21 Dec2018

Less time for the present even as cost of giving declines

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

As the global economy sputters and stockmarkets sag, a mere $140,000 will buy the pick-me-up to which every family aspires: the full kit of the Twelve Days of Christmas, from the first partridge to the last drummer, with all the doves, hens, geese, swans, maids, ladies, lords and pipers in between.

Click here to read the oped at The Australian's website (log in required) or check back here next week for a pdf.

Attachments:
Download this file (Less time for the present even as cost of giving declines_Fri 21 Dec 2018.pdf)Less time for the present even as cost of giving declines_Fri 21 Dec 2018.pdf[ ]270 Kb
14 Dec2018

If you have true Faith, prepare to defend your rites

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

In a year best characterised as “plot by Dostoevsky, script by Groucho Marx”, it was perhaps fitting that the Senate celebrated Christmas by considering legislation that would have prevented Christian schools from teaching the doctrines of Jesus Christ.

Click here to read the oped at The Australian's website or check back here next week to download a pdf. 

Attachments:
Download this file (If you have true Faith, prepare to defend your rites_Fri 14 Dec 2018.pdf)If you have true Faith, prepare to defend your rites_Fri 14 Dec 2018.pdf[ ]104 Kb
07 Dec2018

Spirit of Ajax won’t help Liberals

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Watching Malcolm Turnbull’s recent conduct, it was hard not to think of Enoch Powell’s famous conclusion to his biography of ­Joseph Chamberlain. “All political lives,” Powell wrote, “unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and human affairs.”


Click here to read the article on The Australian's website or check back here next week to download a pdf.

Attachments:
Download this file (Spirit of Ajax won’t help Liberals_Fri 7 Dec 2018.pdf)Spirit of Ajax won’t help Liberals_Fri 7 Dec 2018.pdf[ ]193 Kb
16 Nov2018

Frenchman with a forked tongue

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism,” France’s President Emmanuel Macron declared on Armistice Day, before adding, in a thinly disguised swipe at US President Donald Trump, “those who say ‘my interests first, regardless of others!’ rob a country of what gives it greatness: its moral value”.

Click here to read the oped at The Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week to download a PDF. 

Attachments:
Download this file (Frenchman with a forked tongue_Fri 16 Nov 2018.pdf)Frenchman with a forked tongue_Fri 16 Nov 2018.pdf[ ]89 Kb
09 Nov2018

It’s a mess, but history shows that the US can rebound

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

The American people spoke on Tuesday, but quite what they said will remain contentious for years to come. What is certain, however, is that American politics will be as tumultuous in its next phase as it was in the last.

Click here to read the article at the Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week for a pdf. 

Attachments:
Download this file (It’s a mess, but history shows that the US can rebound_Fri 9 Nov 2018.pdf)It’s a mess, but history shows that the US can rebound_Fri 9 Nov 2018.pdf[ ]196 Kb
02 Nov2018

Leninist logic says China must be checked, and soon

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

As Bill Shorten noted in his address to the Lowy Institute on Monday, China is likely to remain Australia’s largest trading partner “for the foreseeable future”. However, that doesn’t mean our interests are necessarily aligned.

Click here to read the oped at The Australian website (login required) or check back here next week for a pdf. 

Attachments:
Download this file (Leninist logic says China must be checked, and soon_Fri 2 Nov 2018.pdf)Leninist logic says China must be checked, and soon_Fri 2 Nov 2018.pdf[ ]143 Kb
26 Oct2018

It’s time liberals put away childish things

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
It’s time liberals put away childish things


One of the beauties of democracy is that when things don’t work out, there is plenty of blame to spread around. What happened in Wentworth is no exception.


Click here to read the article at The Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week to download a pdf.
 

Attachments:
Download this file (It’s time liberals put away childish things_Fri 26 Oct 2018.pdf)It’s time liberals put away childish things_Fri 26 Oct 2018.pdf[ ]116 Kb
05 Oct2018

Greed is a deadly sin perhaps, but it helps drive our economy

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Greed is a deadly sin perhaps, but it helps drive our economy


Anyone who has followed the evidence being given in the financial services royal commission will not be surprised that Kenneth Hayne refers to “greed” more than 50 times in the interim report.

Click here to access a copy at The Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week for a pdf.
 

Attachments:
Download this file (Greed is a deadly sin perhaps, but it helps drive our economy_Fri 5 Oct 2018.pdf)Greed is a deadly sin perhaps, but it helps drive our economy_Fri 5 Oct 2018.pdf[ ]199 Kb
28 Sep2018

Thumbs down for Trump’s man? it’s spiteful theatre

Posted in Op eds

 

Today in The Australian

It is hard not to feel uneasy about the treatment being meted out to Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s nominee for the US ­Supreme Court.

Click here to read the article at The Australian's website (login required) or check back next week to download a pdf.

 

 

Attachments:
Download this file (Thumbs down for Trumps man_its spiteful theatre_Fri 28 Sep 2018.pdf)Thumbs down for Trumps man_its spiteful theatre_Fri 28 Sep 2018.pdf[ ]525 Kb
21 Sep2018

Common sense has died along with truth and trust

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Perhaps the royal commission is the new form of the Last Judgment. As the wicked are exposed and the innocent — should there be any — exonerated, the commissioner, observing the proceedings from an elevated podium, impassably records their fate.

Click here to read the article at The Australian's website (login required) or check back next week to download a pdf.

Attachments:
Download this file (Common sense has died along with truth and trust_Fri 21 Sep 2018.pdf)Common sense has died along with truth and trust_Fri 21 Sep 2018.pdf[ ]136 Kb
14 Sep2018

Like Sweden, we’re ripe for the anti-immigration vote

Posted in Op eds


Today in The Australian

After repeated rampages in Melbourne by African gangs, Australians are hardly likely to find the election results in Sweden surprising. With a sharp rise in violent crime, including a wave of attacks using hand grenades, since the country received an influx of refugees, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats emerged this week as the kingmakers in what is certain to be a hung parliament.

Click here to read the oped at the The Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week for a pdf of the article.

