Economy
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The power of vested interests and why drugs cost so much in Australia. John Menadue
Why does the widely used cholesterol reducing drug Atorvastatin cost $A19 in Australia and $A2 for the same package in NZ? Why does the widely used cancer drug Anastrozole cost $A92 in Australia when the equivalent drug in the UK costs $A3.30. The answer is the political power of Medicines Australia and how it twists Continue reading »
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Is Pope Francis a Marxist?
On 16 December last year, Eureka Street carried an article by Neil Ormerod about Pope Francis and his economic, social and political message. That article can be found on the link below. John Menadue http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=38645#.Us8a9j0XBt8.email Continue reading »
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A 100 billion dollar tale of piracy in the Timor Sea. Michael Sainsbury
Although it sits on a vast undersea gas reserve, Timor-Leste remains deeply impoverished. Deep under the Timor Sea, there is a huge reserve of gas. Geologists now believe it is worth upwards of US$100 billion; a figure more than twice the amount estimated by Australia as recently as 2006. It is perhaps ironic that the Continue reading »
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The mooted $6 fee for GP visits trivialises the problem. Guest blogger: John Dwyer
There is a lot that is disturbing about the federal government’s flirtation with a $6 co-payment for a service from a GP. Most commentators have rejected this approach as poor public policy as it will act as a deterrent for poorer Australians to seek the care they need to provide paltry savings in a 120 Continue reading »
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More on pink batts. Guest blogger: Dr Michael Keating
I would like to add a further comment to your post on 3 January on the Pink Batts. First, I would further contest the evidence that this scheme was poorly conceived and badly implemented. On this point it should be noted that the Auditor General’s finding that 29 per cent of 13808 completed jobs had Continue reading »
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Repost: We all see our doctor too much; and it’s not just the aged. John Menadue
The media have been discussing a proposal to impose a $5 or $6 levy for GP visits. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of times we each see our GP. It needs addressing, but not with a simplistic GP levy. See also piece below by Ian McAuley. Following the Grattan Institute’s recent Continue reading »
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Repost: The Asian Century and the Australian Smoko. John Menadue and Greg Dodds
The Asian Century and the Australian Smoko was first published in April 2012. This repost might be interesting holiday reading. The Gillard Government has commissioned Ken Henry to report on Australia and the Asian Century. Our trade with China, Japan, India and other Asian countries is booming. Our luck is still holding. But our key Continue reading »
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Is trench warfare the answer? John Menadue
Sensing concern about the government’s performance in the first 100 days, Tony Abbott reportedly told the Liberal Party caucus to ‘prepare for trench warfare’ when parliament resumes in 2014. I would have thought that the last thing that Australia needs is for the government to embark on trench warfare. I sense that the public is Continue reading »
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Budget deficits – how did they happen and what can be done. John Menadue
The government is announcing today an update of this year’s budget. This is the government’s first major economic statement since the election. It will focus particularly on the budget deficit. It will attempt to blame the previous government as much as possible. I addressed this issue of the budget deficit and how it has come Continue reading »
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Well-paid jobs or welfare? John Menadue
The Abbott Government’s confusion over Holden’s withdrawal from Australia reflects a much deeper hostility to the car industry. The main reason for this is that the car industry is highly unionised, pays good wages and has a high degree of alignment of interests between labour and capital. The right-wing finds that all quite offensive. Yet Continue reading »
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The Holden mess gets worse. John Menadue
Yesterday I posted a blog ‘Taunting Holden to Leave’. Let me add to the continuing story of this major stuff-up. The Abbott Government, through Industry Minister Macfarlane asked the Productivity Commission to advise on assistance to the car industry. He asked for a report by March next year. On Monday this week, Minister Macfarlane was Continue reading »
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Taunting Holden to leave. John Menadue
It has been quite remarkable to see Joe Hockey daring and taunting Holden to close. He apparently chose to take advantage of Tony Abbott’s absence in South Africa to show off his “dry” credentials and burnish his leadership aspirations. Having lost the argument over Graincorp, Joe Hockey talked tough on Holden. He dared Holden to Continue reading »
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Does Tony Abbott believe in markets? John Menadue
We are already seeing a division opening up in the Abbott Government between ‘wets’ and ‘dries’ and a lot of confusion. The Liberal Party and conservatives generally espouse the value of markets – that governments should not interfere unless there is clear market failure or overwhelming reasons of public interest. This belief in markets is Continue reading »
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The cost of healthcare in Australia and remuneration of doctors. Guest blogger: Professor Kerry Goulston
The cost of healthcare is unsustainable here and in many other countries. In Australia it is 9.5% of GDP, estimated to rise to 16-25% by 2025. There are obvious reasons for this—population ageing, end of life heroics, increased technology and increased use of procedures. A rapidly increasing contributor to the cost of healthcare in Australia comes from Continue reading »
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Tony Abbott and his very close confidante, Mark Textor. John Menadue
To refuse to apologise to President Yudhoyono would be entirely consistent with the type of advice that Mark Textor has given to a succession of Liberal leaders in Australia, including Tony Abbott. In his texting Mark Textor has made the point, according to Laurie Tingle in the AFR today “that (Australian) voters don’t give rats Continue reading »
