This Month
Time for Albanese to grasp the reform nettle
The government got away with defying the laws of economics once, but it might not be so lucky again.
April
Threadbare Coalition agenda needs a burning platform on bracket creep
If Peter Dutton is victorious, the budget repair rhetoric will need tangible policy proposals to enable a serious conversation with voters about tax reform.
Dutton is pursuing a housing subsidy so bad, even Trump killed it
The policy is highly regressive, and will simply boost house prices and blow a huge hole in the personal income tax base that will never be recovered.
Our tax system is a dog’s breakfast. Here’s a 3x3 blueprint to fix it
Three “maxims” to guide the changes. Three “no-regrets” steps either side of politics could institute right away. And three “big-picture” medium-term measures.
Why we shouldn’t rule out an economic doomsday
Policymakers should be war gaming the worst scenario because never before has a single signature by a single individual raised the probability of recession so sharply.
March
Three changes still needed to realise RBA’s potential
The reserve bank has undergone profound change in the past two years. It shouldn’t stop now.
Election a battle between ‘worse off’ and ‘getting better’
Australia is in a worse position today than three years ago – an economic position that is going to be difficult to sell to voters.
Why DOGE is a guide to what Dutton should not do
The punters don’t really want a radically smaller government or fewer public servants. What they want is for the government to be effective and to pay as little tax as possible to make that happen.
This three-point plan can restore respect for taxpayers’ money
The three major announcements by the two major parties so far this election year perfectly encapsulate everything that is wrong with Australian politics
February
Why the RBA will cut (but shouldn’t)
It is too soon to say “mission accomplished”. Monetary loosening should wait until inflation is substantially below forecast for a prolonged period.
‘Prosperity first’ to get us out of economic stagnation
Whoever wins the next election, if a decision comes before you, employ one criterion: will this make Australia more or less prosperous?
January
It’s time for independent forecasts to end budget trickery
An Office of Budget Honesty is needed to create a fiscal watchdog with teeth.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has lost control of the budget
The Albanese government’s decisions on net have added to the national debt as a share of GDP well over three times that of the former Coalition government over the same period.
December 2024
Economics of Coalition’s nuclear modelling are worth nothing
There may well still be good reasons to favour nuclear. But on the basis of this modelling, the economics isn’t one of them.
Public sector is strangling economy to death
Like a parasitic twin, the healthy economy is sucking the life out of the sick economy. Something has to give.
November 2024
Labor should have taken global inflation as seriously as the GFC
If the government had taken belt-tightening decisions 2½ years ago to help lower inflation, Australians’ living standards would be better today.
Albanese and Chalmers make the same error as Biden and Harris
The Democrats’ decision to put jobs ahead of inflation has cost them dearly. But Labor has been doing the same thing.
Labor’s mimicking of Biden on uni debt is inequitable and indefensible
Not satisfied with crippling Australia’s higher education system with its self-destructive student caps, the government simply couldn’t resist doubling down.
October 2024
Overall, Australia’s COVID management was a huge success
Where we succeeded, it was the result of good institutions and good decision-making. But that’s not to say we didn’t stumble.
The US presidential election is a contest of economic illiterates
There is a lot of crazy economic policy being spruiked by both sides of American politics, but thinking people know serious, substantive policy debate will take place next year.