Attachments:
Download this file (Like Sweden, we’re ripe for the anti-immigration vote_Fri 14 Sep 2018.pdf)Like Sweden, we’re ripe for the anti-immigration vote_Fri 14 Sep 2018.pdf[ ]264 Kb
31 Aug2018

History of regicide can shed light on Turnbull’s downfall

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

With Australians scratching their heads and wondering what that was all about, Shakespeare’s dictum, “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” has received a solid workout in the public debate. 

Click here to read the article at The Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week for a pdf of the article.
Attachments:
Download this file (History of regicide can shed light on Turnbull’s downfall_Fri 31 August 2018.pdf)History of regicide can shed light on Turnbull’s downfall_Fri 31 August 2018.pdf[ ]400 Kb
24 Aug2018

Our political class lacks moral courage

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Exactly 50 years ago, I spent my birthday protesting against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. At a co-ordinated time, I believe it was Prague’s midnight, a minute of silence was observed in places that circled the globe.

Click here to read the oped at The Australian's webpage (login required) or check back here next week for a pdf.

Attachments:
Download this file (Our political class lacks moral courage_Fri 24 Aug 2018.pdf)Our political class lacks moral courage_Fri 24 Aug 2018.pdf[ ]704 Kb
19 Aug2018

Road to a big Australia is in poor repair

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Like a python that has swallowed a pig, we are struggling to digest the population bulge the resources boom left behind. Unless immigration levels are reduced, the costs of that adjustment will only continue to mount, undermining public support for the migration program and jeopardising our ability to continue reaping the large gains migration brings.

Click here to read the oped at The Australian's webpage (login required) or check back here next week for a pdf. 

Attachments:
Download this file (Road to a big Australia is in poor repair_Fri 17 August 2018.pdf)Road to a big Australia is in poor repair_Fri 17 August 2018.pdf[ ]571 Kb
10 Aug2018

Fuel-efficiency regulation impact draft is a fantasy

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Fuel-efficiency regulation impact draft is a fantasy

Just two good things can be said for the government’s draft regulation impact statement on “improving the efficiency of new light vehicles”.

Click here to read the oped at The Australian's webpage (login required) or check back here next week for a pdf.
 

Attachments:
Download this file (Fuel-efficiency regulation impact draft is a fantasy_Fri 10 Aug 2018.pdf)Fuel-efficiency regulation impact draft is a fantasy_Fri 10 Aug 2018.pdf[ ]181 Kb
08 Aug2018

NEG might be the answer but Turnbull needs to explain why

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian: "NEG might be the answer but Turnbull needs to explain why"

 Experts agree that a steady diet of fudge, cream pies and french fries is far healthier than consuming grains and vegetables. Or at least they do in 2173, according to Woody Allen’s movie Sleeper (1973).


Click here to read the article at The Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week to download a pdf.   

 

 

03 Aug2018

Labor’s broader narrative resonates at the ballot box

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

That genius of modern politics, Edmund Blackadder, could have had Labor in mind when he said “we in the Adder Party are going to fight this campaign on issues, not personalities … because our candidate doesn’t have a personality”.

Click here to read the article at The Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week to download a pdf.  

Attachments:
Download this file (Labor’s broader narrative resonates at the ballot box_Fri 3 Aug 2018.pdf)Labor’s broader narrative resonates at the ballot box_Fri 3 Aug 2018.pdf[ ]572 Kb
27 Jul2018

ACTU counts on Shorten to change the rules, AER on Turnbull

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Were there a prize for the slogan that best captures the spirit of the age, it would surely go to the ACTU’s “Change the Rules!”

Stingy bosses? “Change the Rules!” Mean-minded bankers? “Change the Rules!” Spiking electricity prices? “Change the Rules!”

Click here to read the article at The Australian's website (login required) or check back here next week to download a pdf. 

Attachments:
Download this file (ACTU counts on Shorten to change the rules, AER on Turnbull_Fri 27 Jul 2018.pdf)ACTU counts on Shorten to change the rules, AER on Turnbull_Fri 27 Jul 2018.pdf[ ]143 Kb
20 Jul2018

With NATO and Putin, Trump’s cleaning up after Obama

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

With NATO and Putin, Trump’s cleaning up after Obama

In a widely acclaimed column in last weekend’s The New York Times, Bret Stephens argued that Donald Trump’s foreign policy aimed at one result and one result only: “The collapse of the liberal international order”, even at the cost of leaving America hated, feared and alone.

Attachments:
Download this file (With NATO and Putin, Trump’s cleaning up after Obama_Fri 20 Jul 2018.pdf)With NATO and Putin, Trump’s cleaning up after Obama_Fri 20 Jul 2018.pdf[ ]256 Kb
29 Jun2018

Asylum-seekers shake up European Union and America

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

As the EU’s heads of government gather to discuss policies towards asylum-seekers, migration is causing political turmoil throughout the developed world.

22 Jun2018

Tax policy: Coalition, Labor plans offer clear choice

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
 
With Pauline Hanson deciding to support the government’s proposed tax changes, Australians now face a stark choice between competing visions of our fiscal ­future.


Attachments:
Download this file (Asylum-seekers shake up European Union and America_Fri 29 Jun 2018.pdf)Asylum-seekers shake up European Union and America_Fri 29 Jun 2018.pdf[ ]140 Kb
15 Jun2018

Checks are needed to bring the ABC’s facts division to heel

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Well, that will teach senator ­Fraser Anning a lesson. And it should be a warning to us all. If you thought the ABC’s Fact Check was about checking facts, think again.
 
 
Attachments:
Download this file (Checks are needed to bring the ABC’s facts division to heel_Fri 15 Jun 2018.pdf)Checks are needed to bring the ABC’s facts division to heel_Fri 15 Jun 2018.pdf[ ]262 Kb
25 May2018

Freedom of religion plays out in every facet of life

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

With the government having received the report of the religious freedom review, both Labor and the Coalition have promised at least to retain the protections that are now in place.




Attachments:
Download this file (Checks are needed to bring the ABC’s facts division to heel_Fri 15 Jun 2018.pdf)Checks are needed to bring the ABC’s facts division to heel_Fri 15 Jun 2018.pdf[ ]262 Kb
18 May2018

Royal fairytales recount our nation’s blessings

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
With planeloads of tourists descending on London for the royal wedding, and an expected television audience in the hundreds of millions, Britain’s royalty remains the greatest show on earth.