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A mega industry subsidy to private health insurance companies. John Menadue
Many business economists continue to criticise the previous government and possibly the current one over the government subsidy of $10 billion over seven years for the auto industry. But that subsidy is small beer. The government subsidy to the private health insurance industry (PHI) has been $30 billion plus, over seven years. This year Continue reading »
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Lagging the field on climate change. John Menadue
Across the world there are clear signs that the tide is turning with acceptance of the reality of climate change, that humans are the cause and that we need to address the problem. But not in Australia. We keep acting like King Canute against the tide. The Abbott Government is proposing to abolish the carbon Continue reading »
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Honest Joe Hockey. John Menadue
At the G20 Summit in Washington a week ago Joe Hockey said ‘People find it refreshing to hear that Aussie honesty’. It is nice to think that other people see us that way but I wonder what Treasurers at the G20 would make of it if they had been listening to what Joe Hockey had Continue reading »
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What’s in it for me? John Menadue
Last year in London Joe Hockey said that we had to break free of our culture of entitlement. He said. “The problem arises…when there is a belief that one person has a right to a good or service that someone else will pay for. It is this sense of entitlement that affects not just individuals Continue reading »
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Is it class warfare or an appeal for fairness? John Menadue
It depends on your point of view. Conservatives and the wealthy often see attacks on their privileged position as class war. Others see it as the pursuit of justice and fairness. Let’s look at some who have recently spoken about class warfare. Andrew Forrest said that the Mining Super Profits Tax was class warfare. Christopher Continue reading »
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Julie Bishop fails Economics I. Guest blogger Ian McAuley
In justifying the Coalition’s cuts in foreign aid, Julie Bishop said that borrowing from overseas only to hand it back overseas was unsustainable in light of our mounting debt. That statement has glib appeal, but it’s a serious misrepresentation. For a start the Government does not borrow from overseas. Rather, almost all the Commonwealth’s revenue Continue reading »
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What does Labor stand for? Principles to drive policies and programs. John Menadue
Late last year I was approached by a friend who is very politically active about what I thought the ALP could do to renovate its policy platform. I discussed this request with an old friend, Ian McAuley. Together we prepared a paper ‘Principles to drive policies and programs – or – What does Labor stand Continue reading »
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The election – punishing bad behaviour. John Menadue
One thing the election did was to explode the perceived wisdom that if the economy was doing well, governments are seldom voted out. But the Rudd Government was. As I have written in earlier blogs. The Australian economy, by almost any measure is one of the best performing and managed in the world. Our material Continue reading »
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We have never had it so good. John Menadue
The election campaign by the Murdoch media and the Coalition suggests that the Australian economy is in a mess. But almost all the facts suggest that we have one of the best performing economies in the world whether we measure it by economic growth, debt, inflation or employment. Now a survey just released by the Continue reading »
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The phoney war over deficits and debt. John Menadue
For almost five years, Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey, Andrew Robb and Barnaby Joyce, have been giving us dire warnings about deficits and debt. You would think the Australian economy was a smoking ruin. But the politicking over deficits and debt has changed remarkably in the last few weeks. Early this year Tony Abbott told us Continue reading »
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The election: economy and deficits. John Menadue
In the run-up to the September 7 elections, we will hear a lot of misleading stories about the economy and deficits. My contention is that with the good luck of the China boom, the government has managed the Australian economy well. Our economic performance is amongst the best in the world. But the public debate Continue reading »
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Back from the brink of disaster. John Menadue
Many people and particularly women will be disappointed that our first female Prime Minister has been forced out. She has been most unfairly treated by the media. Things have been said about her by Tony Abbott and others that would not be said about a male Prime Minister. But my view is that a Continue reading »
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Beware the debt and deficit trap and the European mistake. John Menadue
The Europeans may at last be breaking free of the debt and deficit trap that has caused so much social and economic damage across Europe. Even the IMF is at last challenging the austerity mindset that took hold in Europe. There is a lesson for Australia in this. The Australian Government has allowed itself Continue reading »
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It’s the tourism product stupid – not marketing! John Menadue
The Australian tourism industry tells us often that we need to spend more in marketing and publicity and that the tourists will come. I have always been sceptical; believing that what matters most is the tourism product itself. Marketing didn’t work with the Oprah Winfrey circus despite the government tipping in $5 million. On top Continue reading »
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The Miners’ Lament. John Menadue
It is only a matter of time before the miners start lamenting that they did not seriously negotiate with Kevin Rudd over his Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT). The mining industry has always favoured rent/profit taxes instead of royalties. What the mining industry really disagreed with was the rate of the Resources Super Profits Tax. Continue reading »
