Politics
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John Menadue. Taxes and the free riders.
Our tax system is in a mess. It is easily exploited by the wealthy who can afford expert financial and taxation advice. We hear from Alan Jones and the Daily Telegraph about dole-bludgers. The Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews says that disabled pensioners should get off the couch. Tax avoidance and tax bludging however Continue reading »
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What to do about growing inequality in Australia.
On Wednesday 11 June at Parliament House Canberra, former Liberal Leader, Dr John Hewson will launch a report on ‘What do do about growing inequality in Australia’. The report has been prepared by Australia21, ANU and the Australia Institute. The report can be found by clicking on below. It is embargoed until Wednesday at 11am. Continue reading »
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Walter Hamilton. Postcard from Poland and Auschwitz
Poland this month is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its rebirth as a democratic state. It is also marking 10 years since it became a member of the European Union. The country thus provides an interesting vantage point from which to observe Europe’s schizophrenic politics. To the west––notably in the UK, France and Germany––so-called Eurosceptic Continue reading »
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Cavan Hogue. The hype of D-Day
The hype about the Normandy Landings on D-Day reflect a deep seated prejudice in the Australian press, public and politicians. Tony Abbot wants to use our minimal contribution to milk the occasion so he can be seen amongst the great and powerful and this is understandable but the claim by Abbott and our media Continue reading »
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Hugh Mackay. Immoral acts – that’s one way to stop the boats.
“No boats have arrived for 36 days!” That was the recent proud claim of our immigration minister, Scott Morrison, delivered in a tone that suggested we should all cheer such a wonderful accomplishment. In fact, given the strategies employed to achieve this result, we should hang our heads in shame. We are living through a Continue reading »
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John Menadue. The Blame Game in health
Attempts to resolve the Commonwealth/State blame game have been unsuccessful and expensive. Time and time again federal governments try and buy off state criticism by spending more taxpayer’s money without any real improvements in the delivery of health services. This futile blame game is not surprising in a federation where there are nine departments of Continue reading »
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NY Times – Capitalism Eating its Children.
Yesterday I posted a blog ‘Are our Bankers Listening or Caring’. It referred to speeches by the IMF Chief, Christine Lagarde, and the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney. They were speaking at a ‘Inclusive Capitalism’ conference in London. Today the New York Times has carried an op ed piece by Roger Cohen Continue reading »
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Richard Butler. The Invasion of Iraq,the decision and it’s consequences
It was reported on May 29th, that Sir John Chilcot, the head of the UK inquiry into the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, had reached a “breakthrough” on the issue of how much of the official records of the decision to invade can be published. The publication of the Chilcot report is some two Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Are our bankers listening or caring?
On Wednesday in London at a conference on ‘inclusive capitalism’ the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, and IMF Chief, Christine Lagarde, gave the international banking community the most severe pasting that I can ever recall of a particular industry, or at least one that operates “legally”. They said that bankers regarded themselves Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Egypt’s new would-be Pharaoh.
The headline in The Australian was stark and brutal: SISI VOWS TO ERADICATE BROTHERHOOD. Eradicate? This is a word you associate with efforts to get rid of a disease or an agricultural pest. But in this case it was meant as a kind of cleansing of religious adherents and caused barely a ripple of protest Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Australia-Japan – friends should be frank.
Tony Abbott is shortly to visit Japan. He should be aware of the serious ultra-nationalist trend in Japan. That ultra-nationalism in the past has brought tragedy to the Japanese people and our region. The chief exponent of this ultra-nationalism in Japan is Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe,who will be his host. I believe that Japan is Continue reading »
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John Menadue.The vendetta against the ABC and the cost to Australia
Tony Abbott’s vendetta against the ABC is prejudicing Australia’s regional diplomacy. The ABC is the most trusted media organisation in the country but Tony Abbott wants to bring it to heel. He has grown used to the fawning Murdoch media. According to Essential Research, 70% of Australians have a lot of or some trust in Continue reading »
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John Falzon. Time to stand and fight
There are measures in this Budget that rip the guts out of what remains of a fair and egalitarian Australia. These measures will not help people into jobs but they will force people into poverty. You don’t help young people or older people or people with a disability or single mums into jobs by making them Continue reading »
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Héctor Abad Faciolince: An Idea of Europe
After centuries of war, European unity has been one of the world’s greatest achievements in the second half of the 20th Century. But can it last? The recent European Parliamentary elections have given rise to Euro scepticism and hostility to immigration. It is a testing time for Europe. John Menadue El Espectador, Colombia, 4 Continue reading »
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Michael Keating. Part 5. Federalism
The Government’s Commission of Audit, which preceded this Budget, recommended that policy and service delivery should as far as practicable be the responsibility of the level of government closest to the people receiving those services, and that each level of government should be sovereign in its own sphere, with minimal duplication between the Commonwealth and Continue reading »
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Richard Butler. American Greed trumps the American Dream: With help from the referee.