Attachments:
Download this file (Royal fairytales recount our nation’s blessings_Fri 18 May 2018.pdf)Royal fairytales recount our nation’s blessings_Fri 18 May 2018.pdf[ ]298 Kb
11 May2018

Even the innocent are lost to this virtual lynch mob

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
Even the innocent are lost to this virtual lynch mob

Eric Schneiderman, the attorney-general of New York who resigned on Monday just hours after being accused of sexual misconduct, apparently suffers from Portnoy’s Complaint, which Philip Roth defined, on the first page of his novel by that name, as “a disorder in which strongly felt ­altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse ­nature”.


Attachments:
Download this file (Even the innocent are lost to this virtual lynch mob_Fri 11 May 2018.pdf)Even the innocent are lost to this virtual lynch mob_Fri 11 May 2018.pdf[ ]189 Kb
05 May2018

Karl Marx: flawed visionary sowed seeds of clarity and chaos

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Karl Marx, who was born on May 5, 1818, has not had much luck with centenaries.
When his first centenary was celebrated in 1918, the international socialist movement he had fought so tirelessly to create had been torn apart by World War I, with the revolutionary turmoil in Russia inducing further convulsions.


Attachments:
Download this file (Karl Marx_flawed visionary sowed seeds of clarity and chaos_Sat 5 May 2018.pdf)Karl Marx_flawed visionary sowed seeds of clarity and chaos_Sat 5 May 2018.pdf[ ]301 Kb
27 Apr2018

Financial system will be rebooted only to fail again

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian


If there is a lesson to be drawn from the trail of horrors uncovered by the banking and financial ser­vices royal commission, it is the folly of forcing ever greater financial risk on to people who lack the skills to manage it.


20 Apr2018

We love a big Australia — but not so fast

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

It is true that Melbourne, with just half London’s population, covers six times London’s area, as Shaping a Nation, the research paper on migration released earlier this week by the Treasury and the Department of Home Affairs, claims. But it hardly follows that Melbourne should, or sensibly could, aim to achieve London’s population density.


Attachments:
Download this file (We love a big Australia — but not so fast_Fri 20 Apr 2018.pdf)We love a big Australia — but not so fast_Fri 20 Apr 2018.pdf[ ]199 Kb
13 Apr2018

Kevin Rudd’s 2020 summit symphony fell flat

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Listening, on the eve of its 10th anniversary, to recordings of the Rudd government’s 2020 Summit, it was hard not to be reminded of Rossini’s quip about Wagner. “One cannot judge Wagner’s ­Lohengrin from a first hearing,” said the maestro, “and I certainly do not intend to hear it a second time.”

Attachments:
Download this file (Kevin Rudd’s 2020 summit symphony fell flat_Fri 13 Apr 2018.pdf)Kevin Rudd’s 2020 summit symphony fell flat_Fri 13 Apr 2018.pdf[ ]214 Kb
06 Apr2018

Trump’s tariffs, China’s attitude spell trouble for world trade

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

For all his bellicose rhetoric, ­Donald Trump’s trade policy is not a major departure from the traditional American stance. But with China mounting an aggressive response, the world trading system is under greater threat than it has been for decades.


Attachments:
Download this file (Trump’s tariffs, China’s attitude spell trouble for world trade_Fri 6 Apr 2018.p)Trump’s tariffs, China’s attitude spell trouble for world trade_Fri 6 Apr 2018.p[ ]249 Kb
23 Mar2018

Labor could make all super earnings taxable but that would require political honesty

Posted in Op eds


Today in The Australian

After a week of taxation claim and counterclaim, 10 propositions are essentially uncontested.

First, Labor’s elimination of the full reimbursement of imputation credits will replace a system where dividends received by Australian residents are taxed at their personal income tax rates by one in which all dividends are taxed at no less than 30 per cent, even if that rate is well above the rate which would apply to any other taxable income that taxpayer might receive.


Attachments:
Download this file (Labor could make all super earnings taxable but that would require political hon)Labor could make all super earnings taxable but that would require political hon[ ]143 Kb
16 Mar2018

Shorten’s squeeze on nest eggs benefits nobody

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

When imputation credits were made fully reimbursable, Labor wasn’t merely supportive — it was positively gushing.

Calling attention to the benefits full reimbursement would provide to a “low-income person who earns a little investment income”, Peter Cook, Labor’s then deputy leader in the Senate, claimed paternity for the policy, which Labor had taken to the previous election.

Attachments:
Download this file (Shorten’s squeeze on nest eggs benefits nobody_Fri 16 Mar 2018.pdf)Shorten’s squeeze on nest eggs benefits nobody_Fri 16 Mar 2018.pdf[ ]242 Kb
02 Mar2018

CFMEU thugs emboldened by Bill Shorten’s embrace

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian


Bill Shorten has a plan for dealing with union thuggery: he will make it legal. Addressing members of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union last October at Queensland’s Oaky North coalmine, where CFMEU protesters allegedly threatened to rape the children of non-striking workers, the Opposition Leader promised to tear up Australia’s industrial relations law.

Attachments:
Download this file (Shorten’s squeeze on nest eggs benefits nobody_Fri 16 Mar 2018.pdf)Shorten’s squeeze on nest eggs benefits nobody_Fri 16 Mar 2018.pdf[ ]242 Kb
23 Feb2018

Forget Putin, we need to fear Russia’s weaknesses

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
 
Like Casablanca’s Captain Renault, who was “shocked, shocked” to discover gambling was taking place at Rick’s nightclub, the Democrats on the US House of Representatives’ intelligence committee have barely been able to contain their outrage at evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.


