July 23, 2018

MICHAEL KEATING. The Future Budget Outlook - a comment on the Parliamentary Budget Office Report on Trends affecting the sustainability of Commonwealth taxes

Last week the independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) released a new report on Trends affecting the sustainability of Commonwealth taxes. The key conclusion is that taxation receipts are likely to trend down in future relative to GDP, given current policy settings and recent consumption and structural trends. On the basis of its detailed analysis of past revenue trends, the PBO finds that there is a likelihood that taxes on consumption will continue to trend downwards, taxes on capital will be flat or trend downwards and an increasing proportion of labour income will be taxed concessionally through the superannuation system. The PBO then concludes that If these risks to tax receipts eventuate, and in the absence of other taxation reforms, maintaining Commonwealth Government revenue at recent levels as a share of GDP will lead to an increasing reliance on taxes on labour income through the personal income tax system.

July 31, 2019

JERRY ROBERTS -Religious Discrimination

The Attorney General and Prime Minister are working on religious discrimination legislation that is unnecessary and dangerous. The Attorney is being lobbied by religious extremists who will never be satisfied. This is a classic “race to the bottom” of a type all too familiar in contemporary politics.

May 23, 2018

LUKE FRASER. Freight: fresh disappointment for our Prime Minister

Pity Prime Minister Turnbull - an intelligent man, trying to secure productive reform of this sector, yet met with fresh disappointment at each turn. Turnbull has made a number of moves in the transport space to suggest he has seen through a lot of second-rate advice and now wants something better: a more efficient freight sector, for one thing.

July 23, 2019

CAVAN HOGUE. Where is Hong Kong going?

Current protests, including violence, present difficult decisions for the PRC and for Xi Jin Ping. The Hong Kong Government does not seem to be able to control things so what will Beijing do? No option provides a simple solution.

April 10, 2018

DAVID STEPHENS. Brendan Nelsons bunker and with cap in hand: contrasts in funding our national cultural institutions

The Director of the Australian War Memorial, Dr Brendan Nelson, has been spruiking the Memorials plans for a massive expansion. He showed the ABCs Andrew Greene around the Memorial, pointing out its need for more space, particularly to show big exhibits like helicopters and jet fighters, as well as for telling the story of current and recent military campaigns. (Paul Daley comments in Guardian Australia.)

October 24, 2017

LEANNE WELLS. Who benefits from health insurance reforms? Check the sharemarket.

_The notable feature of Australias heavy investment in health insurance is the lack of hard evidence to support the cost and performance of subsidised private health insurance._For health fund members baffled about the real impact of the Governments private insurance reform plan, there was one indicator immediately available.

May 13, 2019

MICHAEL PASCOE. Hey PM, you're either lying or ignorant about the RBA's forecasts. (New Daily, 12.5.2019)

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is either desperately lying or ignorant about the Reserve Bank seriously downgrading Australias economic outlook a downgrade that could easily wipe out the governments back in black surplus claim.

February 19, 2019

JILL MARGO. Why Denmark is reducing hospitals while we are building more. (AFR 19.2.2019)

“About 15 years ago, we realised the solution to these problems is not more hospitals but to think about how we can deliver healthcare in a different way,” says Hans Erik Henriksen, CEO of Healthcare DENMARK.

“We aim to deliver as many services as possible through primary healthcare, municipalities, health centres and outpatient clinics and as little healthcare as possible from our hospitals.

May 14, 2019

Sanctions a follow-up

Several people have written seeking clarification and explanation of some of my arguments in my previous article on sanctions, published here on Friday 10 May. The academic literature on the success and effectiveness of sanctions is in something of a mess, for a number of reasons.

May 30, 2019

JOHN MENADUE. What should Labor stand for? Values and principles. Part 3 of 3.

In Part 2 I focussed on particular issues the ALP faces. In this part I will focus on the way that Labor policies and programs need to be grounded in values and principles.

September 25, 2018

GRATTAN INSTITUTE Whos in the room? Access and influence in Australian politics.

On almost any measure Australia lags behind other comparable countries in managing the lobbying scourge

August 8, 2018

JOHN MENADUE. The Great Barrier Reef Foundation and crony capitalism

Just imagine if a Labor prime minister handed out a $444 million grant to a small reef charity without any due process. The Murdoch media would be even more apoplectic than usual. There is a lack of transparency and probity in this case. The Chairmans Panel for this reef charity is full of mates and cronies.

October 25, 2016

JOSEPH CAMILLERI. The election of Hillary Clinton promises a more dangerous world.

