The Coalition has released the remainder of its costings, one-and-a-half days before the election, outlining a plan to fund an A$11.5 billion infrastructure package by cutting foreign aid growth by $4.5…
- Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland
There has been much, and justified, criticism, of Tony Abbott’s decision to conceal the costings of his policies until two days before the election, when the electronic media blackout will be in place…
A slowing economy and drop in government revenue has led to an increased budget deficit, new taxes and some cuts to existing programs. Delivering the Rudd government’s long awaited economic statement…
Prime minister Kevin Rudd’s proposal to prevent the ALP caucus from deposing a sitting prime minister has raised the hoary issue of the Westminster system. The dominant view among pundits is that under…
“Just to get the regulatory approvals [to start a mine] takes more than three years. Six years ago it took less than 12 months… Australian investors are fleeing this country to invest in more stable countries…
Australian Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has handed down his sixth budget, facing an almost impossible task: how to reconcile an enormous revenue shortfall with big spending promises, all while keeping…
Treasurer Wayne Swan today announced that the mining tax had raised $126 million in the six months following its introduction, well below the $2 billion the government had expected it to yield this financial…
Australia’s robust economy makes it the “Iron Man” of the developed world but the government should hike the GST rate and apply it more broadly, according to a new OECD report released today. “Tax reforms…
Long after President Obama’s re-election was secure, another election day result came in, one that may be of comparable significance in the long run. By a 54-46 margin, Californian voters approved Proposition…
Wayne Swan’s remark last month that the US Republican Party had been taken over by “cranks and crazies” is notable in two respects. First, it is true. Second, it marks a further move towards a globalised…
The Queensland government will cut 14,000 public sector jobs, hike mining and gaming royalties and increase parking fines and speed cameras in an effort to get back in the black and regain its AAA credit…
Economists are regularly criticised for worrying about gross domestic product (GDP) and similar measures. The classic statement of the case was by Robert F Kennedy: “Too much and too long, we seem to have…
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) today released a revised plan that recommends cutting the volume of groundwater to be extracted, in a variety of changes following 20 weeks of consultations. The…
Labor has made a $5 billion pitch to true-believers with a $1.5 billion surplus, cash hand-outs and tax breaks for low- and middle-income earners in the federal budget. And the opinion-makers are on the…
The Economist has its critics, but it still delivers lots of interesting data. I just found this table (published by EconomistDailyChart) of annual meat consumption per person by country. The data set…
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has seized on positive comments about Australia’s economy in an International Monetary Fund report as evidence the country can endure another global financial crisis. The report…
The most important single number in the latest Garnaut Review is 26, the proposed starting value for the carbon tax, expressed in dollars per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted. By coincidence, this is exactly…
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