During the last two weeks a Professor from the Paris School of Economics, Thomas Piketty, has been touring the US speaking about his book; Capital in the Twenty-First Century. His audiences have been overflowing. Public television described the reception he has received as reminiscent of that given the Beatles, in their first visit to the Continue reading »
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Michael Keating. Part 4. Long-term Fiscal and Social Sustainability and Taxation
Fundamentally there is a problem with the rhetoric from the government and its cohorts such as the Commission of Audit. They insist on describing taxation as a ‘burden’ that should be lightened at every opportunity; thus implying that taxation is somehow illegitimate. On the contrary, however, taxation represents our mutual obligation to one another as Continue reading »
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Geoff Hiscock. Economic time is right in India for Modi and his mandate
Narendra Modi comes to office in India with two big advantages: the economic cycle is starting to turn up at last, and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a clear majority in parliament that frees him from the coalition-style shackles that plagued his predecessor, Manmohan Singh. The timing is right for Modi. After two years Continue reading »
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Michael Keating. Part 3. An Alternative and Better Budget Structure
In two previous blogs I have argued that the Government’s Budget broadly got the economics right, but it failed the test of fairness and it attacks our traditional values. In that case, however, what would the alternative Budget structure look like? Fundamentally the Budget should have relied much more on taxation and less on expenditure Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Think tanks, cash for comment and the corruption of public debate.
In recent months we have been partly appalled and partly amused by the urgers and spivs from both sides of politics that have been paraded in Sydney before the Independent Commission against Corruption. Most recently we have seen developers and others using fronts to launder money to hand on to political parties. Even the Young Continue reading »
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Michael Keating. Part 2. The Budget and our Values
The Budget is always the clearest guide to a government’s priorities and values. In the present instance, the Coalition Government wants to define this budget as being all about “contribution”. Their rhetoric is that we should all make a contribution towards restoring the nation’s finances. Spreading the burden would be fair and therefore consistent with Continue reading »
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Michael Keating. Part 1 The Budget and what it means for Australia’s Future
Each day this week I will be running a series of blogs by Michael Keating on the Budget and its repercussions. The posts will be Australia’s Fiscal Challenge The Budget and our Values A Better Alternate Budget Structure Taxation Federalism I am sure that these five posts will make a substantial contribution to our understanding Continue reading »
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Jennifer Doggett. Budget 2014 – Primary Health Care
While some commentators are calling this Budget ‘The end of universal health care’ others are seeing some opportunities to improve health system performance, in particular through better collaborations with state-funded health services and programs. The most high profile Budget measures in the primary health care sector are the introduction of new co-payments for bulk billed Continue reading »
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John Menadue. For some the age of entitlement continues.
Joe Hockey talks endlessly that the days of entitlement are over. They may be over for the unemployed, students, the sick and pensioners – in fact the majority never had days of entitlement. But they are certainly not over for the miners and the financial sector. These two sectors survived unscathed from the budget. This Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Seven dollar GP co-payment – and an unintended consequence
If the co-payment takes effect, it is likely to result in an increase in doctor’s fees. As Ian McAuley has pointed out, the attraction of bulk-billing for the doctor is that it removes the cost of handling and accounting for transactions. The invoice is sent directly to Medicare. Once the doctor is obliged to handle Continue reading »
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John Menadue. The Budget: Robin Hood in reverse.
There was a real risk that Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey believed their windy rhetoric of the last two years about debt and deficits. Having won the election they have had to face the reality that they have been grossly exaggerating our economic problems. The real risk was that Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey would Continue reading »
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Ian McAuley. Ignored Budget issues.
Lobby groups and community organizations have provided their take on the Budget – some with a “what’s in it for me” approach, others with a more analytical line. My contribution from the stands is to draw attention to a few aspects which aren’t getting a great deal of attention. 1. Pension indexation. I’m surprised that Continue reading »
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Michael Kelly SJ. A powerful minority or an elected majority!
In a process that shows no sign of ending soon, Thailand’s unstable governance has reached another crisis. The Acting Prime Minister has been tipped out only to be replaced by an Acting Acting Prime Minister who is himself to face judgment for his part in the failed scheme to stabilize the price of rice. These Continue reading »
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Peter Menadue. Should corporations have political rights?
There is an old legal saying that a corporation has no body to be burnt or soul to be damned. In other words, it is just a legal fiction designed to confer limited liability upon its shareholders. Despite that, there is an insidious and very dangerous notion abroad that corporations have political rights and Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Increasing the petrol tax is good policy.
It may not be good short-term politics for the Abbott Government but it will be of long-term benefit to Australia if we lift the excise on petrol which has been frozen since 2001. The motor industry will protest. It should be faced down, just as we should have faced down the mining lobby when it Continue reading »