Opinion & Commentary
Opinion and Commentary contains media articles written by CIS researchers.
Categories
Testing the RBA's DNA
As a practical first step towards more RBA independence, perhaps politicians of all parties could refrain from both applauding and criticising RBA decisions. It is none of their business.... Read More
Why reform worked in 1985
Unlike Gillard and Swan, Hawke and Keating knew what they wanted to do... Read More
Capitalist ghetto is a pathway to tolerance
In the market for 500 knock-off Tag Heuer watches? A container-load of inexpensive African style clothes? A leather-bound Koran or a Bangladeshi curry? Head to Chungking Mansions, just up the road from...... Read More
The Fightback! lesson: how politics can stymie good public policy
Twenty years ago, the Liberal-National Party coalition released Fightback!, the most comprehensive and market-oriented policy platform ever taken to an election.... Read More
It wouldn't be Christmas without Christianity
Without religion what is the meaning of Christmas?... Read More
A wild forecast for Euro pain
You may think that all of this sounds utterly ludicrous, and perhaps you are right. But ask yourself whether only two years ago you could have imagined elected prime ministers being replaced by technocrats,...... Read More
Let the online bargain hunt begin, properly
Australians are being ripped off due to Government regulations, especially when buying cars, bananas, and dvds.... Read More
Kiwis put ETS on the shelf
New Zealand’s realistic policy approach, combined with its almost defunct carbon market, should be a real wake-up call for Australia to reconsider its ill-fated Carbon Tax Scheme.... Read More
A British pawn in Europe's game
Perhaps it is dawning on Cameron that he had been moved like a pawn on a chessboard by his continental friends. His insistence to act in Britain’s national interest mainly served to promote the interests...... Read More
Germany's blissful euro ignorance
It is only a matter of time until reality will catch up with the Germans at some stage. But don’t wake them up just yet. They won’t have their Christmas holidays spoilt just because some countries...... Read More
Budget heat in a revenue drought
Governments in other countries are in deeper fiscal distress than ours, but governments at the federal and state levels in Australia are struggling with the consequences of a revenue drought after years...... Read More
Who needs four uni degrees or even one for that matter?
Most jobs don't require university degrees. A key purpose of education is to give students a chance to signal their aptitude and diligence, rather to acquire knowledge for later vocational use. Fostering...... Read More
Merkozy's palliative care pact
The euro won’t survive a day longer just because of the political marriage of the German chancellor and the French president. But their botched crisis management indeed makes the time until its eventual...... Read More
No fuel like an old fuel: Germany's nuclear reaction provides a win for coal
Fear and green populism were bad counsellors indeed when Germany drew the wrong lessons from the Fukushima accident.... Read More
NT intervention: action better than apathy
It is hypocritical that the very same people who lament the gross violation of Aboriginal rights carried out under the intervention can remain so silent about the injustice that has seen so many remote...... Read More
Land of the long white cloud faces bad weather
SINCE 2008, New Zealand has been led by former investment banker John Key's National Party. The party campaigned on growing New Zealand's economy and encouraging individual enterprise. However, three years...... Read More
Business will cop super fall-out
THE Federal Government has introduced legislation to lift the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent by July, 2019. About 8.4 million Australians will have their superannuation savings boosted, it claims,...... Read More
Kiwis facing a critical choice
New Zealand must overcome challenging economic conditions, writes Luke Malpass... Read More
Whether public or private, our schools deserve a fair go
School choice means different things to different people. In essence, it refers to the principle that parents should have the right and the means to choose their child’s school, and that this choice...... Read More
Europe's hidden doomsday machine
What Europe is still discussing and Germany is vehemently resisting – the transformation into a fiscal liability union – has long been achieved through the Target backdoor. Brace yourself for the day...... Read More