In a long and often exasperating presidential campaign, Americans and the world have been subjected to Donald Trumps odious and often incoherent rhetoric, and from both sides much vitriol and endless accusations of deceit, crookedness and sexual misconduct.

In this largely policy-free contest, Hillary Clintons approach to the immense challenges facing the United States has escaped serious scrutiny. Yet, how America views its place in a rapidly transforming world has far-reaching implications not only for security at home and abroad, but for the economy, financial markets, the environment and much else.

September 15, 2019

VICTOR GAETEN. Pope Francis Holy Diplomacy in Ukraine (UCA News 5-9-19)

Why Washington and the Vatican Dont See Eye to Eye

June 18, 2018

MIKE SCRAFTON: NATO 2018 and Communique Dread

Dread and angst must be haunting the corridors of Europes foreign and defence ministries. The NATO Heads of State and Government will meet over 11 to 12 July 2018 in Brussels and the question of the communique will already be weighing heavy on ministers, advisers and officials. NATO is a consensus decision-making body but the prospects of an agreed communique seem slight at this stage. NATO has been the spine of the Western alliance and the liberal international order. Discord among its members can only benefit states interested in weakening the bonds holding the current order in place.

May 7, 2018

CHRIS GERAGHTY. Jesus The Forgotten Feminist.

I have long been interested in why the officers of the catholic church have been so reluctant to consider involving women in the governance of their institution and in its sacramental ministry. So I decided to write a book about it.

September 9, 2019

HAIQING YU. Chinese students in Australia and our responsibility

The discourse on Chinas influence in Australia has recently shifted its focus to Chinese students on Australian university campuses. They are seen as pro-Chinese Communist Party nationalists who sing the Chinese national anthem and shout profane abuse at pro-Hong Kong-protest supporters in our universities in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

September 9, 2018

CLIVE HAMILTON. None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See

Jocelyn Chey has a bee in her bonnet. In a series of articles on this blog she has repeatedly characterised my book, Silent Invasion: Chinas Influence in Australia, as anti-Chinese. In her latest attack, she claims that I engage in racial profiling, lump all Chinese-Australians together and feed into anti-Asian propaganda.

March 4, 2018

PAUL COLLINS. The Real Crisis of Australian Catholicism.

It is patently obvious that Australian Catholicism is in crisis. The usual analysis is that this has been caused by the appalling mishandling and cover-up of child sexual abuse and the subsequent investigations of the Royal Commission. However, this is only a partial explanation. Catholicisms problems have a much longer history and go much deeper. They wont be solved merely by the application of the recommendations of the Commission. A much more radical root and branch reform is needed.

July 8, 2018

MUNGO MacCALLUM. The Libertarians.

I have never personally met Sarah Hanson-Young, and I know absolutely nothing about her sex life.And the same applies to David Leyonhjelm, in spades. But I do have some acquaintances with Libertarians, and have not always liked what I have seen.

April 24, 2018

Anzacs fought and died at Gallipoli for Britain, not Australia

Conservatives and militarists want us to cling to a disastrous imperial war. Such a war could never be ’nation building’ as the apologists for empire suggest. It was quite the reverse.The Anzac myth makers encourage us to focus on how our soldiers fought in order to avoid the central issue of why we fought. We do the same today, highlighting the valour of our military and avoiding the much more important question of why we were in Turkey and Vietnam and now in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

April 10, 2018

JOHN TULLOH: Be careful what you say about Malaysia.

Perhaps it is time for DFAT to issue a travel advisory about Malaysia, namely be very careful what you say about the country. Uttering anything amounting to fake news is now a criminal offence. Offenders can be fined up to $166,000 or be jailed for as long as six years - even if youve never been to the country.

September 15, 2019

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Indonesias Dr Strangelove takes final flight

Indonesias fourth president, the late Abdurrahman Gus Dur Wahid, was never short of a quip.

First president (Soekarno, who had nine wives) was crazy about women. The second (Soeharto, who allegedly stole US$35 billion) was crazy about money.The third (Habibie) is just crazy.Assessing himself, Wahid added:I just drive people crazy.

August 28, 2020

An apology

My regrets that the Pearls and Irritations site was down for an extended period yesterday. It is now up and running again with all articles available.

Regards John Menadue

April 25, 2019

GRAEME STEWART. Major holes in Medicare.

For a very large and growing number of poorer Australians, the high out-of-pocket expenses for medical care in Australia to which Ross Gittins refers (SMH Prevention is better than cure, April 24), are tearing major holes in the safety net Medicare was designed to provide to us all, rich and poor.