Attachments:
Download this file (Forget Putin, we need to fear Russia’s weaknesses_Fri 23 Feb 2018.pdf)Forget Putin, we need to fear Russia’s weaknesses_Fri 23 Feb 2018.pdf[ ]159 Kb
08 Feb2018

Sally McManus’s silly pay plan was a disaster for Gough Whitlam in 1973

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Not content with proposing the largest tax hike in Australia’s peacetime history, Bill Shorten is edging ever closer to endorsing the ACTU’s call for an increase in the minimum wage that rivals the Whitlam government’s disastrous 27 per cent increase in 1973
Attachments:
Download this file (Sally McManus’s silly pay plan was a disaster for Gough Whitlam in 1973_Fri 9 Fe)Sally McManus’s silly pay plan was a disaster for Gough Whitlam in 1973_Fri 9 Fe[ ]221 Kb
16 Feb2018

The Productivity Commission gets it wrong on Economics 101

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

The god of long reports makes sure no one reads them. Having released its 600-page draft report on competition in the Australian financial system, the Productivity Commission would do well to keep the candles at that god’s shrine burning

Attachments:
Download this file (The Productivity Commission gets it wrong on Economics 101_Fri 16 Feb 2018.pdf)The Productivity Commission gets it wrong on Economics 101_Fri 16 Feb 2018.pdf[ ]182 Kb
02 Feb2018

Tax system and regulation are stifling productivity growth

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

With Australians settling back into work after the summer break, last week’s release of the latest estimates of productivity growth suggests we are still struggling to increase the efficiency with which we use the nation’s resources.

19 Jan2018

Fickle voters abandon the man they made president

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

With Donald Trump’s first year as 45th President of the United States drawing to a close, America’s economy is growing strongly, the unemployment rate is at an 18-year low (and that for black Americans is lower than at any time since data began to be collected in 1972), consumer and business confidence are high, and the stockmarket has reached new peaks.
Attachments:
Download this file (Fickle voters abandon the man they made president_Fri 19 Jan 2018.pdf)Fickle voters abandon the man they made president_Fri 19 Jan 2018.pdf[ ]254 Kb
26 Jan2018

Modern Australia’s success is built on enterprise and hard work

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

With the politics of envy in full swing, it is worth remembering that the millions who came to these shores since the First Fleet arrived 230 years ago were driven not by the prospect of living at other people’s expense but by the aspiration to forge a better life for themselves and their children.


Attachments:
Download this file (Modern Australia’s success is built on enterprise and hard work_Fri 26 Jan 2018.)Modern Australia’s success is built on enterprise and hard work_Fri 26 Jan 2018.[ ]192 Kb
12 Jan2018

Think before we get rid of the monarchy

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Shorn of its bombast, the argument for becoming a republic is that it would complete the “Australianisation” of the office of head of state without altering the ­substance of our constitutional ­arrangements.

22 Dec2017

Quality of mercy strained by culture of complaint

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Arriving in Australia many decades ago, the first thing I learned was that real Australians never complain. In this country, outrageous fortune seemed to be wasting her time: the cruellest slings and arrows were met with a stoicism that made Seneca look like a whingeing Pom.


Attachments:
Download this file (Quality of mercy strained by culture of complaint_Fri 22 Dec 2017.pdf)Quality of mercy strained by culture of complaint_Fri 22 Dec 2017.pdf[ ]692 Kb
15 Dec2017

Keating’s pointscoring unfair to Menzies and a disservice to history

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

 Paul Keating’s attack on Robert Menzies is merely the latest episode in the politicisation of Australian history. Lost in that attack, which seeks to portray Menzies as an appeaser who would have left Australia undefended in World War II, is even the slightest pretence of historical accuracy.

Attachments:
Download this file (Keating’s pointscoring unfair to Menzies and a disservice to history_Fri 15 Dec )Keating’s pointscoring unfair to Menzies and a disservice to history_Fri 15 Dec [ ]182 Kb
08 Dec2017

Competition among companies is good, runaway regulation far less so

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Not long ago, Andrew Leigh, the opposition assistant Treasury spokesman and spokesman on competition, told us that “Australia’s markets are more concentrated than those in comparable countries” — and, brace yourself, “the problem is getting worse”.
Attachments:
Download this file (Competition among companies is good, runaway regulation far less so_Fri 8 Dec 20)Competition among companies is good, runaway regulation far less so_Fri 8 Dec 20[ ]164 Kb
24 Nov2017

Nation still reels from toppling of Kevin Rudd by his own party in 2010

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian


When the voters of Bennelong turfed John Howard out exactly 10 years ago, “Kevin 07” seemed to offer a fresh alternative to a government that was scarred and wearied after four terms in office.



Attachments:
Download this file (Nation still reels from toppling of Kevin Rudd by his own party in 2010_Fri 24 N)Nation still reels from toppling of Kevin Rudd by his own party in 2010_Fri 24 N[ ]705 Kb
17 Nov2017

Dual citizenship: this parliament of ‘foreigners’ is listing

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
Dual citizenship: this parliament of ‘foreigners’ is listing

As braces of bloodhounds scour Parliament House for dual nationals, section 44(i) of the Constitution has crippled the gov­ernment and, depending on the outcome in the seat of Bennelong, may make Bill Shorten prime minister.

Attachments:
Download this file (Dual citizenship_this parliament of ‘foreigners’ is listing_Fri 17 Nov 2017.pdf)Dual citizenship_this parliament of ‘foreigners’ is listing_Fri 17 Nov 2017.pdf[ ]223 Kb
13 Nov2017

van Onselen bellows

Posted in Op eds

In an age where the default approach is for people to yell at each other, Leith van Onselen prefers to bellow, as he did last week on the Macrobusiness blog with me as the target (https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2017/11/henry-ergas-jukes-stats-falling-workers-share-2/). I don’t know van Onselen, but he describes himself as ‘unconventional.’ Never was a truer word said. 

Attachments:
Download this file (van Onselen bellows | Catallaxy Files.pdf)van Onselen bellows | Catallaxy Files.pdf[ ]309 Kb
10 Nov2017

ACTU chief’s fake facts on wages undone by history

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

It is a truth universally acknow­ledged that we live in a post-truth age.

That Sally McManus’s speech on the 110th anniversary of the Harvester decision last week is ­replete with claims whose only ­relationship to reality is that they contradict it may therefore be par for the course.


Attachments:
Download this file (ACTU chief’s fake facts on wages undone by history_Fri 10 Nov 2017.pdf)ACTU chief’s fake facts on wages undone by history_Fri 10 Nov 2017.pdf[ ]213 Kb
03 Nov2017

Lenin may be no longer, but his fetid disease lingers

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
 
“Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will live!” proclaimed the banners in the Moscow mausoleum as Lenin’s embalmed body was laid to rest; but 100 years after the storming of the Winter Palace, all that remains of the communist utopia the Bolsheviks promised when they seized power on November 7, 1917, is the dust and ashes of its victims.


