June 2024
- Opinion
- Queensland budget
A blatant and cynical vote-buying budget
Critiquing this budget from a perspective of expenditure restraint, balanced budgets and low debt is a turkey shoot.
March 2024
- Opinion
- Tax reform
Stage three tax cuts haven’t blunted the impact of bracket creep
The top brackets will continue to inexorably sweep up a rising number of taxpayers with collateral damage to incentive and ambition.
- Opinion
- GST
NSW needs to lead the charge on reforming GST share-out
Predicting what will come out of the GST distribution methodology is like cracking the Enigma code. But small states have a vested interest in keeping the status quo.
February 2024
- Opinion
- Inflation
Maths show supermarkets not to blame for cost-of-living crisis
The ferocity of the political campaign against Coles and Woolworths tells us more about politics than about alleged “price gouging” by the big two.
January 2024
- Opinion
- Tax reform
Albanese slams door on Labor’s own tax aspirations
Labor and the Coalition once wanted to cut the top rate of tax to 40 per cent and scrap the 37 per cent bracket. That seems unimaginable now.
December 2023
- Opinion
- Australian economy
How Chalmers’ fiscal goals lost all ambition
It is striking how modest fiscal strategy ambitions have become. If we look back over 10 years, there are valuable lessons.
September 2023
- Opinion
- NSW budget
First big policy test for NSW Labor is budget repair
The Minns government has a major task ahead of it to stabilise NSW’s growing debt and avoid a credit downrating for the second most debt-burdened state.
May 2023
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Three ways that Chalmers’ budget fiddled with the numbers
The financial year 2023 budget is a sharp reminder that we should never take treasurers’ claims to gold-medal fiscal management at face value.
- Opinion
- Tax reform
Why it’s a myth that Australia is a low-taxing country
Despite brimming coffers there are calls for tax increases, or tax cuts to be scrapped. There is no case for that.
April 2023
- Opinion
- Victorian budget
Victoria’s crippled finances are all Daniel Andrews’ fault
Having resisted any appeals from the federal government for moderation in 2020 and 2021, it is a bit rich for the Victorian premier to look to Canberra now for help in fixing his budget black hole.
November 2022
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Pocock’s inclusion committee another blow to fiscal discipline
Labor’s desperate workplace bill deal with the independent senator has made a budget rod for its own back.
September 2022
- Opinion
- Tax reform
Why the government has to make the case for stage 3 tax cuts
These tax cuts are both affordable and essential if incentive is to be improved and bracket creep contained. Labor cannot just let them fade.
June 2022
- Opinion
- Federal budget
No black holes, except Labor’s spending
Labor hasn’t inherited any hidden budget surprises. It is spending monuments created in their last period in office that now need to be tamed.
May 2022
- Opinion
- Federal election
How to reverse Whitlam-sized growth in government
The inconvenient fact of the election campaign is that the out-of-control NDIS is the place to start paring public spending back to reduce the structural budget deficit.
March 2022
- Opinion
- Tax reform
Treasurer should say goodbye to old friend bracket creep
The best budget surprise would be for Josh Frydenberg to end the fiscal repair charade by announcing automatic annual indexation of marginal income tax thresholds.
- Opinion
- Tax reform
Scrap LMITO and replace the cash splash with real tax reform
Rather than roll over the poorly designed rebate for a third time, the Treasurer should include an additional cut in marginal rates in the stage 3 package.
February 2022
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Australia is out of denial on debt, but has no will to act
The case for running large structural deficits is already crumbling. But there is no appetite for the measures needed to tame them.
October 2021
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Morrison should call Queensland’s hospital bluff to blast open borders
The PM should agree to Queensland’s demands, and link more federal health funding to the state reopening its borders - and keeping them open.
July 2021
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
As JobKeeper calls get louder, PM must be cautious
The circumstances of 2020 were unique, and should not be used as a model for handling every future setback.
April 2021
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Budget should abolish low-income tax offset by bringing forward cuts
Instead of extending the ‘temporary’ low and middle income tax offset, Josh Frydenberg should replace it with an earlier start date for the Stage 3, 30 per cent marginal tax rate.