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Judith SloanContributing Economics Editor

Judith Sloan is an economist and company director. She holds degrees from the University of Melbourne and the London School of Economics. She has held a number of government appointments, including Commissioner of the Productivity Commission; Commissioner of the Australian Fair Pay Commission; and Deputy Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - 31 JULY, 2024: Treasurer Jim Chalmers holds a press conference to address inflation data out today. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

All care, no responsibility: Jimbonomics is failing to deliver

The one bit of good news for Labor is there is some genuine economic talent, albeit largely untested, among its parliamentarians – in particular Andrew Charlton.

Judith Sloan

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CANBERRA, Australia - NewsWire Photos - July 4, 2024: Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

PM’s reshuffle puts the heat on busy Burke

Whatever way you look at it, the Albanese reshuffle was a slap in the face to Clare O’Neil and Andrew Giles. Now Tony Burke faces a huge challenge.

Judith Sloan

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Workplace Minister Tony Burke, former CFMEU Victorian boss John Setka, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Labor doesn’t have the stomach to rein in rotten CFMEU

If the Albanese government was really seriously committed to eliminating bad behaviour in the construction industry, it would proceed with the deregistration of the CFMEU.

Judith Sloan

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TOPSHOT - BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter is dead after injuring former U.S. President Donald Trump, killing one audience member and injuring another in the shooting. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Why ‘Trumponomics’ will be nothing to celebrate

The policy agenda of Trump mark I was generally standard stuff. But Project 2025 is an entirely different proposition.

Judith Sloan

commentaryPolitics

A Santos Ltd. pilot well operates on a farm property in Narrabri, Australia, on Thursday, May 25, 2017. A decade after the shale revolution transformed the U.S. energy landscape, Australia — poised to overtake Qatar as the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas — is experiencing its own quandary over natural gas. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

Green hot air blows gas out into the cold

This reckless proposal demonstrates two things: the danger of top-down meddling and the fact that the Albanese government’s right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.

Judith Sloan

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CANBERRA, Australia, NewsWire Photos. June 3, 2024: Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Labor’s FMA gambit nothing more than crony capitalism ‘on steroids’

The ALP’s Future Made in Australia is a cross between Trumpian chest-beating and old-style government picking winners.

Judith Sloan

commentaryPolitics

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 13: Woolworths and Coles supermarket signage on March 13, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. Australia's two major supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, have come under scrutiny for their role in the cost of living crisis in the country, with both companies significantly increasing their profits during the pandemic while consumers faced rising living costs, local media reports said. Former cabinet minister Craig Emerson is leading a government inquiry into supermarket pricing practices, while former ACCC chair Allan Fels is conducting a separate investigation in collaboration with the Australian Council of Trade, ABC News said. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Threat of a big stick just might get the job done

The preferred outcome will be for the big companies to see the new provision as a threat and mend their anti-competitive ways well before any court action is needed.

Judith Sloan

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True cost of renewables won’t hurt our cities – it’ll punish those we ignore most

The external costs imposed on rural and regional communities are overwhelmingly ignored when making the case for the expansion of renewable energy.

Judith Sloan

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Labor MP Andrew Leigh has posted a meme of a three-eyed Blinky Bill suggesting the Coalition’s nuclear plan is environmentally dangerous. The Opposition said this undermines AUKUS. Picture: Instagram

Forget three-eyed Blinky Bill memes, time to talk nuclear

There is much overseas data to establish accurate costings around nuclear power plants, including from successful builds in South Korea and the UAE.

Judith Sloan

COMMENTARYPolitics

Federal Leader of the LNP Peter Dutton social media post about Nuclear Power - This is the concept design of a zero emissions small modular reactor. Nuclear energy has proven to get electricity prices and emissions down all over the world. Out of the world’s 20 largest economies, Australia is the only one not using nuclear energy or moving towards it. Zero emissions nuclear energy is part of the answer to our energy challenges.It works with renewables and would allow Australia to get to net-zero. It will keep the lights on 24/7 and keep electricity costs down.Right now, Australia’s energy comes from 63 per cent fossil fuels and 37 per cent renewables. As we transition away from fossil fuels, Labor’s renewables-only approach means Australia risks a massive energy black hole and extraordinary costs. Labor is stuck in the past, and like most of their policies, it is not forward-thinking, and you are suffering because of it. The Coalition will not make the same mistake. I announced today that a future Federal Coalition government will introduce zero-emissions nuclear energy in Australia to work in partnership with renewable energy and gas as part of a balanced energy mix. Our plan will deliver net-zero electricity by 2050, lower power bills and a strong and resilient economy.

Government-owned and built is sensible thing to do

High density, continuous and centralised power beats low density, intermittent and decentralised power every time. In other words, nuclear beats renewables.

Judith Sloan

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/judith-sloan/page/7