Attachments:
Download this file (Lenin may be no longer, but his fetid disease lingers_Fri 3 Oct 2017.pdf)Lenin may be no longer, but his fetid disease lingers_Fri 3 Oct 2017.pdf[ ]236 Kb
27 Oct2017

Morrison’s BEAR trap unfairly demonises our banks

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian


Scott Morrison’s proposed Banking Executive Accountability ­Regime (BEAR) seems designed to neutralise Bill Shorten’s call for a royal commission into banking.
Attachments:
Download this file (Morrison’s BEAR trap unfairly demonises our banks_Fri 27 Oct 2017.pdf)Morrison’s BEAR trap unfairly demonises our banks_Fri 27 Oct 2017.pdf[ ]143 Kb
20 Oct2017

At last, an energy policy that has Australia headed in right direction

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

If there is a lesson from Australian energy policy, it is that it is far easier to make a fish soup out of an aquarium than vice-versa. But even though Malcolm Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg have not worked a miracle, their National Energy Guarantee could be a first step to reversing the harm caused to what was once a relatively well-functioning electricity market.

Attachments:
Download this file (At last, an energy policy that has Australia headed in right direction_Fri 20 Oc)At last, an energy policy that has Australia headed in right direction_Fri 20 Oc[ ]146 Kb
06 Oct2017

Checks and balances on submarines thrown overboard

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian


Faced with legitimate questions about the future submarine program, Christopher Pyne’s approach has been to mimic the great name-calling scene in Waiting for Godot: “Ceremonious ape!”, “Punctilious pig!”, “Moron!”, “Vermin!”, “Sewer-rat!”, “Curate!”, “Cretin!” — culminating in Estragon’s most devastating of insults to Vladimir: “Crritic!”


Attachments:
Download this file (Checks and balances on submarines thrown overboard_Fri 6 Oct 2017.pdf)Checks and balances on submarines thrown overboard_Fri 6 Oct 2017.pdf[ ]236 Kb
13 Oct2017

Same-sex marriage survey suffers from incomplete information

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian


The continuing crisis in Catalonia highlights once again the dangers plebiscites pose to social coherence and stability. By reducing complex problems to simple questions, they can exacerbate divisions rather than build agreement, while worsening the tyranny of the majority.


Attachments:
Download this file (Same-sex marriage survey suffers from incomplete information_Fri 13 Oct 2017.pdf)Same-sex marriage survey suffers from incomplete information_Fri 13 Oct 2017.pdf[ ]185 Kb
29 Sep2017

German election: Merkel loses out in backlash over refugees

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
Having won a fourth term, Angela Merkel has secured a place in the pantheon of German chancellors alongside her fellow conservatives Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl. But there is no denying that the coalition she leads of the Christian Democrats and the Christian Social Union has emerged battered and bruised from last Sunday’s election.


22 Sep2017

Shrinking, atomised working class reshapes politics

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

 Tomorrow “Jacindamania” could propel Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand Labour Party’s 37-year-old leader, into the prime ministership. No doubt local factors will play a role: having been in gov­ernment almost a decade, the ­National Party, despite a solid ­record, has struggled to convince voters it has much to offer.

Attachments:
Download this file (Shrinking, atomised working class reshapes politics_Fri 22 Sep 2017.pdf)Shrinking, atomised working class reshapes politics_Fri 22 Sep 2017.pdf[ ]179 Kb
08 Sep2017

Australian citizenship is qualification enough to serve in parliament

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Australian citizenship is qualification enough to serve in parliament

If so many parliamentarians risk being disqualified under section 44(1) of the Constitution, it is ­because parliament’s composition broadly reflects that of Australian society. With 49 per cent of Australia’s population either born overseas or having a parent who was, dual nationality, or at least the entitlement to dual nationality, has become widespread.




Attachments:
Download this file (Australian citizenship is qualification enough to serve in parliament_Fri 8 Sep )Australian citizenship is qualification enough to serve in parliament_Fri 8 Sep [ ]174 Kb
30 Aug2017

Ghosts of the GFC haunting our fragile economies

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

On August 9, 2007, France’s biggest listed bank, BNP Paribas, froze €1.6 billion worth of funds backed by subprime mortgages, signalling the beginning of the global financial crisis.
Attachments:
Download this file (Ghosts of the GFC haunting our fragile economies_Wed 30 Aug 2017.pdf)Ghosts of the GFC haunting our fragile economies_Wed 30 Aug 2017.pdf[ ]156 Kb
12 Aug2017

Predictable NBN errors replicated in renewable energy sector

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

  The problem with the National Broadband Network was always very simple. The project’s goals were worthy: to provide a new, albeit extremely costly, high-speed network, earn a reasonable return on taxpayers’ investment and charge readily affordable prices.


Attachments:
Download this file (Predictable NBN errors replicated in renewable energy sector_Sat 12 Aug 2017.pdf)Predictable NBN errors replicated in renewable energy sector_Sat 12 Aug 2017.pdf[ ]149 Kb
29 Jul2017

Shorten’s fix for imaginary inequality issue is to tax the rich

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

 When Bill Shorten says “tax reform” what he means is the largest peacetime increase in tax rates since federation.



22 Jul2017

Australian liberalism is conservative in sense Disraeli would appreciate

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

A dogma, Groucho Marx might have said, is a man’s best friend. After all, no one could deny that a fixed set of beliefs can sustain good combat, soothe defeat and simplify hard choices.

Attachments:
Download this file (Australian liberalism is conservative in sense Disraeli would appreciate_Sat 22 )Australian liberalism is conservative in sense Disraeli would appreciate_Sat 22 [ ]153 Kb
03 Jun2017

Gonski school funding harms education quality and equality

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

It’s those wretched Catholics again. If you believe the press, they are spending substantially less than they should on Catholic schools in low-income areas, while using taxpayer dollars to subsidise the ones that compete with independent schools at the top end. Yet there they go, howling about the new school funding package.
Attachments:
Download this file (Gonski school funding harms education quality and equality_Sat 3 Jun 2017.pdf)Gonski school funding harms education quality and equality_Sat 3 Jun 2017.pdf[ ]184 Kb
17 Jun2017

French election: Macron’s huge majority a misleading guide to France

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

French election: Macron’s huge majority a misleading guide to France

In Britain, voters split on left-right lines; in France, they moved to the centre. Little wonder the commentary has been all over the place, with some pundits claiming the swing to Jeremy Corbyn heralds a revival of the clash between left and right, while others have hailed Emmanuel Macron’s triumph as signalling a move away from the politics of division.

