This Month
Keating: ‘CBA was flying on one wing when I became Treasurer’
The Commonwealth Bank’s record-breaking share price surge compelled Paul Keating to summon the Financial Review to his Sydney office for a history lesson.
Look at what governments do on super, not what they say
In isolation, Labor’s proposed new Division 296 tax on superannuation balances above $3 million is not the end of the world. But it’s not an isolated act.
Influential or ‘enfeebled’: Has Treasury lost its mojo?
With high government spending, low productivity, and no tax reform in 25 years, an uncomfortable question is being whispered in Canberra.
May
Labor shouldn’t crash through on super taxes like the Voice
The government’s failure to heed advice from many parts of the community that the super tax policy is flawed ominously echoes the defeat of the referendum.
Nats must reunite with Libs sooner rather than later
The prospect of prosecuting their agenda is made more likely if the Nationals end their self-imposed exile and recombine with the Liberal Party.
Chalmers defiant as pressure builds on $3m super tax
Teal MP Allegra Spender has implored the treasurer to rethink the tax while some Labor MPs have misgivings about proceeding with the policy.
Don’t believe the spin – the Australian election was Trumped
I’ve had enough of the misreading of the result. It was not about Labor’s strategic brilliance but rather voters’ response to Donald Trump’s wrecking ball.
You thought the election campaign was nuts? This week took the cake
Anthony Albanese watches ministers get shot down, Angus Taylor takes the break-glass option, Matt Canavan jumps into the ring – and then there’s the Greens!
Tech champion but with a dark side: Axed Husic speaks
Dumped Science and Industry Minister Ed Husic has said he will continue to advocate for Australia’s technology sector from the back benches, ahead of other cabinet changes.
Liberals implode but Labor’s hardest test to come
Not even a Paul Keating spray can deflect Labor’s euphoria over its extraordinary win. What Anthony Albanese will do with that in government is much less secure.
April
Why Australia’s four pillars policy is as strong as ever
Paul Keating’s policy that stops the big four banks taking each other over is still going strong, but it probably won’t stop the big from getting bigger.
Hawke and Keating were wrong. There is a strong case for tariffs
The Hawke-Keating-Howard era got rid of tariffs. But in their place, they brought in a range of imposts that never existed before, or at least not to the same degree.
Bipartisan illusion on pay rises
It’s the magic pudding pitch. Even Peter Dutton is joining Labor in pretending that real wages can increase while productivity is shrinking.
March
We wasted a $400b windfall, and now we’ll all have to pay
An audit of federal finances finds Australia has never seen rivers of gold like this, but the hangover will be brutal.
Labor must be straight with voters: Kelty
Economic trailblazer Bill Kelty says the government should acknowledge that people are worse off than three years ago, as Labor makes contingency plans for a May election.
January
CPI pushes the rate cut door wide open
RBA is overachieving on inflation and should “break on through to the other side” to reduce the policy rate in February.
End the age of entitlement to taxpayer-funded political ads
Australia needs to get on top of the entitlement mentality to get the budget back in shape. A good place to start would be to stop paying for political ads out of the budget.
December 2024
Telstra snaps up Boost Mobile, delivering Paul Keating a $40m payday
The telecommunications giant has acquired the specialist pre-paid mobile phone business for $140 million. The former prime minister owns 29 per cent.
November 2024
Stage three tax cuts to be eliminated by bracket creep: PBO
The budget watchdog estimates the benefits of the tax cuts will be gone by the end of the decade as bracket creep drives personal income tax rates to a record.
Why the Libs can’t do a Trump
The lesson for Peter Dutton is not to copy the Donald – which in an Australian context would be impossible anyway. What he must be, though, is authentic.