Government spending needs reform before taxes
I would like a dollar for every time I’ve read how much the Australian economy needs tax reform. Sure, it…
Nothing pretty about a post-pandemic Budget
The New South Wales Budget tabled this week completes the series of 2024-25 budgets from the larger states and the…
The next tax raid in the super wars
The bigger the super pot, the more vulnerable it is to tax raids
New polling shows Australians won’t accept lockdowns once we hit jab targets
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is finally taking a stand against premiers wanting to keep wielding the lockdown weapon against Covid-19…
Inside the Great Siege of Sydney
The current Covid-19 restrictions on normal life in Sydney and surrounds have been portrayed as both ‘lockdown lite’ and ‘draconian’ — and…
JobKeeper: dead, buried, cremated - and irrelevant
The corona-crisis has given birth to a mishmash of public policy programs with ‘Job’ in the title, but there is…
Effective aged care reform requires smart thinking, not just a spending spree
The kneejerk media and political reaction to the report of the Royal Commission into aged care released this week is to accept it has made the case…
GDP is up, but recession conditions remain
The September quarter national accounts released last Wednesday have been interpreted by some commentators as heralding the end of the…
Why we need to stay concerned by debt
Government borrowings are skyrocketing as you read this. Unfashionable though it is to worry about this, there are still some of…
Bordering on the absurd
November 3 is shaping up as a big day in the 2020 calendar: the US elections; the Melbourne Cup; and…
Budget 2020: the overwhelming case for accelerated income tax cuts
Heavy hints from ministers that planned personal income tax cuts will be brought forward in next week’s budget have sparked…
Has federalism failed us in the pandemic?
Disparate government policies within Australia in response to the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic have highlighted strengths and weaknesses in our federal structure.…
What do Victoria and New Zealand have in common?
Victoria and New Zealand are similar in size and population. Their current leaders, Premier and Prime Minister respectively, although of…
Revealed: new analysis shows the true cost of mismanaging the corona crisis
With many countries, including Australia, having reported their national accounts for the April to June quarter, the initial economic impact…
ScoMo and Josh: worse than Whitlam?
In delivering the economic and fiscal update on Thursday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivered on his promise of ‘eye-watering’ numbers. An…
Forget about a catchy tag for the economic corona crisis. How do we get out of it?
Living standards, livelihoods and business survival are at stake as the pandemic — and government responses to it — wreak…
It’s not just Canberra. The states face a corona budget belting too
The coronavirus pandemic has drawn state government policies into the response to a national crisis like rarely before — a…
The economic statement: the real issues
The Treasurer’s ministerial statement to parliament yesterday – in place of the usual budget speech scheduled for that day — could…
Loosen corona restrictions or face a fearful future cost
If you want to know how much the coronavirus pandemic might cost, the International Monetary Fund’s recent world economic outlook…
The Koronavirus Keystone Kops threaten our health and our liberty
In the space of just a few weeks, the rule of law in Australia has both triumphed in the High…
Wait until we emerge from shelter – and see the economic damage done
If we think of coronavirus as a severe tropical cyclone, when it passes and we venture outside to survey the…
Coronavirus: not just a health crisis, but a crisis for our economy and liberty
Coronavirus is first and foremost a health crisis. But it is fast becoming an economic crisis as well. Some observers…
Drop the cash ban. Let’s keep legal tender legal
When does the end justify the means? One answer to that question comes in legislation currently snaking its way through the…
We don’t need a bushfire royal commission. We need clearly defined responsibilities
Among the many extraordinary aspects of this season’s bushfire crisis is the blame directed towards the federal government – and…
The 2020s: the new age of profligacy
Fiscal profligacy is breaking out all over. Australia is an exception, but many other countries have given up on efforts…