20 May2017

Liberals, tax your brains and drop the bank levy

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Let’s be clear: increasing taxes is not necessarily bad. After all, if we are genuinely unwilling to curb public spending, then we ought to pay for it rather than passing the bill to future generations.


Attachments:
Download this file (Liberals, tax your brains and drop the bank levy_Sat 20 May 2017.pdf)Liberals, tax your brains and drop the bank levy_Sat 20 May 2017.pdf[ ]209 Kb
08 Apr2017

If Macron beats Le Pen, he will still face a divided France

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

If Macron beats Le Pen, he will still face a divided France

Like all populists, Marine Le Pen, the National Front candidate in France’s presidential election, gives bad answers to good questions. And like so many of their opponents, Emmanuel Macron, her leading rival, would rather avoid those questions altogether.


25 Mar2017

London terror will help Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

It is easy to imagine what people thought as they heard the news from London: this will never end. But they will also have thought: this cannot be allowed to continue.
Attachments:
Download this file (London terror will help Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign_Sat 25 Mar 2017.pd)London terror will help Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign_Sat 25 Mar 2017.pd[ ]161 Kb
11 Feb2017

Washington faces Donald Trump’s shock and awe tactics

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

With the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decisively rejecting the Trump administration’s application for its executive order on immigration to be reinstated, the question of whether the checks and balances America’s system of government imposes on the new administration will remain effective has moved to the centre of the political debate.

Attachments:
Download this file (Washington faces Donald Trump’s shock and awe tactics_Sat 11 Feb 2017.pdf)Washington faces Donald Trump’s shock and awe tactics_Sat 11 Feb 2017.pdf[ ]218 Kb
30 Jan2017

Pressures of populism pose problems for parliaments

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Released just before Australia Day, the British Supreme Court’s decision on Brexit reminds us of a fundamental truth: the British system of government, which was Britain’s greatest gift to its former colonies, rests on the supremacy of parliament.

Attachments:
Download this file (Pressures of populism pose problems for parliaments_Mon 30 Jan 2017.pdf)Pressures of populism pose problems for parliaments_Mon 30 Jan 2017.pdf[ ]176 Kb
28 Jan2017

Donald Trump’s protectionism won’t make America great again

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

There was good news this week for Donald Trump, with a poll by Politico finding that the “America First” message of his inaugural address resonated with 65 per cent of Americans. Yet the new President’s bellicose economic nationalism is as dangerous for the US as it is for the world.

23 Jan2017

Trump’s tariffs deny reality of golden age

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

“Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.” With those eight words, placed at the heart of his inaugural address, Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the US, ended America’s long-standing commitment to an open, rules-based, trading system.

Attachments:
Download this file (Trump’s tariffs deny reality of golden age_Mon 23 Jan 2017.pdf)Trump’s tariffs deny reality of golden age_Mon 23 Jan 2017.pdf[ ]178 Kb
09 Jan2017

Who’ll pay for our long lives and pensions?

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
There was good news late last year for governments struggling with soaring pension costs: according to a study published in the prestigious journal Nature, it may not be possible to extend the human lifespan beyond the ages already attained by the oldest people on record.

02 Jan2017

Courageous must stand up to proponents of ‘post-truth’ world

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

It is a truth universally acknowledged that we now live in a “post-truth” world. But the notion that there was a golden age in which political truth readily triumphed over falsehood is so fanciful as to exemplify the very phenomenon the term “post-truth” describes.

Attachments:
Download this file (Courageous must stand up to proponents of ‘post-truth’ world_Mon 2 Jan 2017.pdf)Courageous must stand up to proponents of ‘post-truth’ world_Mon 2 Jan 2017.pdf[ ]105 Kb
19 Dec2016

Asset lottery makes it a merrier Christmas for some

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Little wonder Donald Trump swept the rural states: this year’s Christmas Price Index, which calculates the cost of buying the full basket of goods and services specified in The Twelve Days of Christmas, shows America’s milking maids are doing it tough, as are the country’s suppliers of swans, geese and partridges in pear trees.


Attachments:
Download this file (Asset lottery makes it a merrier Christmas for some_Mon 19 Dec 2016.pdf)Asset lottery makes it a merrier Christmas for some_Mon 19 Dec 2016.pdf[ ]639 Kb
05 Dec2016

Malcolm Turnbull must beware the whims of the promiscuous voter

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today:

Last Thursday, when he ­announced he would not stand for re-election, French President Francois Hollande became merely the latest victim of the year of political head-rolling. Hollande’s fall at the guillotine of politics follows a string of errors and miscalculations that saw his satisfaction rating plummet to barely 4 per cent. But with the ­National Front fracturing the political equilibrium, it also reflects the difficulties both France’s Socialist Party and its centre-right opponents have had in regaining their hold on the country’s political system.



Attachments:
Download this file (Malcolm Turnbull must beware the whims of the promiscuous voter_Mon 5 Dec 2016.p)Malcolm Turnbull must beware the whims of the promiscuous voter_Mon 5 Dec 2016.p[ ]613 Kb
03 Dec2016

Divided Italy’s constitutional crisis of confidence

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

You can, so to speak, count on the Italians. As opinion polls may not be published in the two weeks leading up to a vote but can still be taken, blog sites have sprung up that report the results in terms of entirely imaginary wagering opportunities, with names that allow readers to readily identify the yes and no sides in tomorrow’s constitutional referendum.

28 Nov2016

Sugar coating hard truths about obesity tax

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Recommending new taxes should not be done lightly. But while it is full of strong claims, last week’s Grattan Institute report proposing a tax on sugar-sweetened soft drinks ignores relevant evidence and is marred by serious errors of analysis.
Attachments:
Download this file (Sugar coating hard truths about obesity tax_Mon 28 Nov 2016.pdf)Sugar coating hard truths about obesity tax_Mon 28 Nov 2016.pdf[ ]541 Kb
21 Nov2016

Trump’s tax and trade policies could hurt Australia and the world

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
Having promised to return manufacturing jobs to the US, Donald Trump’s macroeconomic policies may instead accelerate their ­demise.