June 15, 2018

ANDREW JAKUBOWICZ. A peace treaty to end the low-intensity guerilla campaign against the indigenous population.

Australia is a nation and a state established on grounds belonging to Indigenous owners, through a war which has never ended.

August 21, 2019

Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind

“They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind”, according to the Book of Hosea in the Old Testament. Not in the Australian federal system of government, they shant. Not when it comes to education policy.

May 2, 2017

Making Housing Affordable Series. HAL PAWSON. Can Institutional Funding be Channelled into Rental Housing?

Channelling institutional finance into affordable rental housing has long been a holy grail urban policy aspiration. Recent developments suggest that this may be edging towards reality.

August 29, 2018

JERRY ROBERTS Media monstrosities and a fundamental political error

The two overpowering impressions remaining after last weeks political drama are an abuse of media influence correctly identified by Chris Uhlmann and a mistaken view among some Liberal MPs about the nature of their Partys base.

January 22, 2018

The bomb for Australia? (Part 2)

As we consider whether Australia should obtain nuclear weapons, we need to ask who might subject us to nuclear blackmail. In the authoritative statement of Chinas strategic vision in President Xi Jinpings address to the 19th Communist Party Congress on 18 October last year, the three core elements of Chinas vision of the new world order were parity in ChinaUS relations; growing Chinese influence in writing the underlying rules and in designing and controlling the governance institutions of the global order; and more assertive Chinese diplomacy in that new international system.

September 5, 2019

JOHN MENADUE. The continuing litany of lies on boat arrivals and border protection.

I am sorry if I keep repeating what I have been saying for four years but when will we finally accept that we have been consistently conned and lied to about boat arrivals and border protection for a long time. Our national policies on asylum seekers have been built on the shifting sands of government deception which the main stream media has failed to expose. Our borders are now less secure than ever before despite all the spin.

August 7, 2018

PAUL COLLINS. Breaking the Seal.

Recently weve seen a slew of articles in the media, both informed and otherwise, on the question of the seal of confession. Already a couple of Australian governments have acted to enforce mandatory reporting on priests when sexual abuse of children is mentioned in confession. Federal Attorney General Christian Porter told his state and territory counterparts in early-June that his government is working toward developing a consistent approach for all jurisdictions. In passing, Porter correctly pointed out that legally the seal of confession was never absolute under Australian law, but was generally respected. What is also clear is that the Australian bishops arent going to accept mandatory reporting of confessional material. We seem to be plunging into a church-state conflict with priests heading-off to jail.

March 7, 2018

JOHN MENADUE The impotent and the pure!

_In the Batman bi election the Greens have correctly directed criticism at the cruel policies of the ALP and the Coalition on refugees in Manus and Nauru._But the Greens do not have clean hands either.

September 2, 2019

RICHARD BROINOWSKI. Pernicious Secrets

Brian Toohey begins his new book Secret with a deliciously revealing quote from Harold Thorby, Australian Minister for Defence in 1938: ‘We the Government have vital information which we cannot disclose. It is upon this knowledge that we make decisions. You, who are merely private citizens, have no access to this information. Any criticism you make of our policy, any controversy about it which you may indulge, will therefore be uninformed and valueless. If, in spite of your ignorance, you persist in questioning our policy, we can only conclude that you are disloyal.’

August 8, 2019

RICHARD BUTLER Trump's Weapon of Choice: Animus

I_t is widely believed that Trump’s continually expressed animosity towards black and brown people, particularly Mexicans, his description of immigrants/asylum seekers as constituting an invasion of the US, an “infestation”, caused the mass murder at El Paso. Trump’s animus dominates virtually all of his rhetoric, towards every subject; from China, the EU, the media, Iran, nuclear arms control, to every issue in US domestic politics and, every action by the Obama administration. This is a dangerous pathology and, in the context of the Alliance, our Government is being pressed to further subscribe to it, with respect to China._

August 3, 2018

CLIMATE COUNCIL. Drought and climate change. The elephant in the room we refuse to talk about.

The Climate Council in it’s Fact Sheet, Climate Change and drought June 2018 reports on how climate change is contributing to droughts. A key finding is that ‘climate change is likely making drought conditions in southwest and southeastern Australia worse’.

Yet the media,politicians and farmer organisations consistently fail to acknowledge the link between climate change and weather.

