The ‘national conversation’ on budgets, spending and tax
Introduction Up to the May 2022 federal election, the official line on fiscal policy was that the federal budget was …
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Where should we build new housing? Better targets for local councils
We are not building enough apartments and we are building them in the wrong place. In Sydney, new construction is …
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No End of a Lesson: The Imitation Thatcherism of Liz Truss
The so-called ‘Trussonomics’ of Liz Truss’s short-lived and ill-fated premiership were based on an ignorance of the true discipline of …
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Wages Growth in Australia: Evidence and policy evaluation
This Policy Paper reviews the evidence regarding wages growth in Australia since the 2008 financial crisis and discusses what it …
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Structural reform of the Reserve Bank of Australia
This paper outlines the need for structural reform of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Structural reform of the Reserve Bank …
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The Need for Reform of Land Use Policy: Submission to the Productivity Commission
This submission focuses strongly on the housing affordability aspect of Australia’s productivity. Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Australia’s …
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A Sea of Red: Tracking Australia’s debt iceberg
The backdrop to the forthcoming federal and state budgets for 2022/23 is that Australia’s public debt has increased sharply during the pandemic since 2019 — and is projected to increase further.
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The Return of Inflation: What It Means for Australia
Inflation is rising around the world, the sting in the tail of the pandemic economic stimulus packages unleashed by governments in 2020. The narrative thus far is that this inflation spike is transitory, even if a little more persistent than first thought.
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Submission to the Inquiry into Housing Affordability and Supply in Australia
Submission to the government review into housing affordability in Australia. Housing in Australia is too expensive. Families on lower incomes …
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Attitudes to a post-Covid Australia
This report explores what sort of post-Covid future Australians expect, based on YouGov polling conducted for the Centre for Independent …
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Why Jim Chalmers cannot shy away from stage three tax cuts
As foreshadowed by some commentators prior to the budget, the Treasurer doubled down on his softly, softly approach to fiscal …
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Three ways that Chalmers’ budget fiddled with the numbers
There is nothing new in Treasurers stretching the truth to justify their claims to gold-medal fiscal management, but the latest …
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Welfare looms as a budget no-win for Chalmers
We are now in the rapid run-up to next week’s budget, with each day bringing a new announcement as the …
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Why it’s a myth that Australia is a low-taxing country
Taxation statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week were quite startling in a way that weakens the …
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RBA reforms risk creating economic policy vacuum
There was a point in history where a review of the Reserve Bank of Australia would not have been a …
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Victoria’s crippled finances are all Daniel Andrews’ fault
If Victoria’s Premier Dan Andrews is begging for the federal government’s help for his state’s crippled budget, he at least …
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AUKUS nuclear submarine project needs a closer look
From the very early days of the planning to replace Australia’s diesel-electric Collins Class submarines, there were two ‘non-negotiables’ that …
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Aston a blow but far from an existential crisis for the Libs
There are dangers in writing liberalism’s obituary. If politics is ultimately determined by living standards, then the Lib’s prospects remain …
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Jim Chalmers must cut spending before raising taxes
Before Treasurer Jim Chalmers courted controversy with his essay on “values-based capitalism”, he foreshadowed — in the government’s first budget …
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Five things we can do to legislate against weasel-wording politicians
Speaking truth to people The Albanese administration’s recent surprise announcements about superannuation — like its predecessor’s failure to admit the …
Frequently Asked Questions
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) structure makes mistakes likely. It concentrates responsibility on one fallible individual, the Governor, answerable to a Board of non-experts, with little requirement to explain or defend decisions in detail. Arguments are subject to little scrutiny, either internally or externally. More fundamentally, the RBA has a culture that places a low priority on getting the answers right. As a result, mistakes are frequent, persistent and costly. Among several examples, the RBA recently placed higher priority on stabilising household debt than on its conventional goals of unemployment and inflation. Previously, it targeted the current account deficit. Read more ...
Inflation is rising around the world, the sting in the tail of the pandemic economic stimulus packages unleashed by governments in 2020. The narrative thus far is that this inflation spike is transitory, even if a little more persistent than first thought. It is expected to moderate as consumer price pressures ease and markets rebalance after the large positive demand shock and surge in consumer spending of the past 18 months. Read more ...