Attachments:
Download this file (Trump’s tax and trade policies could hurt Australia and the world_Mon 21 Nov 201)Trump’s tax and trade policies could hurt Australia and the world_Mon 21 Nov 201[ ]117 Kb
14 Nov2016

US election: political charlatans and conjurers wait to exploit vulnerable

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

According to a recent poll in the French daily Le Monde, 57 per cent of French voters believe demo­cracy works badly, more than a third would like to see it replaced by an alternative and one in five think that alternative should allow a “chief” to override the present checks and balances.

Attachments:
Download this file (US election: political charlatans and conjurers wait to exploit vulnerable_Mon 1)US election: political charlatans and conjurers wait to exploit vulnerable_Mon 1[ ]425 Kb
12 Nov2016

US election: Trump unschooled in Washington’s ways and must learn fast

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Having captured the presidency, retained control of both chambers of congress and secured majorities in states the Democrats considered their own, the Republicans have achieved far more than seemed possible six months ago. But this victory’s foundations are far from stable and leave the GOP’s future as uncertain as it has ever been.

07 Nov2016

US election likely to test traditional party habits

Posted in Op eds


Today in The Australian
 
That this year’s American presidential contest is unusual hardly needs to be said. What remains to be seen is just how far the outcomes diverge from the norm. To help you assess the results, here are five features of American presidential elections worth knowing. Two weeks ago, they were all going Hillary Clinton’s way; that is less clear today.

Attachments:
Download this file (US election likely to test traditional party habits_Mon 7 Nov 2016.pdf)US election likely to test traditional party habits_Mon 7 Nov 2016.pdf[ ]115 Kb
17 Oct2016

Howard shows how far we’ve drifted from the Menzies era

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
 Set against the turmoil that has racked Australian politics since 2007, John Howard’s masterly series on the Menzies era reminds us of what stability looked like.

Attachments:
Download this file (Howard shows how far we’ve drifted from the Menzies era_Mon 17 Oct 2016.pdf)Howard shows how far we’ve drifted from the Menzies era_Mon 17 Oct 2016.pdf[ ]128 Kb
10 Oct2016

Where to for Republicans after rise and fall of Donald Trump?

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

When Walt Whitman, writing in 1856, observed that Americans aspire to a “democracy of manners”, he meant that they expect to be treated not only equally but also respectfully. Well, you don’t need to know much about politics to know that Donald Trump’s ­remarks about groping women don’t meet that standard.
Attachments:
Download this file (Where to for Republicans after rise and fall of Donald Trump_Mon 10 Oct 2016.pdf)Where to for Republicans after rise and fall of Donald Trump_Mon 10 Oct 2016.pdf[ ]601 Kb
03 Oct2016

Deutsche Bank turmoil raises questions of Australian regulators

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

Although it is unlikely to precipitate a broader crisis, the turmoil affecting Deutsche Bank — the biggest bank in Europe’s largest economy — highlights the risks still confronting the global financial system. And as markets struggle with those risks, there are serious questions to be asked about the decisions Australian regulators are taking to ensure the stability of our banking sector.

Attachments:
Download this file (Deutsche Bank turmoil raises questions of Australian regulators_Mon 3 Oct 2016.p)Deutsche Bank turmoil raises questions of Australian regulators_Mon 3 Oct 2016.p[ ]123 Kb
27 Sep2016

Central banks repeatedly made to look very ineffective managers

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today
William McChesney Martin Jr, who chaired the US Federal ­Reserve in the 1950s and 60s, ­famously observed that central bankers are the people who take away the punch bowl just as the party is heating up. Nowadays, his successors are the fellows who spike the drinks.
Attachments:
Download this file (Central banks repeatedly made to look very ineffective managers_Mon 26 Sep 2016.)Central banks repeatedly made to look very ineffective managers_Mon 26 Sep 2016.[ ]650 Kb
19 Sep2016

Stephen Conroy has retired, red underwear securely on his head

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today:

Stephen Conroy’s decision to quit the Senate so as to establish a red underwear business has been ­hailed by his colleagues.

Attachments:
Download this file (Stephen Conroy has retired, red underwear securely on his head_Mon 19 Sep 2016.p)Stephen Conroy has retired, red underwear securely on his head_Mon 19 Sep 2016.p[ ]98 Kb
12 Sep2016

Super changes will punish those who save relative to pensioners

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today:
There is a fundamental defect in the government’s superannuation proposals that has been entirely overlooked. Instead of growing in line with average earnings, the $1.6 million “transfer balance” cap, which limits the amount that can be held in the withdrawal phase, is only indexed to consumer prices.



Attachments:
Download this file (Super changes will punish those who save relative to pensioners_Mon 12 Sep 2016.)Super changes will punish those who save relative to pensioners_Mon 12 Sep 2016.[ ]98 Kb
05 Sep2016

Special banking tribunal is a financial regulator too many

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian:
Finding anything good to say about Labor’s proposed royal commission on banking is a challenge. But no matter how ill-­conceived it might be, at least it will eventually fade away.


29 Aug2016

Burkini re-energises discussion of public virtues, private vices

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

To Australians, who are regularly told by the Cancer Council not to venture into the sun without being covered from head to toe, the ban on the burkini always seemed far-fetched. We may have to fight the terrorists on the beaches, but only the Gallic mind could believe that replacing liberte, egalite, fraternite by liberte, egalite, nudite would drive the Islamists, repelled by serried ranks of scantily clad women and men in budgie smugglers, into the sea.

Attachments:
Download this file (Burkini re-energises discussion of public virtues, private vices_Mon 29 Aug 2016)Burkini re-energises discussion of public virtues, private vices_Mon 29 Aug 2016[ ]620 Kb
15 Aug2016

Census-taking in Australia has never followed accepted patterns

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian

As you ponder the census fiasco, take a moment to remember Matthew Gregson, Australia’s first statistician, whose story seems even more relevant today than when I recounted it five years ago. Transported for “feloniously embezzling Bills of Exchange and other Money”, Gregson, on arriving in 1824, promptly found work in the Colonial Secretary’s office, where his skills with numbers were desperately needed to compile the badly overdue Blue Book.
Attachments:
Download this file (Census-taking in Australia has never followed accepted patterns Mon 15 Aug 2016.)Census-taking in Australia has never followed accepted patterns Mon 15 Aug 2016.[ ]491 Kb
08 Aug2016

Banks’ response to RBA rate cut doesn’t warrant inquisition

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
 
Perhaps the best that can be said for hauling the banks before the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Economics is that it is unlikely to do much harm. But rather than being dragged behind Labor’s populism, isn’t it time the government moved to reset the economic agenda?

