The Turnbull government must reconcile the political sensitivity of Medicare and the need for fiscal discipline.
- Lecturer, Public Sector Finance, University of Canberra
They’re the lines you sometimes hear before or after budgets from governments and commentators of all persuasions. The problem is they go against reality.
There’s a reason it’s getting harder to get any value from the budget.
There’s no need to abandon the current tax collection system. Instead we should ensure the voting public understand where their taxes are going.
A new survey, which is part of a widespread government consultation on private health insurance, has caused a stir by suggesting health insurers might be able to set premiums based on health risk factors…
Treasurer Joe Hockey is right when he says Australia’s taxation level is the second highest among OECD countries. But when it is compared to GDP, it’s a different story.
Do the unelected super-rich exercise an over-weening influence on public policy. The answer is yes, and no.
Despite the rhetoric that Australia needs to reign in government spending, we’re actually out of step with other developed economies.
The removal of restrictions on retail trading hours, pharmacies and parallel imports, and a controversial “effects test” on existing misuse of market power rules are among the many recommendations contained…
Private insurance, by its very nature, suppresses price signals and encourages over-servicing and cost escalation.
Health Minister Sussan Ley is broadly correct on the numbers – but they are framed in a way that overstates the impression of rising health care expenditure.
In a democracy governments cop criticism: that’s a rule of politics. Opposition parties and politically-aligned organisations will always exploit opportunities to have a go at the government. But it is…
Australia has a relatively strong health system by international standards, but it needs a makeover. To generate fresh ideas, The Conversation is profiling five international health systems that have important…
It’s understandable that coverage of Kevin Rudd’s appearance before the royal commission into the home insulation program should focus on the image of a former Prime Minister humbled over a policy that…
Over the last few years our economic debate has focused on the budget deficit and government debt, displacing other aspects of economic policy. To Labor’s cost Wayne Swan made the deficit the centrepiece…
The proposed sale of Medibank Private is not popular, but as I wrote last year, and as Finance Minister Mathias Cormann points out, it’s hard to find public policy grounds to justify ongoing public ownership…
Ahead of the May budget, health minister Peter Dutton has said he wants to start “a national conversation about modernising and strengthening Medicare”. A national conversation would be welcome, but is…
The Abbott Government’s Commission of Audit should consider revenue raising measures as well as reviewing expenditure, a Senate inquiry has heard today. The Commission has been tasked with “[making] recommendations…
Announcing the decision to refuse assistance to SPC Ardmona, Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said: “I think it is a clear delineation of where this government believes we need to go with industry policy…
Treasurer Joe Hockey expected yesterday’s public hearing into the Commission of Audit would be a “show trial” and a “stunt”. And at face value he was right. Those who hoped Tony Shepherd or the other Commissioners…
Australians returning from holidays to work this week were met with headlines reading: “ACCC calls for big asset sell-off”. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chief Rod Sims had reportedly…
We have come to see private health insurance as an essential part of the national health funding mix, but it’s actually quite a costly way to fund health care. A well-designed system with a single national…
Australia’s reform agenda has stalled, according to former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chief Graeme Samuel, and we won’t see any serious reform attempts for some time. The election of…
A supposition behind the Commonwealth’s Commission of Audit is that government has become “too large”. The first paragraph of the Commission’s terms of reference sets the context, stating: During this…
“The changes to lifetime health cover will increase [private health insurance] premiums by up to a reported 27.5%. This is hitting many local residents very hard, with some struggling to find the money…
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