August 15, 2019

ERIC SIDOTI. Re-Imagining Bi-Partisanship

Australians have become used to the idea that major reforms demand bi-partisan support. Yet bi-partisanship, as traditionally understood, is increasingly elusive with the result that genuine reforms are either watered down or abandoned on the assumption of failure. This is being played out before our eyes in the arguments for and against putting a referendum to the people on enshrining a First Nations voice in the Australian Constitution as envisaged by the Uluru Statement From the Heart (May 2017).

August 16, 2018

LYNDSAY CONNORS. Tempora mutantur

Times change, but the Australian system of planning and funding schools is in a time warp, being held back by vested interests from keeping pace with the demands upon it.

June 10, 2019

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Our freedom is at risk.

Our Prime Minister assures us that the AFP raids of last week had absolutely nothing to do with him. Well, of course not he and his government are never responsible for anything.

April 18, 2019

PATTY FAWKNER SGS. Vague wanting. Our lives, yours and mine, are too precious to fritter away on lukewarm commitments and half-hearted vows.

Do you want God?

The retreat directors question to me, a young nun preparing to renew her vows as a Good Samaritan Sister, was uncharacteristically blunt. The much-revered Benedictine priest must have picked up something in my attitude during our daily one-on-one encounters.

June 10, 2018

MUNGO MacCALLUM. The end of Western Civilisation!

It was, declared The Australians resident theologian Greg Sheridan, a pivotal moment in modern Australian history.

Well, modern Australian history begins with white settlement. So was Pope Greg referring to the arrival of the first fleet, perhaps? The end of transportation? The celebration of federation? The landing at Gallipoli? The victory in the Coral Sea?

No, none of the above something far more important: the ANUs rejection of the proposed Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation. According to Sheridan, the universitys decision means that Western Civilisation itself is now imperilled.

April 20, 2018

ROBERT MANNE. How we came to be so cruel to asylum seekers.

This is an edited extract of a talk delivered to the Integrity 20 Conference at Griffith University on October 25, 2016

If you had been told 30 years ago that Australia would create the least asylum seeker friendly institutional arrangements in the world, you would not have been believed.

June 25, 2017

IAN MCAULEY. This time, lets get electricity pricing right

Consumers are understandably annoyed about recent electricity price rises. But that does not mean they would necessarily react negatively to a price rise associated with adoption of the Finkel Report recommendations. People are more likely to accept a price rise serving a public purpose than a price rise flowing through to rent-seekers and paying for bureaucratic overheads in the electricity supply chain.

October 6, 2014

Richard Butler. Obama transformed?

The jingoistic pressures applied to the media, commentators, academics, policy advisors in order to contain their commentary on the US illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, have been in evidence again following President Obamas decision to commence war on ISIL. This time, however those pressures have been significantly smaller. Then it took almost three years before it was considered acceptable to question the operation. It has now taken only some three weeks for doubts and serious questions to be voiced and, published in mainstream media.

December 17, 2019

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August 15, 2019

Are "moderates" failing to keep us safe?

Could it be moderates - through lack of vigilance, or is it apathy? - who most threaten our safety and existence? Yes, this seems a ridiculous, even immoderate assertion. But lets think about it. The US, the UK and Australia are currently led though theres precious little leading by men unembarrassed to flaunt their lack of coherent policy and analysis, their disdain for science and seriousness, their willingness to tell or endorse any lie at any time if it seems to advantage them. Trump, Johnson and Morrison are, to a man, dizzy with success, adoring of their own vulgar, meaningless slogans, and utterly impervious to views that dont flatter them. But how did they get such power? How do they maintain it? And why have political and media moderates failed to sufficiently expose these sorry little Emperors nakedness?

April 29, 2019

MUNGO MacCALLUM. The end of the beginning.

The enduring image of the week was that of our prime minister bouncing a soccer ball on his head. Or possibly vice versa.

August 21, 2019

From little things, big things grow, but problems can arise

In 1984 the number of international students in Australian was minimal and I found Australian University Vice Chancellors very sceptical about encouraging international students to study in Australia .They feared the displacement of Australian students. But in the Department of Trade we pressed on and now there are almost 700 000 international students in Australia. International education is now our third largest export earner, over $30 b per annum and rapidly rising, year on year.But there are problems

May 21, 2018

PAUL COLLINS Stop the Buck-passing and Resign.

President Harry S. Truman promised that the buck stops here. Well, last Friday afternoon Rome time, the Chilean bishopsall thirty-four of themdecided to stop the buck-passing and face the music, that is confront the consequences of their pretty-much complete failure to deal with the sexual abuse crisis. They all offered to resign. What are the implications for the Australian bishops?

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal