not have realistically expected any other sort of Budget, given the extent to Continue reading »
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Michael Keating. The Government’s Plan for Jobs and Growth. Part 2 of 2.
On Tuesday night the Treasurer announced that this year’s Budget was like none other – this Budget represents the Government’s Plan for Jobs and Growth. Presumably the Government hopes that its Plan will represent such a compelling narrative that it can then sail to victory in the forthcoming election. Accordingly, in this article I propose Continue reading »
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Jon Stanford. French submarines and the East and South China Seas. – why?
A response to Richard Broinowski. While the government might emphasise the roles for the new submarine that may be regarded as defensive – “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance” – Richard Broinowski ignores perhaps the most important role, namely power projection in the East and South China Seas. This role was perhaps most graphically illustrated the Rudd Continue reading »
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Richard Broinowski. French submarines for RAN – Why?
The 2016 Defence White paper asserts that Australia’s future acquisition of 12 French submarines costing around $50 billion is the largest defence procurement program in Australia’s history. The first vessel is to be delivered ‘in the early 2030s’, the twelfth in ‘the 2040s or 2050s’. They are said to be for intelligence, surveillance and Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Are Conservatives better economic managers?
According to opinion polls the public clearly believe that Conservatives are better economic managers. Like other Conservative leaders, Malcolm Turnbull keeps asserting that this is so. Tonight in the budget, Scott Morrison will probably tell us about the importance of growth and jobs and that the Coalition can deliver in this area but Labor cannot. Continue reading »
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Richard Eckersley. Wellbeing and sustainability: irreconcilable differences?
Better concepts and measures of quality of life and wellbeing make sustainable development more achievable. The debate about progress and development is converging and merging with that about sustainable development. My analysis of the flaws in equating progress with modernisation, discussed in my previous article, contributes to this debate because it shows the equation counts Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Slogans or advocacy.
At the last election, Tony Abbott gave us a long list of slogans. One of them was to ‘axe the tax’. And he did axe the carbon tax. But it was a serious mistake. With the continuing strong evidence of global warming, we badly need a carbon tax or an ETS to reduce carbon pollution. Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Defence White Paper. US, China and Barracuda – class submarines.
Rather than acquiring military off-the-shelf (MOTS) submarines, the Australian government has committed us to the French submarine that will be built to Australian specifications. It will be a ‘unique’ build, non-nuclear and very expensive The Defence Minister says that the Barracuda submarine will meet Australian Government ‘requirements for a submarine with considerable range and the Continue reading »
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Rob Nicholls. NBN – election issue or fizzer?
Cable competition NBN Co has let a contract worth $1.6 billion for Telstra to construct the hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) network in the mainland state capital cities. The deal has the ACCC on edge with Rod Sims expressing concern that Telstra will get a retail edge. As he said in a media release: “It is Continue reading »
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Richard Eckersley. The mismeasure of progress: Is the West really the best?
Western liberal democracies dominate the top rankings of progress indices. But are they the best models of development when their quality of life is, arguably, declining and unsustainable. The measures of human progress and development that we employ matter. Good measures are a prerequisite for good governance because they are how we judge its success. Continue reading »