Attachments:
Download this file (Banks’ response to RBA rate cut doesn’t warrant inquisition_Mon 8 Aug 2016.pdf)Banks’ response to RBA rate cut doesn’t warrant inquisition_Mon 8 Aug 2016.pdf[ ]106 Kb
01 Aug2016

Modern politics has reached a sorry state with Rudd UN affair

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
If Labor has an ethical standard that guides its conduct it is no better than this: hurt your enemies, help your friends. Now, with the government’s refusal to nominate Kevin Rudd as a candidate for secretary-general of the UN, the ­Coalition risks sinking to its opponent’s level.

25 Jul2016

Liberal Party is paying the price for letting Labor set the rules

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian


The trouble with voters in western Sydney, pollster Mark Textor appar­ently told the Liberal partyroom when it met last week to consider the election campaign, is their “entrenched cynicism”.

Attachments:
Download this file (Liberal Party is paying the price for letting Labor set the rules_Mon 25 Jul 201)Liberal Party is paying the price for letting Labor set the rules_Mon 25 Jul 201[ ]646 Kb
18 Jul2016

France takes centre stage in the clash of civilisations

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today

France takes centre stage in the clash of civilisations

When the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille was celebrated on July 14, 1790 in an elaborate “Feast of the Federation”, the 20-year-old Wordsworth rhapsodised that “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven,” while an ageing Kant mused that humanity might finally have “matured”. Two centuries later, at least 10 children and 74 adults lie dead, mowed down as they celebrated Bastille Day on Nice’s iconic Promenade des Anglais.

16 Jul2016

Donald Trump is unlikely to be dumped at Republican convention

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today:

As Republicans gather in Cleveland, Ohio, for next week’s Grand Old Party convention, a poll from the Pew Research Centre finds that just 38 per cent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters believe the party will “solidly unite” behind Donald Trump. And with Hillary Clinton estimated to have a four to 12 percentage point lead nationwide, it is scarcely surprising the Republican Party remains troubled and divided.

11 Jul2016

Long shadow of ghettos stains race relations

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
Coming after three years of protests by the Black Lives Matter movement, the horrific killings in Dallas have placed race at the centre of the turmoil gripping the United States.

04 Jul2016

Federal election 2016: voters follow European equals in delusion

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
 With Australians choosing paralysis at best, chaos at worst, our only answer to the challenges the country faces seems to be the hope that something will turn up.


27 Jun2016

Brexit: the EU Britain leaves is brittle to the point of fracture

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today

Britain joined the European Economic Community in the turmoil of the 1970s. As its entry occurred, Australia embarked on the Whitlam experiment, which crippled our ability to adjust to the shocks that hit the world economy and condemned us to two decades of misery.

Attachments:
Download this file (Brexit_the EU Britain leaves is brittle to the point of fracture Mon 27 Jun 2016)Brexit_the EU Britain leaves is brittle to the point of fracture Mon 27 Jun 2016[ ]603 Kb
13 Jun2016

Federal election 2016: real price of Shorten’s conjured costings

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today:

From the moment it lost office, Labor set itself one and only one fiscal goal: to prevent the Coalition from achieving the surplus Labor had repeatedly promised and repeatedly failed to deliver. Now, as Bill Shorten struggles to develop a credible fiscal strategy, the consequences are coming home to roost.


Attachments:
Download this file (Federal election 2016_real price of Shorten’s conjured costings Mon 13 Jun 2016.)Federal election 2016_real price of Shorten’s conjured costings Mon 13 Jun 2016.[ ]623 Kb
11 Jun2016

How Clinton the moderate got sideswiped to the left by Sanders

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today

With Hillary Clinton securing the 2383 delegates needed to clinch her party’s nomination, the race for the Democratic nomination is finally over. Now, after a campaign that saw her move sharply to the left, the challenge Clinton faces is to broaden her base of support in an electorate that is fractured, polarised and distrustful. The question is whether she can do so given the positions she has adopted and the baggage she carries.
Attachments:
Download this file (How Clinton the moderate got sideswiped to the left by Sanders_Sat 11 Jun 2016.p)How Clinton the moderate got sideswiped to the left by Sanders_Sat 11 Jun 2016.p[ ]122 Kb
20 Jun2016

Federal election 2016: Labor’s NBN assumptions are implausible

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
First there was the splurge on schools that will more than pay for itself (so long as you don’t mind waiting until your unborn grandchildren reach pension age). Then came the tertiary education spending that will boost GDP by $26 for every dollar spent (so long as the economic return on education rises twentyfold).


Attachments:
Download this file (Federal election 2016_Labor’s NBN assumptions are implausible Mon 20 Jun 2016.pd)Federal election 2016_Labor’s NBN assumptions are implausible Mon 20 Jun 2016.pd[ ]566 Kb
06 Jun2016

Federal election 2016: workers ultimately benefit from tax cut

Posted in Op eds

Today in The Australian
If you believe its opponents, the only thing cutting company income tax rates won’t do is cause cholera. Then again, absolute perfection, even in evil, is not of this world. As far as policy proposals go, however, this one apparently comes close, with the critics portraying it as a giveaway whose benefits, if any, are trivially small, long deferred and mainly for the “billionaire class”, while its costs are immediate and material.

Attachments:
Download this file (Federal election 2016_workers ultimately benefit from tax cut_Mon 6 Jun 2016.pdf)Federal election 2016_workers ultimately benefit from tax cut_Mon 6 Jun 2016.pdf[ ]104 Kb
04 Jun2016

Federal election 2016: Vote for Labor (thus the Greens) will maim miners and GDP

Posted in Op eds

In The Australian today:

This week’s gross domestic product figures, which showed our economy powering ahead, were no accident. Rather, they reflect the hard work Australia’s mining industry has put into cutting costs and boosting productivity.
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