Will the Albanese government restore Medicare as a universal system? Covid is still killing about 500 Australians a month; and crazies in the Liberal Party branches try to undermine their few remaining sound parliamentarians. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy.
Treasury’s tax expenditure statement is more about the cosmetics of “budget repair” than tax reform. The Australian economy in three snapshots: has the Reserve Bank destroyed the village in order to save it? Industry policy reconsidered – no, it isn’t anything like the industry policy of the 1950s and 1960s.
How electric vehicles are forcing a re-think of road funding and are challenging established Commonwealth-state fiscal relations. At last some clear thinking on fuel tax credits – users of diesoline and gasoline have been getting away without paying for their contribution to climate change. How the Coalition government made roads more dangerous: will the present government correct this negligence or will it simply issue a few press releases?
An election is looming in New South Wales – hard for the Coalition to hold office, but no sign Labor will have a majority. Federally Labor holds its lead, while crazies in the Liberal Party branches try to undermine their few remaining sound parliamentarians.
Will the Albanese government restore Medicare as a universal system, or will it allow it to become a residual charity system? Understanding data on bulk billing – it’s worse than it looks. Covid is still killing about 500 Australians a month.
Sanitizing children’s books to ensure they never learn about massacres of aboriginal people, the White Australia policy, racial segregation, colonialism, Nazism and apartheid. Populism may be on the way out but authoritarianism is well-established.
Ian McAuley is a retired lecturer in public finance at the University of Canberra. He can be contacted at “ian" at the domain “ianmcauley.com” .
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